This section explains how to configure and manage the booting behavior of your Integrity servers. You can use the EFI Boot Manager (while the operating system is not running) or the OpenVMS Integrity servers Boot Manager (while the operating system is running) to configure boot options. HP recommends using the latter.
You can configure multiple boot entries for a single operating system. On cell-based Integrity servers running multiple operating systems, you can configure boot options for all currently installed operating systems. On cell-based servers, each nPartition has a local instance of EFI that is specific to that partition. Each partition can be booted and stopped independently of other nPartitions in the system, and each partition executes its own operating system image.
On cell-based servers, to successfully boot an operating system you must first ensure that the ACPI configuration is correct for the operating system being booted, as explained in Section . Each nPartition has its own ACPI configuration value.
IMPORTANT: To configure booting on a Fibre Channel storage device, you must use the OpenVMS Integrity servers Boot Manager utility. (For information about configuring Fibre Channel devices, see Appendix 5.) HP also recommends using this utility to add members of a multiple-member shadow set to the boot device list and dump device list. Be sure to add all members to both lists. | |
If you have just completed the initial setup of your Integrity servers, perform the following steps before continuing:
Power up your server system, as explained in the hardware documentation for your server. If you use the power button on the front panel, press it only once.
NOTE: If you see a warning that the BMC system event log (SEL) is full, you can safely continue by following the prompts; OpenVMS processes the contents of the SEL. If you want to clear the SEL manually, see the instructions in the first note of Section . HP recommends that you load and use the most current system firmware. For more information about updating the system firmware, see Section . | |
If you have a cell-based server, check that the ACPI configuration is correct for the OpenVMS operating system. For more information, see Section .
At the EFI Boot Manager menu, select the EFI Shell [Built-in] option. You can now boot your OpenVMS Integrity servers system manually, or you can add a new entry to the EFI Boot Manager menu to have your system booted automatically whenever you power on your Integrity servers or reboot.
This section discusses the following topics:
Checking the ACPI configuration for nPartition booting (Section )
Setting automatic booting and boot flags for your system disk (Section ) (also includes how to set automatic booting using EFI commands)
Displaying EFI boot entries and mapped OpenVMS devices, using the OpenVMS Integrity servers Boot Manager utility (Section ) (also includes how to display boot entries using EFI commands)
Setting the EFI boot option timeout value, using the OpenVMS Integrity servers Boot Manager utility (Section )
Writing a new boot block, using the OpenVMS Integrity servers SET BOOTBLOCK command (Section )
Comparing Alpha and Integrity servers system boot commands (Section )
To boot your OpenVMS Integrity servers operating system on a cell-based server, the ACPI configuration must be set correctly. The ACPI configuration value determines, among other things, the EFI Path format used when referencing devices. If your Integrity servers was factory installed, the ACPI configuration is set correctly. If the nPartition on which you want to boot your OpenVMS system had previously been running a Windows or Linux system, then enter the following command at the EFI Shell prompt to set the partition to boot correctly with OpenVMS:
EFI> acpiconfig defaultTo make this new value take effect, you must reset the nPartition by using the EFI Shell reset command:
EFI> resetIf the ACPI configuration value is not set properly, when the operating system boots, it fails with bugcheck code INCONSTATE.
You cannot modify the ACPI configuration value for Integrity servers that do not support nPartitions (for example, the rx2600 server).
To display the current configuration value, enter the acpiconfig command with no arguments:
EFI>acpiconfigAcpiconfig settings: default
NOTE: The acpiconfig command does not necessarily report the setting that was used on the current nPartition boot stage. It reports only the current setting, which is used for the next boot of the nPartition. | |
You can establish and manage boot options for your system disk in any of three ways:
During installation or upgrade, allowing the OpenVMS Integrity servers installation/upgrade procedure to automatically establish an EFI boot option for your system disk
Using the OpenVMS Integrity servers Boot Manager utility (SYS$MANAGER:BOOT_OPTIONS.COM) while the operating system is running
Using EFI (after the system disk has been created or updated and only while the operating system is not running)
HP recommends that you allow the OpenVMS Integrity servers installation or upgrade procedure to establish a boot option for your system disk. However, you still have the option of modifying the boot option or adding other boot options for your system disk by using the OpenVMS Integrity servers Boot Manager utility from the OpenVMS DCL prompt (or by using EFI itself).
The OpenVMS Integrity servers Boot Manager utility is a menu-based utility that enables you to configure EFI boot options for your Integrity servers. It is easier to use than EFI. With this OpenVMS utility, you can perform actions such as the following:
Add your system disk as an EFI boot option (you can optionally configure it to boot automatically on hardware startup and reboot).
Manage multiple system disks.
Set boot flags.
Display the EFI boot options.
Add, move, and remove boot options in the EFI Boot Manager menu.
Enable or disable the EFI boot countdown timer (timeout) and set the countdown value.
This section explains how to perform most of these operations (except moving and removing boot options). For more information about the OpenVMS Boot Manager utility, see the HP OpenVMS System Manager's Manual, Volume 1: Essentials. This section also explains how to use EFI to add a boot option for automatic booting.
HP recommends that you configure your system with a boot option for your system disk. You can enable automatic reboot of the system disk by specifying your system disk as the first boot option in the EFI Boot Manager menu. When the EFI timeout (countdown) occurs, your system disk boots automatically.
NOTE: To configure booting on Fibre Channel devices, you must use the OpenVMS Integrity servers Boot Manager utility. (Use of this utility is optional for other devices but mandatory for Fibre Channel devices.) HP also recommends using this utility to add members of a multiple-member shadow set to the boot device list and dump device list. Be sure to add all members to both lists. For more information about the utility, see the HP OpenVMS System Manager's Manual, Volume 1: Essentials. For more information about configuring and booting Fibre Channel devices, see Appendix 5. | |
To add a boot option and set boot flags using the OpenVMS Integrity servers Boot Manager utility, follow these steps:
At the DCL prompt, enter the following command to start the OpenVMS Integrity servers Boot Manager utility:
$ @SYS$MANAGER:BOOT_OPTIONS.COMWhen the utility starts, the main menu is displayed. To add your system disk as a boot option, enter 1 at the prompt, as in the following example:
OpenVMS I64 Boot Manager Boot Options List Management Utility
(1) ADD an entry to the Boot Options list
(2) DISPLAY the Boot Options list
(3) REMOVE an entry from the Boot Options list
(4) MOVE the position of an entry in the Boot Options list
(5) VALIDATE boot options and fix them as necessary
(6) Modify Boot Options TIMEOUT setting
(B) Set to operate on the Boot Device Options list
(D) Set to operate on the Dump Device Options list
(G) Set to operate on the Debug Device Options list
(E) EXIT from the Boot Manager utility
You can also enter Ctrl-Y at any time to abort this utility
Enter your choice: 1NOTE: While using this utility, you can change a response made to an earlier prompt by entering the caret (^) character as many times as needed. To end and return to the DCL prompt, press Ctrl/Y. | |
The utility prompts you for the device name. Enter the system disk device you are using for this installation. In the following example, the device name is DKA0:.
Enter the device name (enter "?" for a list of devices): DKA0:The utility prompts you for the position you want your entry to take in the EFI boot option list. To see a list of the current boot options, enter a question mark (?):
Enter the desired position number (1,2,3,,,) of the entry.
To display the Boot Options list, enter "?" and press Return.
Position [1]: ?The list in the following example includes only one boot option. To add your boot option entry to the top of the list (the default) so that your system disk boots automatically when the server starts or the EFI countdown timer expires, enter 1:
EFI Boot Options list: Timeout = 0 secs.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
01. VenHw(d65a6b8c-71e5-4df0-d2f009a9) "EFI Shell [Built-in]"
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1 entries found.
Enter the desired position number (1,2,3,...) of the entry.
To display the Boot Options list, enter "?" and press Return.
Position [1]: 1The utility prompts you for OpenVMS boot flags. By default, no flags are set. Enter the OpenVMS flags (for example, 0,1), or press Enter to set no flags, as in the following example:
Enter the value for VMS_FLAGS in the form n,n.
VMS_FLAGS [NONE]: Optionally, you can use any of the standard OpenVMS boot flags such as the following:
The utility prompts you for a description to include with your boot option entry. By default, the device name is used as the description. You can enter more descriptive information as in the following example. This example shows a sample confirmation message (for devices with multiple paths, such as Fibre Channel devices, a separate confirmation message is displayed for each path). EFI$BCFG is the name of the executor file for the OpenVMS Integrity servers Boot Manager utility.
Enter a short description (do not include quotation marks). Description ["DKA0"]:DKA0: OpenVMS V8.4 for PLMs Systemefi$bcfg: DKA0: (BOOT003) Option successfully added
When you have successfully added your boot option, exit the utility by entering E at the prompt:
Enter your choice:E$
HP recommends allowing the OpenVMS installation or upgrade procedure to set your system disk to boot automatically. Or, use the OpenVMS Integrity servers Boot Manager utility (SYS$MANAGER:BOOT_OPTIONS.COM). However, you can use EFI. This section explains how to use EFI to set up your Integrity servers firmware to automatically boot your OpenVMS Integrity servers system from your system disk. (HP also recommends using the OpenVMS Integrity servers Boot Manager utility to set boot flags. Optionally, you can use the vms_loader.efi -flags n,n command at the EFI prompt to set any of the standard OpenVMS boot flags, as documented earlier in this appendix.)
Access the EFI Shell and enter the following line at the prompt, where fsn: (such as fs0: or fs1:) is the device associated with the system disk:
Shell>bcfg boot add 1 fsn:\efi\vms\vms_loader.efi "HP OpenVMS I64"
This command adds the OpenVMS Integrity servers operating system to position 1 in the EFI Boot Manager menu. The quoted text in the command line (“HP OpenVMS Integrity servers”) is displayed at position 1 in the EFI boot menu. You can enter any text that helps you identify the operating system disk. During system power up, the position 1 item is automatically executed after the countdown.
Alternatively, you can add an EFI boot menu option by using the EFI menu interface:
Select the Boot Configuration option (or in some versions of EFI, the Boot Option Maintenance Menu).
Select the boot device and boot file.
NOTE: All EFI boot options embed the disk Globally Unique ID (GUID). Therefore, if you reinstall OpenVMS or restore a system disk from an image backup, you must first delete the old boot options and then add a new boot option. To delete a boot option, use the Delete Boot Option(s) option in the Boot Configuration menu (or Boot Option Maintenance Menu). | |
Still another method to add a boot entry to the EFI Boot Manager menu is to use the EFI Utilities for OpenVMS (Integrity servers only) vms_bcfg command, which accepts OpenVMS device names and also enables you to set flags. However, this command has limited capabilities; for example, it cannot handle Fibre Channel paths as can the OpenVMS Integrity servers Boot Manager utility. In the following example, DKA0: is the OpenVMS system disk being added as the first boot option:
Shell>\efi\vms\vms_bcfg boot add 1 dka0: -fl 0,2 "HP OpenVMS I64"
For more information about EFI utilities for OpenVMS, see the HP OpenVMS System Management Utilities Reference Manual.
The Integrity servers EFI Boot Manager shows the various paths to the boot device. You can use the OpenVMS Integrity servers Boot Manager utility to display the OpenVMS boot device options known to EFI.
Start the utility at the DCL prompt (@SYS$MANAGER:BOOT_OPTIONS.COM) and select option 2 on the main menu (the main menu is shown in Section ). The utility displays the following prompt. In this example, the listings for the DQA0: device are requested and displayed.
To display all entries in the Boot Options list, press Return. To display specific entries, enter the entry number or device name. (Enter "?" for a list of devices):DQA0EFI Boot Options list: Timeout = 20 secs. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 04. DQA0 PCI(0|0|2|0) ATA(Primary,Master) "DVD-ROM " ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 entries found.
You can also display all bootable devices mapped by the EFI console and their equivalent OpenVMS device names by using the EFI Utilities for OpenVMS vms_show command at the EFI Shell prompt (from \efi\vms). For more information about EFI utilities for OpenVMS, see the HP OpenVMS System Management Utilities Reference Manual.
Whenever the EFI Boot Manager menu displays, it waits for you to select an option. The wait depends on the current setting of the EFI countdown timer. On some servers, the countdown timer is 10 seconds by default; on others, such as Server Blade products, it might be even less. After the timer expires, EFI boots the first boot option. If the first option is not available or does not boot, EFI waits the same duration before booting the next option in the list. The OpenVMS Integrity servers Boot Manager utility (SYS$MANAGER:BOOT_OPTIONS.COM) allows you to change this timeout value and also to disable the countdown (so that there is no wait) and enable it.
Select option 6 on the OpenVMS Integrity servers Boot Options main menu (the main menu is shown in Section ). The utility displays the following prompt. To change the value, enter YES and then enter the new value. In this example, the timeout value is changed to 20 seconds.
efi$bcfg: Boot Timeout period is 10 secs Would you like to modify the Timeout value? (Yes/No) [NO]YESPlease enter the Timeout value in seconds:20efi$bcfg: Boot Timeout period is 20 secs
To disable the timer so that automatic booting occurs instantaneously, enter 0 as the value, as in the following example:
Please enter the Timeout value in seconds:0efi$bcfg: Boot Timeout is Disabled
Certain EFI settings, such as the Hyper-Threading setting supported on Intel Itanium Dual-Core processors, cannot be restored if lost. HP recommends that you write down your customized EFI settings in case they are lost in a system hardware or firmware failure. You can use the EFI info cpu command or the EFI cpuconfig command to display current settings, such as the setting of the Hyper-Threading feature.
You might need to restore boot options, such as if they get lost during a firmware upgrade. You can save and restore your EFI boot path settings on Integrity servers by using the OpenVMS Integrity servers Boot Manager (SYS$MANAGER:BOOT_OPTIONS.COM) utility. You can also use the EFI variable -s command to save boot option variables and the variable -r command to restore them. After using the variable command to restore boot options, a reset might be required. Use the EFI Shell reset command.
You can use the OpenVMS-specific EFI utility vms_bcfg (\efi\vms\vms_bcfg) to set boot options, and the vms_show utility (\efi\vms\vms_show) to display them; however, these utilities are more limited in scope than the OpenVMS Integrity servers Boot Manager utility. For example, they cannot work with Fibre Channel boot paths as can the OpenVMS Integrity servers Boot Manager utility. You can use the EFI variable command to restore the boot options list from a previously saved file.
You could also use the EFI Shell variable command to restore variables such as boot path options; you must have first saved them in a known location by using the variable -save command. For more information, see the service manual provided for your Integrity servers.
The boot block structures on the system disk contain the size and location of the boot partition and other details relevant to the bootstrap of OpenVMS Integrity servers. The size and location of the boot partition stored within the boot block structures must be maintained and must reference the current location of the OpenVMS file SYS$EFI.SYS.
Current versions of BACKUP maintain the boot block structures as well as the size and location of the boot partition during image operations (analogous to the similar BACKUP/IMAGE operations that maintain the boot block on OpenVMS Alpha disks). Older versions of BACKUP do not maintain these structures and do not correctly locate core OpenVMS Integrity servers bootstrap files.
If the boot partition file SYS$EFI.SYS is manually replaced or relocated, you must use the DCL command SET BOOTBLOCK or the SYS$SETBOOT image to rewrite the boot block structures. The SET BOOTBLOCK command and SYS$SETBOOT are analogous to the OpenVMS Alpha Writeboot utility; they provide OpenVMS Integrity servers with the equivalent of what the Writeboot utility provides on OpenVMS Alpha.
NOTE: Do not use the OpenVMS Alpha Writeboot utility to rewrite boot block structures on an OpenVMS Integrity servers system disk. | |
The SET BOOTBLOCK command enables you to establish the boot block pointers necessary for the EFI console to find and bootstrap an OpenVMS Integrity servers system disk. You must use this command if the target OpenVMS Integrity servers system disk was originally created by one of the following methods:
A version of BACKUP that does not support the OpenVMS Integrity servers system disk structure. HP recommends that you do not use these versions of BACKUP for archiving or restoring an OpenVMS Integrity servers system disk.
A nonimage backup of an OpenVMS Integrity servers system disk (possibly corrupting the boot block and various directory backlinks that must be manually reset). HP recommends that you do not use nonimage backups.
A nonimage restore of an OpenVMS Integrity servers system disk from an image save set. HP recommends that you do not use a nonimage restoration.
To write the boot block structures onto an OpenVMS Integrity servers system disk, enter the SET BOOTBLOCK command using the following format:
$SET BOOTBLOCK [/PRESERVE=SIGNATURES] [/I64] [boot-partition-name]
You can specify the file name for the boot partition (boot-partition-name). If you do not specify a file or device name, the command defaults to the following file for the boot partition:
SYS$SYSDEVICE:[VMS$COMMON.SYS$LDR]SYS$EFI.SYS
The command also assumes the current architecture. To specify OpenVMS Integrity servers, include /Integrity servers in the command line.
Use the /PRESERVE=SIGNATURES qualifier to preserve the existing GUID disk signature value and the associated root aliases. Using the OpenVMS Backup utility creates a new disk signature when restoring a bootable disk image.
If you reset the boot block structures, you might need to remove any EFI boot aliases that reference the disk, and then add them back again. You can use the EFI alias command to remove and add aliases; HP recommends using the OpenVMS Integrity servers Boot Manager utility (SYS$MANAGER:BOOT_OPTIONS.COM) to maintain EFI console boot aliases.
NOTE: The boot partition file must be contiguous and movefile operations on the file must be disabled. If the file is not contiguous, use the DCL command COPY/CONTIGUOUS (or equivalent) to re-create a contiguous version of the file. To disable movefile operations, use the DCL command SET FILE/NOMOVE. This prevents bootstrap failures that could result from the normal and expected operations of disk defragmentation tools. | |
Alternatively, you can write a boot block by entering the following command:
$RUN SYS$SYSTEM:SYS$SETBOOT
The utility prompts you for the required input (in a way similar to the operation of the OpenVMS Alpha Writeboot utility).
The Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) on Integrity servers performs most of the same functions that the SRM console does on Alpha processors. If you are familiar with the Alpha tool, use the following table to find EFI commands equivalent to the Alpha commands you commonly use on Alpha systems. Some of the commands listed might not be available on certain hardware systems.
Alpha and Integrity servers EFI Command Equivalents
| Task | Alpha SRM command at P00> prompt | Integrity servers EFI command at Shell prompt | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Display help information | HELP | help | |||
| Display list and version of devices found on the most recently initialized system | SHOW CONFIGURATION or SHOW VERSION | info fw | |||
| Display devices and controllers in the system, including bootable devices and mappings | SHOW DEVICE |
| |||
| Display all system information | SHOW FRU |
| |||
Display memory information | SHOW MEMORY | info mem | |||
| Display volume information of the file system | SHOW DEV DKA0 | vol fs0 | |||
Display hardware information about CPU resources | SHOW CONFIGURATION | info cpu | |||
Display power status | SHOW POWER | info all[b] | |||
| Set system dump disk | SET DUMP_DEV | vms_set dump_dev | |||
| Set boot flags | SET BOOT_OSFLAGS 0,0 | set vms_flags "0,0"[a] | |||
| Set boot behavior to automatic boot | SET AUTO_ACTION BOOT | bcfg boot add 1 fsx:\efi\vms\vms_loader.efi
"I64"[a] | |||
| Change the current boot option | SET AUTO_ACTION HALT | bcfg boot mv 1 2[a] | |||
[a] Similar functionality is provided by the OpenVMS Integrity servers Boot Manager utility (SYS$MANAGER:BOOT_OPTIONS.COM), launched at the OpenVMS DCL prompt. Regarding the display of devices, BOOT_OPTIONS.COM displays only the boot entries and also a selected dump device for DOSD and a debug device; vms_show can display all devices mapped by the EFI console and their equivalent OpenVMS device names. The map command shows all devices currently mapped on the EFI Shell. [b] Best source of information about power status is the MP PS command. | |||||