Installation

This manual describes the installation process of the IACBOX. The installation can be performed with pre-defined unattended profiles or in expert mode. For starters it is highly suggested to install the system with one of the 4 pre-defined unattended profiles.

  • The installation medium of the IACBOX can be downloaded from our homepage and is available as CD ISO and USB image. For more information on how to create a bootable USB stick follow the instructions on the according manual page.
  • A detailed description on how to use pre-defined unattended profiles can be viewed here Unattended Setup.
  • Also note the hardware requirements that can be found under Hardware requirements.

Basic BIOS settings

Ensure the BIOS settings are configured according to the following points:

  • The SATA controller must be set to AHCI
  • All kinds of network boot options should be disabled
  • Both UEFI and legacy BIOS mode are supported, however UEFI is preferred
  • On HP servers ILO should be disabled

The installation medium can be used on the new server to install the IACBOX. Note that some systems, for example with existing operating systems, might not boot from the CD/USB stick. To do so manually press the according button to open the boot menu while the hardware is booting up. Usually this works with the F9 or F10 key, then select the USB stick or the CD-drive to boot from.

Starting the Installation

When the systems boots from the installation medium, the first screen of the installation process will ask the installation mode. Depending on the system, without EFI BIOS the following screen will appear:

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  • For any regular hardware, type g and confirm with ENTER to proceed in Graphics Mode (default).
  • For hardware with serial connector type s to proceed in Serial Mode and continue with ENTER.
  • This prompt will only show up if the Hardware/VM does not use an EFI-BIOS.

The next screen will contain different selections on how to start the installation. Proceed with the Standard Installation.

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The FT-Setup will load up after this selection, during which an option to install additional drivers will appear. This is only necessary for specific setups. If unsure, leave the setting as is and press ESC to skip the screen.

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  • In order to navigate in the FT-Setup use the arrow keys.
  • To highlight/select an entry use the SPACE bar.
  • Use TAB to navigate between the list entries and the save/back handlers. To proceed use the ENTER key.

Express Setup

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The next step is the Unattended Setup screen. The IACBOX can be installed conveniently with a pre-defined configuration.
For starters it is recommended to start with one of the available options, for example the Express Setup with 2 NICs in English. After selecting the entry with the SPACE bar, press TAB to highlight the Start Express Setup section and then ENTER to proceed. The IACBOX will now be installed with default settings. The settings can still be changed later on.

After the installation and the automatic restart, the following options will be available. Please note that this screen will be skipped automatically after 10 seconds.

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The Text Console and the Failsafe Mode are based on resolution. The Rescue Mode allows for restoration of defective file systems while the Memory test is a check of the system memory. For further information, review the according manual page for the Rescue Mode.

The IACBOX will now boot up to the following screen, the console is ready for login.

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This means that the system was successfully installed. The IP address of the Office-LAN is displayed on screen and is used to access the WebAdmin. Therefore connect a workstation/notebook to the Office-LAN and open the webpage https://192.168.1.1 with a browser of choice (replace with the IP address in this example with the one configured previously). Later in this manual we will present how to enable WebAdmin access via Management-LAN or Surf-LAN.

Logging in with the sysop user on the console will lead back into the setup menu. This can be used to change the network settings without accessing the WebAdmin.

Expert Setup

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In addition to the Express Setup, Expert Setup enables configuration of interface IP addresses, Gateway and DNS servers during the installation.

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Keyboard layout and partitioning can be changed before installation. Note that the installation process requires that all important menus are entered at least once. After confirming the keyboard settings, navigate into the Partitioning menu and choose the appropriate hard drive for automatic partitioning. The installation will show a summary of the partitions which are required for the IACBOX.

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Accept the summary with Continue to get back to the main menu. Now move on to Installation to start the process which copies all necessary files to the selected hard drive. This may take some time.

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After the copying process is finished, the main menu of the basic configuration will appear again. Same as with the keyboard settings, first navigate into Timezone and either accept or change the configuration. Now navigate to Sys-Config. Here the used DNS Servers may be changed.

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After configuring the DNS servers navigate into the Office LAN / WAN menu. Here the IP address of the Office-LAN can be changed along with its Subnet mask and the Default Gateway. Note that this must be done by technical staff with according network knowledge.

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Next up is the Surf-LAN interface configuration.

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After both interfaces have been reviewed, the text next to them will change from <edit> to <done>, which is required to proceed with the installation.

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To get back to the main menu use TAB to highlight Back and confirm with ENTER. Now navigate into the menu Net-Auto. This menu allows to re-assign the installed network cards to a specific interface of the IACBOX. Even as this is not necessary, the installation process requires entering this menu in order to verify the amount of detected network cards.

Now navigate back to the main menu, enter the Activate menu and confirm. The installation will now activate the configuration. Afterwards finish by choosing End - Exit FrozentuxSetup, this installs the kernel and prepares the system for the first boot. The system reboots and loads the IACBOX. The bootup is finished as soon as the login console is reached:

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This means that the system was successfully installed. The IP address of the Office-LAN is displayed on screen and is used to access the WebAdmin. Therefore connect a workstation/notebook to the Office-LAN and open the webpage https://192.168.1.1 with a browser of choice (replace with the IP address in this example with the one configured previously). Later in this manual we will present how to enable WebAdmin access via Management-LAN or Surf-LAN.

Logging in with the sysop user on the console will lead back into the setup menu. This can be used to change the network settings without accessing the WebAdmin.