Replacing RHEL at the planet server



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So, i got a Dual Quad Core Server (XEON) From the planet, i was stating the specs for my server but i only had options of either RHEL or Windows server 2003, nether of which is my favorite, I wanted Ubuntu there (Deebian fork), Especially since the latest Hardy Heron 8.04 is a LTS (Long term support)

Now with the option of adding a Lantronix Spider KVM over IP, i can install a new OS from an ISO file, very simple really, but first let me get the spider out of the way

My review of Lantornix spider and theplanet.com

Everyone reviewed the Lantronix spider as a nice little gadget that opened up possibilities, Now that i have tried it over my humble 2 Mbit connection, i must say it is NOT what i had hopped it would be.

Let me start by complaining about the planet, they give you this thing setup for http NOT https, to make things even worse, you don't get admin access to it (Only user access), and with that kind of user access you can not switch it to https (Secure), this means anyone sitting by a node that connects you to your server CAN see your username and password, and it is somewhat probable (Just like when you try buying a domain name and someone buys it 10 minutes later, it is not taken since 1996 but today since you checked it out it decides to get taken).
This is not all, the firmware on the ARM processor gadget is OLD and with the access you get, you can not even update that

The software for the spider is not my favorite either, the web browser Java software has issues

But this is not all, getting the mouse over a button is HELL, the mouse leaps forward all at once and it is a guessing game on how far you need to move the mouse (At least with my internet connection it is that way), then you have the repetition thing, you try entering an IP let us say 192.168.0.1 and it will come out in the linux installation as 1199922...111111111111166888..0000000000000000000000.111, deleting the extra numbers is even trickier, the backspace can delete 1, 2, 3, or a long line of letters... entering an IP address alone can take over 10 minutes. Want some more mess, when done you press ENTER, it goes in twice and you miss a screen accepting the defaults without even knowing it !

Now the above applies to both the windows application (Lantronix SPIDER View), AND the Java application ! way to go.

So, let us get back to topic, i got my server with RHEL, a Lantronix spider (That i negatively reviewed above and the planet should change it), and finally, 2 hard drives or a hard disk with a partition you don't want to use during setup which is at least slightly larger than the CD/DVD you want to install from....

Step 1- Downloaded the file ubuntu-8.04-dvd-amd64.iso to the computer and put it on the root directory of sdb (Second hard disk)

Step 2, download this, then unpack it into the directory /boot/u (u is a directory you create under boot), the files were obtained from somewhere like http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/hardy/main/installer-i386/current/images/hd-media/ (Or your local mirror)

Step 3, Edit /boot/grub/grub.conf and add this block at the very end...
It is worth mentioning that if the current system (To be replaced is RHEL 5), then everything is relative to the boot folder, if other, you need to add the /boot before the line, see example one and 2...

If running RHEL, append the following to the file /boot/grub/grub.conf, if you have a different system, you need to know what the active grub config file is, for example if you are reinstalling Ubuntu 8.04 the file is /boot/grub/menu.lst

To know if absolute or relative to boot, see other entries, if reference to file starts with /boot/ then you need to use absolute paths.
If relative to the boot folder like in RHEL 5, add this	if absolute paths are used add this.
title UbuntuInstall root (hd0,0) kernel /u/vmlinuz initrd /u/initrd.gz	title UbuntuInstall root (hd0,0) kernel /boot/u/vmlinuz initrd /boot/u/initrd.gz

So, now it is time to to use the lantronix spider you paid for *(Assuming you have been working with SSH and SFTP), you will probably have to have the lantronix spider view software installed on a windows machine, AND the browser based viewer, Since i have found the browser based better for viewing the computer while it is booting (Accommodates the change in screen resolution automatically).

First, start by opening the browser to the lantronix java viewer, once open go to SSH (To save the annoying double letter shell login on the lantronix spider), then key in "reboot", now keep an eye on the java window as the server, once POST is done hit ESCAPE key to see the Grub options, at this point you should chose UbuntuInstall, once you do, the thing will look for the install ISO (The one you put on the root of the second hard drive) and start the setup process

Now i am not underestimating you or your ability to run a simple setup procedure of an OS, but since the KVM over IP solution seems to send double keystrokes (Sometimes triple and sometimes 20 times), i will state all the steps so you don't miss a screen without knowing and accepting a default you don't want.