What's in NPACI Rocks and How Do I Use It?

Steven K. Baum
Texas A&M University
Department of Oceanography
College Station, TX 77843-3146
(979) 548-3274
baum@stommel.tamu.edu

Mar 23, 2004

Contents

Chapter 1
Introduction

1.1  Overview

1.1.1  Tools

Active node configuration management

• to construct a general configuration file from a set of XML-based configuration files; and
• to apply node-specific parameters by querying a local SQL database.

• nodes - small, single-purpose modules that specify packages and per-package post-configuration commands for a specific service; and
• graphs - files that link the defined modules together using directed edges, where an edge represents a relation between two modules.

• a machine requests its kickstart file via HTTP from a CGI script on the frontend server;
• the script uses the requesting node's IP address to drive a series of SQL queries that determine the appliance type, software distribution, and localization of the node;
• the script parses the XML graph and traverses it, parsing all the node files based on the appliance type;
• a RedHat compliant text-based kickstart file is returned to the requesting machine.

Distribution management with rocks-dist

1.2  Components

• NPACI Rocks Base
• SGE Roll
• Grid Roll
• Intel Roll

Chapter 2
Hints and Hacks

• Installation
• Configuration
• System Administration
• Architecture

2.1  Mailing List Excerpts

• Changing Hostnames
• MySQL and ROCKS
• NIC Cards
• Custom Partitioning Summary
• Hyperthreading or Not
• Intel Compiler Migration to Nodes

2.1.1  Changing Hostnames

2.1.2  MySQL and ROCKS

# mysqldump --opt cluster > cluster.sql

2.1.3  NIC Cards

	linux dd

2.1.4  Custom Partitioning

2.1.5  Hyperthreading or Not

2.1.6  Intel Compiler Migration to Nodes

/home/install/profiles/current/graphs/default/intel.xml

<edge from=3D"compute">
         <to>intel</to>
 </edge>

<edge from=3D"frontend">
         <to>intel</to>
 </edge>

ssh-add
cluster-fork /boot/kickstart/cluster-kickstart

<?xml version="1.0" standalone="no"?>
<!DOCTYPE kickstart SYSTEM "@KICKSTART_DTD@">
<kickstart>
<post>
<file name="/etc/fstab" mode="append">
<var name="Kickstart_PrivateHostname"/>:/path/to/export /path/to/mount 
nfs defaults 0 0
</file>
</post>
</kickstart>

(
cat >> /etc/fstab << 'EOF'
slic00:/path/to/export /path/to/mount nfs defaults 0 0
EOF
)

Chapter 3
NPACI Rocks Base/HPC Roll

1. 411
2. 411-client
3. 411-server
4. apache
5. autofs
6. autofs-client
7. autofs-server
8. base
9. c-development - Minimalist C development support, i.e. everything needed to compile the kernel.
10. cdr - CDR tools for burning, ripping, encoding, etc.
11. client - A file used as a connection point for other XML configuration tools.
12. cluster-db - Cluster database.
13. cluster-db-data - Populate cluster database with initial data.
14. cluster-db-structure - Cluster database SQL table structure.
15. devel - A file used as a connection point for other XML configuration nodes.
16. dhcp-server - Set up the DHCP server for the cluster.
17. disk-stamp - Obtain a root partition.
18. dns-server - Configures a DNS nameserver for the cluster on the front end.
19. elilo - IA-64 bootloader support.
20. emacs - Emacs editor.
21. fortran-development
22. fstab - Examine the disks and see if there are existing, non-root partitions that should be preserved.
23. grub - IA-32 bootloader support.
24. install - Everything needed to kickstart the compute nodes.
25. installclass - The base installclass files.
26. installclass-client
27. installclass-server
28. ip-diag - TCP/IP network diagnostic tools.
29. keyboard - USB keyboard support for IA-64.
30. lilo - IA-32 bootloader support.
31. logrotate - Append rules to logrotate to prune files in /var/log.
32. media-server - Root for kickstart files on the CD/DVD.
33. nis - Private side NIS.
34. nis-client
35. nis-server
36. node - A machine in the cluster.
37. node-thin - For turning off packages non-essential for parallel applications.
38. nsswitch-files - UNIX files for all lookups.
39. nsswitch-nis - UNIX files for NIS lookups.
40. ntp - Network Time Protocol.
41. ntp-client
42. ntp-server
43. perl-development
44. python-development
45. rocks-dist
46. rpc
47. scripting
48. server
49. ssh
50. ssl
51. syslog
52. syslog-client
53. syslog-server
54. tcl-development
55. x11
56. x11-thin

• PBS
• MPICH
• PVM
• HPL
• MPD
• Cluster-Fork
• Ganglia
• 411 Secure Information Service
• phpMyAdmin
• KickStart
• MySQL
• PVFS

3.1  PBS

3.2  MPICH

• mpirun - A shell script that attempts to hide from the user the differences in starting jobs for various devices.
• mpif77 - For compiling and linking MPI programs written in Fortran 77.

3.2.1  MPD

3.3  Cluster-Fork

3.4  PVM

3.5  HPL

3.6  Ganglia

3.7  411 Secure Information Service

# make -C /var/411
# cluster-fork "411get --all"

3.8  phpMyAdmin

3.9  KickStart

3.10  MySQL

3.11  PVFS

• MPI-IO support through ROMIO;
• traditional Linux file system access via the pvfs-kernel package;
• the native PVFS library interface.

Chapter 4
SGE Roll - Grid Engine

• qacct - Scans the accounting data file and produces a summary of information for wall-clock time, cpu-time, and system for the requested categories and queues.
• qalter - Changes the attributes of pending jobs.
• qconf - Allows the adminstrator to add, delete, and modify the current configuration.
• qdel - Provides a means for deleting one or more jobs.

Chapter 5
Grid Roll - NMI

• 5 Grids Center Software Suite
  • 5 NMI Client/Server
  • 5.1 Globus Toolkit
  • 5.2 Condor-G
  • 5.3 Network Weather Service
  • 5.4 KX.509/KCA
  • 5.5 GSI OpenSSH
  • 5.6 MyProxy
  • 5.7 MPICH-G2
  • 5.8 Grid Packaging Tools
  • 5.9 Gridconfig Tools
• NMI-EDIT Components
  • Software
    • 5.10 Pubcookie
    • 5.11 Shibboleth
    • 5.12 OpenSAML
    • 5.13 CPM
    • 5.14 KX.509 and KCA
    • 5.15 PERMIS
    • 5.16 Look
  • Services
    • LDAP Analyzer
    • Certificate Profile Registry
  • Directory Schema
    • eduPerson
    • eduOrg
    • commObject
  • Conventions and Best Practices
    • Practices in Directory Groups
    • LDAP Recipe
    • Metadirectories Best Practices
    • Enterprise Directory Implementation Roadmap
  • Architecture Documents
    • Shibboleth Architecture
    • SAGE
  • Policies

5.1  NMI Client/Server

5.2  Globus Toolkit

5.3  Condor-G

5.4  Network Weather Service

• nws_nameserver - A nameserver that provides all other hosts with information about the location and abilities of other NWS hosts.
• nws_memory - A memory host that stores and retrieves measurements for other hosts.
• nws_sensor - A sensor on one or more machines to monitor resource availability.
• nws_forecast - A forecaster host that analyzes resource availability measurements collected by sensors to forecast which resources will be available in the near future.

• add_forecast - A filter that derives forecasts from a series of measurements.
• ctrl_host - Sends one of a selection of commands to a running host.

5.5  KX.509/KCA

• kx509 - A standalone client program that acquires short-term X.509 certificates from the KCA for a Kerberos-authenticated user.
• KCA - The Kerberized server that generates the certificates.
• kpkcs11 - A shared library that exports the PKCS11 interface.
• mod_KCT - An Apache web server module that acquires a Kerberos service ticket from the KCT on behalf on an SSL authenticated user.
• KCT - Acceps user certificates via SSL from mod_KCT and returns a Kerberos service ticket.

5.6  GSI OpenSSH

5.7  MyProxy

• myproxy-init - Stores a credential for later retrieval.
• myproxy-info - Displays information about MyProxy credentials.
• myproxy-get-delegation - Retrieves a credential.
• myproxy-destroy - Removes a credential from the repository.
• myproxy-change-pass-phrase - Change MyProxy passphrase.
• myproxy-server.config - MyProxy server configuration file.
• myproxy-admin-adduser - Adds a user credential.
• myproxy-admin-change-pass - Change a credential passphrase.
• myproxy-admin-query - Queries MyProxy repository contents.
• myproxy-admin-load-credential - Directly load a repository.
• myproxy-server - Stores credentials in an online repository.

5.8  MPICH-G2

5.9  Grid Packaging Tools

• gpt-build - Builds and installs GPT source packages and bundles.
• gpt_build_config - Returns a minimized list of ldflags from a list of globus packages and external libraries.
• gpt-bundle - Creates binary or source bundles from binary or source packages.
• gpt-edit - GUI to edit source package metadata files.
• gpt-install - Installs GPT packages.

5.10  Gridconfig Tools

5.11  Pubcookie

• Login Server - The Pubcookie login server has two primary functions: to authenticate users and to issue authentication tokens (granting cookies) consumed by Pubcookie-enabled target application servers. Authentication occurs either by verifying user-provided credentials via a backend authentication service (Kerberos, LDAP, etc.) or by checking a token that was created on a previous visit to the login server.
• Apache Module - Apache module mod_pubcookie is written in C and uses the Apache API and the OpenSSL cryptography library to add Pubcookie-based authentication to the Apache server.
• ISAPI Filter - Uses the Internet Server Application Programming Interface (ISAPI) and the OpenSSL cryptography library to add Pubcookie-based authentication to Microsoft Internet Information Services. The Pubcookie filter specifically implements the application server component of Pubcookie. It is written in C.

5.12  Shibboleth

5.13  OpenSAML

5.14  CPM

5.15  KX.509 and KA

5.16  PERMIS

5.17  Look

5.18  LDAP Analyzer

5.19  Certificate Profile Registry

5.20  eduPerson

5.21  eduOrg

5.22  commObject/H.350

5.23  Practices in Directory Groups

5.24  LDAP Recipe

5.25  Metadirectories Best Practices

5.26  Enterprise Directory Implementation Roadmap

5.27  Shibboleth Architecture

5.28  SAGE

Chapter 6
Intel Roll

• MPICH over Ethernet; and
• MPICH with MPD over Ethernet.

Chapter 7
Globus Toolkit

• Core
  • OGSI Implementation
  • GSI - Security Infrastructure
  • System Level Services
• Security
• Data Management
  • GridFTP
  • RFT
  • RLS
• Resource Management
  • GRAM
• Information Services
  • MDS

7.1  OGSI

7.2  GSI - Security Infrastructure

7.3  System Level Services

• Admin Service - Used to ping a hosting environment, and to shut down a container gracefully.
• Logging Service - Allows the modification of log filters and the grouping of existing log producers into more easily manageable units at run time.
• Management Service - Provides a monitoring interface for the current status.

7.4  GridFTP

7.5  RFT

7.6  RLS

7.7  GRAM

7.8  MDS

• Grid Index Information Service (GIIS) - Provides an aggregate directory of lower-level data.
• Grid Resource Information Service (GRIS) - Runs on a resource and acts as a modular content gateway for a resource.
• Information Providers (IPs) - Interface from any data collection service and then talk to the GRIS.

Chapter 8
MPI-Enabled Packages

8.1  ADAPTOR

8.2  AMMPI

8.3  APPSPACK

8.4  ARPS

8.5  Aztec

8.6  BEARCLAW

• automatic adaptive mesh refinement;
• parallel execution via MPI;
• multi-physics capability, e.g. multiple PDEs may be simultaneously solved;
• dynamic data structures;
• a unified code base for 1 to 4 dimensional PDEs; and
• boundary embedding for computation in domains with complicated geometry.

8.7  BLACS

8.8  BLZPACK

8.9  Cactus

8.10  CAM

8.11  Chombo

8.12  CLAWPACK

8.13  CTSim

8.14  DAGH

8.15  Dakota

8.16  DPMTA

8.17  EGO

8.18  EPIC

8.19  FermiQCD

8.20  GADGET

8.21  GASNet

8.22  GFS

• quadtree-based (octree in 3-D) spatial discretization with automatic and dynamic local refinement;
• a multigrid Poisson solver;
• a second-order Godunov-type advection scheme;
• solves the time-dependent incompressible variable-density Euler equations;
• support for complex solid boundaries via automatic locally-refined mesh generation;
• object-oriented custom specification of initial and boundary conditions, source tersm, outputs, etc.; and
• portable parallel support via MPI.

8.23  GS2

8.24  HDF

8.25  HYCOM

8.26  HYPRE

• Struct, a structured grid interface for scalar applications whose grids consist of unions of logically rectangular grids with a fixed stencil pattern of nonzeros at each grid point;
• SStruct, a semi-structured grid interface for applications whose grids have some unstructured features wherein the user defines stencils, grids, a graph connecting the various components, and the matrix right hand side;
• FEI, a finite element discretization interface wherein the user defines the element stiffness matrices and connectivities;
• IJ, a traditional linear-algebraic interface wherein the user defines the right hand side and the matrix in terms of row and column indices.

8.27  iMOOSE

8.28  ISIS++

8.29  ISTV

8.30  LAMMPS

8.31  LFC

8.32  libMesh

8.33  LMPI

8.34  LOCA

8.35  MADCOW

8.36  magpar

8.37  MARMOT

8.38  MDP

8.39  MGRIDGEN

8.40  MITgcm

8.41  MM5

8.42  MOUSE

8.43  mpiBLAST

8.44  MPB

• full vectorial, 3-D calculation using iterative eigensolver techniques;
• a direct, frequency-domain eigensolver to simultaneously obtain both eigenvalues and eigenstates;
• a targeted eigensolver that can compute the modes whose frequencies are closest to a specific target frequency;
• a scriptable user interface based on Guile;
• support for arbitrary, anisotropic dielectric structures and non-orthogonal unit cells;
• field output in HDF format; and
• support for parallel machines via MPI.

8.45  mpiP

8.46  MPP

• mpp- A set of simple calls to provide a uniform interface to different message-passing libraries. It currently can be implemented either in the SGI/Cray native SHMEM library or in the MPI standard.
• mpp_domains - A set of simple calls for domain decomposition and domain updates on rectilinear grids.
• mpp_io - A set of simple calls for parallel I/O on distributed systems.

8.47  MUMPS

• solving linear systems with symmetric positive definite, general symmetric, general unsymmetric, and complex or real arithmetic matrices;
• parallel factorization and solve phases;
• iterative refinement and backward error analysis;
• input matrix in assembled, distributed assembled and elemental formats;
• null space functionalities;
• partial factorization and Schur complement matrix;
• interfaces to Fortran 90 and C;
• dynamic distributed scheduling to accomodate both numerical fill-in and multi-user environments; and
• use of BLAS, LAPACK and ScaLAPACK.

8.48  NaSt3DGP

8.49  NetPIPE

8.50  OPT++

8.51  Overture

8.52  PALM

8.53  PARAMESH

8.54  ParaSol

8.55  ParMETIS

• computing high quality partitionings of very large graphs;
• computing high quailty partitionings of very large meshes directly;
• computing high quality repartitions of adaptively refined meshes;
• partitioning refinement; and
• computing fill-reducing orderings of sparse matrices, i.e. matrix reordering.

8.56  pARMS

8.57  PARPACK

8.58  ParVox

8.59  PaStiX

8.60  PETSc

• Vec - provides the vector operations required for setting up and solving large-scale linear and nonlinear problems;
• Mat - a large suite of data structures and code for the manipulation of parallel sparse matrices;
• PC - a collection of sequential and parallel preconditioners;
• KSP - parallel implementations of many popular Krylov subspace iterative methods;
• SNES - data-structure-neutral implementations of Newton-like methods for nonlinear systems; and
• TS - code for the time evolution of solutions of PDEs.

8.60.1  PETSc Applications

8.61  PHAML

8.62  PIKAIA

8.63  PLANSO

8.64  PLASIM

8.65  PMESA

8.66  POP

8.67  PPAT

8.68  Prometheus

8.69  PSPACES

8.70  PUMA

8.71  QCDimMPI

8.72  RAMS

8.73  RSL

8.74  SAMRAI

8.75  ScaLAPACK

8.76  SDPARA

8.77  SGOPT

• genetic algorithms PGAreal and PGAint;
• evolutionary pattern search algorithms EPSA;
• simulated annealing SAreal;
• tabu search TSReal;
• multistart local search MSreal;
• stratified Monte Carlo sMCreal;
• Solis-Wets local search SWOpt; and
• local pattern search PatternSearch.

8.78  SLEPc

8.79  SMS

8.80  Snark

8.81  SPAI

8.82  Sphinx

8.83  S+

8.84  SPOOLES

• computing multiple minimum degree, generalized nested dissection and multisection orderings of matrices with symmetric structure;
• factoring and solving square linear systems of equations with symmetric structure, with or without pivoting for stability;
• factoring and solving overdetermined full rank systems of equations using a multifrontal QR factorization; and
• solving square linear systems using a variety of Krylov iterative methods.

8.85  SUNDIALS

8.86  SuperLU

8.87  SWOM

8.88  Towhee

8.89  Trilinos

8.89.1  AztecOO

8.89.2  Epetra

8.89.3  IFPACK

8.89.4  ML

8.89.5  TriUtils

8.90  TRLan

8.91  UG

8.92  UPC

8.93  WAVEWATCH

8.94  WRF

8.95  WSMP

8.96  Zoltan

8.97  ZPL

Chapter 9
Miscellaneous Odd Jobs

9.1  RPM Source Packages

drwxr-xr-x    7 root     root         4096 May 19 04:23 .
drwxr-xr-x    6 root     root         4096 Jun  4 20:20 ..
drwxr-xr-x    5 root     root         4096 Jun  6 21:08 BUILD
drwxr-xr-x    8 root     root         4096 May 19 04:23 RPMS
drwxr-xr-x    2 root     root         4096 Jun  4 19:46 SOURCES
drwxr-xr-x    2 root     root         4096 Jun  6 21:07 SPECS
drwxr-xr-x    2 root     root         4096 Apr  8 18:43 SRPMS

9.2  Flashing the BIOS

mkdir tmp
mount -o loop -t vfat win98-boot.img tmp
cp AWFL822A.EXE W6330VMS.360 tmp/
umount tmp

dd if=win98-boot.img of=/dev/fd0

Chapter 10
Miscellaneous Documentation

10.1  Anaconda

10.1.1  Overview

10.1.2  Install Mechanism Summary

• boot.img - boot image containing kernel modules for installing on most systems from a CDROM or harddrive;
• bootnet.img - boot image containing kernel modules for installing on most systems from a network source; and
• pcmcia.img - boot image for installing on PCMCIA based systems from a local or network source - requires pcmciadd.img driver disk.

• drvblock.img - block device drivers, e.g. SCSI controllers;
• drvnet.img - extra network device drivers; and
• oldcdrom.img - device drivers for non-SCSI, non-ATAPI CDROMs.

10.1.3  Patching the Installer

10.1.4  Invocation Options

• expert - turns on special features, e.g. allows for partitioning of removable media and prompts for a driver disk
• noshell - do not put a shell on tty2 during the install
• lowres - force the GUI installer to run at 640x480
• resolution=[mode] - run the installer in the specified mode, e.g. '1024x768'
• nousb - do not load USB support (can be useful if the install hangs early)
• nofb - do not load the VGA16 framebuffer required for doing text-mode installation in some languages
• nofirewire - do not load support for Firewire devices
• askmethod - do not automatically use the CD-ROM as the install source if we detect a Red Hat Linux CD in the CD-ROM drive
• nousbstorage - do not load the usbstorage module in the loader (may help with device ordering on SCSI systems)
• noparport - do not attempt to load support for parallel ports
• noprobe - do not attempt to detect hardware, user is prompted instead
• nopcmcia - ignore PCMCIA controller in system
• skipddc - skips DDC probe of monitor, may help if it is hanging system
• text - force text mode install
• updates - prompt for floppy containing updates/bug fixes
• isa - prompt user for ISA devices configuration
• dd - use a driver disk
• driverdisk - use a driver disk
• mediacheck - activates loader code for option of testing integrity of ISO-based install source
• rescue - run rescue environment
• nomount - do not automatically mount any installed Linux partitions in rescue mode
• nopass - do not pass keyboard/mouse info to stage 2 installer, this is used to test keyboard and mouse config screens in the stage2 installer during network installs
• serial - turns on serial console support
• ksdevice [arg] - tells install what network device to use for kickstarting from network, e.g. 'eth0'
• ks - kickstart over NFS
• ks=cdrom - kickstart from CD-ROM
• ks=nfs:[path] - kickstart from NFS
• ks=[URL] - kickstart via HTTP
• ks=hd:[dev] - kickstart vi a hard drive, e.g. dev = hda1
• ks=file:[path] - kickstart from a file, e.g. path = fd0/ks.cfg
• ks=ftp://[path] - kickstart from FTP
• ks=http://[path] - kickstart from HTTP
• kssendmac - adds HTTP headers to ks=http:// request that can be helpful for provisioning systems; includes MAC address of all NICs in a CGI environment of the form HTTP_X_RHN_PROVISIONING_0, HTTP_X_RHN_PROVISIONING_1, etc. for all NICs
• upgradeany - do not require an /etc/redhat release that matches the expected syntax to upgrade
• lang=[lang] - language to use for installation
• keymamp=[keymap] - keyboard layout to use for installation
• ip=[ip] - IP to use for network installation; use dhcp for DHCP
• netmask=[nm] - netmask address to use for network installation
• gateway=[gw] - gateway address to use for network installation
• dns=[dns] - comma separated list of nameserver addresses to use for network installation
• method=nfs:[path] - use [path] for an NFS installation
• method=http://[path] - use [path] for an HTTP installation
• method=ftp://[path] - use [path] for an FTP installation
• method=hd://[dev]/[path] - use [path] on [dev] for a hard drive installation
• method=cdrom - use a CD-ROM based installation
• vnc - do a graphical installation via VNC, i.e. instead of starating a normal X server, vncserver will be started and you can then connect remotely to do the installation
• vncpassword=[pw] - set a password for the vnc session
• vncconnect=[host]:[port] - once an installation is up and running, connect to the vnc client named [host], and optionally on port [port]

10.1.5  Further Information

10.2  Kickstart

Copyright (c) 2003 by Red Hat, Inc.

Copyright TM 2003 by Red Hat, Inc. This material may be distributed only subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the Open Publication License, V1.0 or later (the latest version is presently available at http://www.opencontent.org/openpub/).

Distribution of substantively modified versions of this document is prohibited without the explicit permission of the copyright holder.

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Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.

10.2.1  Introduction

What are Kickstart Installations?

How Do You Perform a Kickstart Installation

1. Create a kickstart file.
2. Create a boot diskette with the kickstart file or make the kickstart file available on the network.
3. Make the installation tree available.
4. Start the kickstart installation.

Creating the Kickstart File

• Sections must be specified in order. Items within the sections do not have to be in a specific order unless otherwise specified. The section order is:
  • Command section - Refer to Chapter 2 for a list of kickstart options. You must include the required options.
  • The %packages section - Refer to Chapter 3 for details.
  • The %pre and %post sections - These two sections can be in any order and are not required. Refer to Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 for details.
• Items that are not required can be omitted.
• Omitting any required item will result in the installation program prompting the user for an answer to the related item, just as the user would be prompted during a typical installation. Once the answer is given, the installation will continue unattended (unless it finds another missing item).
• Lines starting with a pound sign (#) are treated as comments and are ignored.
• For kickstart upgrades, the following items are required:
  • Language
  • Language support
  • Installation method
  • Device specification (if device is needed to perform installation)
  • Keyboard setup
  • The upgrade keyword
  • Boot loader configuration
  If any other items are specified for an upgrade, those items will be ignored (note that this includes package selection).

10.2.2  Kickstart Options

• autopart (optional)
  
  Automatically create partitions - 1 GB or more root (/) partition, a swap partition, and an appropriate boot partition for the architecture. One or more of the default partition sizes can be redefined with the part directive.
• autostep (optional)
  
  Similar to interactive except it goes to the next screen for you. It is used mostly for debugging.
• auth or authconfig (required)
  
  Sets up the authentication options for the system. It's similar to the authconfig command, which can be run after the install. By default, passwords are normally encrypted and are not shadowed.
  • -enablemd5
    
    Use md5 encryption for user passwords.
  • -enablenis
    
    Turns on NIS support. By default, -enablenis uses whatever domain it finds on the network. A domain should almost always be set by hand with the -nisdomain= option.
  • -nisdomain=
    
    NIS domain name to use for NIS services.
  • -nisserver=
    
    Server to use for NIS services (broadcasts by default).
  • -useshadow or -enableshadow
    
    Use shadow passwords.
  • -enableldap
    
    Turns on LDAP support in /etc/nsswitch.conf, allowing your system to retrieve information about users (UIDs, home directories, shells, etc.) from an LDAP directory. To use this option, you must install the nss_ldap package. You must also specify a server and a base DN with -ldapserver= and -ldapbasedn=.
  • -enableldapauth
    
    Use LDAP as an authentication method. This enables the pam_ldap module for authentication and changing passwords, using an LDAP directory. To use this option, you must have the nss_ldap package installed. You must also specify a server and a base DN with -ldapserver= and -ldapbasedn=.
  • -ldapserver=
    
    If you specified either -enableldap or -enableldapauth, use this option to specify the name of the LDAP server to use. This option is set in the /etc/ldap.conf file.
  • -ldapbasedn=
    
    If you specified either -enableldap or -enableldapauth, use this option to specify the DN (distinguished name) in your LDAP directory tree under which user information is stored. This option is set in the /etc/ldap.conf file.
  • -enableldaptls
    
    Use TLS (Transport Layer Security) lookups. This option allows LDAP to send encrypted usernames and passwords to an LDAP server before authentication.
  • -enablekrb5
    
    Use Kerberos 5 for authenticating users. Kerberos itself does not know about home directories, UIDs, or shells. So if you enable Kerberos you will need to make users' accounts known to this workstation by enabling LDAP, NIS, or Hesiod or by using the /usr/sbin/useradd command to make their accounts known to this workstation. If you use this option, you must have the pam_krb5 package installed.
  • -krb5realm=
    
    The Kerberos 5 realm to which your workstation belongs.
  • -krb5kdc=
    
    The KDC (or KDCs) that serve requests for the realm. If you have multiple KDCs in your realm, separate their names with commas (,).
  • -krb5adminserver=
    
    The KDC in your realm that is also running kadmind. This server handles password changing and other administrative requests. This server must be run on the master KDC if you have more than one KDC.
  • -enablehesiod
    
    Enable Hesiod support for looking up user home directories, UIDs, and shells. More information on setting up and using Hesiod on your network is in /usr/share/doc/glibc-2.x.x/README.hesiod, which is included in the glibc package. Hesiod is an extension of DNS that uses DNS records to store information about users, groups, and various other items.
  • -hesiodlhs
    
    The Hesiod LHS ("left-hand side") option, set in /etc/hesiod.conf. This option is used by the Hesiod library to determine the name to search DNS for when looking up information, similar to LDAP's use of a base DN.
  • -hesiodrhs
    
    The Hesiod RHS ("right-hand side") option, set in /etc/hesiod.conf. This option is used by the Hesiod library to determine the name to search DNS for when looking up information, similar to LDAP's use of a base DN.
    Tip: To look up user information for "jim", the Hesiod library looks up jim.passwd<LHS><RHS>, which should resolve to a TXT record that looks like what his passwd entry would look like (jim:*:501:501:Jungle Jim:/home/jim:/bin/bash). For groups, the situation is identical, except jim.group<LHS><RHS> would be used.
    Looking up users and groups by number is handled by making 501.uid a CNAME for jim.passwd, and 501.gid a CNAME for jim.group. Note that the LHS and RHS do not have periods [.] put in front of them when the library determines the name for which to search, so the LHS and RHS usually begin with periods.
  • -enablesmbauth
    
    Enables authentication of users against an SMB server (typically a Samba or Windows server). SMB authentication support does not know about home directories, UIDs, or shells. So if you enable it you will need to make users' accounts known to the workstation by enabling LDAP, NIS, or Hesiod or by using the /usr/sbin/useradd command to make their accounts known to the workstation. To use this option, you must have the pam_smb package installed.
  • -smbservers=
    
    The name of the server(s) to use for SMB authentication. To specify more than one server, separate the names with commas (,).
  • -smbworkgroup=
    
    The name of the workgroup for the SMB servers.
  • -enablecache
    
    Enables the nscd service. The nscd service caches information about users, groups, and various other types of information. Caching is especially helpful if you choose to distribute information about users and groups over your network using NIS, LDAP, or hesiod.
• bootloader (required)
  
  Specifies how the boot loader should be installed and whether the boot loader should be LILO or GRUB. This option is required for both installations and upgrades. For upgrades, if -useLilo is not specified and LILO is the current bootloader, the bootloader will be changed to GRUB. To preserve LILO on upgrades, use bootloader -upgrade.
  • -append=
    
    Specifies kernel parameters. To specify multiple parameters, separate them with spaces. For example:
    bootloader -location=mbr -append="hdd=ide-scsi ide=nodma"
  • -driveorder
    
    Specify which drive is first in the BIOS boot order. For example:
    bootloader -driveorder=sda,hda
  • -location=
    
    Specifies where the boot record is written. Valid values are the following: mbr (the default), partition (installs the boot loader on the first sector of the partition containing the kernel), or none (do not install the boot loader).
  • -password=
    
    If using GRUB, sets the GRUB boot loader password the one specified with this option. This should be used to restrict access to the GRUB shell, where arbitrary kernel options can be passed.
  • -md5pass=
    
    If using GRUB, similar to -password= except the password should already be encrypted.
  • -useLilo
    
    Use LILO instead of GRUB as the boot loader.
  • -linear
    
    If using LILO, use the linear LILO option; this is only for backward compatibility (and linear is now used by default).
  • -nolinear
    
    If using LILO, use the nolinear LILO option; linear is the default.
  • -lba32
    
    If using LILO, force use of lba32 mode instead of auto-detecting.
  • -upgrade
    
    Upgrade the existing boot loader configuration, preserving the old entries. This option is only available for upgrades.
• clearpart (optional)
  Removes partitions from the system, prior to creation of new partitions. By default, no partitions are removed.
  Note: If the clearpart command is used, then the -onpart command cannot be used on a logical partition.
  • -all
    
    Erases all partitions from the system.
  • -drives=
    
    Specifies which drives to clear partitions from. For example, the following clears the partitions on the first two drives on the primary IDE controller:
    clearpart -drives hda,hdb
  • -initlabel
    
    Initializes the disk label to the default for your architecture (for example msdos for x86 and gpt for Itanium). It is useful so that the installation program does not ask if it should initialize the disk label if installing to a brand new hard drive.
  • -linux
    
    Erases all Linux partitions.
  • -none (default)
    
    Do not remove any partitions.
• cmdline (optional)
  
  Perform the installation in a completely non-interactive command line mode. Any prompts for interaction will halt the install. This mode is useful on S/390 systems with the x3270 console.
• device (optional)
  
  On most PCI systems, the installation program will autoprobe for Ethernet and SCSI cards properly. On older systems and some PCI systems, however, kickstart needs a hint to find the proper devices. The device command, which tells the installation program to install extra modules, is in this format:
  device <type> <moduleName> -opts=<options>
  • <type>
    
    Replace with either scsi or eth
  • <moduleName>
    
    Replace with the name of the kernel module which should be installed.
  • -opts=
    Options to pass to the kernel module. Note that multiple options may be passed if they are put in quotes. For example:
    -opts=äic152x=0x340 io=11"
• driverdisk (optional)
  
  Driver diskettes can be used during kickstart installations. You need to copy the driver diskettes's contents to the root directory of a partition on the system's hard drive. Then you need to use the driverdisk command to tell the installation program where to look for the driver disk.
  driverdisk <partition> [-type=<fstype>]
  Alternatively, a network location can be specified for the driver diskette:
  driverdisk -source=ftp://path/to/dd.img
  driverdisk -source=http://path/to/dd.img
  driverdisk -source=nfs:host:/path/to/img
  • <partition>
    
    Partition containing the driver disk.
  • -type=
    
    File system type (for example, vfat or ext2).
• firewall (optional)
  
  This option corresponds to the Firewall Configuration screen in the installation program:
  firewall -enabled - -disabled [-trust=] <device> [-port=]
  • -enabled
    
    Reject incoming connections that are not in response to outbound requests, such as DNS replies or DHCP requests. If access to services running on this machine is needed, you can choose to allow specific services through the firewall.
  • -disabled
    
    Do not configure any iptables rules.
  • -trust=
    
    Listing a device here, such as eth0, allows all traffic coming from that device to go through the firewall. To list more than one device, use -trust eth0 -trust eth1. Do NOT use a comma-separated format such as -trust eth0, eth1.
  • <incoming>
    
    Replace with none or more of the following to allow the specified services through the firewall.
    • -ssh
    • -telnet
    • -smtp
    • -http
    • -ftp
  • -port=
    
    You can specify that ports be allowed through the firewall using the port:protocol format. For example, to allow IMAP access through your firewall, specify imap:tcp. Numeric ports can also be specified explicitly; for example, to allow UDP packets on port 1234 through, specify 1234:udp. To specify multiple ports, separate them by commas.
• firstboot (optional)
  
  Determine whether the Setup Agent starts the first time the system is booted. If enabled, the firstboot package must be installed. If not specified, this option is disabled by default.
  • -enable
    
    The Setup Agent is started the first time the system boots.
  • -disable
    
    The Setup Agent is not started the first time the system boots.
  • -reconfig
    
    Enable the Setup Agent to start at boot time in reconfiguration mode. This mode enables the language, mouse, keyboard, root password, security level, time zone, and networking configuration options in addition to the default ones.
• install (optional)
  
  Tells the system to install a fresh system rather than upgrade an existing system. This is the default mode. For installation, you must specify the type of installation from one of cdrom, harddrive, nfs, or url (for ftp or http installations). The install command and the installation method command must be on separate lines.
  • cdrom
    
    Install from the first CD-ROM drive on the system.
  • harddrive
    
    Install from a Red Hat installation tree on a local drive, which must be either vfat or ext2.
    • -partition=
      
      Partition to install from (such as, sdb2).
    • -dir=
      
      Directory containing the RedHat directory of the installation tree.
    For example:
    harddrive -partition=hdb2 -dir=/tmp/install-tree
  • nfs
    
    Install from the NFS server specified.
    • -server=
      
      Server from which to install (hostname or IP).
    • -dir=
      
      Directory containing the RedHat directory of the installation tree.
    For example:
    nfs -server=nfsserver.example.com -dir=/tmp/install-tree
  • url
    
    Install from an installation tree on a remote server via FTP or HTTP.
    For example:
    url -url http://<server>/<dir>
    or:
    url -url ftp://<username>:<password>@<server>/<dir>
• interactive (optional)
  
  Uses the information provided in the kickstart file during the installation, but allow for inspection and modification of the values given. You will be presented with each screen of the installation program with the values from the kickstart file. Either accept the values by clicking Next or change the values and click Next to continue. See also autostep.
• keyboard (required)
  
  Sets system keyboard type. Here is the list of available keyboards on i386, Itanium, and Alpha machines:

  be-latin1, bg, br-abnt2, cf, cz-lat2, cz-us-qwertz, de, de-latin1, de-latin1-nodeadkeys, dk, dk-latin1, dvorak, es, et, fi, fi-latin1, fr, fr-latin0, fr-latin1, fr-pc, fr_CH, fr_CH-latin1, gr, hu, hu101, is-latin1, it, it-ibm, it2, jp106, la-latin1, mk-utf, no, no-latin1, pl, pt-latin1, ro_win, ru, ru-cp1251, ru-ms, ru1, ru2, ru_win, se-latin1, sg, sg-latin1, sk-qwerty, slovene, speakup, speakup-lt, sv-latin1, sg, sg-latin1, sk-querty, slovene, trq, ua, uk, us, us-acentos

  The file /usr/lib/python2.2/site-packages/rhpl/keyboard_models.py also contains this list and is part of the rhpl package.
• lang (required)
  
  Sets the language to use during installation. For example, to set the language to English, the kickstart file should contain the following line:
  lang en_US
  The file /usr/share/redhat-config-language/locale-list provides a list the valid language codes in the first column of each line and is part of the redhat-config-languages package.
• langsupport (required)
  
  Sets the language(s) to install on the system. The same language codes used with lang can be used with langsupport.
  To install one language, specify it. For example, to install and use the French language fr_FR:
  langsupport fr_FR
  • -default=
    
    If language support for more than one language is specified, a default must be identified.
  For example, to install English and French and use English as the default language:
  langsupport -default=en_US fr_FR
  If you use -default with only one language, all languages will be installed with the specified language set to the default.
• logvol (optional)
  
  Create a logical volume for Logical Volume Management (LVM) with the syntax:
  logvol <mntpoint> -vgname=<name> -size=<size> -name=<name> <options>
  The options are as follows:
  • -noformat
    
    Use an existing logical volume and do not format it.
  • -useexisting
    
    Use an existing logical volume and reformat it.
  Create the partition first, create the logical volume group, and then create the logical volume. For example:
  part pv.01 -size 3000
  volgroup myvg pv.01
  logvol / -vgname=myvg -size=2000 -name=rootvol
  
• mouse (required)
  
  Configures the mouse for the system, both in GUI and text modes. Options are:
  • -device=
    
    Device the mouse is on (such as -device=ttyS0).
  • -emulthree
    
    If present, simultaneous clicks on the left and right mouse buttons will be recognized as the middle mouse button by the X Window System. This option should be used if you have a two button mouse.
  After options, the mouse type may be specified as one of the following:

  alpsps/2, ascii, asciips/2, atibm, generic, generic3, genericps/2, generic3ps/2, genericwheelps/2, genericusb, generic3usb, genericwheelusb, geniusnm, geniusnmps/2, geniusprops/2, geniusscrollps/2, geniusscrollps/2+, thinking, thinkingps/2, logitech, logitechcc, logibm, logimman, logimmanps/2, logimman+, logimman+ps/2, logimmusb, microsoft, msnew, msintelli, msintellips/2, msintelliusb, msbm, mousesystems, mmseries, mmhittab, sun, none

  This list can also be found in the /usr/lib/python2.2/site-packages/rhpl/mouse.py file, which is part of the rhpl package.
  If the mouse command is given without any arguments, or it is omitted, the installation program will attempt to auto-detect the mouse. This procedure works for most modern mice.
• network (optional)
  
  Configures network information for the system. If the kickstart installation does not require networking (in other words, it is not installed over NFS, HTTP, or FTP), networking is not configured for the system. If the installation does require networking and network information is not provided in the kickstart file, the installation program assumes that the installation should be done over eth0 via a dynamic IP address (BOOTP/DHCP), and configures the final, installed system to determine its IP address dynamically. The network option configures networking information for kickstart installations via a network as well as for the installed system.
  • -bootproto=
    
    One of dhcp, bootp, or static.
    It default to dhcp. bootp and dhcp are treated the same.
    The DHCP method uses a DHCP server system to obtain its networking configuration. As you might guess, the BOOTP method is similar, requiring a BOOTP server to supply the networking configuration. To direct a system to use DHCP:
    network -bootproto=dhcp
    To direct a machine to use BOOTP to obtain its networking configuration, use the following line in the kickstart file:
    network -bootproto=bootp
    The static method requires that you enter all the required networking information in the kickstart file. As the name implies, this information is static and will be used during and after the installation. The line for static networking is more complex, as you must include all network configuration information on one line. You must specify the IP address, netmask, gateway, and nameserver. For example: (the  indicates that it is all one line):
    network -bootproto=static -ip=10.0.2.15 -netmask=255.255.255.0  
    -gateway=10.0.2.254 -nameserver=10.0.2.1
    If you use the static method, be aware of the following two restrictions:
    • All static networking configuration information must be specified on one line; you cannot wrap lines using a backslash, for example.
    • You can only specify one nameserver here. However, you can use the kickstart file's %post section (described in Chapter 5) to add more name servers, if needed.
  • -device=
    
    Used to select a specific Ethernet device for installation. Note that using -device= will not be effective unless the kickstart file is a local file (such as ks=floppy), since the installation program will configure the network to find the kickstart file. For example:
    network -bootproto=dhcp -device=eth0
  • -ip=
    
    IP address for the machine to be installed.
  • -gateway=
    
    Default gateway as an IP address.
  • -nameserver=
    
    Primary nameserver, as an IP address.
  • -nodns
    
    Do not configure any DNS server.
  • -netmask=
    
    Netmask for the installed system.
  • -hostname=
    Hostname for the installed system.
• part or partition (required for installs, ignored for upgrades)
  
  Creates a partition on the system.
  If more than one Red Hat Enterprise Linux installation exists on the system on different partitions, the installation program prompts the user and asks which installation to upgrade.
  Warning: All partitions created will be formatted as part of the installation process unless -noformat and -onpart are used.
  • <mntpoint>
    The <mntpoint> is where the partition will be mounted and must be of one of the following forms:
    • /<path>
      
      For example, /, /usr, /home
    • swap
      
      The partition will be used as swap space.
      To determine the size of the swap partition automatically, use the -recommended option:
      swap -recommended
      The minimum size of the automatically-generated swap partition will be no smaller than the amount of RAM in the system and no bigger than twice the amount of RAM in the system.
    • raid.<id>
      
      The partition will be used for software RAID (refer to raid).
    • pv.<id>
      
      The partition will be used for LVM (refer to logvol).
  • -size=
    
    The minimum partition size in megabytes. Specify an integer value here such as 500. Do not append the number with MB.
  • -grow
    
    Tells the partition to grow to fill available space (if any), or up to the maximum size setting.
  • -maxsize=
    
    The maximum partition size in megabytes when the partition is set to grow. Specify an integer value here, and do not append the number with MB.
  • -noformat
    
    Tells the installation program not to format the partition, for use with the -onpart command.
  • -onpart= or -usepart=
    
    Put the partition on the already existing device. For example:
    partition /home -onpart=hda1
    will put /home on /dev/hda1, which must already exist.
  • -ondisk= or -ondrive=
    
    Forces the partition to be created on a particular disk. For example, -ondisk=sdb will put the partition on the second SCSI disk on the system.
  • -asprimary
    
    Forces automatic allocation of the partition as a primary partition or the partitioning will fail.
  • -type= (replaced by fstype)
    
    This option is no longer available. Use fstype.
  • -fstype=
    
    Sets the file system type for the partition. Valid values are ext2, ext3, swap, and vfat.
  • -start=
    
    Specifies the starting cylinder for the partition. It requires that a drive be specified with -ondisk= or ondrive=. It also requires that the ending cylinder be specified with -end= or the partition size be specified with -size=.
  • -end=
    
    Specifies the ending cylinder for the partition. It requires that the starting cylinder be specified with -start=.
  Note: If partitioning fails for any reason, diagnostic messages will appear on virtual console 3.
• raid (optional)
  
  Assembles a software RAID device. This command is of the form:
  raid <mntpoint> -level=<level> -device=<mddevice> <partitions*>
  • <mntpoint>
    
    Location where the RAID file system is mounted. If it is /, the RAID level must be 1 unless a boot partition (/boot) is present. If a boot partition is present, the /boot partition must be level 1 and the root (/) partition can be any of the available types. The <partitions*> (which denotes that multiple partitions can be listed) lists the RAID identifiers to add to the RAID array.
  • -level=
    
    RAID level to use (0, 1, or 5).
  • -device=
    
    Name of the RAID device to use (such as md0 or md1). RAID devices range from md0 to md7, and each may only be used once.
  • -spares=
    
    Specifies the number of spare drives allocated for the RAID array. Spare drives are used to rebuild the array in case of drive failure.
  • -fstype=
    
    Sets the file system type for the RAID array. Valid values are ext2, ext3, swap, and vfat.
  • -noformat
    
    Use an existing RAID device and do not format the RAID array.
  • -useexisting
    
    Use an existing RAID device and reformat it.
  The following example shows how to create a RAID level 1 partition for /, and a RAID level 5 for /usr, assuming there are three SCSI disks on the system. It also creates three swap partitions, one on each drive.
  part raid.01 -size=60 -ondisk=sda
  part raid.02 -size=60 -ondisk=sdb
  part raid.03 -size=60 -ondisk=sdc
  
  part swap -size=128 -ondisk=sda
  part swap -size=128 -ondisk=sdb
  part swap -size=128 -ondisk=sdc
  
  part raid.11 -size=1 -grow -ondisk=sda
  part raid.12 -size=1 -grow -ondisk=sdb
  part raid.13 -size=1 -grow -ondisk=sdc
  
  raid / -level=1 -device=md0 raid.01 raid.02 raid.03
  raid /usr -level=5 -device=md1 raid.11 raid.12 raid.13
  
• reboot (optional)
  
  Reboot after the installation is complete (no arguments). Normally, kickstart displays a message and waits for the user to press a key before rebooting.
• rootpw (required)
  
  Sets the system's root password to the <password> argument.
  rootpw [-iscrypted] <password>
  • -iscrypted
    
    If this is present, the password argument is assumed to already be encrypted.
• skipx (optional)
  
  If present, X is not configured on the installed system.
• text (optional)
  
  Perform the kickstart installation in text mode. Kickstart installations are performed in graphical mode by default.
• timezone (required)
  
  Sets the system time zone to <timezone> which may be any of the time zones listed by timeconfig.
  timezone [-utc] <timezone>
  • -utc
    
    If present, the system assumes the hardware clock is set to UTC (Greenwich Mean) time.
• upgrade (optional)
  
  Tells the system to upgrade an existing system rather than install a fresh system. You must specify one of cdrom, harddrive, nfs, or url (for ftp and http) as the location of the installation tree. Refer to install for details.
• xconfig (optional)
  
  Configures the X Window System. If this option is not given, the user will need to configure X manually during the installation, if X was installed; this option should not be used if X is not installed on the final system.
  • -noprobe
    
    Do not probe the monitor.
  • -card=
    
    Use specified card; this card name should be from the list of cards in /usr/share/hwdata/Cards from the hwdata package. The list of cards can also be found on the X Configuration screen of the Kickstart Configurator. If this argument is not provided, the installation program will probe the PCI bus for the card. Since AGP is part of the PCI bus, AGP cards will be detected if supported. The probe order is determined by the PCI scan order of the motherboard.
  • -videoram=
    
    Specify the amount of video RAM the video card has.
  • -monitor=
    
    Use specified monitor; monitor name should be from the list of monitors in /usr/share/hwdata/MonitorsDB from the hwdata package. The list of monitors can also be found on the X Configuration screen of the Kickstart Configurator. This is ignored if -hsync or -vsync is provided. If no monitor information is provided, the installation program tries to probe for it automatically.
  • -hsync=
    
    Specifies the horizontal sync frequency of the monitor.
  • -vsync=
    
    Specifies the vertical sync frequency of the monitor.
  • -defaultdesktop=
    
    Specify either GNOME or KDE to set the default desktop (assumes that GNOME Desktop Environment and/or KDE Desktop Environment has been installed through %packages).
  • -startxonboot
    
    Use a graphical login on the installed system.
  • -resolution=
    
    Specify the default resolution for the X Window System on the installed system. Valid values are 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, 1152x864, 1280x1024, 1400x1050, 1600x1200. Be sure to specify a resolution that is compatible with the video card and monitor.
  • -depth=
    
    Specify the default color depth for the X Window System on the installed system. Valid values are 8, 16, 24, and 32. Be sure to specify a color depth that is compatible with the video card and monitor.
• volgroup (optional)
  
  Use to create a Logical Volume Management (LVM) group with the syntax:
  volgroup <name> <partition> <options>
  The options are as follows:
  • -noformat
    
    Use an existing volume group and do not format it.
  • -useexisting
    
    Use an existing volume group and reformat it.
  Create the partition first, create the logical volume group, and then create the logical volume. For example:
  part pv.01 -size 3000
  volgroup myvg pv.01
  logvol / -vgname=myvg -size=2000 -name=rootvol
  
• zerombr (optional)
  
  If zerombr is specified, and yes is its sole argument, any invalid partition tables found on disks are initialized. This will destroy all of the contents of disks with invalid partition tables. This command should be in the following format:
  zerombr yes
  No other format is effective.
• %include
  
  Use the %include /path/to/file command to include the contents of another file in the kickstart file as though the contents were at the location of the %include command in the kickstart file.

10.2.3  Package Selection

   %packages                                                                  
   @ X Window System                                                          
   @ GNOME Desktop Environment                                                
   @ Graphical Internet                                                       
   @ Sound and Video                                                          
   dhcp                                                                       
   

• -resolvedeps
  
  Install the listed packages and automatically resolve package dependencies. If this option is not specified and there are package dependencies, the automated installation will pause and prompt the user. For example:
  %packages -resolvedeps
• -ignoredeps
  
  Ignore the unresolved dependencies and install the listed packages without the dependencies. For example:
  %packages -ignoredeps
• -ignoremissing
  
  Ignore the missing packages and groups instead of halting the installation to ask if the installation should be aborted or continued. For example:
  %packages -ignoremissing

10.2.4  Pre-installation Script

• -interpreter /usr/bin/python
  
  Allows you to specify a different scripting language, such as Python. Replace /usr/bin/python with the scripting language of your choice.

Example

%pre                                                                                
                                                                                    
#!/bin/sh                                                                           
                                                                                    
hds=""                                                                              
mymedia=""                                                                          
                                                                                    
for file in /proc/ide/h*                                                            
do                                                                                  
  mymedia=`cat $file/media`                                                         
  if [ $mymedia == "disk" ] ; then                                                  
      hds="$hds `basename $file`"                                                   
  fi                                                                                
done                                                                                
                                                                                    
set $hds                                                                            
numhd=`echo $#`                                                                     
                                                                                    
drive1=`echo $hds | cut -d' ' -f1`                                                  
drive2=`echo $hds | cut -d' ' -f2`                                                  
                                                                                    
#Write out partition scheme based on whether there are 1 or 2 hard drives           
                                                                                    
if [ $numhd == "2" ] ; then                                                         
  #2 drives                                                                         
  echo "#partitioning scheme generated in %pre for 2 drives" > /tmp/part-include    
  echo "clearpart --all" >> /tmp/part-include                                       
  echo "part /boot --fstype ext3 --size 75 --ondisk hda" >> /tmp/part-include       
  echo "part / --fstype ext3 --size 1 --grow --ondisk hda" >> /tmp/part-include     
  echo "part swap --recommended --ondisk $drive1" >> /tmp/part-include              
  echo "part /home --fstype ext3 --size 1 --grow --ondisk hdb" >> /tmp/part-include 
else                                                                                
  #1 drive                                                                          
  echo "#partitioning scheme generated in %pre for 1 drive" > /tmp/part-include     
  echo "clearpart --all" >> /tmp/part-include                                       
  echo "part /boot --fstype ext3 --size 75" >> /tmp/part-includ                     
  echo "part swap --recommended" >> /tmp/part-include                               
  echo "part / --fstype ext3 --size 2048" >> /tmp/part-include                      
  echo "part /home --fstype ext3 --size 2048 --grow" >> /tmp/part-include           
fi                                                                                 

10.2.5  Post-installation Script

• -nochroot
  
  Allows you to specify commands that you would like to run outside of the chroot environment.
  The following example copies the file /etc/resolv.conf to the file system that was just installed.
  %post -nochroot
  cp /etc/resolv.conf /mnt/sysimage/etc/resolv.conf
• -interpreter /usr/bin/python
  
  Allows you to specify a different scripting language, such as Python. Replace /usr/bin/python with the scripting language of your choice.

Examples

/sbin/chkconfig --level 345 telnet off                                     
/sbin/chkconfig --level 345 finger off                                     
/sbin/chkconfig --level 345 lpd off                                        
/sbin/chkconfig --level 345 httpd on                                       

mkdir /mnt/temp                                                            
mount 10.10.0.2:/usr/new-machines /mnt/temp                                
open -s -w -- /mnt/temp/runme                                              
umount /mnt/temp

/usr/sbin/useradd bob                                                      
/usr/bin/chfn -f "Bob Smith" bob                                           
/usr/sbin/usermod -p 'kjdf$04930FTH/ ' bob  

10.2.6  Making the Kickstart File Available

• On a boot diskette
• On a boot CD-ROM
• On a network

Creating a Kickstart Boot Diskette

Creating a Kickstart Boot CD-ROM

Making the Kickstart File Available on the Network

filename "/usr/new-machine/kickstart/";                                    
next-server blarg.redhat.com;                                              

Making the Installation Tree Available

Starating a Kickstart Installation

• Boot Diskette
  
  If the kickstart file is located on a boot diskette as described in the Section called Creating a Kickstart Boot Diskette in Chapter 6, boot the system with the diskette in the drive, and enter the following command at the boot: prompt:
  linux ks=floppy
• CD-ROM #1 and Diskette
  
  The linux ks=floppy command also works if the ks.cfg file is located on a vfat or ext2 file system on a diskette and you boot from the Red Hat Enterprise Linux CD-ROM #1.
  An alternate boot command is to boot off the Red Hat Enterprise Linux CD-ROM #1 and have the kickstart file on a vfat or ext2 file system on a diskette. To do so, enter the following command at the boot: prompt:
  
  linux ks=hd:fd0:/ks.cfg
• With Driver Disk
  
  If you need to use a driver disk with kickstart, specify the dd option as well. For example, to boot off a boot diskette and use a driver disk, enter the following command at the boot: prompt:
  
  linux ks=floppy dd
• Boot CD-ROM
  
  If the kickstart file is on a boot CD-ROM as described in the Section called Creating a Kickstart Boot CD-ROM in Chapter 6, insert the CD-ROM into the system, boot the system, and enter the following command at the boot: prompt (where ks.cfg is the name of the kickstart file):
  
  linux ks=cdrom:/ks.cfg

• ks=nfs:<server>:/<path>
  
  The installation program will look for the kickstart file on the NFS server <server>, as file <path>. The installation program will use DHCP to configure the Ethernet card. For example, if your NFS server is server.example.com and the kickstart file is in the NFS share /mydir/ks.cfg, the correct boot command would be ks=nfs:server.example.com:/mydir/ks.cfg.
• ks=http://<server>/<path>
  
  The installation program will look for the kickstart file on the HTTP server <server>, as file <path>. The installation program will use DHCP to configure the Ethernet card. For example, if your HTTP server is server.example.com and the kickstart file is in the HTTP directory /mydir/ks.cfg, the correct boot command would be ks=http://server.example.com/mydir/ks.cfg.
• ks=floppy
  
  The installation program looks for the file ks.cfg on a vfat or ext2 file system on the diskette in /dev/fd0.
• ks=floppy:/<path>
  
  The installation program will look for the kickstart file on the diskette in /dev/fd0, as file <path>.
• ks=hd:<device>:/<file>
  
  The installation program will mount the file system on <device> (which must be vfat or ext2), and look for the kickstart configuration file as <file> in that file system (for example, ks=hd:sda3:/mydir/ks.cfg).
• ks=file:/<file>
  
  The installation program will try to read the file <file> from the file system; no mounts will be done. This is normally used if the kickstart file is already on the initrd image.
• ks=cdrom:/<path>
  
  The installation program will look for the kickstart file on CD-ROM, as file <path>.
• ks
  
  If ks is used alone, the installation program will configure the Ethernet card to use DHCP. The kickstart file is read from the "bootServer" from the DHCP response as if it is an NFS server sharing the kickstart file. By default, the bootServer is the same as the DHCP server. The name of the kickstart file is one of the following:
  • If DHCP is specified and the bootfile begins with a /, the bootfile provided by DHCP is looked for on the NFS server.
  • If DHCP is specified and the bootfile begins with something other then a /, the bootfile provided by DHCP is looked for in the /kickstart directory on the NFS server.
  • If DHCP did not specify a bootfile, then the installation program tries to read the file /kickstart/1.2.3.4-kickstart, where 1.2.3.4 is the numeric IP address of the machine being installed.
• ksdevice=<device>
  
  The installation program will use this network device to connect to the network. For example, to start a kickstart installation with the kickstart file on an NFS server that is connected to the system through the eth1 device, use the command ks=nfs:<server>:/<path> ksdevice=eth1 at the boot: prompt.