• Anaconda based - driven by kickstart
• ISO kickstart
• Cobbler kickstarts

Partitioning schemas

Default (autopart)

• Description: Default schema with separate /storage
• Minimum disk space required: 23552 MB / 23GB
• Softraid setup requires 2 identically sized harddisks

Minimal (autopart)

• Description: Single-root minimal schema
• Minimum disk space required: 8192 MB / 8.0GB
• Softraid setup requires 2 identically sized harddisks

Kickstarts

Cobbler ksmeta variables

# on_install_mode: 0 (default->interactive) / 1 (hwraid->auto) / 2 (softraid mirror->auto)
cobbler system edit --name client.lan --ksmeta="on_install_mode=1"
cobbler system getks --name client.lan | less

Debugging kickstarts

# Getting fully compiled ks from cobbler
cobbler profile getks --name OpenNode-6-x86_64-interactive | less

# Run cobbler ks validator service
cobbler validateks

# Write ks snippets in bash and test separately
# Use on6-bash-to-ks.sh syntax for simple line conversions:
# '#d#' -> removes bash comment, '#dl#' -> removes whole line
# Run conversion later in snippets dir
./on6-bash-to-ks.sh 

Cobbler profiles

OpenNode-6-x86_64-txt-autopart

Description: Semi-interactive text console install, asks for keyboard layout/autopart choice/hostname/password/timezone. If choosing manual partitioning - it actually creates CentOS default partition schema (with separate /home for larger disks) - as there is no interactive partitioning app in text console mode (provides just local disks choice and previous partitions erasing/usage choice - all/linux/freespace).

OpenNode-6-x86_64-vnc-autopart

Description: Semi-interactive vnc install, asks for keyboard layout/autopart choice/hostname/password/timezone (presenting interactive partitioning GUI if choosing manual partitioning - but no advanced disk choice dialogue - no iscsi,SAN, etc choices - only local disks)

OpenNode-6-x86_64-vnc-manpart

Description: Fully interactive vnc install, asks for keyboard layout/local or network disks/hostname/password/timezone (presents interactive partitioning GUI with advanced disk choice dialogue)

CentOS-6-x86_64-vnc-manpart

Description: Fully interactive vnc install with interactive partitioning GUI

CentOS-6-x86_64-txt-autopart

Description: Semi-interactive text console install with default CentOS partitioning schema (non-interactive)

CentOS-6-x86_64-rescue

Description: CentOS / OpenNode rescue mode

Anaconda debugging

Running anaconda in real text-mode

You probably already know that you can make anaconda run with a ncurses interface instead of the X11 interface by adding the line “text” to your kickstart file. But there’s another option: install in real shell-like textmode. Replace the “text”-line with a “cmdline”-line in your kickstart file and anaconda will do the whole installation in textmode. Especially when you use %packages –nobase or run complex %post scripts this will probably save hours of debugging, because you can actually see the output of all scripts that run during the installation.

What the different terminals display

• Alt-F1: The installation dialog when using text or cmdline
• Alt-F2: A shell prompt
• Alt-F3: The install log displaying messages from install program
• Alt-F4: The system log displaying messages from kernel, etc.
• Alt-F5: All other messages
• Alt-F7: The installation dialog when using the graphical installer