Chapter 24. Preparing for a Network Installation

Procedure 24.1. Configuring a TFTP Boot Server for BIOS-based Systems

1. Install the tftp-server package. To do this, enter the following command as root:

   # yum install tftp-server

2. Allow incoming connections to the tftp service in the firewall:

   # firewall-cmd --add-service=tftp

   Note

   The above command only enables access until the next server reboot. To allow access permanently, add the --permanent option. For more information about firewall configuration, see the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Security Guide.
3. Configure your DHCP server to use the boot images packaged with SYSLINUX. If you do not have one installed, see the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Networking Guide for instructions.
   A sample configuration in the /etc/dhcp/dhcpd.conf file might look like:

   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 10.0.0.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 {
   	option routers 10.0.0.254;
   	range 10.0.0.2 10.0.0.253;
   
   	class "pxeclients" {
   	  match if substring (option vendor-class-identifier, 0, 9) = "PXEClient";
   	  next-server 10.0.0.1;
   
   	  if option architecture-type = 00:07 {
   	    filename "uefi/shim.efi";
   	    } else {
   	    filename "pxelinux/pxelinux.0";
   	  }
   	}
   }
   

4. You now need the pxelinux.0 file from the SYSLINUX package in the ISO image file of the full installation DVD. To access it, enter the following commands as root:

   # mount -t iso9660 /path_to_image/name_of_image.iso /mount_point -o loop,ro

   # cp -pr /mount_point/Packages/syslinux-version-architecture.rpm /publicly_available_directory

   # umount /mount_point

   Extract the package:

   # rpm2cpio syslinux-version-architecture.rpm | cpio -dimv

5. Create a pxelinux/ directory within tftpboot/ and copy the pxelinux.0 file into it:

   # mkdir /var/lib/tftpboot/pxelinux

   # cp publicly_available_directory/usr/share/syslinux/pxelinux.0 /var/lib/tftpboot/pxelinux

6. Create the directory pxelinux.cfg/ in the pxelinux/ directory:

   # mkdir /var/lib/tftpboot/pxelinux/pxelinux.cfg

   Add a configuration file named default to the pxelinux.cfg/ directory.
   A sample configuration file at /var/lib/tftpboot/pxelinux/pxelinux.cfg/default might look like:

   default vesamenu.c32
   prompt 1
   timeout 600
   
   display boot.msg
   
   label linux
     menu label ^Install system
     menu default
     kernel images/RHEL-7.1/vmlinuz
     append initrd=images/RHEL-7.1/initrd.img ip=dhcp inst.repo=http://10.32.5.1/mnt/archive/RHEL-7/7.x/Server/x86_64/os/
   label vesa
     menu label Install system with ^basic video driver
     kernel images/RHEL-7.1/vmlinuz
     append initrd=images/RHEL-7.1/initrd.img ip=dhcp inst.xdriver=vesa nomodeset inst.repo=http://10.32.5.1/mnt/archive/RHEL-7/7.x/Server/x86_64/os/
   label rescue
     menu label ^Rescue installed system
     kernel images/RHEL-7.1/vmlinuz
     append initrd=images/RHEL-7.1/initrd.img rescue
   label local
     menu label Boot from ^local drive
     localboot 0xffff

   Important

   The inst.repo= Anaconda option, shown in the example above, must always be used to specify the installation program's image as well as the installation source. Without this option, the installation program will be unable to boot. For more information about boot options for Anaconda, see Section 23.1, “Configuring the Installation System at the Boot Menu”.
7. Create a subdirectory to store the boot image files within the /var/lib/tftpboot/ directory, and copy the boot image files to it. In this example, we use the directory /var/lib/tftpboot/pxelinux/images/RHEL-release_number/:

   # mkdir -p /var/lib/tftpboot/pxelinux/images/RHEL-7.1/
   # cp /path_to_x86_64_images/pxeboot/{vmlinuz,initrd.img} /var/lib/tftpboot/pxelinux/images/RHEL-release_number/

8. Finally, start and enable the services:
   • The dhcpd service:

     # systemctl start dhcpd
     # systemctl enable dhcpd

   • The xinetd service, that manages the tftpd service:

     # systemctl start xinetd
     # systemctl enable xinetd

Procedure 24.2. Configuring TFTP Boot for UEFI-based Systems

1. Install the tftp-server package. To do this, enter the following command as root:

   # yum install tftp-server

2. Allow incoming connections to the tftp service in the firewall:

   # firewall-cmd --add-service=tftp

   Note

   The above command only enables access until the next server reboot. To allow access permanently, add the --permanent option. For more information about firewall configuration, see the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Security Guide.
3. Configure your DHCP server to use the EFI boot images packaged with shim. If you do not have one installed, see the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Networking Guide for instructions.
   A sample configuration in the /etc/dhcp/dhcpd.conf file might look like:

   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 10.0.0.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 {
   	option routers 10.0.0.254;
   	range 10.0.0.2 10.0.0.253;
   
   	class "pxeclients" {
   	  match if substring (option vendor-class-identifier, 0, 9) = "PXEClient";
   	  next-server 10.0.0.1;
   
   	  if option architecture-type = 00:07 {
   	    filename "shim.efi";
   	  } else {
   	    filename "pxelinux/pxelinux.0";
   		}
     }
   }
   

4. You now need the shim.efi file from the shim package and the grubx64.efi file from the grub2-efi package in the ISO image file. To access them, enter the following commands as root:

   # mount -t iso9660 /path_to_image/name_of_image.iso /mount_point -o loop,ro

   # cp -pr /mount_point/Packages/shim-version-architecture.rpm /publicly_available_directory

   # cp -pr /mount_point/Packages/grub2-efi-version-architecture.rpm /publicly_available_directory

   # umount /mount_point

   Extract the packages:

   # rpm2cpio shim-version-architecture.rpm | cpio -dimv

   # rpm2cpio grub2-efi-version-architecture.rpm | cpio -dimv

5. Copy the EFI boot images from your boot directory:

   # cp publicly_available_directory/boot/efi/EFI/redhat/shim.efi /var/lib/tftpboot/

   # cp publicly_available_directory/boot/efi/EFI/redhat/grubx64.efi /var/lib/tftpboot/

6. Add a configuration file named grub.cfg to the tftpboot/ directory. A sample configuration file at /var/lib/tftpboot/grub.cfg might look like:

   set timeout=60
   menuentry 'RHEL 7' {
     linuxefi images/RHEL-7.1/vmlinuz ip=dhcp inst.repo=http://10.32.5.1/mnt/archive/RHEL-7/7.1/Server/x86_64/os/
     initrdefi images/RHEL-7.1/initrd.img
   }
   

   Important

   The inst.repo= Anaconda option, shown in the example above, must always be used to specify the installation program's image as well as the installation source. Without this option, the installation program will be unable to boot. For more information about boot options for Anaconda, see Section 23.1, “Configuring the Installation System at the Boot Menu”.
7. Create a subdirectory to store the boot image files within the /var/lib/tftpboot/ directory, and copy the boot image files to it. In this example, we use the directory /var/lib/tftpboot/images/RHEL-7.1/:

   # mkdir -p /var/lib/tftpboot/images/RHEL-7.1/# cp /path_to_x86_64_images/pxeboot/{vmlinuz,initrd.img} /var/lib/tftpboot/images/RHEL-7.1/

8. Finally, start and enable the services:
   • The dhcpd service:

     # systemctl start dhcpd
     # systemctl enable dhcpd

   • The xinetd service, that manages the tftpd service:

     # systemctl start xinetd
     # systemctl enable xinetd

Procedure 24.3. Configuring a Network Boot Server for IBM Power Systems Using GRUB2

1. Install the tftp-server package. To do this, enter the following command as root:

   # yum install tftp-server

2. Allow incoming connections to the tftp service in the firewall:

   # firewall-cmd --add-service=tftp

   Note

   The above command only enables access until the next server reboot. To allow access permanently, add the --permanent option. For more information about firewall configuration, see the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Security Guide.
3. Create a GRUB2 network boot directory inside the tftp root:

   # grub2-mknetdir --net-directory=/var/lib/tftpboot
   Netboot directory for powerpc-ieee1275 created. Configure your DHCP server to point to /boot/grub2/powerpc-ieee1275/core.elf

   Note the command's output, which informs you about which file needs to be configured as the filename in your DHCP configuration. This will become important further in the procedure.
4. Create a GRUB2 configuration file: /var/lib/tftpboot/boot/grub2/grub.cfg. The grub.cfg syntax is described in the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 System Administrator's Guide.
   Below is an example configuration file:

   set default=0
   set timeout=5
   
   echo -e "\nWelcome to the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 installer!\n\n"
   
   menuentry 'Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7' {
     linux grub2-ppc64/vmlinuz ro ip=dhcp inst.repo=http://10.32.5.1/mnt/archive/RHEL-7/7.6-Beta/Server/ppc64/os/
     initrd grub2-ppc64/initrd.img
   }
   

   Important

   The inst.repo= Anaconda option, shown in the example above, must always be used to specify the installation program's image as well as the installation source. Without this option, the installation program will be unable to boot. For more information about boot options for Anaconda, see Section 23.1, “Configuring the Installation System at the Boot Menu”.
5. Configure your DHCP server to use the boot images packaged with GRUB2. If you do not have one installed, see the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Networking Guide for instructions.
   A sample configuration in the /etc/dhcp/dhcpd.conf file might look like:

   subnet 192.168.0.1 netmask 255.255.255.0 {
     allow bootp;
     option routers 192.168.0.5;
     group { #BOOTP POWER clients
       filename "boot/grub2/powerpc-ieee1275/core.elf";
       host client1 {
       hardware ethernet 01:23:45:67:89:ab;
       fixed-address 192.168.0.112;
       }
     }
   }
   

   Adjust the sample parameters (subnet, netmask, routers, fixed-address and hardware ethernet) to fit your network configuration. Also note the filename parameter; this is the file name which was output by the grub2-mknetdir command earlier in the procedure.
6. Finally, start and enable the services:
   • The dhcpd service:

     # systemctl start dhcpd
     # systemctl enable dhcpd

   • The xinetd service that manages the tftpd service:

     # systemctl start xinetd
     # systemctl enable xinetd