</pre>
<hr>
<h2>Let's get started</h2>

<p>
If you follow this HOWTO, at the end of it you'll have a 31-bit CENTOS 4.6
running under z/VM.
</p>

<p>
The following howto assumes, that you know at least a little bit of:
<ul>
	<li>CentOS/RHEL familiarity</li>
	<li>General networking knowledge</li>
</ul>
</p>

<p>
The following software is required:
<ul>
	<li>telnet client</li>
	<li>3270 terminal emulator (e.g., c3270)</li>
</ul>
</p>

<p>
The install can take anywhere from half hour to a couple of hours depending
on a couple of things, including your internet connection speed, as well as
how much CPU time your VM guest gets.
</p>

<!--more-->

<p>
First of all, you'll need to get the installation files to get things going.
</p>

<p>
So, point your browser to the mirror nearest you, navigate to this rather
long path:
<pre>XXX</pre>

and grab these files:
<pre>
redhat.exec
kernel.img
initrd.img
generic.prm
</pre>

I used CentOS 4.6 to write this howto, but a newer version should work just
as well.
</p>

<p>
Login to your VM id, and start CMS <pre>ipl cms</pre>. Then transfer the
files you got to your A minidisk. You can either use FTP, or IND$FILE
through your 3270 terminal emulator. I used the IND$FILE method via c3270.<br/>
<br/>
<b>Note:</b> The .img files should be transfered as binaries, and the other two
need to be converted to EBCDIC. Both, FTP and IND$FILE support converting
between ASCII and EBCDIC.

<pre>
transfer host=vm ... mode=binary localfile=kernel.img &quot;hostfile=kernel img a&quot;
transfer host=vm ... mode=binary localfile=initrd.img &quot;hostfile=initrd img a&quot;
transfer host=vm ... mode=ascii localfile=redhat.exec &quot;hostfile=redhat exec a&quot;
transfer host=vm ... mode=ascii localfile=generic.prm &quot;hostfile=generic prm a&quot;
</pre>

As one might easily guess, the first is the kernel image, and the second is
the initrd. The third file is a short REXX script that'll punch the files in
the proper order to your rdr, and then IPLs from device 000c - which by
convention is your rdr. The last file contains the kernel command line
options, which on systems like i386, you specify via a keyboard to the
bootloader.
</p>

<p>
At this point, your CMS A minidisk should look like something like
this:<br/>
<img src="zvm-centos4/install1.png" alt="CMS listing the files on A" /><br/>
<br/>
The RHEL5.CONF file contains configuration options for the installer.
<pre>
FIXME: example conf file
</pre>
</p>

<p>
Now, it is time to run the REXX script. Just type <pre>redhat</pre> and
press enter. You'll see the reader getting purged, and then three files
getting punched:<br/>
<img src="zvm-centos4/install2.png" alt="Files punched to RDR" />
</p>

<p>
FIXME: do I need to IPL by hand?<br/>
Shortly after, you'll see the kernel banner displayed. Since I installed
CentOS 4.x, the kernel version is 2.6.9. If you use 5.x, the version will be
obviously different.<br/>
<img src="zvm-centos4/install3.png" alt="Kernel banner" />
</p>

<p>
After a few screen-fulls of output, you should be prompted for ... FIXME.
FIXME: Include a screenshot.
</p>

<p>
Some more scrolling later, you'll see a message prompting you to telnet or
ssh into the system, and continue with the installation process:<br/>
<img src="zvm-centos4/install5.png" alt="SSH/telnet prompt" /><br/>
SSH or telnet in as root. The password is the empty string, so when
prompted, simply press the enter key.<br/>
<br/>
At this point, the install process is much like network install on any other
architecture.
</p>

<p>
The regular CentOS installer will kicks. It'll prompt you for the type of
install (http, ftp, nfs - FIXME: verify + image). I went with HTTP.<br/>
<br/>
The next screen prompts you for the hostname and path on the HTTP server
that contains the CentOS packages:<br/>
<img src="zvm-centos4/install7.png" alt="SSH/telnet prompt" /><br/>
Right after, the installer tries to grab stage 2 of itself:
<img src="zvm-centos4/install8.png" alt="Stage2 being downloaded" /><br/>
</p>

<p>
FIXME: partitions
</p>

<p>
Most of the questions the installer normally asks you get answered by the
options in the RHEL5.CONF file (FIXME: rename). And before long, you'll see
the install process doing its thing:<br/>
<img src="zvm-centos4/install9.png" alt="Install!" />
</p>

<p>
Although this howto was aimed at 31-bit CentOS...<br/>
<ul>
	<li> installing a 64-bit version should be the same process...just
	use the <i>s390x</i> directories on the mirror instead of
	<i>s390</i>.</li>
	<li> installing RHEL 4.x should be the same process; just point the
	installer at a server with RHEL4 RPMS.</li>
</ul>
</p>

<h2>Final Note</h2>
<p>
I hope this HOWTO helped you get started with CentOS under z/VM. I tried to
be as accurate and specific with the details where I thought it was
necessary - the S/390 specific parts. If you have any suggestions, or
comments (content, spelling, etc.) feel free to contact me via email:
<a href="mailto:jeffpc@josefsipek.net">jeffpc@josefsipek.net</a>.
</p>

<hr>
<h2>Full history</h2>
<pre>