3.3. Preparing Installation Sources

Procedure 3.4. Preparing for Installation Using NFS

1. Install the nfs-utils package by running the following command as root:

   # yum install nfs-utils

2. Copy the full Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 binary DVD ISO image to a suitable directory on the NFS server. For example, you can create directory /rhel7-install/ for this purpose and save the ISO image here.
3. Open the /etc/exports file using a text editor and add a line with the following syntax:

   /exported_directory/ clients

   Replace /exported_directory/ with the full path to the directory holding the ISO image. Instead of clients, use the host name or IP address of the computer which is to be installed from this NFS server, the subnetwork from which all computers are to have access the ISO image, or the asterisk sign (*) if you want to allow any computer with network access to the NFS server to use the ISO image. See the exports(5) man page for detailed information about the format of this field.
   The following is a basic configuration which makes the /rhel7-install/ directory available as read-only to all clients:

   /rhel7-install *

4. Save the /etc/exports file after finishing the configuration and exit the text editor.
5. Start the nfs service:

   # systemctl start nfs.service

   If the service was already running before you changed the /etc/exports file, enter the following command instead, in order for the running NFS server to reload its configuration:

   # systemctl reload nfs.service

Procedure 3.5. Preparing Installation Using HTTP or HTTPS

1. Install the httpd package by running the following command as root:

   # yum install httpd

   An HTTPS server needs additional configuration. For detailed information, see section Setting Up an SSL Server in the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 System Administrator's Guide. However, HTTPS is not necessary in most cases, because no sensitive data is sent between the installation source and the installer, and HTTP is sufficient.

   Warning

   If your Apache web server configuration enables SSL security, make sure to only enable the TLSv1 protocol, and disable SSLv2 and SSLv3. This is due to the POODLE SSL vulnerability (CVE-2014-3566). See https://access.redhat.com/solutions/1232413 for details.

   Important

   If you decide to use HTTPS and the server is using a self-signed certificate, you must boot the installer with the noverifyssl option.
2. Copy the full Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 binary DVD ISO image to the HTTP(S) server.
3. Mount the binary DVD ISO image, using the mount command, to a suitable directory:

   # mount -o loop,ro -t iso9660 /image_directory/image.iso /mount_point/

   Replace /image_directory/image.iso with the path to the binary DVD ISO image, and /mount_point/ with the path to the directory in which you want the content of the ISO image to appear. For example, you can create directory /mnt/rhel7-install/ for this purpose and use that as the parameter of the mount command.
4. Copy the files from the mounted image to the HTTP server root.

   # cp -r /mnt/rhel7-install/ /var/www/html/

   This command creates the /var/www/html/rhel7-install/ directory with the content of the image.
5. Start the httpd service:

   # systemctl start httpd.service

Procedure 3.6. Preparing for Installation Using FTP

1. Install the vsftpd package by running the following command as root:

   # yum install vsftpd

2. Optionally, open the /etc/vsftpd/vsftpd.conf configuration file in a text editor, and edit any options you want to change. For available options, see the vsftpd.conf(5) man page. The rest of this procedure assumes that default options are used; notably, to follow the rest of the procedure, anonymous users of the FTP server must be permitted to download files.

   Warning

   If you configured SSL/TLS security in your vsftpd.conf file, make sure to only enable the TLSv1 protocol, and disable SSLv2 and SSLv3. This is due to the POODLE SSL vulnerability (CVE-2014-3566). See https://access.redhat.com/solutions/1234773 for details.
3. Copy the full Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 binary DVD ISO image to the FTP server.
4. Mount the binary DVD ISO image, using the mount command, to a suitable directory:

   # mount -o loop,ro -t iso9660 /image_directory/image.iso /mount_point

   Replace /image_directory/image.iso with the path to the binary DVD ISO image, and /mount_point with the path to the directory in which you want the content of the ISO image to appear. For example, you can create directory /mnt/rhel7-install/ for this purpose and use that as the parameter of the mount command.
5. Copy the files from the mounted image to the FTP server root:

   # cp -r /mnt/rhel7-install/ /var/ftp/

   This command creates the /var/ftp/rhel7-install/ directory with the content of the image.
6. Start the vsftpd service:

   # systemctl start vsftpd.service

   If the service was already running before you changed the /etc/vsftpd/vsftpd.conf file, restart it to ensure the edited file is loaded. To restart, execute the following command:

   # systemctl restart vsftpd.service