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Installing From a Web Server

Starting with OpenVMS V9.2-2, VSI OpenVMS can be installed from a web server, which provides an attractive option for many customers who may already be familiar with the procedures. Note, however, that this type of installation is not recommended by VSI.

Warning

The method described below relies on the utility called VMS_KITBOOT. This utility requires that the target system/VM be located on a network segment which has a DHCP server. If DHCP is not available, you cannot use this method.

Web Server Preparation

Your internal company web server can be used to serve installations. Due to the variety of available web servers, this section focuses on general setup steps only. It is assumed that the web server is reachable for your VM host and that the guest VM is reachable from the web server's network.

The first two files listed below can be found in the EFI partition of any installed VSI OpenVMS V9.2-2 (or higher) system disk at fsx:\EFI\VMS\ or copied from the Operating Environment ISO image.

  1. Create a /netboot/ directory on your web server.

  2. Copy the following files to the /netboot/ directory:

    1. VMS_BOOTMGR.EFI – the Boot Manager
    2. VMS_IMG.BMP – the Boot Manager background image (optional)
    3. installation-kit.ISO – the VSI OpenVMS Installation Kit

    Note

    If the host operating system does not recognize VSI OpenVMS file versions, you will need to rename the files to remove the semicolon and version numbers after copying them to your web server. Note also that some web servers are case-sensitive.

Target Virtual Machine Preparation (VMS_KITBOOT Utility)

Note

The VMS_KITBOOT utility is an optional feature. This utility can be copied from an installed system. The utility is loosely coupled to the Boot Manager's install button and command, primarily intended to support future update procedures. If such web server access is unwanted, instances of the file (VMS_KITBOOT.EFI) can be deleted from the EFI partition of bootable VSI OpenVMS disks. If the file is deleted, the Boot Manager install button and command will simply be non-functional.

UEFI firmware provides HTTP(S) protocols to support connection to web servers. The most popular of these protocols is known as iPXE. For more information, refer to http://www.ipxe.org.

VMS_KITBOOT.EFI automates most of the web server boot process. When launched from the UEFI Shell of your VM guest, the VMS_KITBOOT utility will identify your system hardware, configure a suitable network device, prompt for the IP address of your web server, and handle the connection and download protocol for the Installation Kit. When VMS_KITBOOT has finished downloading the kit, it will launch the VSI OpenVMS Boot Manager that is able to boot to the installation media and initiate the installation procedure.

Note

If you have security concerns about these procedures or your firewall configuration, you can install OpenVMS from an ISO image instead of a web server.

VMS_KITBOOT.EFI can be executed from any UEFI file system disk (for example, fs0:). A simple way to do this is to copy the file onto a FAT-formatted USB stick assigned to your target system/VM. VM users can also use a pre-packaged virtual disk containing this file in these common virtual disk formats:

VMS_KITBOOT.VMDK
A VMware ESXi disk image containing the utility.
VMS_KITBOOT.QCOW2
A KVM disk image containing the utility.
VMS_KITBOOT.EFI
The executable file of the utility. Copy to a UEFI fsx: device or USB stick.

Note

If you choose to use the .EFI version, as opposed to a pre-packaged virtual disk, you must create a USB stick containing VMS_KITBOOT.EFI on a system that supports the FAT32 file system (such as a Windows PC), as this is the file system expected by UEFI. Or, if your guest already has access to another EFI partition, you can put this file in that partition. If you already have another disk with VSI OpenVMS installed on it, you can execute VMS_KITBOOT directly from the UEFI Shell prompt.

To install OpenVMS from a web server, follow these steps:

  1. FTP (in binary mode) the appropriate version of VMS_KITBOOT.EFI to your guest folder directory on the VM host. Each guest will require its own copy of VMS_KITBOOT, or you can share a hard drive containing the utility among multiple guests if they have a common host.

  2. When you start your guest VM and reach the UEFI Shell, navigate to the directory containing VMS_KITBOOT.EFI:

    Shell> cd efi\vms

    Then launch VMS_KITBOOT using the following command:

    Shell> vms_kitboot.efi

  3. VMS_KITBOOT will prompt you for the IPv4 address (xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx) of your web server and the full file path to the Installation Kit (/netboot/kitfile.ISO). You can also use an FQDN address (mywebserver.mycompany.com), but using an IPv4 address will avoid a DNS lookup. The web server should respond by downloading the required installation images.

    For an initial web-server-based installation, one of the downloaded files is the full Installation Kit (the .ISO file). This large file can take several minutes to download. Once the file has downloaded, the installation proceeds much faster than it would if each file was read individually.

    Note

    Installation, and particularly installation over a network, requires sufficient physical memory to support UEFI firmware, the VMS_KITBOOT utility, the OpenVMS installation kit, the OpenVMS Boot Manager, and the installed operating system. Currently, at least 6 GB RAM is recommended.

    If the download fails due to lack of memory, return to your guest setup and increase the amount of RAM allocated to the guest. If needed, you can reduce the amount of memory allocated to the VM once the installation completes.

  4. When the download completes, the Boot Manager should appear and automatically initiate a boot of the Installation Kit. Note that the memory-resident Installation Kit image will appear as DMM1: to VSI OpenVMS during the installation.

  5. You should see the VSI OpenVMS installation menu. Proceed with the installation as described in Installing VSI OpenVMS x86-64 E9.2-4.