Learn how to develop and deploy Linux applications on a server based on IBM power

The development and deployment of linux® applications on the IBM system p™ and system I™power platforms is similar to development and deployment on other Linux systems. In this article, discuss the similarities and differences that you should know about the Linux on power system.

Brief introduction

System p and System I servers are based on the same power processor architecture, and binary code compiled in Linux distributions on system p or system I can run on both platforms. However, there are differences in I/O support between system p and system I servers, and some modifications may be required.

Installation

The information in this article is based on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 8 and Red Hat Linux 7.1, and the kernel version is 2.4 for the power architecture. SUSE Linux publishes and supports SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 8 for System p and system I hardware.

System P Installation

Each hardware platform has a set of requirements for Linux installation. For System p servers, most of the requirements for Linux installation are related to the machine boot loader and openfirmware.

On Intel® hardware, the BIOS mounts the system image from the Master boot record (master boot Records). On system p hardware, OpenFirmware mounts a bootable system image from a boot partition (boot Partition). Although this is not the only feature of OpenFirmware, it is the only feature associated with Linux installation. As an alternative to native installations, Linux can be installed in the System p logical partition (LPAR). This requires the use of the hardware Management Console (HMC), which is managed by the System P LPAR.

Native SLES 8 installation on System p

The native installation of SLES on System p can be done easily by SUSE. There are four installation options:

text-based installation over a serial connection

Graphical installation via the console or CRT

Graphical installation via VNC

Using a network installation server

These options are briefly mentioned here, and more information is available in the standard SLES 8 documentation, which can be found on the SLES 8 release CD.

Why use a serial connection for installation?

Some (not all) System P models are equipped with supported video adapters. Supported video adapters include GXP-120, GXP-130, and GXP-135, but GXP-135 require a CRT with a digital video connector. For other System p models, the serial connection is used for installation through approved terminal clients. Approved terminals include software terminal simulators, such as minicom. YaST2 supports several commonly used terminal types, including VT100 and vt220. To connect the system service processor, be sure to set the port speed to 9600 baud. The SUSE YaST2 installer is started in text-based mode (Linux RC) to guide users to install.