Installing ROCK Linux on IBM RS/6000 B50 Servers                 Clifford Wolf
================================================                    2000-10-15


Step 1. Prepare for Installation
--------------------------------

You need:

 * An RS/6000 B50 Server
 * A ROCK Linux for PowerPC CD-ROM
 * Two 3.5" 1.44 MB floppy disks

First lets create a boot disk: Create an MS-DOS filesystem on the 1st floppy,
download an RS/6000 B50 Kernel Image from https://www.rocklinux.org/projects/
powerpc/powerpc.html and put it as 'zImage' on the floppy:

  # mformat a:
  # wget <URL-of-Kernel-Image>
  # mcopy <Kernel-Image> a:zImage

Next let's create the root disk. A pre-built disk image can be found on the
CD-ROM. So just mount it and create the floppy like this:

  # dd if=rock-powerpc-<version>/floppies/root-disk-small.img of=/dev/floppy/0

Now we can start the installation.


Step 2. Booting the Install System
----------------------------------

Turn on your B50 and wait for the boot screen (that may take a while). When you
see the boot screen, there will be icons popping up for various subsystems. As
soon as you see the keyboard icon, press F8 to enter the OpenFirmware.

Now insert the boot floppy and boot Linux by typing:

  0 > boot floppy:,zImage root=/dev/fd load_ramdisk=1

Insert the root floppy when the Linux Kernel asks for it and press enter. When
the system asks you for a list of terminal devices, just press enter to use the
default values.


Step 3. Installing ROCK Linux
-----------------------------

This step is described in detail in the file 'Documentation/INSTALL' which
is included with ROCK Linux. Just the highlights again:

 * Create the partition table with 'fdisk'
 * Mount the target filesystem tree at /trg
 * Mount the source media (CD-ROM) at /src
 * Install with the 'Install' command
 * Configure the system and unmount /trg

The first partition on the first hard disk must be a small (let's say 5 MB)
partition of the type 'PPC PReP Boot' (Id 41). It will contain the Linux
Kernel Image. Insert the boot floppy again and copy the Kernel Image to the
partition:

  # mount -t msdos /dev/floppy/0 /mnt
  # dd if=/mnt/zImage of=/dev/discs/disc0/part1
  # umount /mnt

Now you can reboot and finish the installation.


Step 4. OpenFirmware Boot Configuration
---------------------------------------

Reboot and (again) enter OpenFirmware with F8. Now we need to tell the system
which kernel to boot on default and which kernel options should be used. If
your root partition is the second partition on the first hard disk, simply enter
the following OpenFirmware commands:

  0 > setenv boot-device disk:1
  0 > setenv boot-file root=/dev/discs/disc0/part2

and boot the system with

  0 > boot

From now on it will automatically boot with those parameters. If you need any 
other kernel parameters, just append them to the 'setenv boot-file ..' line.

Have a lot of fun with ROCK Linux on your RS/6000 B50.

 - Clifford Wolf