Architecture of an installation 12
Additional drivers
Every new ProLiant generation is enhanced with newer device technologies, and ProLiant servers often
include some devices specific to HP. Frequently, drivers for one or more devices are not available on the
Solaris media. The following section describes the current set of drivers not available on the Solaris
media.
The following drivers are available for download from http://www.hp.com
on the “Software and Drivers”
page associated with each ProLiant server model:
• Smart Array Driver—Most ProLiant servers are equipped with an HP Smart Array RAID controller.
This driver for this RAID controller is not currently included on the Solaris media. To install Solaris to
disks attached to the controller, the cpqary3 driver must be loadable at installation time. To boot
from the controller, the driver must be installed on the system during deployment. For more
information, see “Miniroot” and “JumpStart.”
NOTE: On the “Software and Drivers” load page, the cpqary3 driver is listed as “HP Driver
Update (DU) for Solaris (x86) 10.”
• Broadcom NetXtreme II driver—Current ProLiant generations use newer Broadcom NIC chipsets for
embedded NICs. The driver for these chipsets does not currently ship on the Solaris media. To
perform network deployments using these NICs, the bnx driver must be loadable at installation time.
To use the NICs after installation is complete, the driver must be installed on the system. For more
information, see “Miniroot” and “JumpStart.”
The following NIC models require the bnx driver:
○ NC370x
○ NC371x
○ NC373x
○ NC374x
○ NC380x
Miniroot
All device drivers required during installation, such as the disk driver for targeted storage, must be loaded
into the miniroot. You can load the device drivers manually at run-time. Alternatively, you can install the
driver into the miniroot before booting the client for automated deployments or ease of interactive
installations.
When loading device drivers into the miniroot, follow these guidelines:
• For most ProLiant servers, the Smart Array driver, cpqary3, should be installed into the miniroot so
that the Solaris software can be installed onto disks attached to a Smart Array controller.
• For network-based deployments, the miniroot must have a driver for the network interface to be used.
For current ProLiant generations, the Broadcom NetXtreme II driver, bnx, must be installed into the
miniroot.
• For network-based deployments that do not boot from the network, such as those that are initiated by
Rapid Deployment Pack, or those that boot from a custom CD ISO, the HPQnetstrategy package
must be installed into the miniroot. For more information about the HPQnetstrategy package, see
“Deployment resource kit.”
For more information about preparing a miniroot for use in deploying ProLiant server and blades, see
“Miniroot preparation.”
