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Table of Contents

Introduction

When using ONIE installer to install PICOS, the installer reinstalls the software, rebuilds all the PICOS file system. This can erase the configuration files and system logs from the previous installation.

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NOTE：

This guide is applicable to all the platforms listed in the section Supported Platforms except P5101.

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Supported Platforms

PICOS 3.1.0 and the later versions software requires to run on a high performance device, so only the following platforms support to install PICOS 3.1.0 and later versions.

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  •   Z9100
  •   S4148T-ON
  •   S4148F-ON

Installation Notes and Tools 

The installation methods used to install a new PICOS are traditional installation and nos-boot-mode installation. You can choose a suitable installation method that is convenient and appropriate for your installation environment.

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Warning

•  You need to log in through the console port of the switch and perform the ONIE installation.

•  Other NOSes including user data will be removed when install PICOS under ONIE environment.

•  When the ONIE installer is used to downgrade the PICOS version from version 3.1.0 or higher version to PICOS 2.11 or lower versions, we first need to use ONIE to uninstall the higher version PICOS before proceeding with installing PICOS 2.11 or a lower version. On the ARM platform, execute the onie_uninstaller command at the ONIE prompt to uninstall the current version PICOS. On the x86 platform, select the "ONIE: Uninstall OS" option in the GRUB menu to uninstall the current version PICOS.

•  If you enter GRUB rescue mode and the switch has GPT format partition, you can use the following commands to reset the GRUB boot variable to enter ONIE GRUB and then install PICOS.

grub rescue> set prefix=(hd0,gpt2)/grub 
grub rescue> set root=(hd0,gpt2) 
grub rescue> insmod normal 
grub rescue> normal

•  Do not plug in the USB disk during onie-nos-installer process until ONIE starts up. If you have plugged in the USB disk before the installation operation, ONIE will find the installer on the USB disk when beginning the installation. On AS4610 series switches, when installation is complete, the installer will display: Please take out the usb disc, then remove the USB disk within 10 seconds after installation successful, and before machine restarts.

•  The image file of PICOS 3.1.0 has only one single image file – for example onie-installer-picos-s4148-3.1.0.bin - which can be used for installation and upgrade.

•  The size of the image file is 230-250M.

•  Use onie-nos-install to downgrade PICOS from 3.1.0 to 2.11.x. Before proceeding this, we first need to use ONIE to uninstall PICOS. On the ARM platform, execute the onie_uninstaller command at the ONIE prompt to uninstall the current version PICOS. On the x86 platform, select the "ONIE: Uninstall OS" option in the GRUB menu to uninstall the current version PICOS.


What is ONIE 

ONIE (Open Network Install Environment) is an open source project of OCP (Open Compute Project). ONIE provides the environment to install any network operating system on a bare metal network switch. ONIE liberates users from captive pre-installed network operating systems, like the Cisco IOS, and provides them with a choice.

ONIE is a small Linux operating system that comes pre-installed as firmware on bare metal network switches. ONIE acts as an enhanced boot loader, extending the features provided by U-Boot. ONIE is used to install Pica8 PICOS on compatible switches. The bare metal switches listed in the PICOS Hardware Compatibility List  must be pre-loaded with ONIE prior to installing PICOS.

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Traditional Installation

NOTE：

  •   You need to log in through the console port of the switch and perform the ONIE installation described in this section.
  •   The installation method described in this section only applies to platforms that have pre-installed ONIE.

Mind Map of Installation Process

Figure1 shows the mind map of PICOS installation process.

Figure1 Mind Map of PICOS installation process


Manual Installation Process

The following example describes the installation of PICOS via manual installation method.

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NOTE：

  • After the system restarts, you need to enter the username and password, the initial login username is admin and password is pica8.
  • After the username and password are entered, user will be asked to choose a new password for admin. This is the only post installation step after which the PICOS operating system can be used.

Automatic Installation Process

The automatic installation process uses the DHCP message exchange process to download and install software packages.

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NOTE：

  • After the system restarts, you need to enter the username and password, the initial login username is admin and password is pica8.
  • After the username and password are entered, user will be asked to choose a new password for admin. This is the only post installation step after which the PICOS operating system can be used.

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Nos-boot-mode Installation

NOTE：

  •   The installation method described in this section applies to installation through both the console port and the management port.
  •   The installation method described in this section only applies to platforms that have pre-installed ONIE.

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Usage of nos-boot-mode command:

admin@Xorplus$sudo nos-boot-mode                            

USAGE

    install or uninstall NOS(es)

SYNOPSIS

    nos-boot-mode [install|uninstall]

DESCRIPTION

    install- Install NOS

uninstall- Remove all NOS(es) including PICOS

When nos-boot-mode install command is executed, PICOS will switch to ONIE install mode, and the user should go on to complete the subsequent installation. The steps for the manual installation process and the automatic installation process using the nos-boot-mode install command are described below.

When nos-boot-mode unsinstall command is executed, the system will remove all NOS(es) including PICOS from the device. Therefore, it is suggested to use the nos-boot-mode unsinstall command with caution.

Manual Installation Process

Step1         Make sure that the installation package of .bin file has been loaded to the server (server could be HTTP, TFTP, or an FTP server or the switch local directory depending on the actual installation environment).

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NOTE：

  •   After the system restarts, you need to enter the username and password, the initial login username is admin and password is pica8.
  •   After the username and password are entered, user will be asked to choose a new password for admin. This is the only post installation step after which the PICOS operating system can be used.

Automated Installation Process

The automatic installation process uses the DHCP message exchange process to download and install software packages.

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NOTE：

  •   After the system restarts, you need to enter the username and password, the initial login username is admin and password is pica8.
  •   After the username and password are entered, user will be asked to choose a new password for admin. This is the only post installation step after which the PICOS operating system can be used.


Verifying Version after Installation

After system reboots automatically, the system will come up running the new network operating system.

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