[install-guide/F21-rewrite] Give a *general* overview of the blocks used in a pxe boot situation, and remove the rest of the cob
Pete Travis
immanetize at fedoraproject.org
Sat Sep 6 07:00:33 UTC 2014
commit 5ca50f045daec000836c068be21557836f06c2f7
Author: Pete Travis <immanetize at fedoraproject.org>
Date: Sat Sep 6 01:00:26 2014 -0600
Give a *general* overview of the blocks used in a pxe boot situation, and remove the rest of the cobbler instructions
en-US/Network_based_Installations.xml | 283 +++++----------------------------
1 files changed, 37 insertions(+), 246 deletions(-)
---
diff --git a/en-US/Network_based_Installations.xml b/en-US/Network_based_Installations.xml
index 5e8bae3..0781236 100644
--- a/en-US/Network_based_Installations.xml
+++ b/en-US/Network_based_Installations.xml
@@ -10,270 +10,61 @@
This appendix is intended for users with previous Linux experience. If you are a new user, you may want to install using minimal boot media or the distribution DVD instead.
</para>
</note>
+ <!--
+ <remark>
+ Do we really need to warn about blowing away the system? The suggested config could simply boot an interactive installer, point to kickstarts. If you write out a custom kickstart, you shouldn't be surprised that it destroys filesystems like you told it to.
+ </remark>
+
<warning>
<para>
The instructions in this appendix configures an automated install server. The default configuration includes destruction of all existing data on all disks for hosts that install using this method. This is often different from other network install server configurations which may provide for an interactive installation experience.
</para>
- </warning>
- <para>
- &PRODUCT; allows for installation over a network using the NFS, FTP, or HTTP protocols. A network installation can be started from a boot CD-ROM, a bootable flash memory drive, or by using the <option>inst.repo=</option> boot option with the &PRODUCT; DVD. Alternatively, if the system to be installed contains a network interface card (NIC) with Pre-Execution Environment (PXE) support, it can be configured to boot from files on another networked system rather than local media such as a DVD.
- </para>
- <para>
- For a PXE network installation, the client's NIC with PXE support sends out a broadcast request for DHCP information. The DHCP server provides the client with an IP address, other network information such as name server, the IP address or hostname of the <command>tftp</command> server (which provides the files necessary to start the installation program), and the location of the files on the <command>tftp</command> server. This is possible because of PXELINUX, which is part of the <filename>syslinux</filename> package.
- </para>
- <title>Setting Up cobbler</title>
+ </warning>
+ -->
+ <section id="pxe-overview">
+ <para>
+ Pre-Execution Environment, or PXE, is a techonology that allows computers to boot directly from resources provided over the network. Installing Fedora over the network means you don't have to create media, and you can install to multiple computers or virtual machine simultaneously. The process involves a number of components and features working together to provide the resources required.
+ </para>
+ <formalpara>
+ <title>PXE-capable computer</title>
<para>
- To install <application>cobbler</application> use the following command:
+ Most modern computers have the capability to network boot. Typically, a function key pressed during boot will bring up a boot selection menu. In environments designed for unattended administration, systems will often be configured to first attempt booting from the network, then boot from local storage, and the installation server is configured to only offer the installation when required. Your computer's manual will provide specific instructions on setting boot priorities.
</para>
- <screen>
-<prompt>#</prompt> <command>yum install cobbler</command>
- </screen>
+ </formalpara>
+ <formalpara>
+ <title>DHCP Server</title>
<para>
- <application>cobbler</application> can check its own settings for validity and report the results. Run the following command to check the settings:
+ When a system requests an address during network booting, the DHCP server also provides the location of files to boot. A network should have only one DHCP server.
</para>
- <screen>
-<prompt>$</prompt> <command>cobbler check</command>
- </screen>
+ </formalpara>
+ <formalpara>
+ <title>TFTP Server</title>
<para>
- Verify SELinux is configured properly:
+ Because the pre-boot environment is very simple, files must be provided in a very simple way. Trivial File Transfer Protocol, or TFTP, provides the system with the bootloader required to continue the installation process.
</para>
- <screen>
-<prompt>#</prompt><command>setsebool -P httpd_can_network_connect_cobbler 1</command>
- </screen>
+ </formalpara>
+ <formalpara>
+ <title>Bootloader</title>
<para>
- Other SELinux booleans may apply, and can be listed with:
+ Because the job of booting an operating system is too complex for the pre-boot environment, a bootloader is used to load the kernel and related files. It also provides configuration information to the installer, and can offer a menu to select from different configurations.
</para>
- <screen>
-<prompt>$</prompt><command>getsebool -a|grep cobbler</command>
- </screen>
+ </formalpara>
+ <formalpara>
+ <title>Kernel & Initramfs</title>
<para>
- Change the settings in the <filename>/etc/cobbler/settings</filename> file to reflect the IP address information for the server. You must change at least the <option>server</option> and <option>next_server</option> options, although these options may point to the same IP address.
+ The kernel is the core of any Linux operating system, and the initramfs provides the kernel with required tools and resources. These files are also provided by tftp.
</para>
+ </formalpara>
+ <formalpara>
+ <title>Package repository</title>
<para>
- If you are not already running a DHCP server, you should also change the <option>manage_dhcp</option> option to <userinput>1</userinput>. If you are running a DHCP server, configure it according to the instructions found in the <package>syslinux</package> package documentation. For more information, refer to your local files <filename>/usr/share/doc/syslinux/syslinux.doc</filename> and <filename>/usr/share/doc/syslinux/pxelinux.doc</filename>.
+ A Fedora repository must be available for the installation. The example in this section uses the public Fedora mirrors as the repository source, but you can also use a repo on the local network provided by NFS, FTP, or HTTP.
</para>
+ <remark>Dump a link in here to the inst.repo option. Update the inst.repo option with examples if needed. --Pete</remark>
+ <remark>A link to mirrormanager and some instructions to other guides too. All the elaboration on installation methods might be going to far, but we can ref. --Pete</remark>
+ </formalpara>
</section>
- <section id="sect-cobbler-setup-distro">
- <title>Setting Up the Distribution</title>
- <para>
- To set up a distribution from a full &PRODUCT; DVD or ISO image, use this procedure.
- </para>
- <note>
- <para>
- To create a local mirror from an existing network source, skip this section and refer instead to <xref linkend="sect-cobbler-mirror"/>.
- </para>
- </note>
- <procedure>
- <step>
- <para>
- If you are using a DVD disc or ISO image, Create a directory mount point:
- </para>
- <screen>
-<prompt>#</prompt> <command>mkdir /mnt/dvd</command>
- </screen>
- <para>
- To mount a physical DVD disc, use the following command:
- </para>
- <screen>
-<prompt>#</prompt> <command>mount -o context=system_u:object_r:httpd_sys_content_t:s0 /dev/dvd /mnt/dvd</command>
- </screen>
- <para>
- To mount a DVD ISO image, use the following command:
- </para>
- <screen>
-<prompt>#</prompt> <command>mount -ro loop,context=system_u:object_r:httpd_sys_content_t:s0 /path/to/image.iso /mnt/dvd</command>
- </screen>
- <note>
- <para>
- If SELinux is enabled, use the default <literal>iso9660_t</literal> label instead of <literal>httpd_sys_content_t</literal>.
- </para>
- </note>
- </step>
- <step>
- <para>
- To support NFS installation, create a file <filename>/etc/exports</filename> and add the following line to it:
- </para>
- <screen>
-/mnt/dvd *(ro,async)
- </screen>
- <para>
- Start the NFS server using the following command:
- </para>
- <screen>
-<prompt>#</prompt> <command>systemctl start rpcbind nfs</command>
- </screen>
- </step>
- <step>
- <para>
- To support HTTP installation, use <command>yum</command> to install the Apache web server if it is not already installed:
- </para>
- <screen>
-<prompt>#</prompt> <command>yum -y install httpd</command>
- </screen>
- <para>
- Make a link to the mounted disc in the Apache public
- content area:
- </para>
- <screen>
-<prompt>#</prompt> <command>ln -s /mnt/dvd /var/www/html/<replaceable>distro</replaceable></command>
- </screen>
- </step>
- </procedure>
- </section>
-
- <section id="sect-cobbler-mirror">
- <title>Mirroring a Network Location</title>
- <para>
- If you do not have discs or ISO images for a distribution, you can use <command>cobbler</command> to create an installation server. The <command>cobbler</command> command can fetch the distribution over the network as part of the import process.
- </para>
- <para>
- Locate the distribution on the network. The location may be on the local network or reached at a remote site via FTP, HTTP, or rsync protocols. <!-- Note the URI, which will be in one of the
- following forms: -->
- </para>
- <!-- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para><uri>http://mirror.example.com/pub/fedora/linux/releases/11/Fedora/<replaceable>arch</replaceable>/os</uri></para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para><uri>ftp://mirror.example.com/pub/fedora/linux/releases/11/Fedora/<replaceable>arch</replaceable>/os</uri></para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para><uri>rsync://mirror.example.com/fedora/linux/releases/11/Fedora/<replaceable>arch</replaceable>/os</uri></para>
- </listitem>
- </itemizedlist> -->
- </section>
-
- <section id="sect-cobbler-import-distro">
- <title>Importing the Distribution</title>
- <para>
- To offer a distribution through more than one installation method, perform additional <command>cobbler import</command> tasks using a different name for each method. For best results, use the installation method as part of the name, so it appears in the client's boot menu.
- </para>
- <procedure>
- <step>
- <para>
- To import the DVD disc or ISO distribution into <application>cobbler</application>, run this command:
- </para>
- <screen>
-<prompt>#</prompt> <command>cobbler import --path=/mnt/dvd --name=<replaceable>distro_name</replaceable></command>
- </screen>
- <para>
- For <replaceable>distro_name</replaceable>, substitute a meaningful name for the distribution.
- </para>
- <para>
- To import a local or remote network distribution into <command>cobbler</command>, run this command. Replace <replaceable>network_URI</replaceable> with the URI you found in <xref linkend="sect-cobbler-mirror"/>, and <replaceable>distro_name</replaceable> as above:
- </para>
- <screen>
-<prompt>#</prompt> <command>cobbler import --path=<replaceable>network_URI</replaceable> --name=<replaceable>distro_name</replaceable></command>
- </screen>
- <important>
- <para>
- When <command>cobbler</command> imports a distribution with the commands above, it copies all the files to the server's local storage, which may take some time.
- </para>
- </important>
- <para>
- If you do not want to make local copies of the distribution because clients can already reach its location, use the <option>--available-as</option> option.
- </para>
- <screen>
-<prompt>#</prompt> <command>cobbler import --path=/mnt/dvd --name=<replaceable>distro_name</replaceable> --available-as=<replaceable>network_URI</replaceable></command>
-<prompt>#</prompt> <command>cobbler import --path=<replaceable>network_URI</replaceable> --name=<replaceable>distro_name</replaceable> --available-as=<replaceable>network_URI</replaceable></command>
- </screen>
- <para>
- For <replaceable>nework_URI</replaceable>, substitute the appropriate network location of the distribution. This URI indicates how the server makes the distribution available to its clients. The examples above assume that your <command>cobbler</command> server reaches the mirror location at the same URI as the clients. If not, substitute an appropriate URI for the <option>--path</option> option. The following examples are URI locations that work if you have been following the procedures in this section, and your server's IP address is <systemitem class="ipaddress">192.168.1.1</systemitem>:
- </para>
- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- <uri>nfs://<replaceable>192.168.1.1</replaceable>:/mnt/dvd</uri>
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- <uri>http://<replaceable>192.168.1.1</replaceable>:/distro</uri>
- </para>
- </listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
- <para>
- If necessary, replace <replaceable>192.168.1.1</replaceable> with the IP address for your <command>cobbler</command> server.
- </para>
- </step>
- <step>
- <para>
- Run the command <command>cobbler sync</command> to apply the changes. To check that your <command>cobbler</command> server is listening on the correct ports, use the <command>netstat -lp</command> command.
- </para>
- <important>
- <para>
- Depending on your server's configuration, you may need to use the <command>system-config-securitylevel</command> command to permit access to some or all of these network services:
- </para>
- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- 67 or bootps, for the DHCP/BOOTP server
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- 69 or tftp, for providing the PXE loader
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- 80 or http, if the <application>cobbler</application> server is to provide HTTP installation service
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- 20 and 21 or ftp, if the <application>cobbler</application> server is to provide FTP installation service
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- 111 or sunrpc, if the <application>cobbler</application> server is to provide NFS installation service
- </para>
- </listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
- </important>
- </step>
- </procedure>
- </section>
-
- <section id="sect-install-server-manual">
- <title>Manually configure a PXE server</title>
- <para>
- The following steps must be performed to prepare for a network installation manually (without <application>cobbler</application>):
- </para>
- <orderedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Configure the network (<systemitem class="protocol">NFS</systemitem>, <systemitem class="protocol">HTTPS</systemitem>, <systemitem class="protocol">HTTP</systemitem>, or <systemitem class="protocol">FTP</systemitem>) server to export the installation tree or the installation ISO image. For procedures describing the configuration, see <xref linkend="sect-preparing-installation-sources" />.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Configure the files on the <application>tftp</application> server necessary for network boot, configure <systemitem class="protocol">DHCP</systemitem>, and start the <systemitem class="service">tftp</systemitem> service on the PXE server. See <xref linkend="sect-network-boot-setup" /> for details.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Boot the client (the system you want to install &PRODUCT; on) and start the installation. See <xref linkend="sect-booting-pxe-installation" /> for more information.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- </orderedlist>
- <note>
- <para>
- The procedures in this chapter describe setting up a PXE server on a &PRODUCT; &PRODVER; system. For details about configuring PXE on earlier releases of &PRODUCT;, see the appropriate <citetitle>Installation Guide</citetitle> for that release.
- </para>
- </note>
-
- <section id="sect-network-boot-setup">
- <title>Configuring PXE Boot</title>
- <para>
- After setting up a network server containing the package repositories to be used in the installation, the next step is to configure the PXE server itself. This server will contain files necessary to boot the &PRODUCT; and start the installation. Additionally, a <systemitem class="protocol">DHCP</systemitem> server must be configured, and all necessary services must be enabled and started.
- </para>
- <para>
- For more information on configuring a PXE server for use with headless systems (systems without a directly connected display, keyboard and mouse), see <xref linkend="sect-vnc-headless-considerations" />.
- </para>
-
<section id="sect-network-boot-setup-bios">
<title>Configuring a PXE Server for BIOS-based Clients</title>
<para>
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