Table of Contents
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 6.2 Installation
Summary: How to install Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 6.2.
Date: Around 2014
Refactor: 29 March 2025: Checked links and formatting.
Installation Report: redhatbox - System Log Management
Virtual Machine
Name: redhatbox
Ip address: 10.10.5.14
Disk size: 20 GB
vCPU: 1
vRAM: 2 GB
Installation
Used media: rhel-server-6.2-i386-dvd.iso
After starting the VM boot from the iso and follow these steps to install the server:
- Select “Install or upgrade an existing system”:
- Skip the media test and choose to start the installation
- Installation language: English (English)
- Keyboard: U.S. English
- Select the Basic Storage Devices (we're not installing from a SAN)
- You'll see a warning about the found storage, warning that data on the found disk might be lost, select “Yes, discard any data”:
- Configure the hostname and click the “Configure Network” button on the left below to configure the network:
- Make all the required configuration changes:
- Note: SELECT CONNECT AUTOMATICALLY = YES
- Select Europe/Amsterdam as the nearest city:
- Set the root password and update the password in the KeePass database on the network
- Configure the filesystems by selecting “Create Custom Layout”:
- First create a standard partition and create the boot file system, keep the defaults, only check the “Force to be a primary partition” checkbox:
- Then create the LVM Physical Volume, and keep the defaults while selecting to “Fill to maximum allowable size”:
- Then create the LVM Logical Volume:
- Which allowes you to create all the required LVM volumes group. Keep these storage settings:
- / : 2 GB
- /var : 5 GB
- /opt : all space that is left (this is the directory where the syslog data will come and might have to be grown in the future)
- /tmp : 2 GB
- swap : 2 GB
- Review the partitioning and click next when everything is ok:
- Keep the boot loader on /dev/sda and keep the default boot loader operating system list
- Keep the “Basic Server” as the installation choice
- Click next and the server will start installing:
- Reboot the server after the installation is completed and you're ready to go
Network Troubleshooting
Use “system-config-network” to reconfigure the network, and enable the network card with “ifup eth0” To make sure the network card starts after each reboot edit the network configuration file and change “ONBOOT=no” to “ONBOOT=yes”:
vi /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0 DEVICE=eth0 NM_CONTROLLED=yes ONBOOT=yes HWADDR=00:50:56:89:02:89 TYPE=Ethernet BOOTPROTO=none IPADDR=10.10.5.14 PREFIX=24 GATEWAY=10.10.5.1 DNS1=10.10.10.54 DNS2=10.10.54.10 DOMAIN='warmetal.nl warmetal.local' DEFROUTE=yes IPV4_FAILURE_FATAL=yes IPV6INIT=no NAME="System eth0" UUID=5fb06bd0-0bb0-7ffb-45f1-d6edd65f3e03 NETMASK=255.255.255.0 USERCTL=no
NTP
Add the time server in /etc/ntp.conf:
server 10.10.10.123
And start the service and make sure the service starts at boot time:
[root@redhatbox ~]# service ntpd status ntpd is stopped [root@redhatbox ~]# service ntpd start Starting ntpd: [ OK ] [root@redhatbox ~]# chkconfig ntpd on
VMware Tools
Installing VMware Tools is a matter of mounting the Tools and installing. The first step is in vCenter, open the console of the VM, go to “VM” → Guest → Install/Upgrade VMware Tools. Now log on the VM as root and follow these steps:
[root@redhatbox ~]# mkdir /mnt/cdrom; mount -o loop /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom [root@redhatbox cdrom]# cp VMwareTools-8.3.7-341836.tar.gz /tmp/ [root@redhatbox cdrom]# cd /tmp/ [root@redhatbox tmp]# gunzip VMwareTools-8.3.7-341836.tar.gz [root@redhatbox tmp]# ll total 262476 drwx------. 2 root root 16384 Jan 9 16:31 lost+found -r--r--r--. 1 root root 268759040 Jan 10 15:36 VMwareTools-8.3.7-341836.tar -rw-------. 1 root root 0 Jan 9 16:32 yum.log [root@redhatbox tmp]# tar -xf VMwareTools-8.3.7-341836.tar [root@redhatbox tmp]# ll total 262480 drwx------. 2 root root 16384 Jan 9 16:31 lost+found -r--r--r--. 1 root root 268759040 Jan 10 15:36 VMwareTools-8.3.7-341836.tar drwxr-xr-x. 7 root root 4096 Dec 24 2010 vmware-tools-distrib -rw-------. 1 root root 0 Jan 9 16:32 yum.log [root@redhatbox tmp]# cd vmware-tools-distrib/ [root@redhatbox vmware-tools-distrib]# ll total 556 drwxr-xr-x. 2 root root 4096 Dec 24 2010 bin drwxr-xr-x. 2 root root 4096 Dec 24 2010 doc drwxr-xr-x. 3 root root 4096 Dec 24 2010 etc -rw-r--r--. 1 root root 545315 Dec 24 2010 FILES lrwxrwxrwx. 1 root root 13 Jan 10 15:37 INSTALL -> ./doc/INSTALL drwxr-xr-x. 2 root root 4096 Dec 24 2010 installer drwxr-xr-x. 17 root root 4096 Dec 24 2010 lib lrwxrwxrwx. 1 root root 31 Jan 10 15:37 vmware-install.pl -> ./bin/vmware-uninstall-tools.pl [root@redhatbox vmware-tools-distrib]# ./vmware-install.pl Creating a new VMware Tools installer database using the tar4 format. Installing VMware Tools. In which directory do you want to install the binary files? [/usr/bin] What is the directory that contains the init directories (rc0.d/ to rc6.d/)? [/etc/rc.d] What is the directory that contains the init scripts? [/etc/rc.d/init.d] In which directory do you want to install the daemon files? [/usr/sbin] In which directory do you want to install the library files? [/usr/lib/vmware-tools] The path "/usr/lib/vmware-tools" does not exist currently. This program is going to create it, including needed parent directories. Is this what you want? [yes] In which directory do you want to install the documentation files? [/usr/share/doc/vmware-tools] The path "/usr/share/doc/vmware-tools" does not exist currently. This program is going to create it, including needed parent directories. Is this what you want? [yes] The installation of VMware Tools 8.3.7 build-341836 for Linux completed successfully. You can decide to remove this software from your system at any time by invoking the following command: "/usr/bin/vmware-uninstall-tools.pl". Before running VMware Tools for the first time, you need to configure it by invoking the following command: "/usr/bin/vmware-config-tools.pl". Do you want this program to invoke the command for you now? [yes] Initializing... Stopping VMware Tools services in the virtual machine: Guest operating system daemon: [ OK ] Virtual Printing daemon: [ OK ] Unmounting HGFS shares: [ OK ] Guest filesystem driver: [ OK ] The module vmmemctl has already been installed on this system by another installer or package and will not be modified by this installer. Use the flag --clobber-kernel-modules=vmmemctl to override. Found a compatible pre-built module for vmhgfs. Installing it... Found a compatible pre-built module for vmxnet. Installing it... Found a compatible pre-built module for vmblock. Installing it... Found a compatible pre-built module for vmci. Installing it... Found a compatible pre-built module for vsock. Installing it... The module vmxnet3 has already been installed on this system by another installer or package and will not be modified by this installer. Use the flag --clobber-kernel-modules=vmxnet3 to override. The module pvscsi has already been installed on this system by another installer or package and will not be modified by this installer. Use the flag --clobber-kernel-modules=pvscsi to override. No X install found. Creating a new initrd boot image for the kernel. Checking acpi hot plug [ OK ] Starting VMware Tools services in the virtual machine: Switching to guest configuration: [ OK ] VM communication interface: [ OK ] VM communication interface socket family: [ OK ] Guest operating system daemon: [ OK ] Virtual Printing daemon: [ OK ] The configuration of VMware Tools 8.3.7 build-341836 for Linux for this running kernel completed successfully. You must restart your X session before any mouse or graphics changes take effect. You can now run VMware Tools by invoking the following command: "/usr/bin/vmware-toolbox" during an X server session. To enable advanced X features (e.g., guest resolution fit, drag and drop, and file and text copy/paste), you will need to do one (or more) of the following: 1. Manually start /usr/bin/vmware-user 2. Log out and log back into your desktop session; and, 3. Restart your X session. Enjoy, --the VMware team
You can check if the VMware tools are loaded on boot by running this command:
[root@redhatbox ~]# chkconfig | grep vmw vmware-tools 0:off 1:off 2:on 3:on 4:off 5:on 6:off
Post Installation
Check Red Hat LUN Alignment.