Supported Operating Systems; Hp Driver Cds - HP xw3400 User Manual

Summary
This document provides an overview of the HP Installer Kit. For specific information on how to install
Linux, refer to Installing with the HP Installer Kit for Linux.
Use this document with the Hardware Support Matrix for HP Linux Workstations and HP Installer
CDs/HP Driver CDs, which can be found at .
www.hp.com/support/linux_hardware_matrix

Supported Operating Systems

HP supports multiple versions of Red Hat® Linux on HP Pentium® 4 and Xeon® Workstations. The
supported versions include Red Hat Linux 7.2, Red Hat Linux 7.3, Red Hat Linux 8.0, Red Hat Linux 9,
Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS 3, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS 4.
To provide flexibility in installing the Red Hat OS version of your choice, HP has created Installer CDs
and Driver CDs. These CDs are included in the HP Linux Installer Kit, and the CD images (ISOs) for
these CDs can be downloaded from the HP support website at .
www.hp.com/go/workstationsupport
The Installer Kit does not include the OS, so the customer also needs to download from the web or
purchase a Red Hat box-set with the desired Red Hat version to be used with the Installer CD or the
Driver CD. To view the current Installation Support Matrix for HP Linux Workstations and the
supported configurations and operating systems, go to .
www.hp.com/support/linux_hardware_matrix
HP Installer CDs
The HP Installer Kit includes an Installer CD or a Driver CD, which are based on the needs of a
particular installation, for each supported Red Hat release. An Installer CD is provided for a Red Hat
version when the amount of HP-added content to support HP Workstations is substantial or critical to
Linux boot/operation. Older versions of Red Hat Linux typically do not work without altering the most
current version of HP Workstation hardware because new components, such as network cards, sound
cards and SCSI adapters, require newer device drivers than what was released when the box-set was
created. Often, the box-set kernel does not boot because of this issue. To get around this situation, the
Installer CD provides additional and updated critical drivers and Errata for the HP Workstation
hardware used during installation and installed in the final image on the hard drive.
The Installer CD is used as the first CD for installing Red Hat Linux box-sets. To install the box-set,
insert this CD first and reboot the HP Workstation. This starts the Anaconda, the familiar Red Hat
Installer. All the HP-added content is in the /NEW_DRIVERS directory on the CD and can be used by
customers to build their own image or to browse the HP-added content.

HP Driver CDs

HP provides a Driver CD for a Red Hat version when the amount of HP-added content for drivers and
other software packages (called RPMS) is small and not as critical as when HP provides an Installer
CD. The more recent versions of Red Hat Linux include the most current device drivers and typically
only require driver updates with minor fixes to support HP Workstations. These recent releases can
usually be supported using the Driver CD. This Driver CD can be used as a post-install utility for the
standard Red Hat install. After the standard Red Hat install is complete and the system is rebooted, a
Red Hat utility called "first-boot" is invoked that allows the user to set up the security level, time and
date, root password, user accounts, and other settings. The last thing that first-boot allows the user to
do is to load additional CDs.
The Driver CD is designed to use during this additional CD phase. (Refer to Installing with the HP
Installer Kit for Linux. ) All the HP-added content is in the /HP directory on the CD and can be used by
customers to build their own image or to browse the HP content.
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