Red Hat Enterprise Linux Installation Guide 5.2 - linux.meuhobby.com

Chapter 28. Kickstart Installations
To perform a CD-ROM-based kickstart installation, the kickstart file must be named ks.cfg and
must be located in the boot CD-ROM's top-level directory. Since a CD-ROM is read-only, the file
must be added to the directory used to create the image that is written to the CD-ROM. Refer to
the Red Hat Enterprise Linux Installation Guide for instructions on creating boot media;
however, before making the file.iso image file, copy the ks.cfg kickstart file to the
isolinux/ directory.
To perform a pen-based flash memory kickstart installation, the kickstart file must be named
ks.cfg and must be located in the flash memory's top-level directory. Create the boot image
first, and then copy the ks.cfg file.
For example, the following transfers a boot image to the pen drive (/dev/sda) using the dd
command:
dd if=diskboot.img of=/dev/sda bs=1M
Note
Creation of USB flash memory pen drives for booting is possible, but is heavily
dependent on system hardware BIOS settings. Refer to your hardware
manufacturer to see if your system supports booting to alternate devices.
8.2. Making the Kickstart File Available on the Network
Network installations using kickstart are quite common, because system administrators can
easily automate the installation on many networked computers quickly and painlessly. In
general, the approach most commonly used is for the administrator to have both a
BOOTP/DHCP server and an NFS server on the local network. The BOOTP/DHCP server is
used to give the client system its networking information, while the actual files used during the
installation are served by the NFS server. Often, these two servers run on the same physical
machine, but they are not required to.
To perform a network-based kickstart installation, you must have a BOOTP/DHCP server on
your network, and it must include configuration information for the machine on which you are
attempting to install Red Hat Enterprise Linux. The BOOTP/DHCP server provides the client
with its networking information as well as the location of the kickstart file.
If a kickstart file is specified by the BOOTP/DHCP server, the client system attempts an NFS
mount of the file's path, and copies the specified file to the client, using it as the kickstart file.
The exact settings required vary depending on the BOOTP/DHCP server you use.
Here is an example of a line from the dhcpd.conf file for the DHCP server:
filename"/usr/new-machine/kickstart/"; next-server blarg.redhat.com;
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