Chapter 13. Starting Kickstart installations
You can start Kickstart installations in multiple ways:
- Automatically by editing the boot options in PXE boot.
- Automatically by providing the file on a volume with a specific name.
You can register RHEL using the Red Hat Content Delivery Network (CDN). CDN is a geographically distributed series of web servers. These servers provide, for example, packages and updates to RHEL hosts with a valid subscription.
During the installation, registering and installing RHEL from the CDN offers following benefits:
- Utilizing the latest packages for an up-to-date system immediately after installation and
- Integrated support for connecting to Red Hat Insights and enabling System Purpose.
13.1. Starting a Kickstart installation automatically by using PXE
AMD64, Intel 64, and 64-bit ARM systems and IBM Power Systems servers have the ability to boot by using a PXE server. When you configure the PXE server, you can add the boot option into the boot loader configuration file, which in turn lets you start the installation automatically. By using this approach, it is possible to automate the installation completely, including the boot process.
This procedure is intended as a general reference; detailed steps differ based on your system’s architecture, and not all options are available on all architectures (for example, you cannot use PXE boot on 64-bit IBM Z).
Prerequisites
- You have a Kickstart file ready in a location accessible from the system to be installed.
- You have a PXE server that can be used to boot the system and begin the installation.
Procedure
Open the boot loader configuration file on your PXE server, and add the
inst.ks=boot option to the appropriate line. The name of the file and its syntax depends on your system’s architecture and hardware:On AMD64 and Intel 64 systems with BIOS, the file name can be either default or based on your system’s IP address. In this case, add the
inst.ks=option to the append line in the installation entry. A sample append line in the configuration file looks similar to the following:append initrd=initrd.img inst.ks=http://10.32.5.1/mnt/archive/RHEL-10/x.x/x86_64/kickstarts/ks.cfg
On systems using the GRUB2 boot loader (AMD64, Intel 64, and 64-bit ARM systems with UEFI firmware and IBM Power Systems servers), the file name will be
grub.cfg. In this file, append theinst.ks=option to the kernel line in the installation entry. A sample kernel line in the configuration file will look similar to the following:kernel vmlinuz inst.ks=http://10.32.5.1/mnt/archive/RHEL-10/x.x/x86_64/kickstarts/ks.cfg
Boot the installation from the network server.
The installation begins now by using the installation options specified in the Kickstart file. If the Kickstart file is valid and contains all required commands, the installation is completely automated.
If you have installed a Red Hat Enterprise Linux Beta release, on systems having UEFI Secure Boot enabled, then add the Beta public key to the system’s Machine Owner Key (MOK) list.
Additional resources
- For information about setting up a PXE server, see Preparing a PXE installation source
13.2. Starting a Kickstart installation automatically by using a local volume
You can start a Kickstart installation by putting a Kickstart file with a specific name on a specifically labeled storage volume.
Prerequisites
-
You have a volume prepared with label
OEMDRVand the Kickstart file present in its root asks.cfg. - A drive containing this volume is available on the system as the installation program boots.
Procedure
- Boot the system by using a local media (a CD, DVD, or a USB flash drive).
At the boot prompt, specify the required boot options.
-
If a required repository is in a network location, you may need to configure the network by using the
ip=option. The installer tries to configure all network devices by using the DHCP protocol by default without this option. In order to access a software source from which necessary packages will be installed, you may need to add the
inst.repo=option. If you do not specify this option, you must specify the installation source in the Kickstart file.For more information about installation sources, see Kickstart commands for installation program configuration and flow control.
-
If a required repository is in a network location, you may need to configure the network by using the
Start the installation by confirming your added boot options.
The installation begins now, and the Kickstart file is automatically detected and used to start an automated Kickstart installation.
If you have installed a Red Hat Enterprise Linux Beta release, on systems having UEFI Secure Boot enabled, then add the Beta public key to the system’s Machine Owner Key (MOK) list. For more information about UEFI Secure Boot and Red Hat Enterprise Linux Beta releases, see the UEFI Secure Boot and Beta release requirements.
13.3. Consoles and logging during installation
The RHEL installer uses the tmux terminal multiplexer to display and control several windows in addition to the main interface. Each of these windows serve a different purpose; they display several different logs, which can be used to troubleshoot issues during the installation process. One of the windows provides an interactive shell prompt with root privileges, unless this prompt was specifically disabled by using a boot option or a Kickstart command.
The terminal multiplexer is running in virtual console 1. To switch from the actual installation environment to tmux, press Ctrl+Alt+F1. To go back to the main installation interface which runs in virtual console 6, press Ctrl+Alt+F6. During the text mode installation, start in virtual console 1 (tmux), and switching to console 6 will open a shell prompt instead of a graphical interface.
The console running tmux has five available windows; their contents are described in the following table, along with keyboard shortcuts. Note that the keyboard shortcuts are two-part: first press Ctrl+b, then release both keys, and press the number key for the window you want to use.
You can also use Ctrl+b n, Alt+ Tab, and Ctrl+b p to switch to the next or previous tmux window, respectively.
| Shortcut | Contents |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+b 1 | Main installation program window. Contains text-based prompts (used for text mode and also for interactive entry of RDP credentials), and also some debugging information. |
| Ctrl+b 2 |
Interactive shell prompt with |
| Ctrl+b 3 |
Installation log; displays messages stored in |
| Ctrl+b 4 |
Storage log; displays messages related to storage devices and configuration, stored in |
| Ctrl+b 5 |
Program log; displays messages from utilities executed during the installation process, stored in |
