Nodes can be in one of three Modes at any given time during installation. When a node has only been defined, but not actually added to the cluster, it is in PreManaged mode. While the node is being installed (while the installnode command is running), its Mode is Installing. And finally, after a node has been defined and added to the cluster with the installnode command, its Mode is Managed.
The installnode command is run on nodes that have already been defined to the system. When installnode is run, each node that was just defined (whose Mode attribute is PreManaged) becomes a managed node of the cluster. Note that if the installnode command fails, the node's Mode attribute remains PreManaged.
To install the premanaged nodes of the cluster, using the installnode command, type the following:
installnode -P
installnode runs asynchronously. In other words, immediately after the installation process is initiated (the node is rebooted), installnode exits, even though the installation may not be complete.
In addition to installing CSM on the nodes, installnode also installs the operating system, using Linux Kickstart. The appropriate software, listed in Understanding CSM software requirements is installed automatically by the installnode command on the nodes, if it is not already installed, or if it is installed at a previous level.
After a full installation, the boot order in the BIOS of the node can be left as it is: diskette, CD-ROM, network, hard disk. In this case, every time the node boots, it uses dhcp (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) to contact the management server, which uses pxelinux to boot the node from its hard drive. Or, after the full installation is complete, you can change the boot order in the BIOS back to: diskette, CD-ROM, hard disk, network.