Installing Lustre from Downloaded RPMs

(Updated: Jan 2010)

This procedure describes how to install Lustre™ from the RPM packages. For additional information, see Section 8: Installing the Lustre Software in the Lustre Operations Manual.

Note: In all Lustre installations, the server kernel that runs on an MDS, MGS or OSS must be patched. However, running a patched kernel on a Lustre client is optional and only required if the client will be used for multiple purposes, such as running as both a client and an OST.

Caution: Lustre contains kernel modifications that interact with storage devices and may introduce security issues and data loss if not installed, configured or administered properly. Before installing Lustre, back up ALL data.

Complete this procedure to install Lustre from RPMs:

1. Verify that all of the Lustre installation requirements have been met. For more information on these prerequisites, see Preparing to Install Lustre.

2. Download the Lustre RPMs.

a. On the Lustre download site, select your platform. The files required to install Lustre (kernels, modules and utilities RPMs) will be listed.

b. Download the required files. Use the Sun Download Manager (SDM) or download the files individually.

3. Install the Lustre packages. Some Lustre packages are installed on servers (MDS and OSSs), and others are installed on Lustre clients. Lustre packages must be installed in a specific order.

a. For each Lustre package, determine if it needs to be installed on servers and/or clients. See Lustre Packages to determine where to install a specific package. Depending on your platform, not all of the listed files need to be installed.

Caution: For a non-production Lustre environment or for testing, a Lustre client and server can run on the same machine. However, for best performance in a production environment, Lustre must be installed on dedicated systems. Performance and other issues can occur when an MDS or OSS and a client are running on the same machine. The MDS and MGS can run on the same machine.

b. Install the kernel, modules and ldiskfs packages. Use the rpm -ivh command to install the kernel, module and ldiskfs packages. For example:

$ rpm -ivh kernel-lustre-smp-<ver> kernel-ib-<ver> lustre-modules-<ver> lustre-ldiskfs-<ver>

c. Install the utilities/userspace packages.Use the rpm -ivh command to install the utilities packages. For example:

$ rpm -ivh lustre-<ver>

d. Install the e2fsprogs package. Use the rpm -i command to install the e2fsprogs package. For example:

$ rpm -i e2fsprogs-<ver>

Note: If a version of e2fsprogs is already installed on your Linux system, install the Lustre-specific version of e2fsprogs using rpm -U to update the installed e2fsprogs package. For example:

$ rpm -U e2fsprogs-<ver>

The rpm command options --force or --nodeps are not required to install or update e2fsprogs. We specifically recommend that you not use these options.

e. (Optional) If you want to add any optional packages to your Lustre file system, install them now. Optional packages include file system creation and repair tools, debugging tools, test programs and scripts, Linux kernel and Lustre source code, and other packages. A complete list of optional packages for your platform is provided on the Lustre download site.

4. Verify that the boot loader (grub.conf or lilo.conf) has been updated to load the patched kernel.

5. Reboot the servers.

Proceed to Configuring the Lustre File System to configure Lustre Networking (LNET) and the Lustre file system.