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<h2>
<b><font face="ARIAL NARROW,HELVETICA">XFS Beta Release</font></b></h2>
<h3>Installing XFS from the RPMs</h3>
<a href="ftp://oss.sgi.com/projects/xfs/download/BETA/latest/RPMS/">
Red Hat 6.2 RPMs</a> have been provided for Intel architectures.
Because these contain a Linux 2.4 kernel, please consult the
<a href="http://cyberbuzz.gatech.edu/kaboom/linux/Changes-2.4/changes24.html">
Linux-2.4 Changes</a> document for minimum system software necessary to
support a 2.4 Linux kernel, and where to obtain those upgrades.
On a Red Hat 6.2 system, you will need to
upgrade the following packages, at a minimum:
<ul>
<li>modutils</li>
<li>mkinitrd</li>
<li>rpm</li>
</ul>
These three RPMs have been provided for
<a href="ftp://oss.sgi.com/projects/xfs/download/BETA/latest/RPMS">provided</a>
for download from oss.sgi.com.
Depending on your needs, it would also be wise to upgrade the following
packages:
<ul>
<li>ppp</li>
<li>util-linux</li>
<li>pcmcia-cs</li>
</ul>
After you have upgraded the necessary packages,
<a href="ftp://oss.sgi.com/projects/xfs/download/BETA/latest/RPMS/">download</a>
the appropriate
kernel for your system architecture, and also
download the xfs-cmds package.<p>
The next step is to install the new kernel which provides XFS capability.
If you need more information on setting up a new kernel, please read the
<a href="http://www.redhat.com/support/docs/howto/kernel-upgrade/kernel-upgrade.html">
Upgrading the Linux Kernel on Red Hat Linux systems</a> document on Red Hat's
support site for general kernel upgrade information.<p>
Install both the kernel and xfs-cmds RPMS using the command
<pre><tt> rpm -ivh <i>packagename</i>.rpm
</tt></pre>
(Note that after the kernel RPM installs, modutils may complain
about renaming /etc/modules.conf to etc/conf.modules - you can safely
ignore this for now, if you wish)
<p>
If your root filesystem is supported by driver which resides in a module,
(as is the case for most SCSI systems) you will now need to make a new
initial ramdisk. If you have files called <tt>initrd-XXXX.img</tt> in your
<tt>/boot</tt> directory, then this applies to you. To generate the initial
ramdisk image, run the command:
<pre><tt> mkinitrd /boot/initrd-<i>kernelname</i>.img <i>kernelname</i>
</tt></pre>
where <tt><i>kernelname</i></tt> refers to the new XFS kernel you have just
installed - for instance,
<pre><tt> mkinitrd /boot/initrd-2.4.0-XFS_BETA_2.img 2.4.0-XFS_BETA_2
</tt></pre>
Finally, you will need to update your <tt>/etc/lilo.conf</tt> file to tell
it about your new kernel. To do this, add the stanza:
<tt><pre>
image=/boot/vmlinuz-<i>kernelname</i>
label=xfs-beta
initrd=/boot/initrd-<i>kernelname</i>.img
read-only
root=/dev/<i>rootpartition</i>
</pre></tt>
where again, <tt><i>kernelname</i></tt> is the name of the new XFS kernel
you have just installed, and <tt><i>rootpartition</i></tt> is the name of
your root partition. Also note that you may not require the <tt>initrd</tt>
line if your system does not need an initial ramdisk. For example, if
you have installed an SMP kernel, and your root partition is on /dev/sda1,
you would add the stanza:
<tt><pre>
image=/boot/vmlinuz-2.4.0-XFS_BETA_2smp
label=xfs-beta
initrd=/boot/initrd-2.4.0-XFS_BETA_2smp.img
read-only
root=/dev/sda1
</pre></tt>
to your <tt>/etc/lilo.conf</tt> file.<p>
Finally, run <tt>/sbin/lilo</tt> to finish up. If it completes without
errors, locate your boot floppy (just in case), reboot the system, and type
<tt>xfs-beta</tt> at the LILO prompt when it comes up.<p>
If all this goes well, it's time to <a href="beta_filesystem_install.html">
make a new XFS filesystem!</a>
<br>
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