After having selected the installation medium, determine the suitable installation method and boot option that best matches your needs:

The way the system is started for the installation depends on the architecture—system start-up is different for PC (AMD64/Intel 64) or mainframe, for example. If you install openSUSE Leap as a VM Guest on a KVM or Xen hypervisor, follow the instructions for the AMD64/Intel 64 architecture.

2.2.1 PC (AMD64/Intel 64/ARM AArch64): System Start-up #

openSUSE Leap supports several boot options from which you can choose, depending on the hardware available and on the installation scenario you prefer. Booting from the openSUSE Leap media is the most straightforward option, but special requirements might call for special setups:

Table 2.1: Boot Options #

Boot Option	Description
DVD	This is the easiest boot option. This option can be used if the system has a local DVD-ROM drive that is supported by Linux.
Flash Disks (USB Mass Storage Device)	In case your machine is not equipped with an optical drive, you can boot the installation image from a flash disk. To create a bootable flash disk, you need to copy either the DVD or the Mini CD ISO image to the device using the dd command (the flash disk must not be mounted, all data on the device will be erased): dd if=PATH_TO_ISO_IMAGE of=USB_STORAGE_DEVICE bs=4M Important: Compatibility Note that booting from a USB Mass Storage Device is not supported on UEFI machines and on the POWER architecture.
PXE or BOOTP	Booting over the network must be supported by the system's BIOS or firmware, and a boot server must be available in the network. This task can also be handled by another openSUSE Leap system.
Hard Disk	openSUSE Leap installation can also be booted from the hard disk. To do this, copy the kernel (linux) and the installation system (initrd) from the directory /boot/ARCHITECTURE/ on the installation media to the hard disk and add an appropriate entry to the existing boot loader of a previous openSUSE Leap installation.

Tip: Booting from DVD on UEFI Machines

DVD1 can be used as a boot medium for machines equipped with UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface). Refer to your vendor's documentation for specific information. If booting fails, try to enable CSM (Compatibility Support Module) in your firmware.

2.2.1.1 The Boot Screen on Machines Equipped with Traditional BIOS #

The boot screen displays several options for the installation procedure. Boot from Hard Disk boots the installed system and is selected by default, because the CD is often left in the drive. Select one of the other options with the arrow keys and press Enter to boot it. The relevant options are:

Installation

The normal installation mode. All modern hardware functions are enabled. In case the installation fails, see F5Kernel for boot options that disable potentially problematic functions.

Upgrade

Perform a system upgrade. For more information refer to Chapter 12, Upgrading the System and System Changes.

Rescue System

Starts a minimal Linux system without a graphical user interface. For more information, see Section 16.6.2, “Using the Rescue System”.

Check Installation Media

This option is only available when you install from media created from downloaded ISOs. In this case it is recommended to check the integrity of the installation medium. This option starts the installation system before automatically checking the media. In case the check was successful, the normal installation routine starts. If a corrupt media is detected, the installation routine aborts.

Warning: Failure of Media Check

If the media check fails, your medium is damaged. Do not continue the installation because installation may fail or you may lose your data. Replace the broken medium and restart the installation process.

Memory Test

Tests your system RAM using repeated read and write cycles. Terminate the test by rebooting. For more information, see Section 16.2.4, “Fails to Boot”.

Figure 2.1: The Boot Screen on Machines with a Traditional BIOS #

Use the function keys indicated in the bar at the bottom of the screen to change the language, screen resolution, installation source or to add an additional driver from your hardware vendor:

F1Help

Get context-sensitive help for the active element of the boot screen. Use the arrow keys to navigate, Enter to follow a link, and Esc to leave the help screen.

F2Language

Select the display language and a corresponding keyboard layout for the installation. The default language is English (US).

F3Video Mode

Select various graphical display modes for the installation. By Default the video resolution is automatically determined using KMS (“Kernel Mode Setting”). If this setting does not work on your system, choose No KMS and, optionally, specify vga=ask on the boot command line to get prompted for the video resolution. Choose Text Mode if the graphical installation causes problems.

F4Source

Normally, the installation is performed from the inserted installation medium. Here, select other sources, like FTP or NFS servers. If the installation is deployed on a network with an SLP server, select an installation source available on the server with this option.

F5Kernel

If you encounter problems with the regular installation, this menu offers to disable a few potentially problematic functions. If your hardware does not support ACPI (advanced configuration and power interface) select No ACPI to install without ACPI support. No local APIC disables support for APIC (Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controllers) which may cause problems with some hardware. Safe Settings boots the system with the DMA mode (for CD/DVD-ROM drives) and power management functions disabled.

If you are not sure, try the following options first: Installation—ACPI Disabled or Installation—Safe Settings. Experts can also use the command line (Boot Options) to enter or change kernel parameters.

F6Driver

Press this key to notify the system that you have an optional driver update for openSUSE Leap. With File or URL, load drivers directly before the installation starts. If you select Yes, you are prompted to insert the update disk at the appropriate point in the installation process.

2.2.1.2 The Boot Screen on Machines Equipped with UEFI #

UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) is a new industry standard which replaces and extends the traditional BIOS. The latest UEFI implementations contain the “Secure Boot” extension, which prevents booting malicious code by only allowing signed boot loaders to be executed. See Book “Reference”, Chapter 14 “UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface)” for more information.

The boot manager GRUB 2, used to boot machines with a traditional BIOS, does not support UEFI, therefore GRUB 2 is replaced with GRUB 2 for EFI. If Secure Boot is enabled, YaST will automatically select GRUB 2 for EFI for installation. From an administrative and user perspective, both boot manager implementations behave the same and are called GRUB 2 in the following.

Tip: UEFI and Secure Boot are Supported by Default

The installation routine of openSUSE Leap automatically detects if the machine is equipped with UEFI. All installation sources also support Secure Boot. If an EFI system partition already exists on dual boot machines (from a Microsoft Windows 8 installation, for example), it will automatically be detected and used. Partition tables will be written as GPT on UEFI systems.

Warning: Using Non-Inbox Drivers with Secure Boot

There is no support for adding non-inbox drivers (that is, drivers that do not come with SLE) during installation with Secure Boot enabled. The signing key used for SolidDriver/PLDP is not trusted by default.

To solve this problem, it is necessary to either add the needed keys to the firmware database via firmware/system management tools before the installation or to use a bootable ISO that will enroll the needed keys in the MOK list at first boot. For more information, see Book “Reference”, Chapter 14 “UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface)”, Section 14.1 “Secure Boot”.

The boot screen displays several options for the installation procedure. Change the selected option with the arrow keys and press Enter to boot it. The relevant options are:

Installation

The normal installation mode.

Upgrade

Perform a system upgrade.

Rescue System

Starts a minimal Linux system without a graphical user interface. For more information, see Section 16.6.2, “Using the Rescue System”.

Check Installation Media

This option is only available when you install from media created from downloaded ISOs. In this case it is recommended to check the integrity of the installation medium. This option starts the installation system before automatically checking the media. In case the check was successful, the normal installation routine starts. If a corrupt media is detected, the installation routine aborts.

Figure 2.2: The Boot Screen on Machines with UEFI #

GRUB 2 for EFI on openSUSE Leap does not support a boot prompt or function keys for adding boot parameters. By default, the installation will be started with American English and the boot media as the installation source. A DHCP lookup will be performed to configure the network. To change these defaults or to add additional boot parameters you need to edit the respective boot entry. Highlight it using the arrow keys and press E. See the on-screen help for editing hints (note that only an English keyboard is available now). The Installation entry will look similar to the following:

setparams 'Installation'

    set gfxpayload=keep
    echo 'Loading kernel ...'
    linuxefi /boot/x86_64/loader/linux splash=silent
    echo 'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
    initrdefi /boot/x86_64/loader/initrd

Add space-separated parameters to the end of the line starting with linuxefi. To boot the edited entry, press F10. If you access the machine via serial console, press Esc–0. A complete list of parameters is available at http://en.opensuse.org/Linuxrc. The most important ones are:

Table 2.2: Installation Sources #

CD/DVD (default)	install=cd:/
Hard disk	install=hd:/?device=sda/PATH_TO_ISO
SLP	install=slp:/
FTP	install=ftp://ftp.example.com/PATH_TO_ISO
HTTP	install=http://www.example.com/PATH_TO_ISO
NFS	install=nfs:/PATH_TO_ISO
SMB / CIFS	install=smb://PATH_TO_ISO

Table 2.3: Network Configuration #

DHCP (default)	netsetup=dhcp
Prompt for Parameters	netsetup=hostip,netmask,gateway,nameserver
Host IP address	hostip=192.168.2.100 hostip=192.168.2.100/24
Netmask	netmask=255.255.255.0
Gateway	gateway=192.168.5.1
Name Server	nameserver=192.168.1.116 nameserver=192.168.1.116,192.168.1.118
Domain Search Path	domain=example.com

Table 2.4: Miscellaneous #

Driver Updates: Prompt	dud=1
Driver Updates: URL	dud=ftp://ftp.example.com/PATH_TO_DRIVER dud=http://www.example.com/PATH_TO_DRIVER
Installation Language	Language=LANGUAGE Supported values for LANGUAGE are, among others, cs_CZ, de_DE, es_ES, fr_FR, ja_JP, pt_BR, pt_PT, ru_RU, zh_CN, and zh_TW.
Kernel: No ACPI	acpi=off
Kernel: No Local APIC	noapic
Video: Disable KMS	nomodeset
Video: Start Installer in Text Mode	Textmode=1

l>proxy=http://USER:PASSWORD@proxy.example.com:PORT

security=selinux selinux=1

self_update=1

self_update=https://updates.example.com/

The interactive installation of openSUSE Leap split into several steps is listed below. For more information about performing non-interactive automated installations, see Book “AutoYaST”.

After starting the installation, openSUSE Leap loads and configures a minimal Linux system to run the installation procedure. To view the boot messages and copyright notices during this process, press Esc. On completion of this process, the YaST installation program starts and displays the graphical installer.

Tip: Installation Without a Mouse

If the installer does not detect your mouse correctly, use →| for navigation, arrow keys to scroll, and Enter to confirm a selection. Various buttons or selection fields contain a letter with an underscore. Use Alt–Letter to select a button or a selection directly instead of navigating there with →|.

During the installation and upgrade process, YaST is able to update itself to solve bugs in the installer that were discovered after the release. This functionality is disabled by default; to enable it, set the boot parameter self_update to 1. For more information, see Section 2.2.2.4, “Enabling the Installer Self-Update”.

Although this feature was designed to run without user intervention, it is worth knowing how it works. If you are not interested, you can jump directly to Section 2.5, “Language, Keyboard and License Agreement” and skip the rest of this section.

Tip: Language Selection

The installer self-update is executed before the language selection step. This means that progress and errors which happen during this process are displayed in English by default.

To use another language for this part of the installer, press F2 in the DVD boot menu and select the language from the list. Alternatively, use the language boot parameter (for example, language=de_DE).

2.4.1 Self-Update Process #

The process can be broken down into two different parts:

1. Determine the update repository location.

2. Download and apply the updates to the installation system.

2.4.1.1 Determining the Update Repository Location #

Installer Self-Updates are distributed as regular RPM packages via a dedicated repository, so the first step is to find out the repository URL.

Important: Installer Self-Update Repository Only

No matter which of the following options you use, only the installer self-update repository URL is expected, for example:

self_update=https://updates.suse.com/SUSE/Updates/SLE-SERVER-INSTALLER/12-SP2/x86_64/update/

Do not supply any other repository URL—for example the URL of the software update repository.

YaST will try the following sources of information:

1. The self_update boot parameter. (For more details, see Section 2.2.2.4, “Enabling the Installer Self-Update”.) If you specify a URL, it will take precedence over any other method.

2. The /general/self_update_url profile element in case you are using AutoYaST.

3. If none of the previous attempts worked, the fallback URL (defined in the installation media) will be used.

2.4.1.2 Downloading and Applying the Updates #

When the updates repository is determined, YaST will check whether an update is available. If so, all the updates will be downloaded and applied to the installation system.

Finally, YaST will be restarted to load the new version and the welcome screen will be shown. If no updates were available, the installation will continue without restarting YaST.

Note: Update Integrity

Update signatures will be checked to ensure integrity and authorship. If a signature is missing or invalid, you will be asked whether you want to apply the update.

2.4.3 Custom Self-Update Repositories #

YaST can use a user-defined repository instead of the official one by specifying a URL through the self_update boot option. However, the following points should be considered:

• Only HTTP/HTTPS and FTP repositories are supported.

• Only RPM-MD repositories are supported (required by SMT).

• Packages are not installed in the usual way: They are uncompressed only and no scripts are executed.

• No dependency checks are performed. Packages are installed in alphabetical order.

• Files from the packages override the files from the original installation media. This means that the update packages might not need to contain all files, only files that have changed. Unchanged files are omitted to save memory and download bandwidth.

Note: Only One Repository

Currently, it is not possible to use more than one repository as source for installer self-updates.

Start the installation of openSUSE Leap by choosing your language. Changing the language will automatically preselect a corresponding keyboard layout. Override this proposal by selecting a different keyboard layout from the drop-down box. The language selected here is also used to assume a time zone for the system clock. This setting can be modified later in the installed system as described in Chapter 4, Changing Language and Country Settings with YaST.

Read the license agreement that is displayed beneath the language and keyboard selection thoroughly. Use License Translations to access translations. By proceeding with Next, you agree to the license agreement. Choose Abort to cancel the installation if you do not agree to the license terms.

Figure 2.3: Language, Keyboard and License Agreement #

After booting into the installation, the installation routine is set up. During this setup, an attempt to configure at least one network interface with DHCP is made. In case this attempt fails, the Network Settings dialog launches. Choose a network interface from the list and click Edit to change its settings. Use the tabs to configure DNS and routing. See Book “Reference”, Chapter 13 “Basic Networking”, Section 13.4 “Configuring a Network Connection with YaST” for more details.

Note: Network Interface Configured via linuxrc

If at least one network interface is configured via linuxrc, automatic DHCP configuration is disabled and configuration from linuxrc is imported and used.

Figure 2.4: Network Settings #

Tip: Accessing Network Storage or Local RAID

In case you need to access a SAN or a local RAID during the installation, you can use the libstorage command line client for this purpose:

1. Switch to a console with Ctrl–Alt–F2.

2. Install the libstoragemgmt extension by running extend libstoragemgmt.

3. Now you have access to the lsmcli command. For more information, run lsmcli --help.

4. To return to the installer, press Alt–F7

Supported are Netapp Ontap, all SMI-S compatible SAN providers, and LSI MegaRAID.

Define a partition setup for openSUSE Leap in this step. The installer creates a proposal for one of the available disks containing a root partition formatted with Btrfs, a swap partition, and a home partition formatted with XFS. On hard disks smaller than 20 GB the proposal does not include a separate home partition. If one or more swap partitions have been detected on the available hard disks, these existing ones will be used (rather than proposing a new swap partition). You have several options to proceed:

Note: Supported Software RAID Volumes

Installing to and booting from existing software RAID volumes is supported for Disk Data Format (DDF) volumes and Intel Matrix Storage Manager (IMSM) volumes. IMSM is also known by the following names:

• Intel Rapid Storage Technology

• Intel Matrix Storage Technology

• Intel Application Accelerator / Intel Application Accelerator RAID Edition

Note: Mount Points for FCoE and iSCSI Devices

FCoE and iSCSI devices will appear asynchronously during the boot process. While the initrd guarantees that those devices are set up correctly for the root file system, there are no such guarantees for any other file systems or mount points like /usr. Hence any system mount points like /usr or /var are not supported. If you want to use those devices, ensure correct synchronization of the respective services and devices.

Important: Handling of Windows Partitions in Proposals

In case the disk selected for the suggested partitioning proposal contains a large Windows FAT or NTFS partition, it will automatically be resized to make room for the openSUSE Leap installation. To avoid data loss it is strongly recommended to

• make sure the partition is not fragmented (run a defragmentation program from Windows prior to the openSUSE Leap installation)

• double-check the suggested size for the Windows partition is big enough

• back up your data prior to the openSUSE Leap installation

To adjust the proposed size of the Windows partition, use the Expert Partitioner.

Figure 2.5: Partitioning #

In this dialog, select your region and time zone. Both are preselected according to the installation language. To change the preselected values, either use the map or the drop-down boxes for Region and Time Zone. When using the map, point the cursor at the rough direction of your region and left-click to zoom. Now choose your country or region by left-clicking. Right-click to return to the world map.

To set up the clock, choose whether the Hardware Clock is Set to UTC. If you run another operating system on your machine, such as Microsoft Windows, it is likely your system uses local time instead. If you only run Linux on your machine, set the hardware clock to UTC and have the switch from standard time to daylight saving time performed automatically.

Important: Set the Hardware Clock to UTC

The switch from standard time to daylight saving time (and vice versa) can only be performed automatically when the hardware clock (CMOS clock) is set to UTC. This also applies if you use automatic time synchronization with NTP, because automatic synchronization will only be performed if the time difference between the hardware and system clock is less than 15 minutes.

Since a wrong system time can cause severe problems (missed backups, dropped mail messages, mount failures on remote file systems, etc.) it is strongly recommended to always set the hardware clock to UTC.

Figure 2.6: Clock and Time Zone #

If a network is already configured, you can configure time synchronization with an NTP server. Click Other Settings to either alter the NTP settings or to Manually set the time. See Book “Reference”, Chapter 18 “Time Synchronization with NTP” for more information on configuring the NTP service. When finished, click Accept to continue the installation.

If running without NTP configured, consider setting SYSTOHC=no (sysconfig variable) to avoid saving unsynchronized time into the hardware clock.

Select the desktop system you would like to use in the User Interface dialog. KDE and GNOME are among the most widely used desktops on Linux.

If setting up a server, you probably do not need a graphical user interface. Choose Server (Text Mode) in this case.

More desktop systems, such as XFCE, LXDE, MATE, and Enlightenment are available after having enabled the online repositories. Doing so is also recommended if you want to get the latest security updates and fixes during the installation. A working Internet connection is required. To install a Custom user interface, choose Configure Online Repositories. You have the following choices:

Confirm your selection with Next. Depending on your choice, you need to confirm one or more license agreements. Do so by choosing Next until you return to the User Interface screen. Now choose Custom and Next, to proceed to the Software Selection and System Task, where you can choose a custom desktop system from the left-hand pane.

Create a local user in this step. After entering the first name and last name, either accept the proposal or specify a new User name that will be used to log in. Only use lowercase letters (a-z), digits (0-9) and the characters . (dot), - (hyphen) and _ (underscore). Special characters, umlauts and accented characters are not allowed.

Finally, enter a password for the user. Re-enter it for confirmation (to ensure that you did not type something else by mistake). To provide effective security, a password should be at least six characters long and consist of uppercase and lowercase letters, digits and special characters (7-bit ASCII). Umlauts or accented characters are not allowed. Passwords you enter are checked for weakness. When entering a password that is easy to guess (such as a dictionary word or a name) you will see a warning. It is a good security practice to use strong passwords.

Important: User Name and Password

Remember both your user name and the password because they are needed each time you log in to the system.

If you install openSUSE Leap on a machine with one or more existing Linux installations, YaST allows you to import user data such as user names and passwords. Select Import User Data from a Previous Installation and then Choose Users for import.

In case you do not want to configure any local users, for example when setting up a client on a network with centralized user authentication, skip this step by choosing Next and confirming the warning. Network user authentication can be configured at any time later in the installed system; refer to Chapter 3, Managing Users with YaST for instructions.

Figure 2.7: Create New User #

Two additional options are available:

Warning: Automatic Login

With the automatic login enabled, the system boots straight into your desktop with no authentication. If you store sensitive data on your system, you should not enable this option if the computer can also be accessed by others.

If you install on a system where a previous Linux installation was found, you may Import User Data from a Previous Installation. Click Choose User for a list of available user accounts. Select one or more user.

In an environment where users are centrally managed (for example by NIS or LDAP) you may want to skip the creation of local users. Select Skip User Creation in this case.

If you have not chosen Use this Password for System Administrator in the previous step, you will be prompted to enter a password for the System Administrator root. Otherwise this configuration step is skipped.

root is the name of the superuser, or the administrator of the system. Unlike regular users (who may or may not have permission to access certain areas or execute certain commands on the system), root has unlimited access to change the system configuration, install programs, and set up new hardware. If users forget their passwords or have other problems with the system, root can help. The root account should only be used for system administration, maintenance, and repair. Logging in as root for daily work is rather risky: a single mistake could lead to irretrievable loss of system files.

For verification purposes, the password for root must be entered twice. Do not forget the root password. After having been entered, this password cannot be retrieved.

Figure 2.8: Password for the System Administrator root #

Tip: Passwords and Keyboard Layout

It is recommended to only use characters that are available on an English keyboard. In case of a system error or when you need to start your system in rescue mode a localized keyboard might not be available.

The root password can be changed any time later in the installed system. To do so run YaST and start Security and Users › User and Group Management.

Important: The root User

The user root has all the permissions needed to make changes to the system. To carry out such tasks, the root password is required. You cannot carry out any administrative tasks without this password.

On the last step before the real installation takes place, you can alter installation settings suggested by the installer. To modify the suggestions, click the respective headline. After having made changes to a particular setting, you are always returned to the Installation Settings window, which is updated accordingly.

Figure 2.9: Installation Settings #

2.12.1 Software #

openSUSE Leap contains several software patterns for various application purposes. Click Software to open the Software Selection and System Tasks screen where you can modify the pattern selection according to your needs. Select a pattern from the list and see a description in the right-hand part of the window. Each pattern contains several software packages needed for specific functions (for example Multimedia or Office software). For a more detailed selection based on software packages to install, select Details to switch to the YaST Software Manager.

You can also install additional software packages or remove software packages from your system at any later time with the YaST Software Manager. For more information, refer to Chapter 9, Installing or Removing Software.

Figure 2.10: Software Selection and System Tasks #

Tip: Adding Secondary Languages

The language you selected with the first step of the installation will be used as the primary (default) language for the system. You can add secondary languages from within the Software dialog by choosing Details › View › Languages.

2.12.2 Booting #

The installer proposes a boot configuration for your system. Other operating systems found on your computer, such as Microsoft Windows or other Linux installations, will automatically be detected and added to the boot loader. However, openSUSE Leap will be booted by default. Normally, you can leave these settings unchanged. If you need a custom setup, modify the proposal according to your needs. For information, see Book “Reference”, Chapter 12 “The Boot Loader GRUB 2”, Section 12.3 “Configuring the Boot Loader with YaST”.

Important: Software RAID 1

Booting a configuration where /boot resides on a software RAID 1 device is supported, but it requires to install the boot loader into the MBR (Boot Loader Location › Boot from Master Boot Record). Having /boot on software RAID devices with a level other than RAID 1 is not supported.

2.12.3 Firewall and SSH #

By default SuSEFirewall2 is enabled on all configured network interfaces. To globally disable the firewall for this computer, click Disable (not recommended).

Note: Firewall Settings

If the firewall is activated, all interfaces are configured to be in the “External Zone”, where all ports are closed by default, ensuring maximum security. The only port you can open during the installation is port 22 (SSH), to allow remote access. All other services requiring network access (such as FTP, Samba, Web server, etc.) will only work after having adjusted the firewall settings. Refer to Book “Security Guide”, Chapter 15 “Masquerading and Firewalls” for more information.

To enable remote access via the secure shell (SSH), make sure the SSH service is enabled and the SSH port is open.

Tip: Existing SSH Host Keys

If you install openSUSE Leap on a machine with one or more existing Linux installations, the installation routine imports the SSH host key with the most recent access time from an existing installation by default.

In case you are performing a remote administration over VNC, you can also configure whether the machine should be accessible via VNC even after the installation. Note that enabling VNC also requires you to set the Default systemd Target to graphical.

After configuring all installation settings, click Install in the Installation Settings window to start the installation. Some software may require a license confirmation. If your software selection includes such software, license confirmation dialogs are displayed. Click Accept to install the software package. When not agreeing to the license, click I Disagree and the software package will not be installed. In the dialog that follows, confirm with Install again.

The installation usually takes between 15 and 30 minutes, depending on the system performance and the selected software scope. After having prepared the hard disk and having saved and restored the user settings, the software installation starts. During this procedure a slide show introduces the features of openSUSE Leap. Choose Details to switch to the installation log or Release Notes to read important up-to-date information that was not available when the manuals were printed.

After the software installation has completed, the system reboots into the new installation where you can log in. To customize the system configuration or to install additional software packages, start YaST.