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I just purchased two second-hand IBM System x3850 M2 rack servers, and I am a real noob to the subject.

As such, I cannot tell if there is a major difference between x3850 M2 and x3850 X5. If there isn't, then a lot of my research will be a lot easier.

Otherwise, I wonder about two particular subjects:

  1. What OS's are supported by this model? Most references on the net don't list the M2 (and I'd also appreciate a free OS here).

  2. If Canonical Ubuntu Server is supported, then what is the installation method? I've tried every keybind I can imagine (coming from a desktop installation background here), and can't figure out how to launch the installer.

Pierre.Vriens
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Connor Deckers
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3 Answers3

2

Debian 8 runs fine on this, if you provide kernel parameters:

intel_iommu=on iommu=soft

By minimal netinstall gives parameters with grub edit boot and after install its automatically added.

Same on Ubuntu, I guess.

Falcon Momot
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Phil2Sat
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  • I can confirm this. On Ubuntu, however, it has a problem with the x3850M2's USB, so you can't install from USB. Works fine in Debian, though (with the mentioned parameters, not otherwise). – Quandary Apr 02 '16 at 06:42
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The IBM website has several articles about installing Linux in the "IBM System x3850 M2" model, specifically about installing RHEL 5 (Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5), RHEL 6, SLES 10 SP2 (Suse Linux Enterprise Server 10 Service Pack 2) and SLES 11. So, I guess that those Linux distributions, at least, are (or were) supported by IBM for that particular model.

The articles are the following:

IBM Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux Version 5 - IBM System x3850 M2 (7141, 7144) https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/installing-red-hat-enterprise-linux-version-5-ibm-system-x3850-m2-7141-7144

Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux Version 6 - IBM System x3850 M2 and x3950 M2 (Type 7233, 7234)
https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/installing-red-hat-enterprise-linux-version-6-ibm-system-x3850-m2-and-x3950-m2-type-7233-7234

Installing SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP 2 - IBM System x3850 M2 (7233) and System x3950 M2 (7233)
https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/installing-suse-linux-enterprise-server-10-sp-2-ibm-system-x3850-m2-7233-and-system-x3950-m2-7233

Installing SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 - IBM System x3850 M2 and x3950 M2 (7141, 7144)
https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/installing-suse-linux-enterprise-server-11-ibm-system-x3850-m2-and-x3950-m2-7141-7144

Regarding the keybind combinations to start the installation, it seems you may find them in the section 4 of the articles above. Let me quote here the "4.0 Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux Version 6" section from https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/installing-red-hat-enterprise-linux-version-6-ibm-system-x3850-m2-and-x3950-m2-type-7233-7234 :

4.0 Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux Version 6

To configure your RSA2, complete the following steps:

  • Turn on the server.
  • When the prompt Press F1 for Setup is displayed, press F1.
  • Select Load Default Settings.
  • Select Advanced Setup; then, select RSA II Settings.
  • Scroll down to OS USB Selection and then press the Right Arrow or Left Arrow key until Linux OS is displayed.
  • Scroll down and select Save Values and Reboot RSA II.

Press Enter to save the values to and restart the Remote Supervisor Adapter II.

  • Exit to the main Setup menu.
  • For a 64-bit installation, navigate to Advanced Setup > CPU Options and change the Clustering Technology setting to Physical Mode. For a 32-bit installation, leave the Clustering Technology setting at Logical Mode.
  • Select Save Settings.
  • Exit Setup and restart the server.

To install Red Hat Enterprise Linux Version 6, complete the following steps:

  1. Complete one of the following procedures:

  • If the server has a CD/DVD drive, insert the Red Hat Enterprise Linux Version 6 CD/DVD 1 into the CD/DVD drive and restart the server.

  • if the server does not have a CD/DVD drive, perform the installation from a PXE server that contains an image of Red Hat Enterprise Linux Version 6.

  1. Follow the detailed instructions in the Red Hat Linux Installation Guide to install Red Hat Enterprise Linux Version 6.

  2. If you want to configure a software iSCSI target for installation, in the Disk Partitioning window, select Advanced storage configuration to set up the partitions, and select the Review and modify partitioning layout check box.

Note: Red Hat might require some updates for proper technology support beyond the base installation. To obtain the best security and performance from the server, apply all current software upgrades and security patches. See the Red Hat Network Reference Guide for information about how to do this.

ricmarques
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I'm using Debian 8 on my x3850 m2 ..works great also used centOS 7 but wanted to be able use deb. files easy. Most other distros have kernal panic.

DocInTheBox
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