IBM xSeries 342 successful install?

English Install/Boot/Login
#1

Has anyone successfully installed opensuse (any version) on an xseries 342? (Single 1.13Ghz cpu, 512Mb, 2 x 18.2Gb scsi, Serveraid-4MX raid controller).

Any problems? Does it detect the scsi controllers and raid controller? I’m d/ling the serveraid support cd right now. It contains the raid bios and the support files for suse linux enterprise server. Will they work with opensuse? I have opensuse 10.1 on 5 cds. I can’t find anywhere to d/l 11.2 in cd isos, only as 1 large dvd iso, which is no good as the 342 only has a cd reader, and it’s a pain splitting dvd isos to cd isos.

I’m hoping to turn this old beast into a web server, preferably running LAMP (apache2 etc). Any help or suggestions would be gratefully received. I’ve already got a Poweredge 2550 running Ubuntu 9.4 server, but the IBM is a different kettle of fish, with Ubuntu crashing during install because of their disc naming conventions. I’m hoping opensuse should be ok as the IBM has support for SLED. It’s either opensuse or fedora, which I’m not a great fan of.

Sorry for such a long first question.

#2

To install, use the network boot cd from Software.openSUSE.org. As long as you have an Internet connection, you can download all the necessary software from the Internet.
Alternately, try one of the live cd images and install from there.
Most linux servers don’t need that much hardware to run unless you are going tohave hundreds of simultaneous users accessing interactive webpages.

#3

Thanks. That’s the method I am leaning towards. The main problem is recognition of the IBM Serveraid 4MX card. I think I need to boot with the IBM Serveraid Support cd for Suse first, update the bios, setup raid, then the Opensuse network install cd should get everything working.

It is going to be a webserver, but I’m not expecting thousands of visitors at the same time. If it ever does get to that stage, I’ll worry about more servers and load-ballancing then.

Thanks for the help.