CentOS7 -- Kickstart + PXE for unattended batch installation configuration

Keywords: Operation & Maintenance CentOS network yum firewall

What is Kickstart Installations?

Kickstart Installations for unattended automatic installation

Kickstart files, which are ready before installation, can be used to automatically perform the installation. It can be saved on a single server system and supports one to many: that is, a single file installs CentOS on multiple computers

All Kickstart scripts and logs are also stored in the directory

Start the installation process

Methods to start the installation: DVD, NFS, FTP, HTTP/HTTPS, Hard drive

Process: 1. Create startup file

2. Make Kickstart files available on removable media, hard disk drive or network location

3. Create startup media (install source) for installation

4. Make the installation source available

5. Start Kickstart Installations

Create startup file

If there is CentOS installed, an anaconda-ks.cfg file will be generated in the / root directory.

PS: ා is to be executed by root user; $is to be executed by any user, and the following are based on this standard

1: You can install it through ios image according to CentOS requirements, so that you can get a Kickstart configuration file that doesn't need to be modified

# cd /root    >    ls    >    anaconda-ks.cfg

2: Use Kickstart Configuration Tool to create and modify Kickstart configuration files

#Yum install system config kickstart? Install K...C...Tool

#System config kickstart? Start K...C...Tool

Verify Kickstart profile

Using ksvalidator to verify the configuration file syntax of Kickstart

# yum install pykickstart

$ksvalidator /path/to/kickstart.ks ා path to kcikstart file

Kickstart profile reference

Save the file (ks.cfg), which will be used later

#platform=x86, AMD64, or Intel EM64T
#version=DEVEL
# Install OS instead of upgrade
install
# Keyboard layouts
keyboard 'us'
# Root password
rootpw --plaintext 123456
# Use network installation
url --url="http://192.168.1.101/CentOS/7/repo"
# System language
lang en_US
# User agreement
eula --agreed
# System authorization information
auth  --useshadow  --passalgo=sha512
# Use text mode install
text
firstboot --disable
# SELinux configuration
selinux --disabled

# Firewall configuration
firewall --disabled
# Network information
network  --bootproto=dhcp --device=ens33
# Reboot after installation
reboot
# System timezone
timezone Asia/Shanghai --isUtc

user --groups=wheel --name=admin --password=$6$dFOvxfykHlSQW0Al$lYq0jhdvX0MzJsfF5poagu2tRGdb9
//xrzTIvfF6JKE1q2yflO19nGZf/A77/Pyp0vIjmk7f31gFmrtrypxBa/ 
--iscrypted --gecos="admin"

# System bootloader configuration
bootloader --location=none
# Clear the Master Boot Record
zerombr
# Partition clearing information
clearpart --all
# Disk partitioning information
part /boot --fstype="xfs" --size=1024
part swap --fstype="xfs" --size=2048
part / --fstype="xfs" --grow --size=1

%packages
@additional-devel
@base
@core
@debugging
@basic-desktop
@desktop-debugging
@desktop-platform
@desktop-platform-devel
@development
@directory-client
@eclipse
@emacs
@fonts
%end

Create startup media

Kickstart files must be placed in one of the following locations

On removable media, such as DVD or USB flash drives

PS: burn the full iso to DVD and set the computer to boot from this disk

Connect to the hard disk of the installation system

PS: put the complete iso on the hard disk / USB to install the system

On a network share accessible from the installation system

PS: copy the iso image or installation tree to the network accessible from the installation system, and install through the network

Make Kickstart files available

Select the network-based method here: PXE network server starts, Kickstart files are downloaded from the network share, and the software package specified in the file is downloaded from the remote repository

Build yum source

# yum install httpd# systemctl enable httpd # systemctl start httpd 
# mkdir -p /var/www/html/CentOS/7/repo  #For iso  
# mount -r /path/to/iso /var/www/html/CentOS/7/repo #/path/to/iso your iso path

build tftp server

# yum install tftp-server# systemctl enable tftp
# systemctl start tft# Turn off firewall 
# firewall-cmd --add-service=tftp

to configure DHCP server

No place to configure network startup ip，Can only be acquired automatically

# yum install dhcp

#vi /etc/dhcp/dhcpd.conf
#
# DHCP Server Configuration file.
#   see /usr/share/doc/dhcp*/dhcpd.conf.example
#   see dhcpd.conf(5) man page
#
option space pxelinux;
option pxelinux.magic code 208 = string;
option pxelinux.configfile code 209 = text;
option pxelinux.pathprefix code 210 = text;
option pxelinux.reboottime code 211 = unsigned integer 32;
option architecture-type code 93 = unsigned integer 16;
subnet 192.168.1.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 {
    range 192.168.1.101 192.168.1.130;  
    option routers 192.168.1.1;   
    class "pxeclients" {
        match if substring (option vendor-class-identifier, 0, 9) = "PXEClient";
        next-server 192.168.1.1;
        if option architecture-type = 00:07 {
            filename "uefi/shim.efi";
        } else {
            filename "pxelinux/pxelinux.0";
        }
    }
}

Set auto start

# systemctl start dhcpd

# systemctl enable dhcpd

Configure PXE boot file

BIOS (Legacy) mode startup

# yum install syslinux
#The default directory of tftp is / var/lib/tftpboot
# mkdir -p /var/lib/tftpboot/pxelinux
# cp /usr/share/syslinux/pxelinux.0 /var/lib/tftpboot/pxelinux
#Note: pxelinux.0 may be different

Create Startup menu

default vesamenu.c32
prompt 1
font myfont.psf
menu clear
menu background background.png
menu title PXE  
menu vshift 8
menu rows 18
menu margin 8
menu helpmsgrow 15
menu tabmsgrow 13
menu color border * #00000000 #00000000 none
menu color sel 0 #ffffffff #00000000 none
menu color title 0 #ff7ba3d0 #00000000 none
menu color tabmsg 0 #ff3a6496 #00000000 none
menu color unsel 0 #84b8ffff #00000000 none
menu color hotsel 0 #84b8ffff #00000000 none
menu color hotkey 0 #ffffffff #00000000 none
menu color help 0 #ffffffff #00000000 none
menu color scrollbar 0 #ffffffff #ff355594 none
menu color timeout 0 #ffffffff #00000000 none
menu color timeout_msg 0 #ffffffff #00000000 none
menu color cmdmark 0 #84b8ffff #00000000 none
menu color cmdline 0 #ffffffff #00000000 none
menu separator
menu separator
timeout 100
label 1
menu label ^1)Install CentOS7 x86_64(KickStart)
kernel images/CentOS/7/vmlinuz
append initrd=images/CentOS/7/initrd.img
inst.ks=http://192.168.1.101/CentOS/7/ks.cfg ksdevice= 
inst.repo=http://192.168.1.101/CentOS/7/repo

label 2
menu label ^2)Install CentOS7 x86_64(Manual)
kernel images/CentOS/7/vmlinuz
append initrd=images/CentOS/7/initrd.img ksdevice= 
inst.repo=http://192.168.1.101/CentOS/7/repo

CentOS Kickstart files

Make the installation source available. The default Startup menu specifies the kernel file. If it does not, it cannot be started normally.

# mkdir -p /var/lib/tftpboot/pxelinux/CentOS/7/

# cp /path_to_x86_64_images/pxeboot/{vmlinuz,initrd.img} /var/lib/tftpboot/images/CentOS/7/
PS: / path to x86 64 images: unknown path, find pxeboot path through find / -name "pxeboot"

Start Kickstart Installations

CentOS can be installed from the network by connecting the machine and server of the network installation system to the VLAN of DHCP.

Posted by w.geoghegan on Wed, 13 May 2020 03:41:01 -0700

Programmer Group