1. Troubleshooting Engine V3 installation

1.1. CD-ROM boots up but Kernel hangs after Engine V3 has displayed the installation first screen

Some hardware (especially some too recent hardware) may be noted as compatible with CentOS 5.3 minus special boot parameters to be passed to the kernel before booting.

If the installation hangs, review the hardware page note which gives indications about specific boot parameter (follow the link "1 Note applies to this Certification").

For example, if the kernel boot parameter pci=nommconf need to be passed, when the cdrom boots up and when the 1st page shows up, type ks pci=nommconf, without the quotes and as shown on the following screenshot, then press [Return] (Remember: default keyboard layout is US-Qwerty):

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"ks" is the default automated installation mode, which will install all the necessary software, including the underlying Operating System on the top of which the NEXThink Engine V3 is running.

1.2. Engine V3 Default Settings

Engine V3 default IP Address is 192.168.0.99 with a netmask of 255.255.255.0 The default interface used by the Engine V3 is eth0

2. Where can I get Microsoft Orca (MSI Editor) ?

On the Microsoft website, look for the “Windows SDK for Windows Server 2008 and .NET Framework 3.5” and choose the “Web Setup” to avoid downloading the full ISO image. It is free of charge.

As of 11th july 2008, direct link is: Windows SDK for Windows Server 2008 Download

Once saved on your computer, execute the “setup.exe”, that will start the Windows SDK Setup Wizard.

1. Review the EULA
2. Install Location: Select a location for the installation
3. Install Options: Select the minimal components to download and which contains the Installer for Orca (“Orca.msi”):

   • Developer Tools > Windows Development Tools > Win32 Development Tools as shown in the following screenshot:

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4. Validate and start the download and installation by clicking on “Next”
5. When the installation has completed, click on “Finish” to exit the Windows SDK Setup Wizard.
6. Then navigate through your file system to the place where you have told the Setup Wizard to install the SDK files.

The default location is C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs. In the subdirectory C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v6.1\Bin you will find the Orca.msi file. Double-click on it to start the installation of the Orca program itself.

3. How to set correct date and time on the Engine Server

For correct Date and Time settings on an Engine, the recommended setup is the following:

• Server Hardware clock: must be set to UTC
• Operating System clock: set to correct Time Zone according to the physical location of the server.

There are two ways to configure correct Date and Time:

1. When installing a new Engine from scratch

   • Before booting on the Engine cdrom, enter the server's BIOS settings and set the date and time to UTC. Once the system and Engine have been installed, log on the web-console and set the correct Timezone (menu > Network > General Parameters > Time zone).

2. If you have forgotten to set the date/time on the BIOS at installation time, and time is incorrect even though you have set the proper timezone, proceed as follow to write current UTC time to the hardware clock (must be root, or use sudo command):

   [root@nexthink ~]# date 080610262008 -u
   Wed Aug 6 10:26:00 UTC 2008
   [root@nexthink ~]# hwclock -w
   [root@nexthink ~]# date
   Wed Aug 6 10:26:03 UTC 2008

Format for date command is MMDDhhmmYYYY  NOTE: The Engine Cdrom setup sets the default timezone to: Etc/UTC (see ks.cfg on the install cdrom)