Chapter 4. Red Hat Network Website
65
•
Configured DHCP to assign required networking parameters and the bootloader program location.
•
Specified within the bootloader configuration file the kernel to be used and appropriate kernel op-
tions.
For a decription of the innerworkings of the kickstart process, refer to Section 4.4.10.2
Kickstart
Explained
.
4.4.10.2. Kickstart Explained
When a machine is to receive a network-based kickstart, the following events must occur in this order:
1. After being placed on the network and turned on, the machine’s PXE logic broadcasts its MAC
address and a request to be discovered.
2. The DHCP server recognizes the discovery request and extends an offer of network information
needed for the new machine to boot. This includes an IP address, the default gateway to be used,
the netmask of the network, the IP address of the TFTP server holding the bootloader program,
and the full path and filename of that program (relative to the TFTP server’s root).
3. The machine applies the networking information and initiates a session with the TFTP server to
request the bootloader program.
4. The bootloader, once loaded, searches for its configuration file on the TFTP server from which it
was itself loaded. This file dictates which kernel and kernel options, such as the initial RAM disk
(initrd) image, should be executed on the booting machine. Assuming the bootloader program
is SYSLINUX, this file will be located in the
pxelinux.cfg
directory on the TFTP server and
named the hexadecimal equivalent of the new machine’s IP address. For example, a bootloader
configuration file for Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS 2.1 should contain:
port 0
prompt 0
timeout 1
default My_Label
label My_Label
kernel vmlinuz
append ks=http://myrhnsatellite/ initrd=initrd.img network apic
5. The machine accepts and uncompresses the init image and kernel, boots the kernel, and initiates
a kickstart installation with the options supplied in the bootloader configuration file, including
the server containing the kickstart configuration file.
6. This kickstart configuration file in turn directs the machine to the location of the installation
files.
7. The new machine is built based upon the parameters established within the kickstart configura-
tion file.
4.4.10.3. Creating Kickstarts
To develop a new kickstart profile, first create a distribution through the
Distributions
page. Refer to
Section 4.4.10.8
Distributions
for instructions. Once that is done, return to the
Kickstart
page and
click
create new kickstart
in the upper-right corner of the page. On the resulting page, enter a name
and label for the profile, select whether it should immediately be considered active, and click the
Select Kickstart Options
button.
On the next page, identify the precise values to be included in the profile, including: bootloader type,
time zone, kickstart network configuration, root password, and partition details. Please note that the
kickstart network configuration value here is different from the network setting on the
Advanced
Options
tab. Refer to the individual tab descriptions for details. Click the
Create Kickstart
button
when done.
Summary of Contents for NETWORK 3.5 - PROVISIONING
Page 1: ...Red Hat Network 3 5 Provisioning Reference Guide...
Page 6: ......
Page 16: ...6 Chapter 1 What is Red Hat Network...
Page 50: ...40 Chapter 3 Red Hat Network Alert Notification Tool...
Page 98: ...88 Chapter 4 Red Hat Network Website...
Page 114: ...104 Chapter 6 Red Hat Network Registration Client...
Page 122: ...112 Appendix A Command Line Config Management Tools...
Page 126: ...116 Appendix B RHN API Access...
Page 132: ...122 Glossary...
