Step By Step Virtual PS Install: Install OS

This is a continuation of my virtual PeopleSoft installation.  In this step, we will install the operating system in to the virtual machine.  To see the complete list of steps, click here.

You can use many different types of Linux, but let’s choose Oracle’s flavor just to keep this a solid Oracle stack.  Red Hat or Ubuntu might be a better choice since VMWare lists those as options in the OS part of the new virtual machine wizard, but this exercise isn’t necessarily for making everything easy.

You can download Oracle’s Unbreakable Linux from here:

E-Delivery Web site for Enterprise Linux and Oracle VM

Choose Enterprise Linux as opposed to Oracle VM.  This is for the guest OS, and we don’t need virtualization inside our virtual machine.

Currently, the latest version is Release 5 Update 2.  The download contains 5 disks.  As you will see later in the instructions, you only need to download the first 3 CDs.

First, extract all of the files that you have downloaded.  Each of them should contain one iso file.  If you want, you can burn them to physical CD’s.  But, since we are working with a virtual machine, I don’t see the need.

Now, go to your Virtual Machine in VMWare and click on the “Edit Virtual Machine Settings” button.  Then, click on the CD-ROM device in the list.  Change the connection option on the right to “Use ISO image” and Browse to find the first ISO image

Now, it is time to start the virtual machine.  You may need to check the boot order before it will boot off the CD.  Normally, you hit F2 immediately after starting the machine.  Make sure that you click on the screen of the machine so that the key stroke is directed/captured by the virtual machine.

Once, in the BOIS, change the boot order so that the CD-ROM drive is first.

The CD should boot, and you should see the Enterprise Linux boot menu.  Press Enter to continue.

Then, the installation program asks if you wish to test the CDs.  To save space, we won’t go into that right now.  See later in this document on how to switch CDs for testing the other CDs.  To continue, click on the “Skip” button.

Now, you are officially in the installation of Linux.  Click Next to continue.

Next, choose a language.

Next, choose a keyboard.

Next, choose yes to initialize the partition on the virtual drive.  This message makes sense because the drive has never had any data on it.  So, choose Yes to continue.

Next, choose to Remove all partitions.  Actually, this option does not matter because the drive has no partitions on it.  Make sure that you check to “Review and Modify the partitioning layout” because we will need to adjust to the Swap partition.

Choose the swap partition or LogVol01 and click on the Edit button.

Now, the Oracle database install complained about the swap size being too small (I learned from trial and error, and I had to come back and redo the install).  The install requested 2968MB, and so, let’s just add an extra 1000MB onto the swap partition.  To do so, you must remove the same about from the root partition (LogVol00 or /).  Select the LogVol00 and click the Edit button.  Then, subtract 1000 from the amount.

Next, do the same thing for the swap partition (LogVol01) — add 1000 to the amount.

After continuing with the new partition sizes, the installer will ask about the boot loader.  Just accept the default.

Next, accept the network defaults.  A manual network address might be helpful depending on how you plan to interact with the image, but to make life easier, we’ll go with the defaults for now.

Next, choose your time zone.

Next, choose your root password.  Note, in the Linux/Unix world, this is the administrator password.

Next, choose to install the Software Development group of packages.  This should install some of the packages that the Oracle database will require.

Now, the options are finished.  Click next to let the installer do it’s work.

The installer lets you know that you will need disk 1, 2, and 3.  Make sure to click Continue.

After a while, the installer will ask for disk 2.

In VMWare, go to the VM menu and open the Settings option at the bottom of the menu.

Then, go to the CD-ROM and change the ISO image.

Do the same thing with disk 3.

Make sure that you change the CD drive back to the physical drive.  You don’t need the ISO images now.  Once you reboot, you will have to finish the installation on the first boot.

Agree to the license.

On the firewall, I chose to disable it.  That way, I don’t have to worry about security preventing any of the networking.  Security is not my main concern since I should be the only one who has access to this image.

Again, because security is not important in this case, let’s just disable SELinux.

Let’s not enable Kdump.  We are already somewhat limited on memory because we are running in VMWare.  So, let’s not use up memory for Kdump.

Just accept the default for the date and time.  The screen has an option for NTP, but instead we could use the VMWare tools to sync the time with the host.

Next, create a user.  It really doesn’t matter what name you choose as long as you remember it.

The sound card doesn’t matter.  Just continue past that.

Next, continue past the additional CDs.  We will install our additional software later.

Now, we need to reboot.

All of the other tutorials will assume that you have already logged in and are waiting at the desktop.  Use the user name that you created just a minute ago (not root).