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Automatically installing RHEL

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8

Deploying RHEL on one or more systems from a predefined configuration

Red Hat Customer Content Services

Abstract

You can automate the RHEL installation by using Kickstart. Use this method to deploy the same RHEL configuration on many systems. Kickstart installs RHEL based on the parameters that you specify in a configuration file. The installation source can be an installation media, an ISO file, the Red Hat content delivery network (CDN), or a server in your local network.

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Part I. Preparing the RHEL installation

Essential steps for preparing a RHEL installation environment addresses system requirements, supported architectures, and offers customization options for installation media. Additionally, it covers methods for creating bootable installation media, setting up network-based repositories, and configuring UEFI HTTP or PXE installation sources. Guidance is also included for systems using UEFI Secure Boot and for installing RHEL on 64-bit IBM Z architecture.

Chapter 1. System requirements and supported architectures

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 delivers a stable, secure, consistent foundation across hybrid cloud deployments with the tools needed to deliver workloads faster with less effort. You can deploy RHEL as a guest on supported hypervisors and Cloud provider environments as well as on physical infrastructure, so your applications can take advantage of innovations in the leading hardware architecture platforms.

Review the guidelines provided for system, hardware, security, memory, and RAID before installing.

If you want to use your system as a virtualization host, review the necessary hardware requirements for virtualization.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux supports the following architectures:

  • AMD and Intel 64-bit architectures
  • The 64-bit ARM architecture
  • IBM Power Systems, Little Endian
  • 64-bit IBM Z architectures

1.1. Supported installation targets

An installation target is a storage device that stores Red Hat Enterprise Linux and boots the system. Red Hat Enterprise Linux supports the following installation targets for IBMZ , IBM Power, AMD64, Intel 64, and 64-bit ARM systems:

  • Storage connected by a standard internal interface, such as DASD, SCSI, SATA, or SAS
  • BIOS/firmware RAID devices on the Intel64, AMD64 and arm64 architectures
  • NVDIMM devices in sector mode on the Intel64 and AMD64 architectures, supported by the nd_pmem driver.
  • Fibre Channel Host Bus Adapters and multipath devices. Some can require vendor-provided drivers.
  • Xen block devices on Intel processors in Xen virtual machines.
  • VirtIO block devices on Intel processors in KVM virtual machines.

Red Hat does not support installation to USB drives or SD memory cards. For information about support for third-party virtualization technologies, see the Red Hat Hardware Compatibility List.

1.2. System specifications

The Red Hat Enterprise Linux installation program automatically detects and installs your system’s hardware, so you should not have to supply any specific system information. However, for certain Red Hat Enterprise Linux installation scenarios, it is recommended that you record system specifications for future reference. These scenarios include:

Installing RHEL with a customized partition layout

Record: The model numbers, sizes, types, and interfaces of the disks attached to the system. For example, Seagate ST3320613AS 320 GB on SATA0, Western Digital WD7500AAKS 750 GB on SATA1.

Installing RHEL as an additional operating system on an existing system

Record: Partitions used on the system. This information can include file system types, device node names, file system labels, and sizes, and allows you to identify specific partitions during the partitioning process. If one of the operating systems is a Unix operating system, Red Hat Enterprise Linux may report the device names differently. Additional information can be found by executing the equivalent of the mount command and the blkid command, and in the /etc/fstab file.

If multiple operating systems are installed, the Red Hat Enterprise Linux installation program attempts to automatically detect them, and to configure boot loader to boot them. You can manually configure additional operating systems if they are not detected automatically.

Installing RHEL from an image on a local disk

Record: The disk and directory that holds the image.

Installing RHEL from a network location

If the network has to be configured manually, that is, DHCP is not used.

Record:

  • IP address
  • Netmask
  • Gateway IP address
  • Server IP addresses, if required

Contact your network administrator if you need assistance with networking requirements.

Installing RHEL on an iSCSI target

Record: The location of the iSCSI target. Depending on your network, you may need a CHAP user name and password, and a reverse CHAP user name and password.

Installing RHEL if the system is part of a domain

Verify that the domain name is supplied by the DHCP server. If it is not, enter the domain name during installation.

1.3. Disk and memory requirements

If several operating systems are installed, it is important that you verify that the allocated disk space is separate from the disk space required by Red Hat Enterprise Linux. In some cases, it is important to dedicate specific partitions to Red Hat Enterprise Linux, for example, for AMD64, Intel 64, and 64-bit ARM, at least two partitions (/ and swap) must be dedicated to RHEL and for IBM Power Systems servers, at least three partitions (/, swap, and a PReP boot partition) must be dedicated to RHEL.

Additionally, you must have a minimum of 10 GiB of available disk space. To install Red Hat Enterprise Linux, you must have a minimum of 10 GiB of space in either unpartitioned disk space or in partitions that can be deleted. For more information, see Partitioning reference.

Table 1.1. Minimum RAM requirements
Installation typeMinimum RAM

Local media installation (USB, DVD)

  • 1.5 GiB for aarch64, IBM Z and x86_64 architectures
  • 3 GiB for ppc64le architecture

NFS network installation

  • 1.5 GiB for aarch64, IBM Z and x86_64 architectures
  • 3 GiB for ppc64le architecture

HTTP, HTTPS or FTP network installation

  • 3 GiB for IBM Z and x86_64 architectures
  • 4 GiB for aarch64 and ppc64le architectures

It is possible to complete the installation with less memory than the minimum requirements. The exact requirements depend on your environment and installation path. Test various configurations to determine the minimum required RAM for your environment. Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux using a Kickstart file has the same minimum RAM requirements as a standard installation. However, additional RAM may be required if your Kickstart file includes commands that require additional memory, or write data to the RAM disk.

1.4. Graphics display resolution requirements

Your system must have the following minimum resolution to ensure a smooth and error-free installation of Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

Table 1.2. Display resolution
Product versionResolution

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8

Minimum: 800 x 600

Recommended: 1026 x 768

1.5. UEFI Secure Boot and Beta release requirements

If you plan to install a Beta release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, on systems having UEFI Secure Boot enabled, then first disable the UEFI Secure Boot option and then begin the installation.

UEFI Secure Boot requires that the operating system kernel is signed with a recognized private key, which the system’s firmware verifies using the corresponding public key. For Red Hat Enterprise Linux Beta releases, the kernel is signed with a Red Hat Beta-specific public key, which the system fails to recognize by default. As a result, the system fails to even boot the installation media.

Additional resources

Chapter 2. The value of registering your RHEL system to Red Hat

Registration establishes an authorized connection between your system and Red Hat. Red Hat issues the registered system, whether a physical or virtual machine, a certificate that identifies and authenticates the system so that it can receive protected content, software updates, security patches, support, and managed services from Red Hat.

With a valid subscription, you can register a Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) system in the following ways:

  • During the installation process, using an installer graphical user interface (GUI) or text user interface (TUI)
  • After installation, using the command line interface (CLI)
  • Automatically, during or after installation, using a kickstart script or an activation key.

The specific steps to register your system depend on the version of RHEL that you are using and the registration method that you choose.

Registering your system to Red Hat enables features and capabilities that you can use to manage your system and report data. For example, a registered system is authorized to access protected content repositories for subscribed products through the Red Hat Content Delivery Network (CDN) or a Red Hat Satellite Server. These content repositories contain Red Hat software packages and updates that are available only to customers with an active subscription. These packages and updates include security patches, bug fixes, and new features for RHEL and other Red Hat products.

Important

The entitlement-based subscription model is deprecated and will be retired in the future. Simple content access is now the default subscription model. It provides an improved subscription experience that eliminates the need to attach a subscription to a system before you can access Red Hat subscription content on that system. If your Red Hat account uses the entitlement-based subscription model, contact your Red hat account team, for example, a technical account manager (TAM) or solution architect (SA) to prepare for migration to simple content access. For more information, see Transition of subscription services to the hybrid cloud.

Chapter 3. Customizing the installation media

For details, see Composing a customized RHEL system image.

Chapter 4. Creating a bootable installation medium for RHEL

You can download the ISO file from the Customer Portal to prepare the bootable physical installation medium, such as a USB or DVD. Starting with RHEL 8, Red Hat no longer provides separate variants for Server and Workstation. Red Hat Enterprise Linux for x86_64 includes both Server and Workstation capabilities. The distinction between Server and Workstation is managed through the System Purpose Role during the installation or configuration process.

After downloading an ISO file from the Customer Portal, create a bootable physical installation medium, such as a USB or DVD to continue the installation process.

For secure environment cases where USB drives are prohibited, consider using the Image Builder to create and deploy reference images. This method ensures compliance with security policies while maintaining system integrity. For more details, refer to the Image builder documentation.

Note

By default, the inst.stage2= boot option is used on the installation medium and is set to a specific label, for example, inst.stage2=hd:LABEL=RHEL8\x86_64. If you modify the default label of the file system containing the runtime image, or if you use a customized procedure to boot the installation system, verify that the label is set to the correct value.

4.1. Installation boot media options

There are several options available to boot the Red Hat Enterprise Linux installation program.

Full installation DVD or USB flash drive
Create a full installation DVD or USB flash drive using the DVD ISO image. The DVD or USB flash drive can be used as a boot device and as an installation source for installing software packages.
Minimal installation DVD, CD, or USB flash drive
Create a minimal installation CD, DVD, or USB flash drive using the Boot ISO image, which contains only the minimum files necessary to boot the system and start the installation program. If you are not using the Content Delivery Network (CDN) to download the required software packages, the Boot ISO image requires an installation source that contains the required software packages.
PXE Server
A preboot execution environment (PXE) server allows the installation program to boot over the network. After a system boot, you must complete the installation from a different installation source, such as a local disk or a network location.
Image builder
With image builder, you can create customized system and cloud images to install Red Hat Enterprise Linux in virtual and cloud environments.

4.2. Creating a bootable DVD

You can create a bootable installation DVD by using a burning software and a DVD burner. The exact steps to produce a DVD from an ISO image file vary greatly, depending on the operating system and disc burning software installed. Consult your system’s burning software documentation for the exact steps to burn a DVD from an ISO image file.

Warning

You can create a bootable DVD using either the DVD ISO image (full install) or the Boot ISO image (minimal install). However, the DVD ISO image is larger than 4.7 GB, and as a result, it might not fit on a single or dual-layer DVD. Check the size of the DVD ISO image file before you proceed. Use a USB flash drive when using the DVD ISO image to create bootable installation media. For the environment cases where USB drives are prohibited, see Image builder documentation.

4.3. Creating a bootable USB device on Linux

You can create a bootable USB device which you can then use to install Red Hat Enterprise Linux on other machines. This procedure overwrites the existing data on the USB drive without any warning. Back up any data or use an empty flash drive. A bootable USB drive cannot be used for storing data.

Prerequisites

  • You have downloaded the full installation DVD ISO or minimal installation Boot ISO image from the Product Downloads page.
  • You have a USB flash drive with enough capacity for the ISO image. The required size varies, but the recommended USB size is 8 GB.

Procedure

  1. Connect the USB flash drive to the system.

  2. Open a terminal window and display a log of recent events. 

    $ dmesg|tail

    Messages resulting from the attached USB flash drive are displayed at the bottom of the log. Record the name of the connected device.

  3. Log in as a root user: 

    $ su -

    Enter your root password when prompted.

  4. Find the device node assigned to the drive. In this example, the drive name is sdd. 

    # dmesg|tail
[288954.686557] usb 2-1.8: New USB device strings: Mfr=0, Product=1, SerialNumber=2
[288954.686559] usb 2-1.8: Product: USB Storage
[288954.686562] usb 2-1.8: SerialNumber: 000000009225
[288954.712590] usb-storage 2-1.8:1.0: USB Mass Storage device detected
[288954.712687] scsi host6: usb-storage 2-1.8:1.0
[288954.712809] usbcore: registered new interface driver usb-storage
[288954.716682] usbcore: registered new interface driver uas
[288955.717140] scsi 6:0:0:0: Direct-Access     Generic  STORAGE DEVICE   9228 PQ: 0 ANSI: 0
[288955.717745] sd 6:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg4 type 0
[288961.876382] sd 6:0:0:0: sdd Attached SCSI removable disk
  5. If the inserted USB device mounts automatically, unmount it before continuing with the next steps. For unmounting, use the umount command. For more information, see Unmounting a file system with umount.

  6. Write the ISO image directly to the USB device: 

    # dd if=/image_directory/image.iso of=/dev/device
    • Replace /image_directory/image.iso with the full path to the ISO image file that you downloaded,

    • Replace device with the device name that you retrieved with the dmesg command.

      In this example, the full path to the ISO image is /home/testuser/Downloads/rhel-8-x86_64-boot.iso, and the device name is sdd: 

      # dd if=/home/testuser/Downloads/rhel-8-x86_64-boot.iso of=/dev/sdd

      Partition names are usually device names with a numerical suffix. For example, sdd is a device name, and sdd1 is the name of a partition on the device sdd.

  7. Wait for the dd command to finish writing the image to the device. Run the sync command to synchronize cached writes to the device. The data transfer is complete when the # prompt appears. When you see the prompt, log out of the root account and unplug the USB drive. The USB drive is now ready to use as a boot device.

4.4. Creating a bootable USB device on Windows

You can create a bootable USB device on a Windows system with various tools. You can use Fedora Media Writer, available for download at https://github.com/FedoraQt/MediaWriter/releases. Fedora Media Writer is a community product and is not supported by Red Hat. You can report any issues with the tool at https://github.com/FedoraQt/MediaWriter/issues.

Creating a bootable drive overwrites existing data on the USB drive without any warning. Back up any data or use an empty flash drive. A bootable USB drive cannot be used for storing data.

Prerequisites

  • You have downloaded the full installation DVD ISO or minimal installation Boot ISO image from the Product Downloads page.
  • You have a USB flash drive with enough capacity for the ISO image. The required size varies.

Procedure

  1. Download and install Fedora Media Writer from https://github.com/FedoraQt/MediaWriter/releases.
  2. Connect the USB flash drive to the system.
  3. Open Fedora Media Writer.
  4. From the main window, click Custom Image and select the previously downloaded Red Hat Enterprise Linux ISO image.
  5. From the Write Custom Image window, select the drive that you want to use.
  6. Click Write to disk. The boot media creation process starts. Do not unplug the drive until the operation completes. The operation may take several minutes, depending on the size of the ISO image, and the write speed of the USB drive.
  7. When the operation completes, unmount the USB drive. The USB drive is now ready to be used as a boot device.

4.5. Creating a bootable USB device on macOS

You can create a bootable USB device which you can then use to install Red Hat Enterprise Linux on other machines. Creating a bootable USB drive overwrites any data previously stored on the USB drive without any warning. Back up any data or use an empty flash drive. A bootable USB drive cannot be used for storing data.

Prerequisites

  • You have downloaded the full installation DVD ISO or minimal installation Boot ISO image from the Product Downloads page.
  • You have a USB flash drive with enough capacity for the ISO image. The required size varies.

Procedure

  1. Connect the USB flash drive to the system.

  2. Identify the device path with the diskutil list command. The device path has the format of /dev/disknumber, where number is the number of the disk. The disks are numbered starting at zero (0). Typically, disk0 is the OS X recovery disk, and disk1 is the main OS X installation. In the following example, the USB device is disk2: 

    $ diskutil list
/dev/disk0
#:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *500.3 GB   disk0
1:                        EFI EFI                     209.7 MB   disk0s1
2:          Apple_CoreStorage                         400.0 GB   disk0s2
3:                 Apple_Boot Recovery HD             650.0 MB   disk0s3
4:          Apple_CoreStorage                         98.8 GB    disk0s4
5:                 Apple_Boot Recovery HD             650.0 MB   disk0s5
/dev/disk1
#:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
0:                  Apple_HFS YosemiteHD             *399.6 GB   disk1
Logical Volume on disk0s1
8A142795-8036-48DF-9FC5-84506DFBB7B2
Unlocked Encrypted
/dev/disk2
#:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
0:     FDisk_partition_scheme                        *8.1 GB     disk2
1:               Windows_NTFS SanDisk USB             8.1 GB     disk2s1
  3. Identify your USB flash drive by comparing the NAME, TYPE and SIZE columns to your flash drive. For example, the NAME should be the title of the flash drive icon in the Finder tool. You can also compare these values to those in the information panel of the flash drive.

  4. Unmount the flash drive’s file system volumes: 

    $ diskutil unmountDisk /dev/disknumber
					Unmount of all volumes on disknumber was successful

    When the command completes, the icon for the flash drive disappears from your desktop. If the icon does not disappear, you may have selected the wrong disk. Attempting to unmount the system disk accidentally returns a failed to unmount error.

  5. Write the ISO image to the flash drive: 

    # sudo dd if=/path/to/image.iso of=/dev/rdisknumber

    macOS provides both a block (/dev/disk*) and character device (/dev/rdisk*) file for each storage device. Writing an image to the /dev/rdisknumber character device is faster than writing to the /dev/disknumber block device.

    For example, to write the /Users/user_name/Downloads/rhel-8-x86_64-boot.iso file to the /dev/rdisk2 device, enter the following command: 

    # sudo dd if=/Users/user_name/Downloads/rhel-8-x86_64-boot.iso of=/dev/rdisk2
  6. Wait for the dd command to finish writing the image to the device. The data transfer is complete when the # prompt appears. When the prompt is displayed, log out of the root account and unplug the USB drive. The USB drive is now ready to be used as a boot device.

Additional resources

Chapter 5. Preparing network-based repositories

You must prepare repositories to install RHEL from your network system.

5.1. Ports for network-based installation

The following table lists the ports that must be open on the server for providing the files for each type of network-based installation.

Table 5.1. Ports for network-based installation
Protocol usedPorts to open

HTTP

80

HTTPS

443

FTP

21

NFS

2049, 111, 20048

TFTP

69

Additional resources

5.2. Creating an installation source on an NFS server

You can use this installation method to install multiple systems from a single source, without having to connect to physical media.

Prerequisites

  • You have an administrator-level access to a server with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, and this server is on the same network as the system to be installed.
  • You have downloaded the full installation DVD ISO from the Product Downloads page.
  • You have created a bootable CD, DVD, or USB device from the image file.
  • You have verified that your firewall allows the system you are installing to access the remote installation source. For more information, see Ports for network-based installation.
Important

Ensure that you use different paths in inst.ks and inst.repo. When using NFS to host the installation source, you cannot use the same nfs share to host the Kickstart.

Procedure

  1. Install the nfs-utils package: 

    # yum install nfs-utils
  2. Copy the DVD ISO image to a directory on the NFS server.

  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 with the ISO image.

    • Replace clients with one of the following:

      • The host name or IP address of the target system
      • The subnetwork that all target systems can use to access the ISO image
      • To allow any system with network access to the NFS server to use the ISO image, the asterisk sign (*)

      See the exports(5) man page for detailed information about the format of this field.

      For example, a basic configuration that makes the /rhel8-install/ directory available as read-only to all clients is: 

      /rhel8-install *
  4. Save the /etc/exports file and exit the text editor.

  5. Start the nfs service: 

    # systemctl start nfs-server.service

    If the service was running before you changed the /etc/exports file, reload the NFS server configuration: 

    # systemctl reload nfs-server.service

    The ISO image is now accessible over NFS and ready to be used as an installation source.

    When configuring the installation source, use nfs: as the protocol, the server host name or IP address, the colon sign (:), and the directory holding the ISO image. For example, if the server host name is myserver.example.com and you have saved the ISO image in /rhel8-install/, specify nfs:myserver.example.com:/rhel8-install/ as the installation source.

5.3. Creating an installation source using HTTP or HTTPS

You can create an installation source for a network-based installation using an installation tree, which is a directory containing extracted contents of the DVD ISO image and a valid .treeinfo file. The installation source is accessed over HTTP or HTTPS.

Prerequisites

  • You have an administrator-level access to a server with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, and this server is on the same network as the system to be installed.
  • You have downloaded the full installation DVD ISO from the Product Downloads page.
  • You have created a bootable CD, DVD, or USB device from the image file.
  • You have verified that your firewall allows the system you are installing to access the remote installation source. For more information, see Ports for network-based installation.
  • The httpd package is installed.
  • The mod_ssl package is installed, if you use the https installation source.
Warning

If your Apache web server configuration enables SSL security, prefer to enable the TLSv1.3 protocol. By default, TLSv1.2 is enabled and you may use the TLSv1 (LEGACY) protocol.

Important

If you use an HTTPS server with a self-signed certificate, you must boot the installation program with the noverifyssl option.

Procedure

  1. Copy the DVD ISO image to the HTTP(S) server.

  2. Create a suitable directory for mounting the DVD ISO image, for example: 

    # mkdir /mnt/rhel8-install/

  3. Mount the DVD ISO image to the directory: 

    # mount -o loop,ro -t iso9660 /image_directory/image.iso /mnt/rhel8-install/

    Replace /image_directory/image.iso with the path to the DVD ISO image.

  4. Copy the files from the mounted image to the HTTP(S) server root. 

    # cp -r /mnt/rhel8-install/ /var/www/html/

    This command creates the /var/www/html/rhel8-install/ directory with the content of the image. Note that some other copying methods might skip the .treeinfo file which is required for a valid installation source. Entering the cp command for entire directories as shown in this procedure copies .treeinfo correctly.

  5. Start the httpd service: 

    # systemctl start httpd.service

    The installation tree is now accessible and ready to be used as the installation source.

    Note

    When configuring the installation source, use http:// or https:// as the protocol, the server host name or IP address, and the directory that contains the files from the ISO image, relative to the HTTP server root. For example, if you use HTTP, the server host name is myserver.example.com, and you have copied the files from the image to /var/www/html/rhel8-install/, specify http://myserver.example.com/rhel8-install/ as the installation source.

Additional resources

5.4. Creating an installation source using FTP

You can create an installation source for a network-based installation using an installation tree, which is a directory containing extracted contents of the DVD ISO image and a valid .treeinfo file. The installation source is accessed over FTP.

Prerequisites

  • You have an administrator-level access to a server with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, and this server is on the same network as the system to be installed.
  • You have downloaded the full installation DVD ISO from the Product Downloads page.
  • You have created a bootable CD, DVD, or USB device from the image file.
  • You have verified that your firewall allows the system you are installing to access the remote installation source. For more information, see Ports for network-based installation.
  • The vsftpd package is installed.

Procedure

  1. Open and edit the /etc/vsftpd/vsftpd.conf configuration file in a text editor.

    1. Change the line anonymous_enable=NO to anonymous_enable=YES
    2. Change the line write_enable=YES to write_enable=NO.

    3. Add lines pasv_min_port=<min_port> and pasv_max_port=<max_port>. Replace <min_port> and <max_port> with the port number range used by FTP server in passive mode, for example, 10021 and 10031.

      This step might be necessary in network environments featuring various firewall/NAT setups.

    4. Optional: Add custom changes to your configuration. For available options, see the vsftpd.conf(5) man page. This procedure assumes that default options are used.

      Warning

      If you configured SSL/TLS security in your vsftpd.conf file, ensure that you enable only the TLSv1 protocol, and disable SSLv2 and SSLv3. This is due to the POODLE SSL vulnerability (CVE-2014-3566). For more information, see Resolution for POODLE SSLv3.0 vulnerability.

  2. Configure the server firewall.

    1. Enable the firewall: 

      # systemctl enable firewalld

    2. Start the firewall: 

      # systemctl start firewalld

    3. Configure the firewall to allow the FTP port and port range from the previous step: 

      # firewall-cmd --add-port min_port-max_port/tcp --permanent
# firewall-cmd --add-service ftp --permanent

      Replace <min_port> and <max_port> with the port numbers you entered into the /etc/vsftpd/vsftpd.conf configuration file.

    4. Reload the firewall to apply the new rules: 

      # firewall-cmd --reload
  3. Copy the DVD ISO image to the FTP server.

  4. Create a suitable directory for mounting the DVD ISO image, for example: 

    # mkdir /mnt/rhel8-install

  5. Mount the DVD ISO image to the directory: 

    # mount -o loop,ro -t iso9660 /image-directory/image.iso /mnt/rhel8-install

    Replace /image-directory/image.iso with the path to the DVD ISO image.

  6. Copy the files from the mounted image to the FTP server root: 

    # mkdir /var/ftp/rhel8-install
# cp -r /mnt/rhel8-install/ /var/ftp/

    This command creates the /var/ftp/rhel8-install/ directory with the content of the image. Some copying methods can skip the .treeinfo file which is required for a valid installation source. Entering the cp command for whole directories as shown in this procedure will copy .treeinfo correctly.

  7. Make sure that the correct SELinux context and access mode is set on the copied content: 

    # restorecon -r /var/ftp/rhel8-install
# find /var/ftp/rhel8-install -type f -exec chmod 444 {} \;
# find /var/ftp/rhel8-install -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \;

  8. Start the vsftpd service: 

    # systemctl start vsftpd.service

    If the service was running before you changed the /etc/vsftpd/vsftpd.conf file, restart the service to load the edited file: 

    # systemctl restart vsftpd.service

    Enable the vsftpd service to start during the boot process: 

    # systemctl enable vsftpd

    The installation tree is now accessible and ready to be used as the installation source.

    When configuring the installation source, use ftp:// as the protocol, the server host name or IP address, and the directory in which you have stored the files from the ISO image, relative to the FTP server root. For example, if the server host name is myserver.example.com and you have copied the files from the image to /var/ftp/rhel8-install/, specify ftp://myserver.example.com/rhel8-install/ as the installation source.

Chapter 6. Preparing a UEFI HTTP installation source

As an administrator of a server on a local network, you can configure an HTTP server to enable HTTP boot and network installation for other systems on your network.

6.1. Network install overview

A network installation allows you to install Red Hat Enterprise Linux to a system that has access to an installation server. At a minimum, two systems are required for a network installation:

Server
A system running a DHCP server, an HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, or NFS server, and in the PXE boot case, a TFTP server. Although each server can run on a different physical system, the procedures in this section assume a single system is running all servers.
Client
The system to which you are installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Once installation starts, the client queries the DHCP server, receives the boot files from the HTTP or TFTP server, and downloads the installation image from the HTTP, HTTPS, FTP or NFS server. Unlike other installation methods, the client does not require any physical boot media for the installation to start.

To boot a client from the network, enable network boot in the firmware or in a quick boot menu on the client. On some hardware, the option to boot from a network might be disabled, or not available.

The workflow steps to prepare to install Red Hat Enterprise Linux from a network using HTTP or PXE are as follows:

Procedure

  1. Export the installation ISO image or the installation tree to an NFS, HTTPS, HTTP, or FTP server.
  2. Configure the HTTP or TFTP server and DHCP server, and start the HTTP or TFTP service on the server.
  3. Boot the client and start the installation.

You can choose between the following network boot protocols:

HTTP
Red Hat recommends using HTTP boot if your client UEFI supports it. HTTP boot is usually more reliable.
PXE (TFTP)
PXE boot is more widely supported by client systems, but sending the boot files over this protocol might be slow and result in timeout failures.

Additional resources

6.2. Configuring the DHCPv4 server for network boot

Enable the DHCP version 4 (DHCPv4) service on your server, so that it can provide network boot functionality.

Prerequisites

  • You are preparing network installation over the IPv4 protocol.

    For IPv6, see Configuring the DHCPv6 server for network boot instead.

  • Find the network addresses of the server.

    In the following examples, the server has a network card with this configuration:

    IPv4 address
    192.168.124.2/24
    IPv4 gateway
    192.168.124.1

Procedure

  1. Install the DHCP server: 

    yum install dhcp-server

  2. Set up a DHCPv4 server. Enter the following configuration in the /etc/dhcp/dhcpd.conf file. Replace the addresses to match your network card. 

    option architecture-type code 93 = unsigned integer 16;

subnet 192.168.124.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 {
  option routers 192.168.124.1;
  option domain-name-servers 192.168.124.1;
  range 192.168.124.100 192.168.124.200;
  class "pxeclients" {
    match if substring (option vendor-class-identifier, 0, 9) = "PXEClient";
    next-server 192.168.124.2;
          if option architecture-type = 00:07 {
            filename "redhat/EFI/BOOT/BOOTX64.EFI";
          }
          else {
            filename "pxelinux/pxelinux.0";
          }
  }
  class "httpclients" {
    match if substring (option vendor-class-identifier, 0, 10) = "HTTPClient";
    option vendor-class-identifier "HTTPClient";
    filename "http://192.168.124.2/redhat/EFI/BOOT/BOOTX64.EFI";
  }
}

  3. Start the DHCPv4 service: 

    # systemctl enable --now dhcpd

6.3. Configuring the DHCPv6 server for network boot

Enable the DHCP version 6 (DHCPv4) service on your server, so that it can provide network boot functionality.

Prerequisites

  • You are preparing network installation over the IPv6 protocol.

    For IPv4, see Configuring the DHCPv4 server for network boot instead.

  • Find the network addresses of the server.

    In the following examples, the server has a network card with this configuration:

    IPv6 address
    fd33:eb1b:9b36::2/64
    IPv6 gateway
    fd33:eb1b:9b36::1

Procedure

  1. Install the DHCP server: 

    yum install dhcp-server

  2. Set up a DHCPv6 server. Enter the following configuration in the /etc/dhcp/dhcpd6.conf file. Replace the addresses to match your network card. 

    option dhcp6.bootfile-url code 59 = string;
option dhcp6.vendor-class code 16 = {integer 32, integer 16, string};

subnet6 fd33:eb1b:9b36::/64 {
        range6 fd33:eb1b:9b36::64 fd33:eb1b:9b36::c8;

        class "PXEClient" {
                match substring (option dhcp6.vendor-class, 6, 9);
        }

        subclass "PXEClient" "PXEClient" {
                option dhcp6.bootfile-url "tftp://[fd33:eb1b:9b36::2]/redhat/EFI/BOOT/BOOTX64.EFI";
        }

        class "HTTPClient" {
                match substring (option dhcp6.vendor-class, 6, 10);
        }

        subclass "HTTPClient" "HTTPClient" {
                option dhcp6.bootfile-url "http://[fd33:eb1b:9b36::2]/redhat/EFI/BOOT/BOOTX64.EFI";
                option dhcp6.vendor-class 0 10 "HTTPClient";
        }
}

  3. Start the DHCPv6 service: 

    # systemctl enable --now dhcpd6

  4. If DHCPv6 packets are dropped by the RP filter in the firewall, check its log. If the log contains the rpfilter_DROP entry, disable the filter using the following configuration in the /etc/firewalld/firewalld.conf file: 

    IPv6_rpfilter=no

6.4. Configuring the HTTP server for HTTP boot

You must install and enable the httpd service on your server so that the server can provide HTTP boot resources on your network.

Prerequisites

  • Find the network addresses of the server.

    In the following examples, the server has a network card with the 192.168.124.2 IPv4 address.

Procedure

  1. Install the HTTP server: 

    # yum install httpd

  2. Create the /var/www/html/redhat/ directory: 

    # mkdir -p /var/www/html/redhat/
  3. Download the RHEL DVD ISO file. See All Red Hat Enterprise Linux Downloads.

  4. Create a mount point for the ISO file: 

    # mkdir -p /var/www/html/redhat/iso/

  5. Mount the ISO file: 

    # mount -o loop,ro -t iso9660 path-to-RHEL-DVD.iso /var/www/html/redhat/iso

  6. Copy the boot loader, kernel, and initramfs from the mounted ISO file into your HTML directory: 

    # cp -r /var/www/html/redhat/iso/images /var/www/html/redhat/
# cp -r /var/www/html/redhat/iso/EFI /var/www/html/redhat/

  7. Make the boot loader configuration editable: 

    # chmod 644 /var/www/html/redhat/EFI/BOOT/grub.cfg

  8. Edit the /var/www/html/redhat/EFI/BOOT/grub.cfg file and replace its content with the following: 

    set default="1"

function load_video {
  insmod efi_gop
  insmod efi_uga
  insmod video_bochs
  insmod video_cirrus
  insmod all_video
}

load_video
set gfxpayload=keep
insmod gzio
insmod part_gpt
insmod ext2

set timeout=60
# END /etc/grub.d/00_header #

search --no-floppy --set=root -l 'RHEL-9-3-0-BaseOS-x86_64'

# BEGIN /etc/grub.d/10_linux #
menuentry 'Install Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.3' --class fedora --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
    linuxefi ../../images/pxeboot/vmlinuz inst.repo=http://192.168.124.2/redhat/iso quiet
    initrdefi ../../images/pxeboot/initrd.img
}
menuentry 'Test this media & install Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.3' --class fedora --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
    linuxefi ../../images/pxeboot/vmlinuz inst.repo=http://192.168.124.2/redhat/iso quiet
    initrdefi ../../images/pxeboot/initrd.img
}
submenu 'Troubleshooting -->' {
    menuentry 'Install Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.3 in text mode' --class fedora --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
   	 linuxefi ../../images/pxeboot/vmlinuz inst.repo=http://192.168.124.2/redhat/iso inst.text quiet
   	 initrdefi ../../images/pxeboot/initrd.img
    }
    menuentry 'Rescue a Red Hat Enterprise Linux system' --class fedora --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
   	 linuxefi ../../images/pxeboot/vmlinuz inst.repo=http://192.168.124.2/redhat/iso inst.rescue quiet
   	 initrdefi ../../images/pxeboot/initrd.img
    }
}

    In this file, replace the following strings:

    RHEL-9-3-0-BaseOS-x86_64 and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.3
    Edit the version number to match the version of RHEL that you downloaded.
    192.168.124.2
    Replace with the IP address to your server.

  9. Make the EFI boot file executable: 

    # chmod 755 /var/www/html/redhat/EFI/BOOT/BOOTX64.EFI

  10. Open ports in the firewall to allow HTTP (80), DHCP (67, 68) and DHCPv6 (546, 547) traffic: 

    # firewall-cmd --zone public \
               --add-port={80/tcp,67/udp,68/udp,546/udp,547/udp}

    This command enables temporary access until the next server reboot.

  11. Optional: To enable permanent access, add the --permanent option to the command.

  12. Reload firewall rules: 

    # firewall-cmd --reload

  13. Start the HTTP server: 

    # systemctl enable --now httpd

  14. Make the html directory and its content readable and executable: 

    # chmod -cR u=rwX,g=rX,o=rX /var/www/html

  15. Restore the SELinux context of the html directory: 

    # restorecon -FvvR /var/www/html

Chapter 7. Preparing a PXE installation source

You must configure TFTP and DHCP on a PXE server to enable PXE boot and network installation.

7.1. Network install overview

A network installation allows you to install Red Hat Enterprise Linux to a system that has access to an installation server. At a minimum, two systems are required for a network installation:

Server
A system running a DHCP server, an HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, or NFS server, and in the PXE boot case, a TFTP server. Although each server can run on a different physical system, the procedures in this section assume a single system is running all servers.
Client
The system to which you are installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Once installation starts, the client queries the DHCP server, receives the boot files from the HTTP or TFTP server, and downloads the installation image from the HTTP, HTTPS, FTP or NFS server. Unlike other installation methods, the client does not require any physical boot media for the installation to start.

To boot a client from the network, enable network boot in the firmware or in a quick boot menu on the client. On some hardware, the option to boot from a network might be disabled, or not available.

The workflow steps to prepare to install Red Hat Enterprise Linux from a network using HTTP or PXE are as follows:

Procedure

  1. Export the installation ISO image or the installation tree to an NFS, HTTPS, HTTP, or FTP server.
  2. Configure the HTTP or TFTP server and DHCP server, and start the HTTP or TFTP service on the server.
  3. Boot the client and start the installation.

You can choose between the following network boot protocols:

HTTP
Red Hat recommends using HTTP boot if your client UEFI supports it. HTTP boot is usually more reliable.
PXE (TFTP)
PXE boot is more widely supported by client systems, but sending the boot files over this protocol might be slow and result in timeout failures.

Additional resources

7.2. Configuring the DHCPv4 server for network boot

Enable the DHCP version 4 (DHCPv4) service on your server, so that it can provide network boot functionality.

Prerequisites

  • You are preparing network installation over the IPv4 protocol.

    For IPv6, see Configuring the DHCPv6 server for network boot instead.

  • Find the network addresses of the server.

    In the following examples, the server has a network card with this configuration:

    IPv4 address
    192.168.124.2/24
    IPv4 gateway
    192.168.124.1

Procedure

  1. Install the DHCP server: 

    yum install dhcp-server

  2. Set up a DHCPv4 server. Enter the following configuration in the /etc/dhcp/dhcpd.conf file. Replace the addresses to match your network card. 

    option architecture-type code 93 = unsigned integer 16;

subnet 192.168.124.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 {
  option routers 192.168.124.1;
  option domain-name-servers 192.168.124.1;
  range 192.168.124.100 192.168.124.200;
  class "pxeclients" {
    match if substring (option vendor-class-identifier, 0, 9) = "PXEClient";
    next-server 192.168.124.2;
          if option architecture-type = 00:07 {
            filename "redhat/EFI/BOOT/BOOTX64.EFI";
          }
          else {
            filename "pxelinux/pxelinux.0";
          }
  }
  class "httpclients" {
    match if substring (option vendor-class-identifier, 0, 10) = "HTTPClient";
    option vendor-class-identifier "HTTPClient";
    filename "http://192.168.124.2/redhat/EFI/BOOT/BOOTX64.EFI";
  }
}

  3. Start the DHCPv4 service: 

    # systemctl enable --now dhcpd

7.3. Configuring the DHCPv6 server for network boot

Enable the DHCP version 6 (DHCPv4) service on your server, so that it can provide network boot functionality.

Prerequisites

  • You are preparing network installation over the IPv6 protocol.

    For IPv4, see Configuring the DHCPv4 server for network boot instead.

  • Find the network addresses of the server.

    In the following examples, the server has a network card with this configuration:

    IPv6 address
    fd33:eb1b:9b36::2/64
    IPv6 gateway
    fd33:eb1b:9b36::1

Procedure

  1. Install the DHCP server: 

    yum install dhcp-server

  2. Set up a DHCPv6 server. Enter the following configuration in the /etc/dhcp/dhcpd6.conf file. Replace the addresses to match your network card. 

    option dhcp6.bootfile-url code 59 = string;
option dhcp6.vendor-class code 16 = {integer 32, integer 16, string};

subnet6 fd33:eb1b:9b36::/64 {
        range6 fd33:eb1b:9b36::64 fd33:eb1b:9b36::c8;

        class "PXEClient" {
                match substring (option dhcp6.vendor-class, 6, 9);
        }

        subclass "PXEClient" "PXEClient" {
                option dhcp6.bootfile-url "tftp://[fd33:eb1b:9b36::2]/redhat/EFI/BOOT/BOOTX64.EFI";
        }

        class "HTTPClient" {
                match substring (option dhcp6.vendor-class, 6, 10);
        }

        subclass "HTTPClient" "HTTPClient" {
                option dhcp6.bootfile-url "http://[fd33:eb1b:9b36::2]/redhat/EFI/BOOT/BOOTX64.EFI";
                option dhcp6.vendor-class 0 10 "HTTPClient";
        }
}

  3. Start the DHCPv6 service: 

    # systemctl enable --now dhcpd6

  4. If DHCPv6 packets are dropped by the RP filter in the firewall, check its log. If the log contains the rpfilter_DROP entry, disable the filter using the following configuration in the /etc/firewalld/firewalld.conf file: 

    IPv6_rpfilter=no

7.4. Configuring a TFTP server for BIOS-based clients

You must configure a TFTP server and DHCP server and start the TFTP service on the PXE server for BIOS-based AMD and Intel 64-bit systems.

Procedure

  1. As root, install the following package. 

    # yum install tftp-server

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

    # firewall-cmd --add-service=tftp

    This command enables temporary access until the next server reboot.

  3. optional: To enable permanent access, add the --permanent option to the command.

    Depending on the location of the installation ISO file, you might have to allow incoming connections for HTTP or other services.

  4. Access the pxelinux.0 file from the SYSLINUX package in the DVD ISO image file, where my_local_directory is the name of the directory that you create: 

    # mount -t iso9660 /path_to_image/name_of_image.iso /mount_point -o loop,ro
    # cp -pr /mount_point/BaseOS/Packages/syslinux-tftpboot-version-architecture.rpm /my_local_directory
    # umount /mount_point

  5. Extract the package: 

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

  6. Create a pxelinux/ directory in tftpboot/ and copy all the files from the directory into the pxelinux/ directory: 

    # mkdir /var/lib/tftpboot/pxelinux
    # cp /my_local_directory/tftpboot/* /var/lib/tftpboot/pxelinux

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

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

  8. Create a configuration file named default and add it to the pxelinux.cfg/ directory as shown in the following example: 

    default vesamenu.c32
prompt 1
timeout 600

display boot.msg

label linux
  menu label ^Install system
  menu default
  kernel images/RHEL-8/vmlinuz
  append initrd=images/RHEL-8/initrd.img ip=dhcp inst.repo=http://192.168.124.2/RHEL-8/x86_64/iso-contents-root/
label vesa
  menu label Install system with ^basic video driver
  kernel images/RHEL-8/vmlinuz
  append initrd=images/RHEL-8/initrd.img ip=dhcp inst.xdriver=vesa nomodeset inst.repo=http://192.168.124.2/RHEL-8/x86_64/iso-contents-root/
label rescue
  menu label ^Rescue installed system
  kernel images/RHEL-8/vmlinuz
  append initrd=images/RHEL-8/initrd.img inst.rescue
  inst.repo=http:///192.168.124.2/RHEL-8/x86_64/iso-contents-root/
label local
  menu label Boot from ^local drive
  localboot 0xffff
    • The installation program cannot boot without its runtime image. Use the inst.stage2 boot option to specify location of the image. Alternatively, you can use the inst.repo= option to specify the image as well as the installation source.
    • The installation source location used with inst.repo must contain a valid .treeinfo file.
    • When you select the RHEL8 installation DVD as the installation source, the .treeinfo file points to the BaseOS and the AppStream repositories. You can use a single inst.repo option to load both repositories.

  9. Create a subdirectory to store the boot image files in the /var/lib/tftpboot/ directory, and copy the boot image files to the directory. In this example, the directory is /var/lib/tftpboot/pxelinux/images/RHEL-8/: 

    # mkdir -p /var/lib/tftpboot/pxelinux/images/RHEL-8/
# cp /path_to_x86_64_images/pxeboot/{vmlinuz,initrd.img} /var/lib/tftpboot/pxelinux/images/RHEL-8/

  10. Start and enable the tftp.socket service: 

    # systemctl enable --now tftp.socket

    The PXE boot server is now ready to serve PXE clients. You can start the client, which is the system to which you are installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux, select PXE Boot when prompted to specify a boot source, and start the network installation.

7.5. Configuring a TFTP server for UEFI-based clients

You must configure a TFTP server and DHCP server and start the TFTP service on the PXE server for UEFI-based AMD64, Intel 64, and 64-bit ARM systems.

Important

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 UEFI PXE boot supports a lowercase file format for a MAC-based grub menu file. For example, the MAC address file format for grub2 is grub.cfg-01-aa-bb-cc-dd-ee-ff

Procedure

  1. As root, install the following package. 

    # yum install tftp-server

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

    # firewall-cmd --add-service=tftp

    This command enables temporary access until the next server reboot.

  3. Optional: To enable permanent access, add the --permanent option to the command.

    Depending on the location of the installation ISO file, you might have to allow incoming connections for HTTP or other services.

  4. Access the EFI boot image files from the DVD ISO image: 

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

  5. Copy the EFI boot images from the DVD ISO image: 

    # mkdir /var/lib/tftpboot/redhat
# cp -r /mount_point/EFI /var/lib/tftpboot/redhat/
# umount /mount_point

  6. Fix the permissions of the copied files: 

    # chmod -R 755 /var/lib/tftpboot/redhat/

  7. Replace the content of /var/lib/tftpboot/redhat/EFI/BOOT/grub.cfg with the following example: 

    set timeout=60
menuentry 'RHEL 8' {
  linux images/RHEL-8/vmlinuz ip=dhcp inst.repo=http://192.168.124.2/RHEL-8/x86_64/iso-contents-root/
  initrd images/RHEL-8/initrd.img
}
    • The installation program cannot boot without its runtime image. Use the inst.stage2 boot option to specify location of the image. Alternatively, you can use the inst.repo= option to specify the image as well as the installation source.
    • The installation source location used with inst.repo must contain a valid .treeinfo file.
    • When you select the RHEL8 installation DVD as the installation source, the .treeinfo file points to the BaseOS and the AppStream repositories. You can use a single inst.repo option to load both repositories.

  8. Create a subdirectory to store the boot image files in the /var/lib/tftpboot/ directory, and copy the boot image files to the directory. In this example, the directory is /var/lib/tftpboot/images/RHEL-8/: 

    # mkdir -p /var/lib/tftpboot/images/RHEL-8/
# cp /path_to_x86_64_images/pxeboot/{vmlinuz,initrd.img}/var/lib/tftpboot/images/RHEL-8/

  9. Start and enable the tftp.socket service: 

    # systemctl enable --now tftp.socket

    The PXE boot server is now ready to serve PXE clients. You can start the client, which is the system to which you are installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux, select PXE Boot when prompted to specify a boot source, and start the network installation.

Additional resources

7.6. Configuring a network server for IBM Power systems

You can configure a network boot server for IBM Power systems by using GRUB2.

Procedure

  1. As root, install the following packages: 

    # yum install tftp-server dhcp-server

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

    # firewall-cmd --add-service=tftp

    This command enables temporary access until the next server reboot.

  3. Optional: To enable permanent access, add the --permanent option to the command.

    Depending on the location of the installation ISO file, you might have to allow incoming connections for HTTP or other services.

  4. 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

    The command output informs you of the file name that needs to be configured in your DHCP configuration, described in this procedure.

    1. If the PXE server runs on an x86 machine, the grub2-ppc64-modules must be installed before creating a GRUB2 network boot directory inside the tftp root: 

      # yum install grub2-ppc64-modules

  5. Create a GRUB2 configuration file: /var/lib/tftpboot/boot/grub2/grub.cfg as shown in the following example: 

    set default=0
set timeout=5

echo -e "\nWelcome to the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 installer!\n\n"

menuentry 'Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8' {
  linux grub2-ppc64/vmlinuz ro ip=dhcp inst.repo=http://192.168.124.2/RHEL-8/x86_64/iso-contents-root/
  initrd grub2-ppc64/initrd.img
}
    • The installation program cannot boot without its runtime image. Use the inst.stage2 boot option to specify location of the image. Alternatively, you can use the inst.repo= option to specify the image as well as the installation source.
    • The installation source location used with inst.repo must contain a valid .treeinfo file.
    • When you select the RHEL8 installation DVD as the installation source, the .treeinfo file points to the BaseOS and the AppStream repositories. You can use a single inst.repo option to load both repositories.

  6. Mount the DVD ISO image using the command: 

    # mount -t iso9660 /path_to_image/name_of_iso/ /mount_point -o loop,ro

  7. Create a directory and copy the initrd.img and vmlinuz files from DVD ISO image into it, for example: 

    # cp /mount_point/ppc/ppc64/{initrd.img,vmlinuz} /var/lib/tftpboot/grub2-ppc64/

  8. Configure your DHCP server to use the boot images packaged with GRUB2 as shown in the following example. If you already have a DHCP server configured, then perform this step on the DHCP server. 

    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;
    }
  }
}
  9. Adjust the sample parameters subnet, netmask, routers, fixed-address and hardware ethernet to fit your network configuration. The file name parameter; this is the file name that was outputted by the grub2-mknetdir command earlier in this procedure.

  10. On the DHCP server, start and enable the dhcpd service. If you have configured a DHCP server on the localhost, then start and enable the dhcpd service on the localhost. 

    # systemctl enable --now dhcpd

  11. Start and enable the tftp.socket service: 

    # systemctl enable --now tftp.socket

    The PXE boot server is now ready to serve PXE clients. You can start the client, which is the system to which you are installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux, select PXE Boot when prompted to specify a boot source, and start the network installation.

Chapter 8. Preparing a system with UEFI Secure Boot enabled to install and boot RHEL beta releases

To enhance the security of your operating system, use the UEFI Secure Boot feature for signature verification when booting a Red Hat Enterprise Linux Beta release on systems having UEFI Secure Boot enabled.

8.1. UEFI Secure Boot and RHEL Beta releases

UEFI Secure Boot requires that the operating system kernel is signed with a recognized private key. UEFI Secure Boot then verifies the signature using the corresponding public key.

For Red Hat Enterprise Linux Beta releases, the kernel is signed with a Red Hat Beta-specific private key. UEFI Secure Boot attempts to verify the signature using the corresponding public key, but because the hardware does not recognize the Beta private key, Red Hat Enterprise Linux Beta release system fails to boot. Therefore, to use UEFI Secure Boot with a Beta release, add the Red Hat Beta public key to your system using the Machine Owner Key (MOK) facility.

8.2. Adding a Beta public key for UEFI Secure Boot

This section contains information about how to add a Red Hat Enterprise Linux Beta public key for UEFI Secure Boot.

Prerequisites

  • The UEFI Secure Boot is disabled on the system.
  • The Red Hat Enterprise Linux Beta release is installed, and Secure Boot is disabled even after system reboot.
  • You are logged in to the system, and the tasks in the Initial Setup window are complete.

Procedure

  1. Begin to enroll the Red Hat Beta public key in the system’s Machine Owner Key (MOK) list: 

    # mokutil --import /usr/share/doc/kernel-keys/$(uname -r)/kernel-signing-ca.cer

    $(uname -r) is replaced by the kernel version - for example, 4.18.0-80.el8.x86_64.

  2. Enter a password when prompted.
  3. Reboot the system and press any key to continue the startup. The Shim UEFI key management utility starts during the system startup.
  4. Select Enroll MOK.
  5. Select Continue.
  6. Select Yes and enter the password. The key is imported into the system’s firmware.
  7. Select Reboot.
  8. Enable Secure Boot on the system.

8.3. Removing a Beta public key

If you plan to remove the Red Hat Enterprise Linux Beta release, and install a Red Hat Enterprise Linux General Availability (GA) release, or a different operating system, then remove the Beta public key.

The procedure describes how to remove a Beta public key.

Procedure

  1. Begin to remove the Red Hat Beta public key from the system’s Machine Owner Key (MOK) list: 

    # mokutil --reset
  2. Enter a password when prompted.
  3. Reboot the system and press any key to continue the startup. The Shim UEFI key management utility starts during the system startup.
  4. Select Reset MOK.
  5. Select Continue.
  6. Select Yes and enter the password that you had specified in step 2. The key is removed from the system’s firmware.
  7. Select Reboot.

Chapter 9. Preparing a RHEL installation on 64-bit IBM Z

This section describes how to install Red Hat Enterprise Linux on the 64-bit IBM Z architecture.

9.1. Planning for installation on 64-bit IBM Z

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 runs on z13 or later IBM mainframe systems.

The installation process assumes that you are familiar with the 64-bit IBM Z and can set up logical partitions (LPARs) and z/VM guest virtual machines.

For installation of Red Hat Enterprise Linux on 64-bit IBM Z, Red Hat supports Direct Access Storage Device (DASD), Fiber Channel Protocol (FCP) storage devices, and virtio-blk and virtio-scsi devices. When using FCP devices, Red Hat recommends using them in multipath configuration for better reliability.

Important

DASDs are disks that allow a maximum of three partitions per device. For example, dasda can have partitions dasda1, dasda2, and dasda3.

Pre-installation decisions

  • Whether the operating system is to be run on an LPAR, KVM, or as a z/VM guest operating system.

  • Network configuration. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 for 64-bit IBM Z supports the following network devices:

    • Real and virtual Open Systems Adapter (OSA)
    • Real and virtual HiperSockets
    • LAN channel station (LCS) for real OSA
    • virtio-net devices
    • RDMA over Converged Ethernet (RoCE)
  • Ensure you select machine type as ESA for your z/VM VMs, because selecting any other machine types might prevent RHEL from installing. See the IBM documentation.
Note

When initializing swap space on a Fixed Block Architecture (FBA) DASD using the SWAPGEN utility, the FBAPART option must be used.

Additional resources

9.2. Overview of installation process on 64-bit IBM Z servers

You can install Red Hat Enterprise Linux on 64-bit IBM Z interactively or in unattended mode. Installation on 64-bit IBM Z differs from other architectures as it is typically performed over a network, and not from local media. The installation consists of three phases:

  1. Booting the installation

    • Connect to the mainframe
    • Customize the boot parameters
    • Perform an initial program load (IPL), or boot from the media containing the installation program

  2. Connecting to the installation system

    • From a local machine, connect to the remote 64-bit IBM Z system using SSH, and start the installation program using Virtual Network Computing (VNC)
  3. Completing the installation using the RHEL installation program

9.3. Boot media for installing RHEL on 64-bit IBM Z servers

After establishing a connection with the mainframe, you need to perform an initial program load (IPL), or boot, from the medium containing the installation program. This document describes the most common methods of installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux on 64-bit IBM Z. In general, any method may be used to boot the Linux installation system, which consists of a kernel (kernel.img) and initial RAM disk (initrd.img) with parameters in the generic.prm file supplemented by user defined parameters. Additionally, a generic.ins file is loaded which determines file names and memory addresses for the initrd, kernel and generic.prm.

The Linux installation system is also called the installation program in this book.

You can use the following boot media only if Linux is to run as a guest operating system under z/VM:

  • z/VM reader

You can use the following boot media only if Linux is to run in LPAR mode:

  • SE or HMC through a remote SFTP, FTPS or FTP server
  • SE or HMC DVD

You can use the following boot media for both z/VM and LPAR:

  • DASD
  • SCSI disk device that is attached through an FCP channel
  • FCP-attached SCSI DVD

If you use DASD or an FCP-attached SCSI disk device as boot media, you must have a configured zipl boot loader.

9.4. Customizing boot parameters

Before the installation can begin, you must configure some mandatory boot parameters. When installing through z/VM, these parameters must be configured before you boot into the generic.prm file. When installing on an LPAR, the rd.cmdline parameter is set to ask by default, meaning that you will be given a prompt on which you can enter these boot parameters. In both cases, the required parameters are the same.

All network configuration can either be specified by using a parameter file, or at the prompt.

Installation source
An installation source must always be configured. Use the inst.repo option to specify the package source for the installation.
Network devices

Network configuration must be provided if network access will be required during the installation. If you plan to perform an unattended (Kickstart-based) installation by using only local media such as a disk, network configuration can be omitted.

ip=
Use the ip= option for basic network configuration, and other options as required for RoCE configuration.
rd.znet=

Also use the rd.znet= kernel option, which takes a network protocol type, a comma delimited list of sub-channels, and, optionally, comma delimited sysfs parameter and value pairs for qeth devices. This parameter can be specified multiple times to activate multiple network devices.

For example: 

rd.znet=qeth,0.0.0600,0.0.0601,0.0.0602,layer2=1,portno=<number>

When specifying multiple rd.znet boot options, only the last one is passed on to the kernel command line of the installed system. This does not affect the networking of the system since all network devices configured during installation are properly activated and configured at boot.

The qeth device driver assigns the same interface name for Ethernet and Hipersockets devices: enc<device number>. The bus ID is composed of the channel subsystem ID, subchannel set ID, and device number, separated by dots; the device number is the last part of the bus ID, without leading zeroes and dots. For example, the interface name will be enca00 for a device with the bus ID 0.0.0a00.

net.naming-scheme=

The udev service renames network devices to assign, preferably, consistent names. By using the net.naming-scheme= parameter, you can influence the naming scheme. For details, see Implementing consistent network interface naming.

Note

If you use Remote direct memory access (RDMA) over Converged Ethernet (RoCE) devices, it depends on multiple factors whether Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) assigns a predictable or unpredictable name. However, during the installation, RHEL always assigns an unpredictable name to RoCE devices that are enumerated by a function identifier (FID), but you can configure RHEL after the installation to assign a predictable name to these RoCE devices.

For details about the factors that influence the naming of RoCE devices and how to configure a consistent name after the installation for RoCE devices enumerated by FID, see Determining a predictable RoCE device name on the IBM Z platform.

Storage devices

At least one storage device must always be configured for text mode installations.

The rd.dasd= option takes a Direct Access Storage Device (DASD) adapter device bus identifier. For multiple DASDs, specify the parameter multiple times, or use a comma separated list of bus IDs. To specify a range of DASDs, specify the first and the last bus ID.

For example: 

rd.dasd=0.0.0200 rd.dasd=0.0.0202(ro),0.0.0203(ro:failfast),0.0.0205-0.0.0207

The rd.zfcp= option takes a SCSI over FCP (zFCP) adapter device bus identifier, a world wide port name (WWPN), and a FCP LUN, then activates the device. This parameter can be specified multiple times to activate multiple zFCP devices.

For example: Since 8, a target world wide port name (WWPN) and an FCP LUN have to be provided only if the zFCP device is not configured in NPIV mode or when auto LUN scanning is disabled by the zfcp.allow_lun_scan=0 kernel module parameter. It provides access to all SCSI devices found in the storage area network attached to the FCP device with the specified bus ID. This parameter needs to be specified at least twice to activate multiple paths to the same disks. 

rd.zfcp=0.0.4000,0x5005076300C213e9,0x5022000000000000
rd.zfcp=0.0.4000
Kickstart options
If you are using a Kickstart file to perform an automatic installation, you must always specify the location of the Kickstart file using the inst.ks= option. For an unattended, fully automatic Kickstart installation, the inst.cmdline option is also useful.

An example customized generic.prm file containing all mandatory parameters look similar to the following example:

Example 9.1. Customized generic.prm file

ro ramdisk_size=40000 cio_ignore=all,!condev
inst.repo=http://example.com/path/to/repository
rd.znet=qeth,0.0.0600,0.0.0601,0.0.0602,layer2=1,portno=0,portname=foo
ip=192.168.17.115::192.168.17.254:24:foobar.systemz.example.com:enc600:none
nameserver=192.168.17.1
rd.dasd=0.0.0200 rd.dasd=0.0.0202
rd.zfcp=0.0.4000,0x5005076300c213e9,0x5022000000000000
rd.zfcp=0.0.5000,0x5005076300dab3e9,0x5022000000000000
inst.ks=http://example.com/path/to/kickstart

Some installation methods also require a file with a mapping of the location of installation data in the file system of the DVD or FTP server and the memory locations where the data is to be copied.

The file is typically named generic.ins, and contains file names for the initial RAM disk, kernel image, and parameter file (generic.prm) and a memory location for each file. An example generic.ins will look similar to the following example:

Example 9.2. Sample generic.ins file

images/kernel.img 0x00000000
images/initrd.img 0x02000000
images/genericdvd.prm 0x00010480
images/initrd.addrsize 0x00010408

A valid generic.ins file is provided by Red Hat along with all other files required to boot the installer. Modify this file only if you want to, for example, load a different kernel version than default.

Additional resources

  • For a list of all boot options to customize the installation program’s behavior, see Boot options reference.

9.5. Parameters and configuration files on 64-bit IBM Z

This section contains information about the parameters and configuration files on 64-bit IBM Z.

9.5.1. Required configuration file parameters on 64-bit IBM Z

Several parameters are required and must be included in the parameter file. These parameters are also provided in the file generic.prm in directory images/ of the installation DVD.

  • ro

    Mounts the root file system, which is a RAM disk, read-only.

  • ramdisk_size=size

    Modifies the memory size reserved for the RAM disk to ensure that the Red Hat Enterprise Linux installation program fits within it. For example: ramdisk_size=40000.

The generic.prm file also contains the additional parameter cio_ignore=all,!condev. This setting speeds up boot and device detection on systems with many devices. The installation program transparently handles the activation of ignored devices.

9.5.2. 64-bit IBM z/VM configuration file

Under z/VM, you can use a configuration file on a CMS-formatted disk. The purpose of the CMS configuration file is to save space in the parameter file by moving the parameters that configure the initial network setup, the DASD, and the FCP specification out of the parameter file.

Each line of the CMS configuration file contains a single variable and its associated value, in the following shell-style syntax: variable=value.

You must also add the CMSDASD and CMSCONFFILE parameters to the parameter file. These parameters point the installation program to the configuration file:

CMSDASD=cmsdasd_address

Where cmsdasd_address is the device number of a CMS-formatted disk that contains the configuration file. This is usually the CMS user’s A disk.

For example: CMSDASD=191

CMSCONFFILE=configuration_file

Where configuration_file is the name of the configuration file. This value must be specified in lower case. It is specified in a Linux file name format: CMS_file_name.CMS_file_type.

The CMS file REDHAT CONF is specified as redhat.conf. The CMS file name and the file type can each be from one to eight characters that follow the CMS conventions.

For example: CMSCONFFILE=redhat.conf

9.5.3. Installation network, DASD and FCP parameters on 64-bit IBM Z

These parameters can be used to automatically set up the preliminary network, and can be defined in the CMS configuration file. These parameters are the only parameters that can also be used in a CMS configuration file. All other parameters in other sections must be specified in the parameter file.

NETTYPE="type"

Where type must be one of the following: qeth, lcs, or ctc. The default is qeth.

Choose qeth for:

  • OSA-Express features
  • HiperSockets

  • Virtual connections on z/VM, including VSWITCH and Guest LAN

    Select ctc for:

  • Channel-to-channel network connections
SUBCHANNELS="device_bus_IDs"

Where device_bus_IDs is a comma-separated list of two or three device bus IDs. The IDs must be specified in lowercase.

Provides required device bus IDs for the various network interfaces: 

qeth: SUBCHANNELS="read_device_bus_id,write_device_bus_id,data_device_bus_id"
lcs or ctc: SUBCHANNELS="read_device_bus_id,write_device_bus_id"

For example (a sample qeth SUBCHANNEL statement): 

SUBCHANNELS="0.0.f5f0,0.0.f5f1,0.0.f5f2"
PORTNO="portnumber"
You can add either PORTNO="0" (to use port 0) or PORTNO="1" (to use port 1 of OSA features with two ports per CHPID).
LAYER2="value"

Where value can be 0 or 1.

Use LAYER2="0" to operate an OSA or HiperSockets device in layer 3 mode (NETTYPE="qeth"). Use LAYER2="1" for layer 2 mode. For virtual network devices under z/VM this setting must match the definition of the GuestLAN or VSWITCH to which the device is coupled.

To use network services that operate on layer 2 (the Data Link Layer or its MAC sublayer) such as DHCP, layer 2 mode is a good choice.

The qeth device driver default for OSA devices is now layer 2 mode. To continue using the previous default of layer 3 mode, set LAYER2="0" explicitly.

VSWITCH="value"

Where value can be 0 or 1.

Specify VSWITCH="1" when connecting to a z/VM VSWITCH or GuestLAN, or VSWITCH="0" (or nothing at all) when using directly attached real OSA or directly attached real HiperSockets.

MACADDR="MAC_address"

If you specify LAYER2="1" and VSWITCH="0", you can optionally use this parameter to specify a MAC address. Linux requires six colon-separated octets as pairs lower case hex digits - for example, MACADDR=62:a3:18:e7:bc:5f. This is different from the notation used by z/VM.

If you specify LAYER2="1" and VSWITCH="1", you must not specify the MACADDR, because z/VM assigns a unique MAC address to virtual network devices in layer 2 mode.

CTCPROT="value"

Where value can be 0, 1, or 3.

Specifies the CTC protocol for NETTYPE="ctc". The default is 0.

HOSTNAME="string"
Where string is the host name of the newly-installed Linux instance.
IPADDR="IP"
Where IP is the IP address of the new Linux instance.
NETMASK="netmask"

Where netmask is the netmask.

The netmask supports the syntax of a prefix integer (from 1 to 32) as specified in IPv4 classless interdomain routing (CIDR). For example, you can specify 24 instead of 255.255.255.0, or 20 instead of 255.255.240.0.

GATEWAY="gw"
Where gw is the gateway IP address for this network device.
MTU="mtu"
Where mtu is the Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU) for this network device.
DNS="server1:server2:additional_server_terms:serverN"

Where "server1:server2:additional_server_terms:serverN" is a list of DNS servers, separated by colons. For example: 

DNS="10.1.2.3:10.3.2.1"
SEARCHDNS="domain1:domain2:additional_dns_terms:domainN"

Where "domain1:domain2:additional_dns_terms:domainN" is a list of the search domains, separated by colons. For example: 

SEARCHDNS="subdomain.domain:domain"

You only need to specify SEARCHDNS= if you specify the DNS= parameter.

DASD=

Defines the DASD or range of DASDs to configure for the installation.

The installation program supports a comma-separated list of device bus IDs, or ranges of device bus IDs with the optional attributes ro, diag, erplog, and failfast. Optionally, you can abbreviate device bus IDs to device numbers with leading zeros stripped. Any optional attributes should be separated by colons and enclosed in parentheses. Optional attributes follow a device bus ID or a range of device bus IDs.

The only supported global option is autodetect. This does not support the specification of non-existent DASDs to reserve kernel device names for later addition of DASDs. Use persistent DASD device names such as /dev/disk/by-path/name to enable transparent addition of disks later. Other global options such as probeonly, nopav, or nofcx are not supported by the installation program.

Only specify those DASDs that need to be installed on your system. All unformatted DASDs specified here must be formatted after a confirmation later on in the installation program.

Add any data DASDs that are not needed for the root file system or the /boot partition after installation.

For example: 

DASD="eb1c,0.0.a000-0.0.a003,eb10-eb14(diag),0.0.ab1c(ro:diag)"
FCP_n="device_bus_ID [WWPN FCP_LUN]"

For FCP-only environments, remove the DASD= option from the CMS configuration file to indicate no DASD is present. 

FCP_n="device_bus_ID [WWPN FCP_LUN]"

Where:

  • n is typically an integer value (for example FCP_1 or FCP_2) but could be any string with alphabetic or numeric characters or underscores.
  • device_bus_ID specifies the device bus ID of the FCP device representing the host bus adapter (HBA) (for example 0.0.fc00 for device fc00).
  • WWPN is the world wide port name used for routing (often in conjunction with multipathing) and is as a 16-digit hex value (for example 0x50050763050b073d).
  • FCP_LUN refers to the storage logical unit identifier and is specified as a 16-digit hexadecimal value padded with zeroes to the right (for example 0x4020400100000000).
Note

A target world wide port name (WWPN) and an FCP_LUN have to be provided if the zFCP device is not configured in NPIV mode, when auto LUN scanning is disabled by the zfcp.allow_lun_scan=0 kernel module parameter or when installing RHEL-8.6 or older releases. Otherwise only the device_bus_ID value is mandatory.

  • These variables can be used on systems with FCP devices to activate FCP LUNs such as SCSI disks. Additional FCP LUNs can be activated during the installation interactively or by means of a Kickstart file. An example value looks similar to the following: 

    FCP_1="0.0.fc00 0x50050763050b073d 0x4020400100000000"
FCP_2="0.0.4000"

    Each of the values used in the FCP parameters (for example FCP_1 or FCP_2) are site-specific and are normally supplied by the FCP storage administrator.

9.5.4. Parameters for kickstart installations on 64-bit IBM Z

The following parameters can be defined in a parameter file but do not work in a CMS configuration file.

inst.ks=URL
References a Kickstart file, which usually resides on the network for Linux installations on 64-bit IBM Z. Replace URL with the full path including the file name of the Kickstart file. This parameter activates automatic installation with Kickstart.
inst.cmdline
This requires installation with a Kickstart file that answers all questions, because the installation program does not support interactive user input in cmdline mode. Ensure that your Kickstart file contains all required parameters before you use the inst.cmdline option. If a required command is missing, the installation will fail.

9.5.5. Miscellaneous parameters on 64-bit IBM Z

The following parameters can be defined in a parameter file but do not work in a CMS configuration file.

rd.live.check
Turns on testing of an ISO-based installation source; for example, when using inst.repo= with an ISO on local disk or mounted with NFS.
inst.nompath
Disables support for multipath devices.
proxy=[protocol://][username[:password]@]host[:port]
Specify a proxy to use with installation over HTTP, HTTPS or FTP.
inst.rescue
Boot into a rescue system running from a RAM disk that can be used to fix and restore an installed system.
inst.stage2=URL

Specifies a path to a tree containing install.img, not to the install.img directly. Otherwise, follows the same syntax as inst.repo=. If inst.stage2 is specified, it typically takes precedence over other methods of finding install.img. However, if Anaconda finds install.img on local media, the inst.stage2 URL will be ignored.

If inst.stage2 is not specified and install.img cannot be found locally, Anaconda looks to the location given by inst.repo= or method=.

If only inst.stage2= is given without inst.repo= or method=, Anaconda uses whatever repos the installed system would have enabled by default for installation.

Use the option multiple times to specify multiple HTTP, HTTPS or FTP sources. The HTTP, HTTPS or FTP paths are then tried sequentially until one succeeds: 

inst.stage2=http://hostname/path_to_install_tree/
inst.stage2=http://hostname/path_to_install_tree/
inst.stage2=http://hostname/path_to_install_tree/
inst.syslog=IP/hostname[:port]
Sends log messages to a remote syslog server.

The boot parameters described here are the most useful for installations and trouble shooting on 64-bit IBM Z, but only a subset of those that influence the installation program.

9.5.6. Sample parameter file and CMS configuration file on 64-bit IBM Z

To change the parameter file, begin by extending the shipped generic.prm file.

Example of generic.prm file: 

ro ramdisk_size=40000 cio_ignore=all,!condev
CMSDASD="191" CMSCONFFILE="redhat.conf"
inst.vnc
inst.repo=http://example.com/path/to/dvd-contents

Example of redhat.conf file configuring a QETH network device (pointed to by CMSCONFFILE in generic.prm): 

NETTYPE="qeth"
SUBCHANNELS="0.0.0600,0.0.0601,0.0.0602"
PORTNAME="FOOBAR"
PORTNO="0"
LAYER2="1"
MACADDR="02:00:be:3a:01:f3"
HOSTNAME="foobar.systemz.example.com"
IPADDR="192.168.17.115"
NETMASK="255.255.255.0"
GATEWAY="192.168.17.254"
DNS="192.168.17.1"
SEARCHDNS="systemz.example.com:example.com"
DASD="200-203"

9.5.7. Using parameter and configuration files on 64-bit IBM Z

The 64-bit IBM Z architecture can use a customized parameter file to pass boot parameters to the kernel and the installation program.

You need to change the parameter file if you want to:

  • Install unattended with Kickstart.
  • Choose non-default installation settings that are not accessible through the installation program’s interactive user interface, such as rescue mode.

The parameter file can be used to set up networking non-interactively before the installation program (Anaconda) starts.

The kernel parameter file is limited to 895 characters plus an end-of-line character. The parameter file can be variable or fixed record format. Fixed record format increases the file size by padding each line up to the record length. Should you encounter problems with the installation program not recognizing all specified parameters in LPAR environments, you can try to put all parameters in one single line or start and end each line with a space character.

The parameter file contains kernel parameters, such as ro, and parameters for the installation process, such as vncpassword=test or vnc.

9.6. Preparing an installation in a z/VM guest virtual machine

Use the x3270 or c3270 terminal emulator, to log in to z/VM from other Linux systems, or use the IBM 3270 terminal emulator on the 64-bit IBM Z Hardware Management Console (HMC). If you are running Microsoft Windows operating system, there are several options available, and can be found through an internet search. A free native Windows port of c3270 called wc3270 also exists.

Ensure you select machine type as ESA for your z/VM VMs, because selecting any other machine types might prevent installing RHEL. See the IBM documentation.

Procedure

  1. Log on to the z/VM guest virtual machine chosen for the Linux installation.
  2. optional: If your 3270 connection is interrupted and you cannot log in again because the previous session is still active, you can replace the old session with a new one by entering the following command on the z/VM logon screen: 
logon user here

+ Replace user with the name of the z/VM guest virtual machine. Depending on whether an external security manager, for example RACF, is used, the logon command might vary.

  1. If you are not already running CMS (single-user operating system shipped with z/VM) in your guest, boot it now by entering the command: 

    cp ipl cms

  2. Be sure not to use CMS disks such as your A disk (often device number 0191) as installation targets. To find out which disks are in use by CMS, use the following query: 

    query disk

  3. You can use the following CP (z/VM Control Program, which is the z/VM hypervisor) query commands to find out about the device configuration of your z/VM guest virtual machine:

    1. Query the available main memory, which is called storage in 64-bit IBM Z terminology. Your guest should have at least 1 GiB of main memory. 

      cp query virtual storage

    2. Query available network devices by type:

      osa
      OSA - CHPID type OSD, real or virtual (VSWITCH or GuestLAN), both in QDIO mode
      hsi
      HiperSockets - CHPID type IQD, real or virtual (GuestLAN type Hipers)
      lcs
      LCS - CHPID type OSE

      For example, to query all of the network device types mentioned above, run: 

      cp query virtual osa

    3. Query available DASDs. Only those that are flagged RW for read-write mode can be used as installation targets: 

      cp query virtual dasd

    4. Query available FCP devices (vHBAs): 

      cp query virtual fcp

Part II. Installing RHEL fully and semi-automated

Automating the RHEL installation process is the key purpose of kickstart installations. It covers how to create and configure Kickstart files, integrate them with UEFI HTTP or PXE sources, and make them accessible for semi-automated installations. Additionally, it provides guidance on initiating Kickstart installations to streamline system deployment.

Chapter 10. Automated installation workflow

Kickstart installations can be performed using a local DVD, a local disk, or a NFS, FTP, HTTP, or HTTPS server. This section provides a high level overview of Kickstart usage.

  1. Create a Kickstart file. You can write it by hand, copy a Kickstart file saved after a manual installation, or use an online generator tool to create the file, and edit it afterward. See Creating Kickstart files.
  2. Make the Kickstart file available to the installation program on removable media, a disk or a network location using an HTTP(S), FTP, or NFS server. See Adding the Kickstart file to a UEFI HTTP or PXE installation source or Making Kickstart files available to the RHEL installer.
  3. Create the boot medium which will be used to begin the installation.
  4. Make the installation source available to the installation program. See Creating installation sources for Kickstart installations.
  5. Start the installation using the boot medium and the Kickstart file. See Starting Kickstart installations.

If the Kickstart file contains all mandatory commands and sections, the installation finishes automatically. If one or more of these mandatory parts are missing, or if an error occurs, the installation requires manual intervention to finish.

Chapter 11. Creating Kickstart files

You can create a Kickstart file using the following methods:

  • Use the online Kickstart configuration tool.
  • Copy the Kickstart file created as a result of a manual installation.
  • Write the entire Kickstart file manually.

  • Convert the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Kickstart file for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 installation.

    For more information about the conversion tool, see Kickstart generator lab.

  • In case of virtual and cloud environment, create a custom system image, using Image Builder.

Some highly specific installation options can be configured only by manual editing of the Kickstart file.

11.1. Creating a Kickstart file with the Kickstart configuration tool

Users with a Red Hat Customer Portal account can use the Kickstart Generator tool in the Customer Portal Labs to generate Kickstart files online. This tool will walk you through the basic configuration and enables you to download the resulting Kickstart file.

Prerequisites

  • You have a Red Hat Customer Portal account and an active Red Hat subscription.

Procedure

  1. Open the Kickstart generator lab information page at https://access.redhat.com/labsinfo/kickstartconfig.
  2. Click the Go to Application button to the left of heading and wait for the next page to load.
  3. Select Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 in the drop-down menu and wait for the page to update.

  4. Describe the system to be installed using the fields in the form.

    You can use the links on the left side of the form to quickly navigate between sections of the form.

  5. To download the generated Kickstart file, click the red Download button at the top of the page.

    Your web browser saves the file.

  6. Install the pykickstart package. 

    # yum install pykickstart

  7. Run ksvalidator on your Kickstart file. 

    $ ksvalidator -v RHEL8 /path/to/kickstart.ks

    Replace /path/to/kickstart.ks with the path to the Kickstart file you want to verify.

    The validation tool cannot guarantee the installation will be successful. It ensures only that the syntax is correct and that the file does not include deprecated options. It does not attempt to validate the %pre, %post and %packages sections of the Kickstart file.

11.2. Creating a Kickstart file by performing a manual installation

The recommended approach to creating Kickstart files is to use the file created by a manual installation of Red Hat Enterprise Linux. After an installation completes, all choices made during the installation are saved into a Kickstart file named anaconda-ks.cfg, located in the /root/ directory on the installed system. You can use this file to reproduce the installation in the same way as before. Alternatively, copy this file, make any changes you need, and use the resulting configuration file for further installations.

Procedure

  1. Install RHEL. For more details, see Interactively installing RHEL from installation media.

    During the installation, create a user with administrator privileges.

  2. Finish the installation and reboot into the installed system.
  3. Log into the system with the administrator account.

  4. Copy the file /root/anaconda-ks.cfg to a location of your choice. The file contains information about users and passwords.

    • To display the file contents in terminal: 

      # cat /root/anaconda-ks.cfg

      You can copy the output and save to another file of your choice.

    • To copy the file to another location, use the file manager. Remember to change permissions on the copy, so that the file can be read by non-root users.

  5. Install the pykickstart package. 

    # yum install pykickstart

  6. Run ksvalidator on your Kickstart file. 

    $ ksvalidator -v RHEL8 /path/to/kickstart.ks

    Replace /path/to/kickstart.ks with the path to the Kickstart file you want to verify.

Important

The validation tool cannot guarantee the installation will be successful. It ensures only that the syntax is correct and that the file does not include deprecated options. It does not attempt to validate the %pre, %post and %packages sections of the Kickstart file.

11.3. Converting a Kickstart file from previous RHEL installation

You can use the Kickstart Converter tool to convert a RHEL 7 Kickstart file for use in a RHEL 8 or 9 installation or convert a RHEL 8 Kickstart file for use it in RHEL 9. For more information about the tool and how to use it to convert a RHEL Kickstart file, see https://access.redhat.com/labs/kickstartconvert/.

Procedure

  • After you prepare your kickstart file, install the pykickstart package. 

    # yum install pykickstart

  • Run ksvalidator on your Kickstart file. 

    $ ksvalidator -v RHEL8 /path/to/kickstart.ks

    Replace /path/to/kickstart.ks with the path to the Kickstart file you want to verify.

Important

The validation tool cannot guarantee the installation will be successful. It ensures only that the syntax is correct and that the file does not include deprecated options. It does not attempt to validate the %pre, %post and %packages sections of the Kickstart file.

11.4. Creating a custom image using Image Builder

You can use Red Hat Image Builder to create a customized system image for virtual and cloud deployments.

For more information about creating customized images, using Image Builder, see the Composing a customized RHEL system image document.

Chapter 12. Adding the Kickstart file to a UEFI HTTP or PXE installation source

After your Kickstart file is ready, you can make it available for the installation on the destination system.

12.1. Ports for network-based installation

The following table lists the ports that must be open on the server for providing the files for each type of network-based installation.

Table 12.1. Ports for network-based installation
Protocol usedPorts to open

HTTP

80

HTTPS

443

FTP

21

NFS

2049, 111, 20048

TFTP

69

Additional resources

12.2. Sharing the installation files on an NFS server

You can store the Kickstart script file on an NFS server. Storing it on an NFS server enables you to install multiple systems from a single source without having to use physical media for the Kickstart file.

Prerequisites

  • You have an administrator-level access to a server with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 on the local network.
  • The system to be installed can connect to the server.
  • The firewall on the server allows connections from the system you are installing to. See Ports for Network based Installation for more information.
Important

Ensure that you use different paths in inst.ks and inst.repo. When using NFS to host the Kickstart, you cannot use the same nfs share to host the installation source.

Procedure

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

    # yum install nfs-utils
  2. Copy the Kickstart file to a directory on the NFS server.

  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 Kickstart file. Instead of clients, use the host name or IP address of the computer that 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. A basic configuration that makes the /rhel8-install/ directory available as read-only to all clients is: 

    /rhel8-install *
  4. Save the /etc/exports file and exit the text editor.

  5. Start the nfs service: 

    # systemctl start nfs-server.service

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

    # systemctl reload nfs-server.service

    The Kickstart file is now accessible over NFS and ready to be used for installation.

Note

When specifying the Kickstart source, use nfs: as the protocol, the server’s host name or IP address, the colon sign (:), and the path inside directory holding the file. For example, if the server’s host name is myserver.example.com and you have saved the file in /rhel8-install/my-ks.cfg, specify inst.ks=nfs:myserver.example.com:/rhel8-install/my-ks.cfg as the installation source boot option.

Additional resources

12.3. Sharing the installation files on an HTTP or HTTPS server

You can store the Kickstart script file on an HTTP or HTTPS server. Storing the Kickstart file on an HTTP or HTTPS server enables you to install multiple systems from a single source without having to use physical media for the Kickstart file.

Prerequisites

  • You have an administrator-level access to a server with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 on the local network.
  • The system to be installed can connect to the server.
  • The firewall on the server allows connections from the system you are installing to. See Ports for Network based Installation for more information.

Procedure

  1. To store the Kickstart file on an HTTP, install the httpd package: 

    # yum install httpd

    To store the Kickstart file on an HTTPS, install httpd and mod_ssl packages: 

    # yum install httpd mod_ssl
    Warning

    If your Apache web server configuration enables SSL security, verify that you only enable the TLSv1 protocol, and disable SSLv2 and SSLv3. This is due to the POODLE SSL vulnerability (CVE-2014-3566). For more information, see Resolution for POODLE SSLv3.0 vulnerability.

    Important

    If you use an HTTPS server with a self-signed certificate, you must boot the installation program with the inst.noverifyssl option.

  2. Copy the Kickstart file to the HTTP(S) server into a subdirectory of the /var/www/html/ directory.

  3. Start the httpd service: 

    # systemctl start httpd.service

    The Kickstart file is now accessible and ready to be used for installation.

    When specifying the location of the Kickstart file, use http:// or https:// as the protocol, the server’s host name or IP address, and the path of the Kickstart file, relative to the HTTP server root. For example, if you are using HTTP, the server’s host name is myserver.example.com, and you have copied the Kickstart file as /var/www/html/rhel8-install/my-ks.cfg, specify http://myserver.example.com/rhel8-install/my-ks.cfg as the file location.

Additional resources

12.4. Sharing the installation files on an FTP server

You can store the Kickstart script file on an FTP server. Storing the script on an FTP server enables you to install multiple systems from a single source without having to use physical media for the Kickstart file.

Prerequisites

  • You have an administrator-level access to a server with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 on the local network.
  • The system to be installed can connect to the server.
  • The firewall on the server allows connections from the system you are installing to. For moer information, Ports for Network based Installation.

Procedure

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

    # yum install vsftpd

  2. Open and edit the /etc/vsftpd/vsftpd.conf configuration file in a text editor.

    1. Change the line anonymous_enable=NO to anonymous_enable=YES
    2. Change the line write_enable=YES to write_enable=NO.

    3. Add lines pasv_min_port=min_port and pasv_max_port=max_port. Replace min_port and max_port with the port number range used by FTP server in passive mode, for example, 10021 and 10031.

      This step can be necessary in network environments featuring various firewall/NAT setups.

    4. Optional: add custom changes to your configuration. For available options, see the vsftpd.conf(5) man page. This procedure assumes that default options are used.

      Warning

      If you configured SSL/TLS security in your vsftpd.conf file, ensure that you enable only the TLSv1 protocol, and disable SSLv2 and SSLv3. This is due to the POODLE SSL vulnerability (CVE-2014-3566). For more information, see Resolution for POODLE SSLv3.0 vulnerability.

  3. Configure the server firewall.

    1. Enable the firewall: 

      # systemctl enable firewalld
# systemctl start firewalld

    2. Enable in your firewall the FTP port and port range from previous step: 

      # firewall-cmd --add-port min_port-max_port/tcp --permanent
# firewall-cmd --add-service ftp --permanent
# firewall-cmd --reload

      Replace min_port-max_port with the port numbers you entered into the /etc/vsftpd/vsftpd.conf configuration file.

  4. Copy the Kickstart file to the FTP server into the /var/ftp/ directory or its subdirectory.

  5. Make sure that the correct SELinux context and access mode is set on the file: 

    # restorecon -r /var/ftp/your-kickstart-file.ks
# chmod 444 /var/ftp/your-kickstart-file.ks

  6. Start the vsftpd service: 

    # systemctl start vsftpd.service

    If the service was running before you changed the /etc/vsftpd/vsftpd.conf file, restart the service to load the edited file: 

    # systemctl restart vsftpd.service

    Enable the vsftpd service to start during the boot process: 

    # systemctl enable vsftpd

    The Kickstart file is now accessible and ready to be used for installations by systems on the same network.

    Note

    When configuring the installation source, use ftp:// as the protocol, the server’s host name or IP address, and the path of the Kickstart file, relative to the FTP server root. For example, if the server’s host name is myserver.example.com and you have copied the file to /var/ftp/my-ks.cfg, specify ftp://myserver.example.com/my-ks.cfg as the installation source.

Chapter 13. Semi-automated installations: Making Kickstart files available to the RHEL installer

After your Kickstart file is ready, you can make it available to for installation on the destination system.

13.1. Sharing the installation files on a local volume

This procedure describes how to store the Kickstart script file on a volume on the system to be installed. This method enables you to bypass the need for another system.

Prerequisites

  • You have a drive that can be moved to the machine to be installed, such as a USB stick.
  • The drive contains a partition that can be read by the installation program. The supported types are ext2, ext3, ext4, xfs, and fat.
  • The drive is connected to the system and its volumes are mounted.

Procedure

  1. List volume information and note the UUID of the volume to which you want to copy the Kickstart file. 

    # lsblk -l -p -o name,rm,ro,hotplug,size,type,mountpoint,uuid
  2. Navigate to the file system on the volume.
  3. Copy the Kickstart file to this file system.
  4. Make a note of the string to use later with the inst.ks= option. This string is in the form hd:UUID=volume-UUID:path/to/kickstart-file.cfg. Note that the path is relative to the file system root, not to the / root of file system hierarchy. Replace volume-UUID with the UUID you noted earlier.

  5. Unmount all drive volumes: 

    # umount /dev/xyz ...

    Add all the volumes to the command, separated by spaces.

13.2. Sharing the installation files on a local volume for automatic loading

A specially named Kickstart file can be present in the root of a specially named volume on the system to be installed. This lets you bypass the need for another system, and makes the installation program load the file automatically.

Prerequisites

  • You have a drive that can be moved to the machine to be installed, such as a USB stick.
  • The drive contains a partition that can be read by the installation program. The supported types are ext2, ext3, ext4, xfs, and fat.
  • The drive is connected to the system and its volumes are mounted.

Procedure

  1. List volume information to which you want to copy the Kickstart file. 

    # lsblk -l -p
  2. Navigate to the file system on the volume.
  3. Copy the Kickstart file into the root of this file system.
  4. Rename the Kickstart file to ks.cfg.

  5. Rename the volume as OEMDRV:

    • For ext2, ext3, and ext4 file systems: 

      # e2label /dev/xyz OEMDRV

    • For the XFS file system: 

      # xfs_admin -L OEMDRV /dev/xyz

    Replace /dev/xyz with the path to the volume’s block device.

  6. Unmount all drive volumes: 

    # umount /dev/xyz ...

    Add all the volumes to the command, separated by spaces.

Chapter 14. 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 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.

14.1. Starting a Kickstart installation automatically using PXE

AMD64, Intel 64, and 64-bit ARM systems and IBM Power Systems servers have the ability to boot 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. 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

  1. 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-8/8.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 the inst.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-8/8.x/x86_64/kickstarts/ks.cfg

  2. Boot the installation from the network server.

    The installation begins now, 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.

Note

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

14.2. Starting a Kickstart installation automatically using a local volume

You can start a Kickstart installation by putting a Kickstart file with a specific name on a specifically labelled storage volume.

Prerequisites

  • You have a volume prepared with label OEMDRV and the Kickstart file present in its root as ks.cfg.
  • A drive containing this volume is available on the system as the installation program boots.

Procedure

  1. Boot the system using a local media (a CD, DVD, or a USB flash drive).

  2. At the boot prompt, specify the required boot options.

    1. If a required repository is in a network location, you may need to configure the network using the ip= option. The installer tries to configure all network devices using the DHCP protocol by default without this option.

    2. 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.

  3. 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.

Note

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.

14.3. Booting the installation on IBM Z to install RHEL in an LPAR

14.3.1. Booting the RHEL installation from an SFTP, FTPS, or FTP server to install in an IBM Z LPAR

You can install RHEL into an LPAR by using an SFTP, FTPS, or FTP server.

Procedure

  1. Log in on the IBM Z Hardware Management Console (HMC) or the Support Element (SE) as a user with sufficient privileges to install a new operating system to an LPAR.
  2. On the Systems tab, select the mainframe you want to work with, then on the Partitions tab select the LPAR to which you wish to install.
  3. At the bottom of the screen, under Daily, find Operating System Messages. Double-click Operating System Messages to show the text console on which Linux boot messages will appear.
  4. Double-click Load from Removable Media or Server.

  5. In the dialog box that follows, select SFTP/FTPS/FTP Server, and enter the following information:

    • Host Computer - Host name or IP address of the FTP server you want to install from, for example ftp.redhat.com
    • User ID - Your user name on the FTP server. Or, specify anonymous.
    • Password - Your password. Use your email address if you are logging in as anonymous.
    • File location (optional) - Directory on the FTP server holding the Red Hat Enterprise Linux for IBM Z, for example /rhel/s390x/.
  6. Click Continue.
  7. In the dialog that follows, keep the default selection of generic.ins and click Continue.

14.3.2. Booting the RHEL installation from a prepared DASD to install in an IBM Z LPAR

Use this procedure when installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux into an LPAR using an already prepared DASD.

Procedure

  1. Log in on the IBM Z Hardware Management Console (HMC) or the Support Element (SE) as a user with sufficient privileges to install a new operating system to an LPAR. The SYSPROG user is recommended.
  2. On the Systems tab, select the mainframe you want to work with, then on the Partitions tab select the LPAR to which you wish to install.
  3. At the bottom of the screen, under Daily, find Operating System Messages. Double-click Operating System Messages to show the text console on which Linux boot messages will appear.
  4. Double-click Load.
  5. In the dialog box that follows, select Normal as the Load type.
  6. As Load address, fill in the device number of the DASD.
  7. Click the OK button.

14.3.3. Booting the RHEL installation from an FCP-attached SCSI disk to install in an IBM Z LPAR

Use this procedure when installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux into an LPAR using an already prepared FCP attached SCSI disk.

Procedure

  1. Log in on the IBM Z Hardware Management Console (HMC) or the Support Element (SE) as a user with sufficient privileges to install a new operating system to an LPAR.
  2. On the Systems tab, select the mainframe you want to work with, then on the Partitions tab select the LPAR to which you wish to install.
  3. At the bottom of the screen, under Daily, find Operating System Messages. Double-click Operating System Messages to show the text console on which Linux boot messages will appear.
  4. Double-click Load.
  5. In the dialog box that follows, select SCSI as the Load type.
  6. As Load address, fill in the device number of the FCP channel connected with the SCSI disk.
  7. As World wide port name, fill in the WWPN of the storage system containing the disk as a 16-digit hexadecimal number.
  8. As Logical unit number, fill in the LUN of the disk as a 16-digit hexadecimal number.
  9. Leave the Boot record logical block address as 0 and the Operating system specific load parameters empty.
  10. Click the OK button.

14.3.4. Booting the RHEL installation from an FCP-attached SCSI DVD drive to install in an IBM Z LPAR

This requires a SCSI DVD drive attached to an FCP-to-SCSI bridge which is in turn connected to an FCP adapter in your IBM Z machine. The FCP adapter must be configured and available in your LPAR.

Procedure

  1. Log in on the IBM Z Hardware Management Console (HMC) or the Support Element (SE) as a user with sufficient privileges to install a new operating system to an LPAR. The SYSPROG user is recommended.
  2. On the Systems tab, select the mainframe you want to work with, then on the Partitions tab select the LPAR to which you wish to install.
  3. At the bottom of the screen, under Daily, find the Operating System Messages. Double-click Operating System Messages to show the text console on which Linux boot messages will appear.
  4. Insert your Red Hat Enterprise Linux for 64-bit IBM Z DVD into the DVD drive.
  5. Double-click Load.
  6. In the dialog box that follows, select SCSI as the Load type.
  7. As Load address, fill in the device number of the FCP channel connected with the FCP-to-SCSI bridge.
  8. As World wide port name, fill in the WWPN of the FCP-to-SCSI bridge as a 16-digit hexadecimal number.
  9. As Logical unit number, fill in the LUN of the DVD drive as a 16-digit hexadecimal number.
  10. As Boot program selector, fill in the number 1 to select the boot entry on the Red Hat Enterprise Linux for 64-bit IBM Z DVD.
  11. Leave the Boot record logical block address as 0 and the Operating system specific load parameters empty.
  12. Click the OK button.

14.4. Booting the installation on IBM Z to install RHEL in z/VM

When installing under z/VM, you can boot from:

  • The z/VM virtual reader
  • A DASD or an FCP-attached SCSI disk prepared with the zipl boot loader
  • An FCP-attached SCSI DVD drive

14.4.1. Booting the RHEL installation by using the z/VM Reader

You can boot from the z/VM reader.

Procedure

  1. If necessary, add the device containing the z/VM TCP/IP tools to your CMS disk list. For example: 

    cp link tcpmaint 592 592
acc 592 fm

    Replace fm with any FILEMODE letter.

  2. For a connection to an FTPS server, enter: 

    ftp <host> (secure

    Where host is the host name or IP address of the FTP server that hosts the boot images (kernel.img and initrd.img).

  3. Log in and execute the following commands. Use the (repl option if you are overwriting existing kernel.img, initrd.img, generic.prm, or redhat.exec files: 

    cd /location/of/install-tree/images/
ascii
get generic.prm (repl
get redhat.exec (repl
locsite fix 80
binary
get kernel.img (repl
get initrd.img (repl
quit

  4. Optional: Check whether the files were transferred correctly by using the CMS command filelist to show the received files and their format. It is important that kernel.img and initrd.img have a fixed record length format denoted by F in the Format column and a record length of 80 in the Lrecl column. For example: 

    VMUSER FILELIST A0 V 169 Trunc=169 Size=6 Line=1 Col=1 Alt=0
Cmd Filename	Filetype	Fm	Format	Lrecl	Records	Blocks	Date	Time
REDHAT	EXEC		B1	V	22	1 	1	4/15/10	9:30:40
GENERIC	PRM		B1	V	44	1	1	4/15/10	9:30:32
INITRD	IMG		B1	F	80	118545	2316	4/15/10	9:30:25
KERNEL	IMG		B1	F	80	74541	912	4/15/10	9:30:17

    Press PF3 to quit filelist and return to the CMS prompt.

  5. Customize boot parameters in generic.prm as necessary. For details, see Customizing boot parameters.

    Another way to configure storage and network devices is by using a CMS configuration file. In such a case, add the CMSDASD= and CMSCONFFILE= parameters to generic.prm. See IBM z/VM configuration file for more details.

  6. Finally, execute the REXX script redhat.exec to boot the installation program: 

    redhat

14.4.2. Booting the RHEL installation by using a prepared DASD

Perform the following steps to use a Prepared DASD:

Procedure

  • Boot from the prepared DASD and select the zipl boot menu entry referring to the Red Hat Enterprise Linux installation program. Use a command of the following form: 

    cp ipl DASD_device_number loadparm boot_entry_number

    Replace DASD_device_number with the device number of the boot device, and boot_entry_number with the zipl configuration menu for this device. For example: 

    cp ipl eb1c loadparm 0

14.4.3. Booting the RHEL installation by using a prepared FCP attached SCSI Disk

Perform the following steps to boot from a prepared FCP-attached SCSI disk:

Procedure

  1. Configure the SCSI boot loader of z/VM to access the prepared SCSI disk in the FCP Storage Area Network. Select the prepared zipl boot menu entry referring to the Red Hat Enterprise Linux installation program. Use a command of the following form: 

    cp set loaddev portname WWPN lun LUN bootprog boot_entry_number

    Replace WWPN with the World Wide Port Name of the storage system and LUN with the Logical Unit Number of the disk. The 16-digit hexadecimal numbers must be split into two pairs of eight digits each. For example: 

    cp set loaddev portname 50050763 050b073d lun 40204011 00000000 bootprog 0

  2. Optional: Confirm your settings with the command: 

    query loaddev

  3. Boot the FCP device connected with the storage system containing the disk with the following command: 

    cp ipl FCP_device

    For example: 

    cp ipl fc00

14.4.4. Booting the RHEL installation by using an FCP-attached SCSI DVD Drive

Perform the following steps to use a Prepared FCP attached SCSI DVD Drive:

Prerequistes

  1. This requires a SCSI DVD drive attached to an FCP-to-SCSI bridge which is in turn connected to an FCP adapter in your 64-bit IBM Z. The FCP adapter must be configured and available under z/VM.

Procedure

  1. Insert your Red Hat Enterprise Linux for 64-bit IBM Z DVD into the DVD drive.

  2. Configure the SCSI boot loader of z/VM to access the DVD drive in the FCP Storage Area Network and specify 1 for the boot entry on the Red Hat Enterprise Linux for 64-bit IBM Z DVD. Use a command of the following form: 

    cp set loaddev portname WWPN lun FCP_LUN bootprog 1

    Replace WWPN with the WWPN of the FCP-to-SCSI bridge and FCP_LUN with the LUN of the DVD drive. The 16-digit hexadecimal numbers must be split into two pairs of eight characters each. For example: 

    cp set loaddev portname 20010060 eb1c0103 lun 00010000 00000000 bootprog 1

  3. Optional: Confirm your settings with the command: 

    cp query loaddev

  4. IPL on the FCP device connected with the FCP-to-SCSI bridge. 

    cp ipl FCP_device

    For example: 

    cp ipl fc00

14.5. Consoles and logging during installation

The Red Hat Enterprise Linux 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 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.

Table 14.1. Available tmux windows
ShortcutContents

Ctrl+b 1

Main installation program window. Contains text-based prompts (during text mode installation or if you use VNC direct mode), and also some debugging information.

Ctrl+b 2

Interactive shell prompt with root privileges.

Ctrl+b 3

Installation log; displays messages stored in /tmp/anaconda.log.

Ctrl+b 4

Storage log; displays messages related to storage devices and configuration, stored in /tmp/storage.log.

Ctrl+b 5

Program log; displays messages from utilities executed during the installation process, stored in /tmp/program.log.

Part III. Post-installation tasks

It is essential to manage and secure RHEL systems across different platforms. It includes instructions for registering systems, configuring the system purpose. It also provides details on installing a 64k kernel on ARM and modifying subscription services to maintain system configuration and security.

Chapter 15. Registering RHEL by using Subscription Manager

Post-installation, you must register your system to get continuous updates.

15.1. Registering RHEL 8 using the installer GUI

You can register a Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 by using the RHEL installer GUI.

Prerequisites

  • You have a valid user account on the Red Hat Customer Portal. See the Create a Red Hat Login page.
  • You have a valid Activation Key and Organization id.

Procedure

  1. From the Installation Summary screen, under Software, click Connect to Red Hat.
  2. Authenticate your Red Hat account using the Account or Activation Key option.

  3. Optional: In the Set System Purpose field select the Role, SLA, and Usage attribute that you want to set from the drop-down menu.

    At this point, your Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 system has been successfully registered.

15.2. Registration Assistant

Registration Assistant is designed to help you choose the most suitable registration option for your Red Hat Enterprise Linux environment.

Additional resources

  • For assistance with using a username and password to register RHEL with the Subscription Manager client, see the RHEL registration assistant on the Customer Portal.
  • For assistance with registering your RHEL system to Red Hat Insights, see the Insights registration assistant on the Hybrid Cloud Console.

15.3. Registering your system using the command line

You can register your Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 subscription by using the command line.

For an improved and simplified experience registering your hosts to Red Hat, use remote host configuration (RHC). The RHC client registers your system to Red Hat making your system ready for Insights data collection and enabling direct issue remediation from Insights for Red Hat Enterprise Linux. For more information, see RHC registration.

Prerequisites

  • You have an active, non-evaluation Red Hat Enterprise Linux subscription.
  • Your Red Hat subscription status is verified.
  • You have not previously received a Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 subscription.
  • You have successfully installed Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8  and logged into the system as root.

Procedure

  1. Open a terminal window as a root user.

  2. Register your Red Hat Enterprise Linux system by using the activation key: 

    # subscription-manager register --activationkey=<activation_key_name> --org=<organization_ID>

    When the system is successfully registered, an output similar to the following is displayed: 

    The system has been registered with id:
62edc0f8-855b-4184-b1b8-72a9dc793b96

Additional resources

Chapter 16. Configuring System Purpose using the subscription-manager command-line tool

System purpose is a feature of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux installation to help RHEL customers get the benefit of our subscription experience and services offered in the Red Hat Hybrid Cloud Console, a dashboard-based, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) application that enables you to view subscription usage in your Red Hat account.

You can configure system purpose attributes either on the activation keys or by using the subscription manager tool.

Prerequisites

  • You have installed and registered your Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 system, but system purpose is not configured.

  • You are logged in as a root user.

    Note

    In the entitlement mode, if your system is registered but has subscriptions that do not satisfy the required purpose, you can run the subscription-manager remove --all command to remove attached subscriptions. You can then use the command-line subscription-manager syspurpose {role, usage, service-level} tools to set the required purpose attributes, and lastly run subscription-manager attach --auto to re-entitle the system with considerations for the updated attributes. Whereas, in the SCA enabled account, you can directly update the system purpose details post registration without making an update to the subscriptions in the system.

Procedure

  1. From a terminal window, run the following command to set the intended role of the system: 

    # subscription-manager syspurpose role --set "VALUE"

    Replace VALUE with the role that you want to assign:

    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Compute Node

    For example: 

    # subscription-manager syspurpose role --set "Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server"

    1. Optional: Before setting a value, see the available roles supported by the subscriptions for your organization: 

      # subscription-manager syspurpose role --list

    2. Optional: Run the following command to unset the role: 

      # subscription-manager syspurpose role --unset

  2. Run the following command to set the intended Service Level Agreement (SLA) of the system: 

    # subscription-manager syspurpose service-level --set "VALUE"

    Replace VALUE with the SLA that you want to assign:

    • Premium
    • Standard
    • Self-Support

    For example: 

    # subscription-manager syspurpose service-level --set "Standard"

    1. Optional: Before setting a value, see the available service-levels supported by the subscriptions for your organization: 

      # subscription-manager syspurpose service-level --list

    2. Optional: Run the following command to unset the SLA: 

      # subscription-manager syspurpose service-level --unset

  3. Run the following command to set the intended usage of the system: 

    # subscription-manager syspurpose usage --set "VALUE"

    Replace VALUE with the usage that you want to assign:

    • Production
    • Disaster Recovery
    • Development/Test

    For example: 

    # subscription-manager syspurpose usage --set "Production"

    1. Optional: Before setting a value, see the available usages supported by the subscriptions for your organization: 

      # subscription-manager syspurpose usage --list

    2. Optional: Run the following command to unset the usage: 

      # subscription-manager syspurpose usage --unset

  4. Run the following command to show the current system purpose properties: 

    # subscription-manager syspurpose --show

    1. Optional: For more detailed syntax information run the following command to access the subscription-manager man page and browse to the SYSPURPOSE OPTIONS: 

      # man subscription-manager

Verification

  • To verify the system’s subscription status in a system registered with an account having entitlement mode enabled: 

    # subscription-manager status
+-------------------------------------------+
   System Status Details
+-------------------------------------------+
Overall Status: Current

System Purpose Status: Matched
    • An overall status Current means that all of the installed products are covered by the subscription(s) attached and entitlements to access their content set repositories has been granted.
    • A system purpose status Matched means that all of the system purpose attributes (role, usage, service-level) that were set on the system are satisfied by the subscription(s) attached.
    • When the status information is not ideal, additional information is displayed to help the system administrator decide what corrections to make to the attached subscriptions to cover the installed products and intended system purpose.

  • To verify the system’s subscription status in a system registered with an account having SCA mode enabled: 

    # subscription-manager status
+-------------------------------------------+
   System Status Details
+-------------------------------------------+
Overall Status: Disabled
Content Access Mode is set to Simple Content Access. This host has access to content, regardless of subscription status.
System Purpose Status: Disabled
    • In SCA mode, ​​subscriptions are no longer required to be attached to individual systems. Hence, both the overall status and system purpose status are displayed as Disabled . However, the technical, business, and operational use cases supplied by system purpose attributes are important to the subscriptions service. Without these attributes, the subscriptions service data is less accurate.

Additional resources

Chapter 17. Configuring a Linux instance on 64-bit IBM Z

This section describes most of the common tasks for installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux on 64-bit IBM Z.

17.1. Adding DASDs

Direct Access Storage Devices (DASDs) are a type of storage commonly used with 64-bit IBM Z. For more information, see Working with DASDs in the IBM Knowledge Center. The following example is how to set a DASD online, format it, and make the change persistent.

Verify that the device is attached or linked to the Linux system if running under z/VM. 

CP ATTACH EB1C TO *

To link a mini disk to which you have access, run the following commands: 

CP LINK RHEL7X 4B2E 4B2E MR
DASD 4B2E LINKED R/W

17.2. Dynamically setting DASDs online

This section contains information about setting a DASD online.

Procedure

  1. Use the cio_ignore utility to remove the DASD from the list of ignored devices and make it visible to Linux: 

    # cio_ignore -r device_number

    Replace device_number with the device number of the DASD. For example: 

    # cio_ignore -r 4b2e

  2. Set the device online. Use a command of the following form: 

    # chccwdev -e device_number

    Replace device_number with the device number of the DASD. For example: 

    # chccwdev -e 4b2e

    As an alternative, you can set the device online using sysfs attributes:

    1. Use the cd command to change to the /sys/ directory that represents that volume: 

      # cd /sys/bus/ccw/drivers/dasd-eckd/0.0.4b2e/
# ls -l
total 0
-r--r--r--  1 root root 4096 Aug 25 17:04 availability
-rw-r--r--  1 root root 4096 Aug 25 17:04 cmb_enable
-r--r--r--  1 root root 4096 Aug 25 17:04 cutype
-rw-r--r--  1 root root 4096 Aug 25 17:04 detach_state
-r--r--r--  1 root root 4096 Aug 25 17:04 devtype
-r--r--r--  1 root root 4096 Aug 25 17:04 discipline
-rw-r--r--  1 root root 4096 Aug 25 17:04 online
-rw-r--r--  1 root root 4096 Aug 25 17:04 readonly
-rw-r--r--  1 root root 4096 Aug 25 17:04 use_diag

    2. Check to see if the device is already online: 

      # cat online
0

    3. If it is not online, enter the following command to bring it online: 

      # echo 1 > online
# cat online
1

  3. Verify which block devnode it is being accessed as: 

    # ls -l
total 0
-r--r--r--  1 root root 4096 Aug 25 17:04 availability
lrwxrwxrwx  1 root root    0 Aug 25 17:07 block -> ../../../../block/dasdb
-rw-r--r--  1 root root 4096 Aug 25 17:04 cmb_enable
-r--r--r--  1 root root 4096 Aug 25 17:04 cutype
-rw-r--r--  1 root root 4096 Aug 25 17:04 detach_state
-r--r--r--  1 root root 4096 Aug 25 17:04 devtype
-r--r--r--  1 root root 4096 Aug 25 17:04 discipline
-rw-r--r--  1 root root    0 Aug 25 17:04 online
-rw-r--r--  1 root root 4096 Aug 25 17:04 readonly
-rw-r--r--  1 root root 4096 Aug 25 17:04 use_diag

    As shown in this example, device 4B2E is being accessed as /dev/dasdb.

These instructions set a DASD online for the current session, but this is not persistent across reboots.

For instructions on how to set a DASD online persistently, see Persistently setting DASDs online. When you work with DASDs, use the persistent device symbolic links under /dev/disk/by-path/.

17.3. Preparing a new DASD with low-level formatting

Once the disk is online, change back to the /root directory and low-level format the device. This is only required once for a DASD during its entire lifetime: 

# cd /root
# dasdfmt -b 4096 -d cdl -p /dev/disk/by-path/ccw-0.0.4b2e
Drive Geometry: 10017 Cylinders * 15 Heads =  150255 Tracks

I am going to format the device /dev/disk/by-path/ccw-0.0.4b2e in the following way:
Device number of device : 0x4b2e
Labelling device        : yes
Disk label              : VOL1
Disk identifier         : 0X4B2E
Extent start (trk no)   : 0
Extent end (trk no)     : 150254
Compatible Disk Layout  : yes
Blocksize               : 4096

--->> ATTENTION! <<---
All data of that device will be lost.
Type "yes" to continue, no will leave the disk untouched: yes
cyl    97 of  3338 |#----------------------------------------------|   2%

When the progress bar reaches the end and the format is complete, dasdfmt prints the following output: 

Rereading the partition table...
Exiting...

Now, use fdasd to partition the DASD. You can create up to three partitions on a DASD. In our example here, we create one partition spanning the whole disk: 

# fdasd -a /dev/disk/by-path/ccw-0.0.4b2e
reading volume label ..: VOL1
reading vtoc ..........: ok

auto-creating one partition for the whole disk...
writing volume label...
writing VTOC...
rereading partition table...

After a (low-level formatted) DASD is online, it can be used like any other disk under Linux. For example, you can create file systems, LVM physical volumes, or swap space on its partitions, for example /dev/disk/by-path/ccw-0.0.4b2e-part1. Never use the full DASD device (dev/dasdb) for anything but the commands dasdfmt and fdasd. If you want to use the entire DASD, create one partition spanning the entire drive as in the fdasd example above.

To add additional disks later without breaking existing disk entries in, for example, /etc/fstab, use the persistent device symbolic links under /dev/disk/by-path/.

17.4. Persistently setting DASDs online

The above instructions described how to activate DASDs dynamically in a running system. However, such changes are not persistent and do not survive a reboot. Making changes to the DASD configuration persistent in your Linux system depends on whether the DASDs belong to the root file system. Those DASDs required for the root file system need to be activated very early during the boot process by the initramfs to be able to mount the root file system.

The cio_ignore commands are handled transparently for persistent device configurations and you do not need to free devices from the ignore list manually.

17.5. DASDs that are part of the root file system

The file you have to modify to add DASDs that are part of the root file system has changed in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8. Instead of editing the /etc/zipl.conf file, the new file to be edited, and its location, may be found by running the following commands: 

# machine_id=$(cat /etc/machine-id)
# kernel_version=$(uname -r)
# ls /boot/loader/entries/$machine_id-$kernel_version.conf

There is one boot option to activate DASDs early in the boot process: rd.dasd=. This option takes a Direct Access Storage Device (DASD) adapter device bus identifier. For multiple DASDs, specify the parameter multiple times, or use a comma separated list of bus IDs. To specify a range of DASDs, specify the first and the last bus ID. Below is an example of the /boot/loader/entries/4ab74e52867b4f998e73e06cf23fd761-4.18.0-80.el8.s390x.conf file for a system that uses physical volumes on partitions of two DASDs for an LVM volume group vg_devel1 that contains a logical volume lv_root for the root file system. 

title Red Hat Enterprise Linux (4.18.0-80.el8.s390x) 8.0 (Ootpa)
version 4.18.0-80.el8.s390x
linux /boot/vmlinuz-4.18.0-80.el8.s390x
initrd /boot/initramfs-4.18.0-80.el8.s390x.img
options root=/dev/mapper/vg_devel1-lv_root crashkernel=auto rd.dasd=0.0.0200 rd.dasd=0.0.0207 rd.lvm.lv=vg_devel1/lv_root rd.lvm.lv=vg_devel1/lv_swap cio_ignore=all,!condev rd.znet=qeth,0.0.0a00,0.0.0a01,0.0.0a02,layer2=1,portno=0
id rhel-20181027190514-4.18.0-80.el8.s390x
grub_users $grub_users
grub_arg --unrestricted
grub_class kernel

To add another physical volume on a partition of a third DASD with device bus ID 0.0.202b. To do this, add rd.dasd=0.0.202b to the parameters line of your boot kernel in /boot/loader/entries/4ab74e52867b4f998e73e06cf23fd761-4.18.0-32.el8.s390x.conf: 

title Red Hat Enterprise Linux (4.18.0-80.el8.s390x) 8.0 (Ootpa)
version 4.18.0-80.el8.s390x
linux /boot/vmlinuz-4.18.0-80.el8.s390x
initrd /boot/initramfs-4.18.0-80.el8.s390x.img
options root=/dev/mapper/vg_devel1-lv_root crashkernel=auto rd.dasd=0.0.0200 rd.dasd=0.0.0207 rd.dasd=0.0.202b rd.lvm.lv=vg_devel1/lv_root rd.lvm.lv=vg_devel1/lv_swap cio_ignore=all,!condev rd.znet=qeth,0.0.0a00,0.0.0a01,0.0.0a02,layer2=1,portno=0
id rhel-20181027190514-4.18.0-80.el8.s390x
grub_users $grub_users
grub_arg --unrestricted
grub_class kernel
Warning

Make sure the length of the kernel command line in the configuration file does not exceed 896 bytes. Otherwise, the boot loader cannot be saved, and the installation fails.

Run zipl to apply the changes of the configuration file for the next IPL: 

# zipl -V
Using config file '/etc/zipl.conf'
Using BLS config file '/boot/loader/entries/4ab74e52867b4f998e73e06cf23fd761-4.18.0-80.el8.s390x.conf'
Target device information
  Device..........................: 5e:00
  Partition.......................: 5e:01
  Device name.....................: dasda
  Device driver name..............: dasd
  DASD device number..............: 0201
  Type............................: disk partition
  Disk layout.....................: ECKD/compatible disk layout
  Geometry - heads................: 15
  Geometry - sectors..............: 12
  Geometry - cylinders............: 13356
  Geometry - start................: 24
  File system block size..........: 4096
  Physical block size.............: 4096
  Device size in physical blocks..: 262152
Building bootmap in '/boot'
Building menu 'zipl-automatic-menu'
Adding #1: IPL section '4.18.0-80.el8.s390x' (default)
  initial ramdisk...: /boot/initramfs-4.18.0-80.el8.s390x.img
  kernel image......: /boot/vmlinuz-4.18.0-80.el8.s390x
  kernel parmline...: 'root=/dev/mapper/vg_devel1-lv_root crashkernel=auto rd.dasd=0.0.0200 rd.dasd=0.0.0207 rd.dasd=0.0.202b rd.lvm.lv=vg_devel1/lv_root rd.lvm.lv=vg_devel1/lv_swap cio_ignore=all,!condev rd.znet=qeth,0.0.0a00,0.0.0a01,0.0.0a02,layer2=1,portno=0'
  component address:
    kernel image....: 0x00010000-0x0049afff
    parmline........: 0x0049b000-0x0049bfff
    initial ramdisk.: 0x004a0000-0x01a26fff
    internal loader.: 0x0000a000-0x0000cfff
Preparing boot menu
  Interactive prompt......: enabled
  Menu timeout............: 5 seconds
  Default configuration...: '4.18.0-80.el8.s390x'
Preparing boot device: dasda (0201).
Syncing disks...
Done.

17.6. DASDs that are not part of the root file system

Direct Access Storage Devices (DASDs) that are not part of the root file system, that is, data disks, are persistently configured in the /etc/dasd.conf file. This file contains one DASD per line, where each line begins with the DASD’s bus ID.

When adding a DASD to the /etc/dasd.conf file, use key-value pairs to specify the options for each entry. Separate the key and its value with an equal (=) sign. When adding multiple options, use a space or a tab to separate each option.

Example /etc/dasd.conf file

0.0.0207
0.0.0200 use_diag=1 readonly=1

Changes to the /etc/dasd.conf file take effect after a system reboot or after a new DASD is dynamically added by changing the system’s I/O configuration (that is, the DASD is attached under z/VM).

Alternatively, to activate a DASD that you have added to the /etc/dasd.conf file, complete the following steps:

  1. Remove the DASD from the list of ignored devices and make it visible using the cio_ignore utility: 

    # cio_ignore -r device_number

    where device_number is the DASD device number.

    For example, if the device number is 021a, run: 

    # cio_ignore -r 021a

  2. Activate the DASD by writing to the device’s uevent attribute: 

    # echo add > /sys/bus/ccw/devices/dasd-bus-ID/uevent

    where dasd-bus-ID is the DASD’s bus ID.

    For example, if the bus ID is 0.0.021a, run: 

    # echo add > /sys/bus/ccw/devices/0.0.021a/uevent

17.7. FCP LUNs that are part of the root file system

The only file you have to modify for adding FCP LUNs that are part of the root file system has changed in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8. Instead of editing the /etc/zipl.conf file, the new file to be edited, and its location, may be found by running the following commands: 

# machine_id=$(cat /etc/machine-id)
# kernel_version=$(uname -r)
# ls /boot/loader/entries/$machine_id-$kernel_version.conf

Red Hat Enterprise Linux provides a parameter to activate FCP LUNs early in the boot process: rd.zfcp=. The value is a comma-separated list containing the FCP device bus ID, the target WWPN as 16 digit hexadecimal number prefixed with 0x, and the FCP LUN prefixed with 0x and padded with zeroes to the right to have 16 hexadecimal digits.

The WWPN and FCP LUN values are only necessary if the zFCP device is not configured in NPIV mode, when auto LUN scanning is disabled by the zfcp.allow_lun_scan=0 kernel module parameter or when installing RHEL-8.6 or older releases. Otherwise they can be omitted, for example, rd.zfcp=0.0.4000. Below is an example of the /boot/loader/entries/4ab74e52867b4f998e73e06cf23fd761-4.18.0-80.el8.s390x.conf file for a system that uses physical volumes on partitions of two FCP LUNs for an LVM volume group vg_devel1 that contains a logical volume lv_root for the root file system. For simplicity, the example shows a configuration without multipathing. 

title Red Hat Enterprise Linux (4.18.0-32.el8.s390x) 8.0 (Ootpa)
version 4.18.0-32.el8.s390x
linux /boot/vmlinuz-4.18.0-32.el8.s390x
initrd /boot/initramfs-4.18.0-32.el8.s390x.img
options root=/dev/mapper/vg_devel1-lv_root crashkernel=auto rd.zfcp=0.0.fc00,0x5105074308c212e9,0x401040a000000000 rd.zfcp=0.0.fc00,0x5105074308c212e9,0x401040a100000000 rd.lvm.lv=vg_devel1/lv_root rd.lvm.lv=vg_devel1/lv_swap cio_ignore=all,!condev rd.znet=qeth,0.0.0a00,0.0.0a01,0.0.0a02,layer2=1,portno=0
id rhel-20181027190514-4.18.0-32.el8.s390x
grub_users $grub_users
grub_arg --unrestricted
grub_class kernel
  • To add another physical volume on a partition of a third FCP LUN with device bus ID 0.0.fc00, WWPN 0x5105074308c212e9 and FCP LUN 0x401040a300000000, add rd.zfcp=0.0.fc00,0x5105074308c212e9,0x401040a300000000 to the parameters line of your boot kernel in /boot/loader/entries/4ab74e52867b4f998e73e06cf23fd761-4.18.0-32.el8.s390x.conf. For example: 
title Red Hat Enterprise Linux (4.18.0-32.el8.s390x) 8.0 (Ootpa)
version 4.18.0-32.el8.s390x
linux /boot/vmlinuz-4.18.0-32.el8.s390x
initrd /boot/initramfs-4.18.0-32.el8.s390x.img
options root=/dev/mapper/vg_devel1-lv_root crashkernel=auto rd.zfcp=0.0.fc00,0x5105074308c212e9,0x401040a000000000 rd.zfcp=0.0.fc00,0x5105074308c212e9,0x401040a100000000 rd.zfcp=0.0.fc00,0x5105074308c212e9,0x401040a300000000 rd.lvm.lv=vg_devel1/lv_root rd.lvm.lv=vg_devel1/lv_swap cio_ignore=all,!condev rd.znet=qeth,0.0.0a00,0.0.0a01,0.0.0a02,layer2=1,portno=0
id rhel-20181027190514-4.18.0-32.el8.s390x
grub_users $grub_users
grub_arg --unrestricted
grub_class kernel
Warning

Make sure the length of the kernel command line in the configuration file does not exceed 896 bytes. Otherwise, the boot loader cannot be saved, and the installation fails.

  • Run dracut -f to update the initial RAM disk of your target kernel.
  • Run zipl to apply the changes of the configuration file for the next IPL: 
# zipl -V
Using config file '/etc/zipl.conf'
Using BLS config file '/boot/loader/entries/4ab74e52867b4f998e73e06cf23fd761-4.18.0-32.el8.s390x.conf'
Target device information
Device..........................: 08:00
Partition.......................: 08:01
Device name.....................: sda
Device driver name..............: sd
Type............................: disk partition
Disk layout.....................: SCSI disk layout
Geometry - start................: 2048
File system block size..........: 4096
Physical block size.............: 512
Device size in physical blocks..: 10074112
Building bootmap in '/boot/'
Building menu 'rh-automatic-menu'
Adding #1: IPL section '4.18.0-32.el8.s390x' (default)
kernel image......: /boot/vmlinuz-4.18.0-32.el8.s390x
kernel parmline...: 'root=/dev/mapper/vg_devel1-lv_root crashkernel=auto rd.zfcp=0.0.fc00,0x5105074308c212e9,0x401040a000000000 rd.zfcp=0.0.fc00,0x5105074308c212e9,0x401040a100000000 rd.zfcp=0.0.fc00,0x5105074308c212e9,0x401040a300000000 rd.lvm.lv=vg_devel1/lv_root rd.lvm.lv=vg_devel1/lv_swap cio_ignore=all,!condev rd.znet=qeth,0.0.0a00,0.0.0a01,0.0.0a02,layer2=1,portno=0'
initial ramdisk...: /boot/initramfs-4.18.0-32.el8.s390x.img
component address:
kernel image....: 0x00010000-0x007a21ff
parmline........: 0x00001000-0x000011ff
initial ramdisk.: 0x02000000-0x028f63ff
internal loader.: 0x0000a000-0x0000a3ff
Preparing boot device: sda.
Detected SCSI PCBIOS disk layout.
Writing SCSI master boot record.
Syncing disks...
Done.

17.8. FCP LUNs that are not part of the root file system

FCP LUNs that are not part of the root file system, such as data disks, are persistently configured in the file /etc/zfcp.conf. It contains one FCP LUN per line. Each line contains the device bus ID of the FCP adapter, the target WWPN as 16 digit hexadecimal number prefixed with 0x, and the FCP LUN prefixed with 0x and padded with zeroes to the right to have 16 hexadecimal digits, separated by a space or tab.

The WWPN and FCP LUN values are only necessary if the zFCP device is not configured in NPIV mode, when auto LUN scanning is disabled by the zfcp.allow_lun_scan=0 kernel module parameter or when installing RHEL-8.6 or older releases. Otherwise they can be omitted and only the device bus ID is mandatory.

Entries in /etc/zfcp.conf are activated and configured by udev when an FCP adapter is added to the system. At boot time, all FCP adapters visible to the system are added and trigger udev.

Example content of /etc/zfcp.conf: 

0.0.fc00 0x5105074308c212e9 0x401040a000000000
0.0.fc00 0x5105074308c212e9 0x401040a100000000
0.0.fc00 0x5105074308c212e9 0x401040a300000000
0.0.fcd0 0x5105074308c2aee9 0x401040a000000000
0.0.fcd0 0x5105074308c2aee9 0x401040a100000000
0.0.fcd0 0x5105074308c2aee9 0x401040a300000000
0.0.4000
0.0.5000

Modifications of /etc/zfcp.conf only become effective after a reboot of the system or after the dynamic addition of a new FCP channel by changing the system’s I/O configuration (for example, a channel is attached under z/VM). Alternatively, you can trigger the activation of a new entry in /etc/zfcp.conf for an FCP adapter which was previously not active, by executing the following commands:

  1. Use the cio_ignore utility to remove the FCP adapter from the list of ignored devices and make it visible to Linux: 

    # cio_ignore -r device_number

    Replace device_number with the device number of the FCP adapter. For example: 

    # cio_ignore -r fcfc

  2. To trigger the uevent that activates the change, issue: 

    # echo add > /sys/bus/ccw/devices/device-bus-ID/uevent

    For example: 

    # echo add > /sys/bus/ccw/devices/0.0.fcfc/uevent

17.9. Adding a qeth device

The qeth network device driver supports 64-bit IBM Z OSA-Express features in QDIO mode, HiperSockets, z/VM guest LAN, and z/VM VSWITCH.

For more information about the qeth device driver naming scheme, see Customizing boot parameters.

17.10. Dynamically adding a qeth device

This section contains information about how to add a qeth device dynamically.

Procedure

  1. Determine whether the qeth device driver modules are loaded. The following example shows loaded qeth modules: 

    # lsmod | grep qeth
qeth_l3                69632  0
qeth_l2                49152  1
qeth                  131072  2 qeth_l3,qeth_l2
qdio                   65536  3 qeth,qeth_l3,qeth_l2
ccwgroup               20480  1 qeth

    If the output of the lsmod command shows that the qeth modules are not loaded, run the modprobe command to load them: 

    # modprobe qeth

  2. Use the cio_ignore utility to remove the network channels from the list of ignored devices and make them visible to Linux: 

    # cio_ignore -r read_device_bus_id,write_device_bus_id,data_device_bus_id

    Replace read_device_bus_id,write_device_bus_id,data_device_bus_id with the three device bus IDs representing a network device. For example, if the read_device_bus_id is 0.0.f500, the write_device_bus_id is 0.0.f501, and the data_device_bus_id is 0.0.f502: 

    # cio_ignore -r 0.0.f500,0.0.f501,0.0.f502

  3. Use the znetconf utility to sense and list candidate configurations for network devices: 

    # znetconf -u
Scanning for network devices...
Device IDs                 Type    Card Type      CHPID Drv.
------------------------------------------------------------
0.0.f500,0.0.f501,0.0.f502 1731/01 OSA (QDIO)        00 qeth
0.0.f503,0.0.f504,0.0.f505 1731/01 OSA (QDIO)        01 qeth
0.0.0400,0.0.0401,0.0.0402 1731/05 HiperSockets      02 qeth

  4. Select the configuration you want to work with and use znetconf to apply the configuration and to bring the configured group device online as network device. 

    # znetconf -a f500
Scanning for network devices...
Successfully configured device 0.0.f500 (encf500)

  5. Optional: You can also pass arguments that are configured on the group device before it is set online: 

    # znetconf -a f500 -o portname=myname
Scanning for network devices...
Successfully configured device 0.0.f500 (encf500)

    Now you can continue to configure the encf500 network interface.

Alternatively, you can use sysfs attributes to set the device online as follows:

  1. Create a qeth group device: 

    # echo read_device_bus_id,write_device_bus_id,data_device_bus_id > /sys/bus/ccwgroup/drivers/qeth/group

    For example: 

    # echo 0.0.f500,0.0.f501,0.0.f502 > /sys/bus/ccwgroup/drivers/qeth/group

  2. Next, verify that the qeth group device was created properly by looking for the read channel: 

    # ls /sys/bus/ccwgroup/drivers/qeth/0.0.f500

    You can optionally set additional parameters and features, depending on the way you are setting up your system and the features you require, such as:

    • portno
    • layer2
    • portname

  3. Bring the device online by writing 1 to the online sysfs attribute: 

    # echo 1 > /sys/bus/ccwgroup/drivers/qeth/0.0.f500/online

  4. Then verify the state of the device: 

    # cat /sys/bus/ccwgroup/drivers/qeth/0.0.f500/online
											1

    A return value of 1 indicates that the device is online, while a return value 0 indicates that the device is offline.

  5. Find the interface name that was assigned to the device: 

    # cat /sys/bus/ccwgroup/drivers/qeth/0.0.f500/if_name
encf500

    Now you can continue to configure the encf500 network interface.

    The following command from the s390utils package shows the most important settings of your qeth device: 

    # lsqeth encf500
Device name                     : encf500
-------------------------------------------------
card_type               : OSD_1000
cdev0                   : 0.0.f500
cdev1                   : 0.0.f501
cdev2                   : 0.0.f502
chpid                   : 76
online                  : 1
portname                : OSAPORT
portno                  : 0
state                   : UP (LAN ONLINE)
priority_queueing       : always queue 0
buffer_count            : 16
layer2                  : 1
isolation               : none

17.11. Persistently adding a qeth device

To make your new qeth device persistent, you need to create the configuration file for your new interface. The network interface configuration files are placed in the /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ directory.

The network configuration files use the naming convention ifcfg-device, where device is the value found in the if_name file in the qeth group device that was created earlier, for example enc9a0. The cio_ignore commands are handled transparently for persistent device configurations and you do not need to free devices from the ignore list manually.

If a configuration file for another device of the same type already exists, the simplest way to add the config file is to copy it to the new name and then edit it: 

# cd /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts
# cp ifcfg-enc9a0 ifcfg-enc600

To learn IDs of your network devices, use the lsqeth utility: 

# lsqeth -p
devices                    CHPID interface        cardtype       port chksum prio-q'ing rtr4 rtr6 lay'2 cnt
-------------------------- ----- ---------------- -------------- ---- ------ ---------- ---- ---- ----- -----
0.0.09a0/0.0.09a1/0.0.09a2 x00   enc9a0    Virt.NIC QDIO  0    sw     always_q_2 n/a  n/a  1     64
0.0.0600/0.0.0601/0.0.0602 x00   enc600    Virt.NIC QDIO  0    sw     always_q_2 n/a  n/a  1     64

If you do not have a similar device defined, you must create a new file. Use this example of /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-0.0.09a0 as a template: 

# IBM QETH
DEVICE=enc9a0
BOOTPROTO=static
IPADDR=10.12.20.136
NETMASK=255.255.255.0
ONBOOT=yes
NETTYPE=qeth
SUBCHANNELS=0.0.09a0,0.0.09a1,0.0.09a2
PORTNAME=OSAPORT
OPTIONS='layer2=1 portno=0'
MACADDR=02:00:00:23:65:1a
TYPE=Ethernet

Edit the new ifcfg-0.0.0600 file as follows:

  1. Modify the DEVICE statement to reflect the contents of the if_name file from your ccw group.
  2. Modify the IPADDR statement to reflect the IP address of your new interface.
  3. Modify the NETMASK statement as needed.
  4. If the new interface is to be activated at boot time, then make sure ONBOOT is set to yes.
  5. Make sure the SUBCHANNELS statement matches the hardware addresses for your qeth device.
  6. Modify the PORTNAME statement or leave it out if it is not necessary in your environment.

  7. You can add any valid sysfs attribute and its value to the OPTIONS parameter. The Red Hat Enterprise Linux installation program currently uses this to configure the layer mode (layer2) and the relative port number (portno) of qeth devices.

    The qeth device driver default for OSA devices is now layer 2 mode. To continue using old ifcfg definitions that rely on the previous default of layer 3 mode, add layer2=0 to the OPTIONS parameter.

/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-0.0.0600 

# IBM QETH
DEVICE=enc600
BOOTPROTO=static
IPADDR=192.168.70.87
NETMASK=255.255.255.0
ONBOOT=yes
NETTYPE=qeth
SUBCHANNELS=0.0.0600,0.0.0601,0.0.0602
PORTNAME=OSAPORT
OPTIONS='layer2=1 portno=0'
MACADDR=02:00:00:b3:84:ef
TYPE=Ethernet

Changes to an ifcfg file only become effective after rebooting the system or after the dynamic addition of new network device channels by changing the system’s I/O configuration (for example, attaching under z/VM). Alternatively, you can trigger the activation of a ifcfg file for network channels which were previously not active yet, by executing the following commands:

  1. Use the cio_ignore utility to remove the network channels from the list of ignored devices and make them visible to Linux: 

    # cio_ignore -r read_device_bus_id,write_device_bus_id,data_device_bus_id

    Replace read_device_bus_id,write_device_bus_id,data_device_bus_id with the three device bus IDs representing a network device. For example, if the read_device_bus_id is 0.0.0600, the write_device_bus_id is 0.0.0601, and the data_device_bus_id is 0.0.0602: 

    #  cio_ignore -r 0.0.0600,0.0.0601,0.0.0602

  2. To trigger the uevent that activates the change, issue: 

    # echo add > /sys/bus/ccw/devices/read-channel/uevent

    For example: 

    # echo add > /sys/bus/ccw/devices/0.0.0600/uevent

  3. Check the status of the network device: 

    # lsqeth

  4. Now start the new interface: 

    # ifup enc600

  5. Check the status of the interface: 

    # ip addr show enc600
3: enc600:  <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc pfifo_fast state UP group default qlen 1000
link/ether 3c:97:0e:51:38:17 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
inet 10.85.1.245/24 brd 10.34.3.255 scope global dynamic enc600
valid_lft 81487sec preferred_lft 81487sec
inet6 1574:12:5:1185:3e97:eff:fe51:3817/64 scope global noprefixroute dynamic
valid_lft 2591994sec preferred_lft 604794sec
inet6 fe45::a455:eff:d078:3847/64 scope link
valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever

  6. Check the routing for the new interface: 

    # ip route
default via 10.85.1.245 dev enc600  proto static  metric 1024
12.34.4.95/24 dev enp0s25  proto kernel  scope link  src 12.34.4.201
12.38.4.128 via 12.38.19.254 dev enp0s25  proto dhcp  metric 1
192.168.122.0/24 dev virbr0  proto kernel  scope link  src 192.168.122.1

  7. Verify your changes by using the ping utility to ping the gateway or another host on the subnet of the new device: 

    # ping -c 1 192.168.70.8
PING 192.168.70.8 (192.168.70.8) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from 192.168.70.8: icmp_seq=0 ttl=63 time=8.07 ms
  8. If the default route information has changed, you must also update /etc/sysconfig/network accordingly.

Additional resources

  • nm-settings-keyfile man page on your system

17.12. Configuring an 64-bit IBM Z network device for network root file system

To add a network device that is required to access the root file system, you only have to change the boot options. The boot options can be in a parameter file, however, the /etc/zipl.conf file no longer contains specifications of the boot records. The file that needs to be modified can be located using the following commands: 

# machine_id=$(cat /etc/machine-id)
# kernel_version=$(uname -r)
# ls /boot/loader/entries/$machine_id-$kernel_version.conf

Dracut, the mkinitrd successor that provides the functionality in the initramfs that in turn replaces initrd, provides a boot parameter to activate network devices on 64-bit IBM Z early in the boot process: rd.znet=.

As input, this parameter takes a comma-separated list of the NETTYPE (qeth, lcs, ctc), two (lcs, ctc) or three (qeth) device bus IDs, and optional additional parameters consisting of key-value pairs corresponding to network device sysfs attributes. This parameter configures and activates the 64-bit IBM Z network hardware. The configuration of IP addresses and other network specifics works the same as for other platforms. See the dracut documentation for more details.

The cio_ignore commands for the network channels are handled transparently on boot.

Example boot options for a root file system accessed over the network through NFS: 

root=10.16.105.196:/nfs/nfs_root cio_ignore=all,!condev rd.znet=qeth,0.0.0a00,0.0.0a01,0.0.0a02,layer2=1,portno=0,portname=OSAPORT ip=10.16.105.197:10.16.105.196:10.16.111.254:255.255.248.0:nfs‑server.subdomain.domain:enc9a0:none rd_NO_LUKS rd_NO_LVM rd_NO_MD rd_NO_DM LANG=en_US.UTF-8 SYSFONT=latarcyrheb-sun16 KEYTABLE=us

Chapter 18. Securing your system

You must secure your Red Hat Enterprise Linux system after completing the installation process.

Prerequisites

  • You have completed the graphical installation.

Procedure

  1. To update your system, run the following command as root: 

    # yum update

  2. Even though the firewall service, firewalld, is automatically enabled with the installation of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, there are scenarios where it might be explicitly disabled, for example in a Kickstart configuration. In that scenario, you re-enable the firewall.

    To start firewalld, run the following commands as root: 

    # systemctl start firewalld
# systemctl enable firewalld

  3. To enhance security, disable services that you do not need. For example, if your system has no printers installed, disable the cups service using the following command: 

    # systemctl mask cups

    To review active services, run the following command: 

    $ systemctl list-units | grep service

Chapter 19. Changing a subscription service

To manage the subscriptions, you can register a RHEL system with either Red Hat Subscription Management Server or Red Hat Satellite Server. If required, you can change the subscription service at a later point. To change the subscription service under which you are registered, unregister the system from the current service and then register it with a new service.

To receive the system updates, register your system with either of the management servers.

This section contains information about how to unregister your RHEL system from the Red Hat Subscription Management Server and Red Hat Satellite Server.

Prerequisites

You have registered your system with any one of the following:

  • Red Hat Subscription Management Server
  • Red Hat Satellite Server version 6.11

To receive the system updates, register your system with either of the management servers.

19.1. Unregistering from Subscription Management Server

This section contains information about how to unregister a RHEL system from Red Hat Subscription Management Server, using a command line and the Subscription Manager user interface.

19.1.1. Unregistering using command line

Use the unregister command to unregister a RHEL system from Red Hat Subscription Management Server.

Procedure

  1. Run the unregister command as a root user, without any additional parameters. 

    # subscription-manager unregister
  2. When prompted, provide a root password.

The system is unregistered from the Subscription Management Server, and the status 'The system is currently not registered' is displayed with the Register button enabled.

To continue uninterrupted services, re-register the system with either of the management services. If you do not register the system with a management service, you may fail to receive the system updates. For more information about registering a system, see Registering your system using the command line.

Additional resources

19.1.2. Unregistering using Subscription Manager user interface

You can unregister a RHEL system from Red Hat Subscription Management Server by using Subscription Manager user interface.

Procedure

  1. Log in to your system.
  2. From the top left-hand side of the window, click Activities.
  3. From the menu options, click the Show Applications icon.
  4. Click the Red Hat Subscription Manager icon, or enter Red Hat Subscription Manager in the search.

  5. Enter your administrator password in the Authentication Required dialog box. The Subscriptions window appears and displays the current status of Subscriptions, System Purpose, and installed products. Unregistered products display a red X.

    Authentication is required to perform privileged tasks on the system.

  6. Click the Unregister button.

The system is unregistered from the Subscription Management Server, and the status 'The system is currently not registered' is displayed with the Register button enabled.

To continue uninterrupted services, re-register the system with either of the management services. If you do not register the system with a management service, you may fail to receive the system updates. For more information about registering a system, see Registering your system using the Subscription Manager User Interface.

Additional resources

19.2. Unregistering from Satellite Server

To unregister a Red Hat Enterprise Linux system from Satellite Server, remove the system from Satellite Server.

For more information, see Removing a Host from Red Hat Satellite.

Part IV. Appendices

A comprehensive reference for the Kickstart script file format and its commands. It covers various Kickstart options related to installation program configuration, system and network setup, storage handling, and specific addons included with the RHEL installation program. Additionally, it details commands relevant for system recovery, offering an essential guide for automating and customizing RHEL installations. Changes to Kickstart commands are also documented to keep users informed of updates.

Appendix A. Kickstart script file format reference

This reference describes in detail the kickstart file format.

A.1. Kickstart file format

Kickstart scripts are plain text files that contain keywords recognized by the installation program, which serve as directions for the installation. Any text editor able to save files as ASCII text, such as Gedit or vim on Linux systems or Notepad on Windows systems, can be used to create and edit Kickstart files. The file name of your Kickstart configuration does not matter; however, it is recommended to use a simple name as you will need to specify this name later in other configuration files or dialogs.

Commands
Commands are keywords that serve as directions for installation. Each command must be on a single line. Commands can take options. Specifying commands and options is similar to using Linux commands in shell.
Sections
Certain special commands that begin with the percent % character start a section. Interpretation of commands in sections is different from commands placed outside sections. Every section must be finished with %end command.
Section types

The available sections are:

  • Add-on sections. These sections use the %addon addon_name command.
  • Package selection sections. Starts with %packages. Use it to list packages for installation, including indirect means such as package groups or modules.
  • Script sections. These start with %pre, %pre-install, %post, and %onerror. These sections are not required.
Command section
The command section is a term used for the commands in the Kickstart file that are not part of any script section or %packages section.
Script section count and ordering
All sections except the command section are optional and can be present multiple times. When a particular type of script section is to be evaluated, all sections of that type present in the Kickstart are evaluated in order of appearance: two %post sections are evaluated one after another, in the order as they appear. However, you do not have to specify the various types of script sections in any order: it does not matter if there are %post sections before %pre sections.
Comments
Kickstart comments are lines starting with the hash # character. These lines are ignored by the installation program.

Items that are not required can be omitted. Omitting any required item results in the installation program changing to the interactive mode so that the user can provide an answer to the related item, just as during a regular interactive installation. It is also possible to declare the kickstart script as non-interactive with the cmdline command. In non-interactive mode, any missing answer aborts the installation process.

Note

If user interaction is needed during kickstart installation in text or graphical mode, enter only the windows where updates are mandatory to complete the installation. Entering spokes might lead to resetting the kickstart configuration. Resetting of the configuration applies specifically to the kickstart commands related to storage after entering the Installation Destination window.

A.2. Package selection in Kickstart

Kickstart uses sections started by the %packages command for selecting packages to install. You can install packages, groups, environments, module streams, and module profiles this way.

A.2.1. Package selection section

Use the %packages command to begin a Kickstart section which describes the software packages to be installed. The %packages section must end with the %end command.

You can specify packages by environment, group, module stream, module profile, or by their package names. Several environments and groups that contain related packages are defined. See the repository/repodata/*-comps-repository.architecture.xml file on the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Installation DVD for a list of environments and groups.

The *-comps-repository.architecture.xml file contains a structure describing available environments (marked by the <environment> tag) and groups (the <group> tag). Each entry has an ID, user visibility value, name, description, and package list. If the group is selected for installation, the packages marked mandatory in the package list are always installed, the packages marked default are installed if they are not specifically excluded elsewhere, and the packages marked optional must be specifically included elsewhere even when the group is selected.

You can specify a package group or environment using either its ID (the <id> tag) or name (the <name> tag).

If you are not sure what package should be installed, Red Hat recommends you to select the Minimal Install environment. Minimal Install provides only the packages which are essential for running Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8. This will substantially reduce the chance of the system being affected by a vulnerability. If necessary, additional packages can be added later after the installation. For more details on Minimal Install, see the Installing the Minimum Amount of Packages Required section of the Security Hardening document. The Initial Setup can not run after a system is installed from a Kickstart file unless a desktop environment and the X Window System were included in the installation and graphical login was enabled.

Important

To install a 32-bit package on a 64-bit system:

  • specify the --multilib option for the %packages section
  • append the package name with the 32-bit architecture for which the package was built; for example, glibc.i686

A.2.2. Package selection commands

These commands can be used within the %packages section of a Kickstart file.

Specifying an environment

Specify an entire environment to be installed as a line starting with the @^ symbols: 

%packages
@^Infrastructure Server
%end

This installs all packages which are part of the Infrastructure Server environment. All available environments are described in the repository/repodata/*-comps-repository.architecture.xml file on the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Installation DVD.

Only a single environment should be specified in the Kickstart file. If more environments are specified, only the last specified environment is used.

Specifying groups

Specify groups, one entry to a line, starting with an @ symbol, and then the full group name or group id as given in the *-comps-repository.architecture.xml file. For example: 

%packages
@X Window System
@Desktop
@Sound and Video
%end

The Core group is always selected - it is not necessary to specify it in the %packages section.

Specifying individual packages

Specify individual packages by name, one entry to a line. You can use the asterisk character (*) as a wildcard in package names. For example: 

%packages
sqlite
curl
aspell
docbook*
%end

The docbook* entry includes the packages docbook-dtds and docbook-style that match the pattern represented with the wildcard.

Specifying profiles of module streams

Specify profiles for module streams, one entry to a line, using the syntax for profiles: 

%packages
@module:stream/profile
%end

This installs all packages listed in the specified profile of the module stream.

  • When a module has a default stream specified, you can leave it out. When the default stream is not specified, you must specify it.
  • When a module stream has a default profile specified, you can leave it out. When the default profile is not specified, you must specify it.
  • Installing a module multiple times with different streams is not possible.
  • Installing multiple profiles of the same module and stream is possible.

Modules and groups use the same syntax starting with the @ symbol. When a module and a package group exist with the same name, the module takes precedence.

In Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, modules are present only in the AppStream repository. To list available modules, use the yum module list command on an installed Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 system.

It is also possible to enable module streams using the module Kickstart command and then install packages contained in the module stream by naming them directly.

Excluding environments, groups, or packages

Use a leading dash (-) to specify packages or groups to exclude from the installation. For example: 

%packages
-@Graphical Administration Tools
-autofs
-ipa*compat
%end
Important

Installing all available packages using only * in a Kickstart file is not supported.

You can change the default behavior of the %packages section by using several options. Some options work for the entire package selection, others are used with only specific groups.

Additional resources

A.2.3. Common package selection options

The following options are available for the %packages sections. To use an option, append it to the start of the package selection section. For example: 

%packages --multilib --ignoremissing
--default
Install the default set of packages. This corresponds to the package set which would be installed if no other selections were made in the Package Selection screen during an interactive installation.
--excludedocs
Do not install any documentation contained within packages. In most cases, this excludes any files normally installed in the /usr/share/doc directory, but the specific files to be excluded depend on individual packages.
--ignoremissing
Ignore any packages, groups, module streams, module profiles, and environments missing in the installation source, instead of halting the installation to ask if the installation should be aborted or continued.
--instLangs=
Specify a list of languages to install. This is different from package group level selections. This option does not describe which package groups should be installed; instead, it sets RPM macros controlling which translation files from individual packages should be installed.
--multilib

Configure the installed system for multilib packages, to allow installing 32-bit packages on a 64-bit system, and install packages specified in this section as such.

Normally, on an AMD64 and Intel 64 system, you can install only the x86_64 and the noarch packages. However, with the --multilib option, you can automatically install the 32-bit AMD and the i686 Intel system packages available, if any.

This only applies to packages explicitly specified in the %packages section. Packages which are only being installed as dependencies without being specified in the Kickstart file are only installed in architecture versions in which they are needed, even if they are available for more architectures.

User can configure Anaconda to install packages in multilib mode during the installation of the system. Use one of the following options to enable multilib mode:

  1. Configure Kickstart file with the following lines: 

    %packages --multilib --default
%end
  2. Add the inst.multilib boot option during booting the installation image.
--nocore

Disables installation of the @Core package group which is otherwise always installed by default. Disabling the @Core package group with --nocore should be only used for creating lightweight containers; installing a desktop or server system with --nocore will result in an unusable system.

Notes
  • Using -@Core to exclude packages in the @Core package group does not work. The only way to exclude the @Core package group is with the --nocore option.
  • The @Core package group is defined as a minimal set of packages needed for installing a working system. It is not related in any way to core packages as defined in the Package Manifest and Scope of Coverage Details.
--excludeWeakdeps
Disables installation of packages from weak dependencies. These are packages linked to the selected package set by Recommends and Supplements flags. By default weak dependencies will be installed.
--retries=
Sets the number of times YUM will attempt to download packages (retries). The default value is 10. This option only applies during the installation, and will not affect YUM configuration on the installed system.
--timeout=
Sets the YUM timeout in seconds. The default value is 30. This option only applies during the installation, and will not affect YUM configuration on the installed system.

A.2.4. Options for specific package groups

The options in this list only apply to a single package group. Instead of using them at the %packages command in the Kickstart file, append them to the group name. For example: 

%packages
@Graphical Administration Tools --optional
%end
--nodefaults
Only install the group’s mandatory packages, not the default selections.
--optional

Install packages marked as optional in the group definition in the *-comps-repository.architecture.xml file, in addition to installing the default selections.

Some package groups, such as Scientific Support, do not have any mandatory or default packages specified - only optional packages. In this case the --optional option must always be used, otherwise no packages from this group will be installed.

Important

The --nodefaults and --optional options cannot be used together. You can install only mandatory packages during the installation using --nodefaults and install the optional packages on the installed system post installation.

A.3. Scripts in Kickstart file

A kickstart file can include the following scripts:

  • %pre
  • %pre-install
  • %post

This section provides the following details about the scripts:

  • Execution time
  • Types of commands that can be included in the script
  • Purpose of the script
  • Script options

A.3.1. %pre script

The %pre scripts are run on the system immediately after the Kickstart file has been loaded, but before it is completely parsed and installation begins. Each of these sections must start with %pre and end with %end.

The %pre script can be used for activation and configuration of networking and storage devices. It is also possible to run scripts, using interpreters available in the installation environment. Adding a %pre script can be useful if you have networking and storage that needs special configuration before proceeding with the installation, or have a script that, for example, sets up additional logging parameters or environment variables.

Debugging problems with %pre scripts can be difficult, so it is recommended only to use a %pre script when necessary.

Important

The %pre section of Kickstart is executed at the stage of installation which happens after the installer image (inst.stage2) is fetched: it means after root switches to the installer environment (the installer image) and after the Anaconda installer itself starts. Then the configuration in %pre is applied and can be used to fetch packages from installation repositories configured, for example, by URL in Kickstart. However, it cannot be used to configure network to fetch the image (inst.stage2) from network.

Commands related to networking, storage, and file systems are available to use in the %pre script, in addition to most of the utilities in the installation environment /sbin and /bin directories.

You can access the network in the %pre section. However, the name service has not been configured at this point, so only IP addresses work, not URLs.

Note

The pre script does not run in the chroot environment.

A.3.1.1. %pre script section options

The following options can be used to change the behavior of pre-installation scripts. To use an option, append it to the %pre line at the beginning of the script. For example: 

%pre --interpreter=/usr/libexec/platform-python
-- Python script omitted --
%end
--interpreter=

Allows you to specify a different scripting language, such as Python. Any scripting language available on the system can be used; in most cases, these are /usr/bin/sh, /usr/bin/bash, and /usr/libexec/platform-python.

Note that the platform-python interpreter uses Python version 3.6. You must change your Python scripts from previous RHEL versions for the new path and version. Additionally, platform-python is meant for system tools: Use the python36 package outside the installation environment. For more details about Python in Red Hat Enterprise Linux, see\ Introduction to Python in Configuring basic system settings.

--erroronfail
Displays an error and halts the installation if the script fails. The error message will direct you to where the cause of the failure is logged. The installed system might get into an unstable and unbootable state. You can use the inst.nokill option to debug the script.
--log=

Logs the script’s output into the specified log file. For example: 

%pre --log=/tmp/ks-pre.log

A.3.2. %pre-install script

The commands in the pre-install script are run after the following tasks are complete:

  • System is partitioned
  • Filesystems are created and mounted under /mnt/sysroot
  • Network has been configured according to any boot options and kickstart commands

Each of the %pre-install sections must start with %pre-install and end with %end.

The %pre-install scripts can be used to modify the installation, and to add users and groups with guaranteed IDs before package installation.

It is recommended to use the %post scripts for any modifications required in the installation. Use the %pre-install script only if the %post script falls short for the required modifications.

The pre-install script does not run in chroot environment.

A.3.2.1. %pre-install script section options

The following options can be used to change the behavior of pre-install scripts. To use an option, append it to the %pre-install line at the beginning of the script. For example: 

%pre-install --interpreter=/usr/libexec/platform-python
-- Python script omitted --
%end

You can have multiple %pre-install sections, with same or different interpreters. They are evaluated in their order of appearance in the Kickstart file.

--interpreter=

Allows you to specify a different scripting language, such as Python. Any scripting language available on the system can be used; in most cases, these are /usr/bin/sh, /usr/bin/bash, and /usr/libexec/platform-python.

The platform-python interpreter uses Python version 3.6. You must change your Python scripts from previous RHEL versions for the new path and version. Additionally, platform-python is meant for system tools: Use the python36 package outside the installation environment. For more details about Python in Red Hat Enterprise Linux, see Introduction to Python in Configuring basic system settings.

--erroronfail
Displays an error and halts the installation if the script fails. The error message will direct you to where the cause of the failure is logged. The installed system might get into an unstable and unbootable state. You can use the inst.nokill option to debug the script.
--log=

Logs the script’s output into the specified log file. For example: 

%pre-install --log=/mnt/sysroot/root/ks-pre.log

A.3.3. %post script

The %post script is a post-installation script that is run after the installation is complete, but before the system is rebooted for the first time. You can use this section to run tasks such as system subscription.

You have the option of adding commands to run on the system once the installation is complete, but before the system is rebooted for the first time. This section must start with %post and end with %end.

The %post section is useful for functions such as installing additional software or configuring an additional name server. The post-install script is run in a chroot environment, therefore, performing tasks such as copying scripts or RPM packages from the installation media do not work by default. You can change this behavior using the --nochroot option as described below. Then the %post script will run in the installation environment, not in chroot on the installed target system.

Because post-install script runs in a chroot environment, most systemctl commands will refuse to perform any action.

During execution of the %post section, the installation media must be still inserted.

A.3.3.1. %post script section options

The following options can be used to change the behavior of post-installation scripts. To use an option, append it to the %post line at the beginning of the script. For example: 

%post --interpreter=/usr/libexec/platform-python
-- Python script omitted --
%end
--interpreter=

Allows you to specify a different scripting language, such as Python. For example: 

%post --interpreter=/usr/libexec/platform-python

Any scripting language available on the system can be used; in most cases, these are /usr/bin/sh, /usr/bin/bash, and /usr/libexec/platform-python.

The platform-python interpreter uses Python version 3.6. You must change your Python scripts from previous RHEL versions for the new path and version. Additionally, platform-python is meant for system tools: Use the python36 package outside the installation environment. For more details about Python in Red Hat Enterprise Linux, see Introduction to Python in Configuring basic system settings.

--nochroot

Allows you to specify commands that you would like to run outside of the chroot environment.

The following example copies the file /etc/resolv.conf to the file system that was just installed. 

%post --nochroot
cp /etc/resolv.conf /mnt/sysroot/etc/resolv.conf
%end
--erroronfail
Displays an error and halts the installation if the script fails. The error message will direct you to where the cause of the failure is logged. The installed system might get into an unstable and unbootable state. You can use the inst.nokill option to debug the script.
--log=

Logs the script’s output into the specified log file. The path of the log file must take into account whether or not you use the --nochroot option. For example, without --nochroot: 

%post --log=/root/ks-post.log

and with --nochroot: 

%post --nochroot --log=/mnt/sysroot/root/ks-post.log
A.3.3.2. Example: Mounting NFS in a post-install script

This example of a %post section mounts an NFS share and executes a script named runme located at /usr/new-machines/ on the share. The NFS file locking is not supported while in Kickstart mode, therefore the -o nolock option is required. 

# Start of the %post section with logging into /root/ks-post.log
%post --log=/root/ks-post.log

# Mount an NFS share
mkdir /mnt/temp
mount -o nolock 10.10.0.2:/usr/new-machines /mnt/temp
openvt -s -w -- /mnt/temp/runme
umount /mnt/temp

# End of the %post section
%end
A.3.3.3. Example: Running subscription-manager as a post-install script

One of the most common uses of post-installation scripts in Kickstart installations is automatic registration of the installed system using Red Hat Subscription Manager. The following is an example of automatic subscription in a %post script: 

%post --log=/root/ks-post.log
subscription-manager register --username=admin@example.com --password=secret --auto-attach
%end

The subscription-manager command-line script registers a system to a Red Hat Subscription Management server (Customer Portal Subscription Management, Satellite 6, or CloudForms System Engine). This script can also be used to assign or attach subscriptions automatically to the system that best-match that system. When registering to the Customer Portal, use the Red Hat Network login credentials. When registering to Satellite 6 or CloudForms System Engine, you may also need to specify more subscription-manager options like --serverurl, --org, --environment as well as credentials provided by your local administrator. Note that credentials in the form of an --org --activationkey combination is a good way to avoid exposing --username --password values in shared kickstart files.

Additional options can be used with the registration command to set a preferred service level for the system and to restrict updates and errata to a specific minor release version of RHEL for customers with Extended Update Support subscriptions that need to stay fixed on an older stream.

For more information on using the subscription-manager command, see How do I use subscription-manager in a kickstart file?.

A.4. Anaconda configuration section

Additional installation options can be configured in the %anaconda section of your Kickstart file. This section controls the behavior of the user interface of the installation system.

This section must be placed towards the end of the Kickstart file, after Kickstart commands, and must start with %anaconda and end with %end.

Currently, the only command that can be used in the %anaconda section is pwpolicy.

Example A.1. Sample %anaconda script

The following is an example %anaconda section: 

%anaconda
pwpolicy root --minlen=10 --strict
%end

This example %anaconda section sets a password policy which requires that the root password be at least 10 characters long, and strictly forbids passwords which do not match this requirement.

A.5. Kickstart error handling section

Starting with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, Kickstart installations run custom scripts when any fatal error encounters in the installation program. Example scenarios include an error in a package that has been requested for installation, VNC fails to start if specified in the configuration, or an error while scanning storage devices. In case of such events, installation aborts. To analyze these events, the installation program runs all %onerror scripts chronologically as provided in the Kickstart file. In the event of traceback, you can run the %onerror scripts.

Each %onerror script is required to end with %end.

You can enforce the error handler for any error by using inst.cmdline to make every error a fatal error.

Error handling sections accept the following options:

--erroronfail
Displays an error and halts the installation if the script fails. The error message will direct you to where the cause of the failure is logged. The installed system might get into an unstable and unbootable state. You can use the inst.nokill option to debug the script.
--interpreter=

Allows you to specify a different scripting language, such as Python. For example: 

%onerror --interpreter=/usr/libexec/platform-python

Any scripting language available on the system can be used; in most cases, these are /usr/bin/sh, /usr/bin/bash, and /usr/libexec/platform-python.

The platform-python interpreter uses Python version 3.6. You must change your Python scripts from previous RHEL versions for the new path and version. Additionally, platform-python is meant for system tools: Use the python36 package outside the installation environment. For more details about Python in Red Hat Enterprise Linux, see Introduction to Python in Configuring basic system settings.

--log=
Logs the script’s output into the specified log file.

A.6. Kickstart add-on sections

Starting with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, Kickstart installations support add-ons. These add-ons can expand the basic Kickstart (and Anaconda) functionality in many ways.

To use an add-on in your Kickstart file, use the %addon addon_name options command, and finish the command with an %end statement, similar to pre-installation and post-installation script sections. For example, if you want to use the Kdump add-on, which is distributed with Anaconda by default, use the following commands: 

%addon com_redhat_kdump --enable --reserve-mb=auto
%end

The %addon command does not include any options of its own - all options are dependent on the actual add-on.

Appendix B. Kickstart commands and options reference

This reference is a complete list of all Kickstart commands supported by the Red Hat Enterprise Linux installation program. The commands are sorted alphabetically in a few broad categories. If a command can fall under multiple categories, it is listed in all of them.

B.1. Kickstart changes

The following sections describe the changes in Kickstart commands and options in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.

auth or authconfig is deprecated in RHEL 8

The auth or authconfig Kickstart command is deprecated in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 because the authconfig tool and package have been removed.

Similarly to authconfig commands issued on command line, authconfig commands in Kickstart scripts now use the authselect-compat tool to run the new authselect tool. For a description of this compatibility layer and its known issues, see the manual page authselect-migration(7). The installation program will automatically detect use of the deprecated commands and install on the system the authselect-compat package to provide the compatibility layer.

Kickstart no longer supports Btrfs

The Btrfs file system is not supported from Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8. As a result, the Graphical User Interface (GUI) and the Kickstart commands no longer support Btrfs.

Using Kickstart files from previous RHEL releases

If you are using Kickstart files from previous RHEL releases, see the Repositories section of the Considerations in adopting RHEL 8 document for more information about the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 BaseOS and AppStream repositories.

B.1.1. Deprecated Kickstart commands and options

The following Kickstart commands and options have been deprecated in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.

Where only specific options are listed, the base command and its other options are still available and not deprecated.

  • auth or authconfig - use authselect instead
  • device
  • deviceprobe
  • dmraid
  • install - use the subcommands or methods directly as commands
  • multipath
  • bootloader --upgrade
  • ignoredisk --interactive
  • partition --active
  • reboot --kexec
  • syspurpose - use subscription-manager syspurpose instead

Except the auth or authconfig command, using the commands in Kickstart files prints a warning in the logs.

You can turn the deprecated command warnings into errors with the inst.ksstrict boot option, except for the auth or authconfig command.

B.1.2. Removed Kickstart commands and options

The following Kickstart commands and options have been completely removed in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8. Using them in Kickstart files will cause an error.

  • device
  • deviceprobe
  • dmraid
  • install - use the subcommands or methods directly as commands
  • multipath
  • bootloader --upgrade
  • ignoredisk --interactive
  • partition --active
  • harddrive --biospart
  • upgrade (This command had already previously been deprecated.)
  • btrfs
  • part/partition btrfs
  • part --fstype btrfs or partition --fstype btrfs
  • logvol --fstype btrfs
  • raid --fstype btrfs
  • unsupported_hardware

Where only specific options and values are listed, the base command and its other options are still available and not removed.

B.2. Kickstart commands for installation program configuration and flow control

The Kickstart commands in this list control the mode and course of installation, and what happens at its end.

B.2.1. cdrom

The cdrom Kickstart command is optional. It performs the installation from the first optical drive on the system. Use this command only once.

Syntax

cdrom

Notes

  • Previously, the cdrom command had to be used together with the install command. The install command has been deprecated and cdrom can be used on its own, because it implies install.
  • This command has no options.
  • To actually run the installation, you must specify one of cdrom, harddrive, hmc, nfs, liveimg, ostreesetup, rhsm, or url unless the inst.repo option is specified on the kernel command line.

B.2.2. cmdline

The cmdline Kickstart command is optional. It performs the installation in a completely non-interactive command line mode. Any prompt for interaction halts the installation. Use this command only once.

Syntax

cmdline

Notes

  • For a fully automatic installation, you must either specify one of the available modes (graphical, text, or cmdline) in the Kickstart file, or you must use the console= boot option. If no mode is specified, the system will use graphical mode if possible, or prompt you to choose from VNC and text mode.
  • This command has no options.
  • This mode is useful on 64-bit IBM Z systems with the x3270 terminal.

B.2.3. driverdisk

The driverdisk Kickstart command is optional. Use it to provide additional drivers to the installation program.

Driver disks can be used during Kickstart installations to provide additional drivers not included by default. You must copy the driver disks contents to the root directory of a partition on the system’s disk. Then, you must use the driverdisk command to specify that the installation program should look for a driver disk and its location. Use this command only once.

Syntax

driverdisk [partition|--source=url|--biospart=biospart]

Options

You must specify the location of driver disk in one way out of these:

  • partition - Partition containing the driver disk. The partition must be specified as a full path (for example, /dev/sdb1), not just the partition name (for example, sdb1).

  • --source= - URL for the driver disk. Examples include: 

    driverdisk --source=ftp://path/to/dd.img
driverdisk --source=http://path/to/dd.img
driverdisk --source=nfs:host:/path/to/dd.img
  • --biospart= - BIOS partition containing the driver disk (for example, 82p2).

Notes

Driver disks can also be loaded from a local disk or a similar device instead of being loaded over the network or from initrd. Follow this procedure:

  1. Load the driver disk on a disk drive, a USB or any similar device.
  2. Set the label, for example, DD, to this device.

  3. Add the following line to your Kickstart file: 

    driverdisk LABEL=DD:/e1000.rpm

Replace DD with a specific label and replace e1000.rpm with a specific name. Use anything supported by the inst.repo command instead of LABEL to specify your disk drive.

B.2.4. eula

The eula Kickstart command is optional. Use this option to accept the End User License Agreement (EULA) without user interaction. Specifying this option prevents Initial Setup from prompting you to accept the license agreement after you finish the installation and reboot the system for the first time. Use this command only once.

Syntax

eula [--agreed]

Options

  • --agreed (required) - Accept the EULA. This option must always be used, otherwise the eula command is meaningless.

B.2.5. firstboot

The firstboot Kickstart command is optional. It determines whether the Initial Setup application starts the first time the system is booted. If enabled, the initial-setup package must be installed. If not specified, this option is disabled by default. Use this command only once.

Syntax

firstboot OPTIONS

Options

  • --enable or --enabled - Initial Setup is started the first time the system boots.
  • --disable or --disabled - Initial Setup is not started the first time the system boots.
  • --reconfig - Enable the Initial Setup to start at boot time in reconfiguration mode. This mode enables the root password, time & date, and networking & host name configuration options in addition to the default ones.

B.2.6. graphical

The graphical Kickstart command is optional. It performs the installation in graphical mode. This is the default. Use this command only once.

Syntax

graphical [--non-interactive]

Options

  • --non-interactive - Performs the installation in a completely non-interactive mode. This mode will terminate the installation when user interaction is required.

Note

  • For a fully automatic installation, you must either specify one of the available modes (graphical, text, or cmdline) in the Kickstart file, or you must use the console= boot option. If no mode is specified, the system will use graphical mode if possible, or prompt you to choose from VNC and text mode.

B.2.7. halt

The halt Kickstart command is optional.

Halt the system after the installation has successfully completed. This is similar to a manual installation, where Anaconda displays a message and waits for the user to press a key before rebooting. During a Kickstart installation, if no completion method is specified, this option is used as the default. Use this command only once.

Syntax

halt

Notes

  • The halt command is equivalent to the shutdown -H command. For more details, see the shutdown(8) man page on your system.
  • For other completion methods, see the poweroff, reboot, and shutdown commands.
  • This command has no options.

B.2.8. harddrive

The harddrive Kickstart command is optional. It performs the installation from a Red Hat installation tree or full installation ISO image on a local drive. The drive must be formatted with a file system the installation program can mount: ext2, ext3, ext4, vfat, or xfs. Use this command only once.

Syntax

harddrive OPTIONS

Options

  • --partition= - Partition to install from (such as sdb2).
  • --dir= - Directory containing the variant directory of the installation tree, or the ISO image of the full installation DVD.

Example

harddrive --partition=hdb2 --dir=/tmp/install-tree

Notes

  • Previously, the harddrive command had to be used together with the install command. The install command has been deprecated and harddrive can be used on its own, because it implies install.
  • To actually run the installation, you must specify one of cdrom, harddrive, hmc, nfs, liveimg, ostreesetup, rhsm, or url unless the inst.repo option is specified on the kernel command line.

B.2.9. install (deprecated)

Important

The install Kickstart command is deprecated in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8. Use its methods as separate commands.

The install Kickstart command is optional. It specifies the default installation mode.

Syntax

install
installation_method

Notes

  • The install command must be followed by an installation method command. The installation method command must be on a separate line.

  • The methods include:

    • cdrom
    • harddrive
    • hmc
    • nfs
    • liveimg
    • url

    For details about the methods, see their separate reference pages.

B.2.10. liveimg

The liveimg Kickstart command is optional. It performs the installation from a disk image instead of packages. Use this command only once.

Syntax

liveimg --url=SOURCE [OPTIONS]

Mandatory options

  • --url= - The location to install from. Supported protocols are HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, and file.

Optional options

  • --url= - The location to install from. Supported protocols are HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, and file.
  • --proxy= - Specify an HTTP, HTTPS or FTP proxy to use while performing the installation.
  • --checksum= - An optional argument with the SHA256 checksum of the image file, used for verification.
  • --noverifyssl - Disable SSL verification when connecting to an HTTPS server.

Example

liveimg --url=file:///images/install/squashfs.img --checksum=03825f567f17705100de3308a20354b4d81ac9d8bed4bb4692b2381045e56197 --noverifyssl

Notes

  • The image can be the squashfs.img file from a live ISO image, a compressed tar file (.tar, .tbz, .tgz, .txz, .tar.bz2, .tar.gz, or .tar.xz.), or any file system that the installation media can mount. Supported file systems are ext2, ext3, ext4, vfat, and xfs.
  • When using the liveimg installation mode with a driver disk, drivers on the disk will not automatically be included in the installed system. If necessary, these drivers should be installed manually, or in the %post section of a kickstart script.
  • To actually run the installation, you must specify one of cdrom, harddrive, hmc, nfs, liveimg, ostreesetup, rhsm, or url unless the inst.repo option is specified on the kernel command line.
  • Previously, the liveimg command had to be used together with the install command. The install command has been deprecated and liveimg can be used on its own, because it implies install.

B.2.11. logging

The logging Kickstart command is optional. It controls the error logging of Anaconda during installation. It has no effect on the installed system. Use this command only once.

Logging is supported over TCP only. For remote logging, ensure that the port number that you specify in --port= option is open on the remote server. The default port is 514.

Syntax

logging OPTIONS

Optional options

  • --host= - Send logging information to the given remote host, which must be running a syslogd process configured to accept remote logging.
  • --port= - If the remote syslogd process uses a port other than the default, set it using this option.
  • --level= - Specify the minimum level of messages that appear on tty3. All messages are still sent to the log file regardless of this level, however. Possible values are debug, info, warning, error, or critical.

B.2.12. mediacheck

The mediacheck Kickstart command is optional. This command forces the installation program to perform a media check before starting the installation. This command requires that installations be attended, so it is disabled by default. Use this command only once.

Syntax

mediacheck

Notes

  • This Kickstart command is equivalent to the rd.live.check boot option.
  • This command has no options.

B.2.13. nfs

The nfs Kickstart command is optional. It performs the installation from a specified NFS server. Use this command only once.

Syntax

nfs OPTIONS

Options

  • --server= - Server from which to install (host name or IP).
  • --dir= - Directory containing the variant directory of the installation tree.
  • --opts= - Mount options to use for mounting the NFS export. (optional)

Example

nfs --server=nfsserver.example.com --dir=/tmp/install-tree

Notes

  • Previously, the nfs command had to be used together with the install command. The install command has been deprecated and nfs can be used on its own, because it implies install.
  • To actually run the installation, you must specify one of cdrom, harddrive, hmc, nfs, liveimg, ostreesetup, rhsm, or url unless the inst.repo option is specified on the kernel command line.

B.2.14. ostreesetup

The ostreesetup Kickstart command is optional. It is used to set up OStree-based installations. Use this command only once.

Syntax

ostreesetup --osname=OSNAME [--remote=REMOTE] --url=URL --ref=REF [--nogpg]

Mandatory options:

  • --osname=OSNAME - Management root for OS installation.
  • --url=URL - URL of the repository to install from.
  • --ref=REF - Name of the branch from the repository to be used for installation.

Optional options:

  • --remote=REMOTE - A remote repository location.
  • --nogpg - Disable GPG key verification.

Note

B.2.15. poweroff

The poweroff Kickstart command is optional. It shuts down and powers off the system after the installation has successfully completed. Normally during a manual installation, Anaconda displays a message and waits for the user to press a key before rebooting. Use this command only once.

Syntax

poweroff

Notes

  • The poweroff option is equivalent to the shutdown -P command. For more details, see the shutdown(8) man page on your system.
  • For other completion methods, see the halt, reboot, and shutdown Kickstart commands. The halt option is the default completion method if no other methods are explicitly specified in the Kickstart file.
  • The poweroff command is highly dependent on the system hardware in use. Specifically, certain hardware components such as the BIOS, APM (advanced power management), and ACPI (advanced configuration and power interface) must be able to interact with the system kernel. Consult your hardware documentation for more information about you system’s APM/ACPI abilities.
  • This command has no options.

B.2.16. reboot

The reboot Kickstart command is optional. It instructs the installation program to reboot after the installation is successfully completed (no arguments). Normally, Kickstart displays a message and waits for the user to press a key before rebooting. Use this command only once.

Syntax

reboot OPTIONS

Options

  • --eject - Attempt to eject the bootable media (DVD, USB, or other media) before rebooting.

  • --kexec - Uses the kexec system call instead of performing a full reboot, which immediately loads the installed system into memory, bypassing the hardware initialization normally performed by the BIOS or firmware.

    Important

    This option is deprecated and available as a Technology Preview only. For information about Red Hat scope of support for Technology Preview features, see the Technology Preview Features Support Scope document.

    When kexec is used, device registers (which would normally be cleared during a full system reboot) might stay filled with data, which could potentially create issues for some device drivers.

Notes

  • Use of the reboot option might result in an endless installation loop, depending on the installation media and method.
  • The reboot option is equivalent to the shutdown -r command. For more details, see the shutdown(8) man page on your system.
  • Specify reboot to automate installation fully when installing in command line mode on 64-bit IBM Z.
  • For other completion methods, see the halt, poweroff, and shutdown Kickstart options. The halt option is the default completion method if no other methods are explicitly specified in the Kickstart file.

B.2.17. rhsm

The rhsm Kickstart command is optional. It instructs the installation program to register and install RHEL from the CDN. Use this command only once.

The rhsm Kickstart command removes the requirement of using custom %post scripts when registering the system.

Options

  • --organization= - Uses the organization id to register and install RHEL from the CDN.
  • --activation-key= - Uses the activation key to register and install RHEL from the CDN. Option can be used multiple times, once per activation key, as long as the activation keys used are registered to your subscription.
  • --connect-to-insights - Connects the target system to Red Hat Insights.
  • --proxy= - Sets the HTTP proxy.

  • To switch the installation source repository to the CDN by using the rhsm Kickstart command, you must meet the following conditions:

    • On the kernel command line, you have used inst.stage2=<URL> to fetch the installation image but have not specified an installation source using inst.repo=.
    • In the Kickstart file, you have not specified an installation source by using the url, cdrom, harddrive, liveimg, nfs and ostree setup commands.
  • An installation source URL specified using a boot option or included in a Kickstart file takes precedence over the CDN, even if the Kickstart file contains the rhsm command with valid credentials. The system is registered, but it is installed from the URL installation source. This ensures that earlier installation processes operate as normal.

B.2.18. shutdown

The shutdown Kickstart command is optional. It shuts down the system after the installation has successfully completed. Use this command only once.

Syntax

shutdown

Notes

  • The shutdown Kickstart option is equivalent to the shutdown command. For more details, see the shutdown(8) man page on your system.
  • For other completion methods, see the halt, poweroff, and reboot Kickstart options. The halt option is the default completion method if no other methods are explicitly specified in the Kickstart file.
  • This command has no options.

B.2.19. sshpw

The sshpw Kickstart command is optional.

During the installation, you can interact with the installation program and monitor its progress over an SSH connection. Use the sshpw command to create temporary accounts through which to log on. Each instance of the command creates a separate account that exists only in the installation environment. These accounts are not transferred to the installed system.

Syntax

sshpw --username=name [OPTIONS] password

Mandatory options

  • --username=name - Provides the name of the user. This option is required.
  • password - The password to use for the user. This option is required.

Optional options

  • --iscrypted - If this option is present, the password argument is assumed to already be encrypted. This option is mutually exclusive with --plaintext. To create an encrypted password, you can use Python: 

    $ python3 -c 'import crypt,getpass;pw=getpass.getpass();print(crypt.crypt(pw) if (pw==getpass.getpass("Confirm: ")) else exit())'

    This generates a sha512 crypt-compatible hash of your password using a random salt.

  • --plaintext - If this option is present, the password argument is assumed to be in plain text. This option is mutually exclusive with --iscrypted
  • --lock - If this option is present, this account is locked by default. This means that the user will not be able to log in from the console.
  • --sshkey - If this is option is present, then the <password> string is interpreted as an ssh key value.

Notes

  • By default, the ssh server is not started during the installation. To make ssh available during the installation, boot the system with the kernel boot option inst.sshd.

  • If you want to disable root ssh access, while allowing another user ssh access, use the following: 

    sshpw --username=example_username example_password --plaintext
sshpw --username=root example_password --lock

  • To simply disable root ssh access, use the following: 

    sshpw --username=root example_password --lock

B.2.20. text

The text Kickstart command is optional. It performs the Kickstart installation in text mode. Kickstart installations are performed in graphical mode by default. Use this command only once.

Syntax

text [--non-interactive]

Options

  • --non-interactive - Performs the installation in a completely non-interactive mode. This mode will terminate the installation when user interaction is required.

Notes

  • Note that for a fully automatic installation, you must either specify one of the available modes (graphical, text, or cmdline) in the Kickstart file, or you must use the console= boot option. If no mode is specified, the system will use graphical mode if possible, or prompt you to choose from VNC and text mode.

B.2.21. url

The url Kickstart command is optional. It is used to install from an installation tree image on a remote server by using the FTP, HTTP, or HTTPS protocol. You can only specify one URL. Use this command only once.

You must specify one of the --url, --metalink or --mirrorlist options.

Syntax

url --url=FROM [OPTIONS]

Options

  • --url=FROM - Specifies the HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, or file location to install from.
  • --mirrorlist= - Specifies the mirror URL to install from.
  • --proxy= - Specifies an HTTP, HTTPS, or FTP proxy to use during the installation.
  • --noverifyssl - Disables SSL verification when connecting to an HTTPS server.
  • --metalink=URL - Specifies the metalink URL to install from. Variable substitution is done for $releasever and $basearch in the URL.

Examples

  • To install from a HTTP server: 

    url --url=http://server/path

  • To install from a FTP server: 

    url --url=ftp://username:password@server/path

Notes

  • Previously, the url command had to be used together with the install command. The install command has been deprecated and url can be used on its own, because it implies install.
  • To actually run the installation, you must specify one of cdrom, harddrive, hmc, nfs, liveimg, ostreesetup, rhsm, or url unless the inst.repo option is specified on the kernel command line.

B.2.22. vnc

The vnc Kickstart command is optional. It allows the graphical installation to be viewed remotely through VNC.

This method is usually preferred over text mode, as there are some size and language limitations in text installations. With no additional options, this command starts a VNC server on the installation system with no password and displays the details required to connect to it. Use this command only once.

Syntax

vnc [--host=host_name] [--port=port] [--password=password]

Options

--host=
Connect to the VNC viewer process listening on the given host name.
--port=
Provide a port that the remote VNC viewer process is listening on. If not provided, Anaconda uses the VNC default port of 5900.
--password=
Set a password which must be provided to connect to the VNC session. This is optional, but recommended.

Additional resources

B.2.23. hmc

The hmc kickstart command is optional. Use it to install from an installation medium by using SE/HMC on IBM Z. This command does not have any options.

Syntax

hmc

B.2.24. %include

The %include Kickstart command is optional.

Use the %include command to include the contents of another file in the Kickstart file as if the contents were at the location of the %include command in the Kickstart file.

This inclusion is evaluated only after the %pre script sections and can thus be used to include files generated by scripts in the %pre sections. To include files before evaluation of %pre sections, use the %ksappend command.

Syntax

%include path/to/file

B.2.25. %ksappend

The %ksappend Kickstart command is optional.

Use the %ksappend command to include the contents of another file in the Kickstart file as if the contents were at the location of the %ksappend command in the Kickstart file.

This inclusion is evaluated before the %pre script sections, unlike inclusion with the %include command.

Syntax

%ksappend path/to/file

B.3. Kickstart commands for system configuration

The Kickstart commands in this list configure further details on the resulting system such as users, repositories, or services.

B.3.1. auth or authconfig (deprecated)

Important

Use the new authselect command instead of the deprecated auth or authconfig Kickstart command. auth and authconfig are available only for limited backwards compatibility.

The auth or authconfig Kickstart command is optional. It sets up the authentication options for the system using the authconfig tool, which can also be run on the command line after the installation finishes. Use this command only once.

Syntax

authconfig [OPTIONS]

Notes

  • Previously, the auth or authconfig Kickstart commands called the authconfig tool. This tool has been deprecated in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8. These Kickstart commands now use the authselect-compat tool to call the new authselect tool. For a description of the compatibility layer and its known issues, see the manual page authselect-migration(7). The installation program will automatically detect use of the deprecated commands and install on the system the authselect-compat package to provide the compatibility layer.
  • Passwords are shadowed by default.
  • When using OpenLDAP with the SSL protocol for security, ensure that the SSLv2 and SSLv3 protocols are disabled in the server configuration. This is due to the POODLE SSL vulnerability (CVE-2014-3566). For more information, see Resolution for POODLE SSLv3.0 vulnerability.

B.3.2. authselect

The authselect Kickstart command is optional. It sets up the authentication options for the system using the authselect command, which can also be run on the command line after the installation finishes. Use this command only once.

Syntax

authselect [OPTIONS]

Notes

  • This command passes all options to the authselect command. Refer to the authselect(8) manual page and the authselect --help command for more details.
  • This command replaces the deprecated auth or authconfig commands deprecated in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 together with the authconfig tool.
  • Passwords are shadowed by default.
  • When using OpenLDAP with the SSL protocol for security, ensure that the SSLv2 and SSLv3 protocols are disabled in the server configuration. This is due to the POODLE SSL vulnerability (CVE-2014-3566). For more information, see Resolution for POODLE SSLv3.0 vulnerability.

B.3.3. firewall

The firewall Kickstart command is optional. It specifies the firewall configuration for the installed system.

Syntax

firewall --enabled|--disabled [incoming] [OPTIONS]

Mandatory options

  • --enabled or --enable - Reject incoming connections that are not in response to outbound requests, such as DNS replies or DHCP requests. If access to services running on this machine is needed, you can choose to allow specific services through the firewall.
  • --disabled or --disable - Do not configure any iptables rules.

Optional options

  • --trust - Listing a device here, such as em1, allows all traffic coming to and from that device to go through the firewall. To list more than one device, use the option more times, such as --trust em1 --trust em2. Do not use a comma-separated format such as --trust em1, em2.
  • --remove-service - Do not allow services through the firewall.

  • incoming - Replace with one or more of the following to allow the specified services through the firewall.

    • --ssh
    • --smtp
    • --http
    • --ftp
  • --port= - You can specify that ports be allowed through the firewall using the port:protocol format. For example, to allow IMAP access through your firewall, specify imap:tcp. Numeric ports can also be specified explicitly; for example, to allow UDP packets on port 1234 through, specify 1234:udp. To specify multiple ports, separate them by commas.

  • --service= - This option provides a higher-level way to allow services through the firewall. Some services (like cups, avahi, and so on.) require multiple ports to be open or other special configuration in order for the service to work. You can specify each individual port with the --port option, or specify --service= and open them all at once.

    Valid options are anything recognized by the firewall-offline-cmd program in the firewalld package. If the firewalld service is running, firewall-cmd --get-services provides a list of known service names.

  • --use-system-defaults - Do not configure the firewall at all. This option instructs anaconda to do nothing and allows the system to rely on the defaults that were provided with the package or ostree. If this option is used with other options then all other options will be ignored.

B.3.4. group

The group Kickstart command is optional. It creates a new user group on the system. 

group --name=name [--gid=gid]

Mandatory options

  • --name= - Provides the name of the group.

Optional options

  • --gid= - The group’s GID. If not provided, defaults to the next available non-system GID.

Notes

  • If a group with the given name or GID already exists, this command fails.
  • The user command can be used to create a new group for the newly created user.

B.3.5. keyboard (required)

The keyboard Kickstart command is required. It sets one or more available keyboard layouts for the system. Use this command only once.

Syntax

keyboard --vckeymap|--xlayouts OPTIONS

Options

  • --vckeymap= - Specify a VConsole keymap which should be used. Valid names correspond to the list of files in the /usr/lib/kbd/keymaps/xkb/ directory, without the .map.gz extension.

  • --xlayouts= - Specify a list of X layouts that should be used as a comma-separated list without spaces. Accepts values in the same format as setxkbmap(1), either in the layout format (such as cz), or in the layout (variant) format (such as cz (qwerty)).

    All available layouts can be viewed on the xkeyboard-config(7) man page under Layouts.

  • --switch= - Specify a list of layout-switching options (shortcuts for switching between multiple keyboard layouts). Multiple options must be separated by commas without spaces. Accepts values in the same format as setxkbmap(1).

    Available switching options can be viewed on the xkeyboard-config(7) man page under Options.

Notes

  • Either the --vckeymap= or the --xlayouts= option must be used.

Example

The following example sets up two keyboard layouts (English (US) and Czech (qwerty)) using the --xlayouts= option, and allows to switch between them using Alt+Shift: 

keyboard --xlayouts=us,'cz (qwerty)' --switch=grp:alt_shift_toggle

B.3.6. lang (required)

The lang Kickstart command is required. It sets the language to use during installation and the default language to use on the installed system. Use this command only once.

Syntax

lang language [--addsupport=language,...]

Mandatory options

  • language - Install support for this language and set it as system default.

Optional options

  • --addsupport= - Add support for additional languages. Takes the form of comma-separated list without spaces. For example: 

    lang en_US --addsupport=cs_CZ,de_DE,en_UK

Notes

  • The locale -a | grep _ or localectl list-locales | grep _ commands return a list of supported locales.
  • Certain languages (for example, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Indic languages) are not supported during text-mode installation. If you specify one of these languages with the lang command, the installation process continues in English, but the installed system uses your selection as its default language.

Example

To set the language to English, the Kickstart file should contain the following line: 

lang en_US

B.3.7. module

The module Kickstart command is optional. Use this command to enable a package module stream within kickstart script.

Syntax

module --name=NAME [--stream=STREAM]

Mandatory options

--name=
Specifies the name of the module to enable. Replace NAME with the actual name.

Optional options

--stream=

Specifies the name of the module stream to enable. Replace STREAM with the actual name.

You do not need to specify this option for modules with a default stream defined. For modules without a default stream, this option is mandatory and leaving it out results in an error. Enabling a module multiple times with different streams is not possible.

Notes

  • Using a combination of this command and the %packages section allows you to install packages provided by the enabled module and stream combination, without specifying the module and stream explicitly. Modules must be enabled before package installation. After enabling a module with the module command, you can install the packages enabled by this module by listing them in the %packages section.
  • A single module command can enable only a single module and stream combination. To enable multiple modules, use multiple module commands. Enabling a module multiple times with different streams is not possible.
  • In Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, modules are present only in the AppStream repository. To list available modules, use the yum module list command on an installed Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 system with a valid subscription.

Additional resources

B.3.8. repo

The repo Kickstart command is optional. It configures additional yum repositories that can be used as sources for package installation. You can add multiple repo lines.

Syntax

repo --name=repoid [--baseurl=url|--mirrorlist=url|--metalink=url] [OPTIONS]

Mandatory options

  • --name= - The repository id. This option is required. If a repository has a name which conflicts with another previously added repository, it is ignored. Because the installation program uses a list of preset repositories, this means that you cannot add repositories with the same names as the preset ones.

URL options

These options are mutually exclusive and optional. The variables that can be used in yum repository configuration files are not supported here. You can use the strings $releasever and $basearch which are replaced by the respective values in the URL.

  • --baseurl= - The URL to the repository.
  • --mirrorlist= - The URL pointing at a list of mirrors for the repository.
  • --metalink= - The URL with metalink for the repository.

Optional options

  • --install - Save the provided repository configuration on the installed system in the /etc/yum.repos.d/ directory. Without using this option, a repository configured in a Kickstart file will only be available during the installation process, not on the installed system.
  • --cost= - An integer value to assign a cost to this repository. If multiple repositories provide the same packages, this number is used to prioritize which repository will be used before another. Repositories with a lower cost take priority over repositories with higher cost.
  • --excludepkgs= - A comma-separated list of package names that must not be pulled from this repository. This is useful if multiple repositories provide the same package and you want to make sure it comes from a particular repository. Both full package names (such as publican) and globs (such as gnome-*) are accepted.
  • --includepkgs= - A comma-separated list of package names and globs that are allowed to be pulled from this repository. Any other packages provided by the repository will be ignored. This is useful if you want to install just a single package or set of packages from a repository while excluding all other packages the repository provides.
  • --proxy=[protocol://][username[:password]@]host[:port] - Specify an HTTP/HTTPS/FTP proxy to use just for this repository. This setting does not affect any other repositories, nor how the install.img is fetched on HTTP installations.
  • --noverifyssl - Disable SSL verification when connecting to an HTTPS server.

Note

  • Repositories used for installation must be stable. The installation can fail if a repository is modified before the installation concludes.

B.3.9. rootpw (required)

The rootpw Kickstart command is required. It sets the system’s root password to the password argument. Use this command only once.

Syntax

rootpw [--iscrypted|--plaintext] [--lock] password

Mandatory options

  • password - Password specification. Either plain text or encrypted string. See --iscrypted and --plaintext below.

Options

  • --iscrypted - If this option is present, the password argument is assumed to already be encrypted. This option is mutually exclusive with --plaintext. To create an encrypted password, you can use python: 

    $ python -c 'import crypt,getpass;pw=getpass.getpass();print(crypt.crypt(pw) if (pw==getpass.getpass("Confirm: ")) else exit())'

    This generates a sha512 crypt-compatible hash of your password using a random salt.

  • --plaintext - If this option is present, the password argument is assumed to be in plain text. This option is mutually exclusive with --iscrypted.
  • --lock - If this option is present, the root account is locked by default. This means that the root user will not be able to log in from the console. This option will also disable the Root Password screens in both the graphical and text-based manual installation.

B.3.10. selinux

The selinux Kickstart command is optional. It sets the state of SELinux on the installed system. The default SELinux policy is enforcing. Use this command only once.

Syntax

selinux [--disabled|--enforcing|--permissive]

Options

--enforcing
Enables SELinux with the default targeted policy being enforcing.
--permissive
Outputs warnings based on the SELinux policy, but does not actually enforce the policy.
--disabled
Disables SELinux completely on the system.

Additional resources

B.3.11. services

The services Kickstart command is optional. It modifies the default set of services that will run under the default systemd target. The list of disabled services is processed before the list of enabled services. Therefore, if a service appears on both lists, it will be enabled.

Syntax

services [--disabled=list] [--enabled=list]

Options

  • --disabled= - Disable the services given in the comma separated list.
  • --enabled= - Enable the services given in the comma separated list.

Notes

  • When using the services element to enable systemd services, ensure you include packages containing the specified service file in the %packages section.

  • Multiple services should be included separated by comma, without any spaces. For example, to disable four services, enter: 

    services --disabled=auditd,cups,smartd,nfslock

    If you include any spaces, Kickstart enables or disables only the services up to the first space. For example: 

    services --disabled=auditd, cups, smartd, nfslock

    That disables only the auditd service. To disable all four services, this entry must include no spaces.

B.3.12. skipx

The skipx Kickstart command is optional. If present, X is not configured on the installed system.

If you install a display manager among your package selection options, this package creates an X configuration, and the installed system defaults to graphical.target. That overrides the effect of the skipx option. Use this command only once.

Syntax

skipx

Notes

  • This command has no options.

B.3.13. sshkey

The sshkey Kickstart command is optional. It adds a SSH key to the authorized_keys file of the specified user on the installed system.

Syntax

sshkey --username=user "ssh_key"

Mandatory options

  • --username= - The user for which the key will be installed.
  • ssh_key - The complete SSH key fingerprint. It must be wrapped with quotes.

B.3.14. syspurpose

The syspurpose Kickstart command is optional. Use it to set the system purpose which describes how the system will be used after installation. This information helps apply the correct subscription entitlement to the system. Use this command only once.

Note

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 and later enables you to manage and display system purpose attributes with a single module by making the role, service-level, usage, and addons subcommands available under one subscription-manager syspurpose module. Previously, system administrators used one of four standalone syspurpose commands to manage each attribute. This standalone syspurpose command is deprecated starting with RHEL 8.6 and is planned to be removed in RHEL 9. Red Hat will provide bug fixes and support for this feature during the current release lifecycle, but this feature will no longer receive enhancements. Starting with RHEL 9, the single subscription-manager syspurpose command and its associated subcommands is the only way to use system purpose.

Syntax

syspurpose [OPTIONS]

Options

  • --role= - Set the intended system role. Available values are:

    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Compute Node

  • --sla= - Set the Service Level Agreement. Available values are:

    • Premium
    • Standard
    • Self-Support

  • --usage= - The intended usage of the system. Available values are:

    • Production
    • Disaster Recovery
    • Development/Test
  • --addon= - Specifies additional layered products or features. You can use this option multiple times.

Notes

  • Enter the values with spaces and enclose them in double quotes: 

    syspurpose --role="Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server"
  • While it is strongly recommended that you configure System Purpose, it is an optional feature of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux installation program. If you want to enable System Purpose after the installation completes, you can do so using the syspurpose command-line tool.
Note

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 and later enables you to manage and display system purpose attributes with a single module by making the role, service-level, usage, and addons subcommands available under one subscription-manager syspurpose module. Previously, system administrators used one of four standalone syspurpose commands to manage each attribute. This standalone syspurpose command is deprecated starting with RHEL 8.6 and is planned to be removed in RHEL 9. Red Hat will provide bug fixes and support for this feature during the current release lifecycle, but this feature will no longer receive enhancements. Starting with RHEL 9, the single subscription-manager syspurpose command and its associated subcommands is the only way to use system purpose.

B.3.15. timezone (required)

The timezone Kickstart command is required. It sets the system time zone. Use this command only once.

Syntax

timezone timezone [OPTIONS]

Mandatory options

  • timezone - the time zone to set for the system.

Optional options

  • --utc - If present, the system assumes the hardware clock is set to UTC (Greenwich Mean) time.
  • --nontp - Disable the NTP service automatic starting.
  • --ntpservers= - Specify a list of NTP servers to be used as a comma-separated list without spaces.

Note

In Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, time zone names are validated using the pytz.all_timezones list, provided by the pytz package. In previous releases, the names were validated against pytz.common_timezones, which is a subset of the currently used list. Note that the graphical and text mode interfaces still use the more restricted pytz.common_timezones list; you must use a Kickstart file to use additional time zone definitions.

B.3.16. user

The user Kickstart command is optional. It creates a new user on the system.

Syntax

user --name=username [OPTIONS]

Mandatory options

  • --name= - Provides the name of the user. This option is required.

Optional options

  • --gecos= - Provides the GECOS information for the user. This is a string of various system-specific fields separated by a comma. It is frequently used to specify the user’s full name, office number, and so on. See the passwd(5) man page for more details.
  • --groups= - In addition to the default group, a comma separated list of group names the user should belong to. The groups must exist before the user account is created. See the group command.
  • --homedir= - The home directory for the user. If not provided, this defaults to /home/username.
  • --lock - If this option is present, this account is locked by default. This means that the user will not be able to log in from the console. This option will also disable the Create User screens in both the graphical and text-based manual installation.
  • --password= - The new user’s password. If not provided, the account will be locked by default.

  • --iscrypted - If this option is present, the password argument is assumed to already be encrypted. This option is mutually exclusive with --plaintext. To create an encrypted password, you can use python: 

    $ python -c 'import crypt,getpass;pw=getpass.getpass();print(crypt.crypt(pw) if (pw==getpass.getpass("Confirm: ")) else exit())'

    This generates a sha512 crypt-compatible hash of your password using a random salt.

  • --plaintext - If this option is present, the password argument is assumed to be in plain text. This option is mutually exclusive with --iscrypted
  • --shell= - The user’s login shell. If not provided, the system default is used.
  • --uid= - The user’s UID (User ID). If not provided, this defaults to the next available non-system UID.
  • --gid= - The GID (Group ID) to be used for the user’s group. If not provided, this defaults to the next available non-system group ID.

Notes

  • Consider using the --uid and --gid options to set IDs of regular users and their default groups at range starting at 5000 instead of 1000. That is because the range reserved for system users and groups, 0-999, might increase in the future and thus overlap with IDs of regular users.

    For changing the minimum UID and GID limits after the installation, which ensures that your chosen UID and GID ranges are applied automatically on user creation, see the Setting default permissions for new files using umask section of the Configuring basic system settings document.

  • Files and directories are created with various permissions, dictated by the application used to create the file or directory. For example, the mkdir command creates directories with all permissions enabled. However, applications are prevented from granting certain permissions to newly created files, as specified by the user file-creation mask setting.

    The user file-creation mask can be controlled with the umask command. The default setting of the user file-creation mask for new users is defined by the UMASK variable in the /etc/login.defs configuration file on the installed system. If unset, it defaults to 022. This means that by default when an application creates a file, it is prevented from granting write permission to users other than the owner of the file. However, this can be overridden by other settings or scripts.

    More information can be found in the Setting default permissions for new files using umask section of the Configuring basic system settings document.

B.3.17. xconfig

The xconfig Kickstart command is optional. It configures the X Window System. Use this command only once.

Syntax

xconfig [--startxonboot]

Options

  • --startxonboot - Use a graphical login on the installed system.

Notes

  • Because Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 does not include the KDE Desktop Environment, do not use the --defaultdesktop= documented in upstream.

B.4. Kickstart commands for network configuration

The Kickstart commands in this list let you configure networking on the system.

B.4.1. network (optional)

Use the optional network Kickstart command to configure network information for the target system and activate the network devices in the installation environment. The device specified in the first network command is activated automatically. You can also explicitly require a device to be activated using the --activate option.

Warning

Re-configuration of already active network devices that are in use by the running installer may lead to an installation failure or freeze. In such a case, avoid re-configuration of network devices used to access the installer runtime image (stage2) over NFS.

Syntax

network OPTIONS

Options

  • --activate - activate this device in the installation environment.

    If you use the --activate option on a device that has already been activated (for example, an interface you configured with boot options so that the system could retrieve the Kickstart file) the device is reactivated to use the details specified in the Kickstart file.

    Use the --nodefroute option to prevent the device from using the default route.

  • --no-activate - do not activate this device in the installation environment.

    By default, Anaconda activates the first network device in the Kickstart file regardless of the --activate option. You can disable the default setting by using the --no-activate option.

  • --bootproto= - One of dhcp, bootp, ibft, or static. The default option is dhcp; the dhcp and bootp options are treated the same. To disable ipv4 configuration of the device, use --noipv4 option.

    Note

    This option configures ipv4 configuration of the device. For ipv6 configuration use --ipv6 and --ipv6gateway options.

    The DHCP method uses a DHCP server system to obtain its networking configuration. The BOOTP method is similar, requiring a BOOTP server to supply the networking configuration. To direct a system to use DHCP: 

    network --bootproto=dhcp

    To direct a machine to use BOOTP to obtain its networking configuration, use the following line in the Kickstart file: 

    network --bootproto=bootp

    To direct a machine to use the configuration specified in iBFT, use: 

    network --bootproto=ibft

    The static method requires that you specify at least the IP address and netmask in the Kickstart file. This information is static and is used during and after the installation.

    All static networking configuration information must be specified on one line; you cannot wrap lines using a backslash (\) as you can on a command line. 

    network --bootproto=static --ip=10.0.2.15 --netmask=255.255.255.0 --gateway=10.0.2.254 --nameserver=10.0.2.1

    You can also configure multiple nameservers at the same time. To do so, use the --nameserver= option once, and specify each of their IP addresses, separated by commas: 

    network --bootproto=static --ip=10.0.2.15 --netmask=255.255.255.0 --gateway=10.0.2.254 --nameserver=192.168.2.1,192.168.3.1

  • --device= - specifies the device to be configured (and eventually activated in Anaconda) with the network command.

    If the --device= option is missing on the first use of the network command, the value of the inst.ks.device= Anaconda boot option is used, if available. This is considered deprecated behavior; in most cases, you should always specify a --device= for every network command.

    The behavior of any subsequent network command in the same Kickstart file is unspecified if its --device= option is missing. Verify you specify this option for any network command beyond the first.

    You can specify a device to be activated in any of the following ways:

    • the device name of the interface, for example, em1
    • the MAC address of the interface, for example, 01:23:45:67:89:ab
    • the keyword link, which specifies the first interface with its link in the up state
    • the keyword bootif, which uses the MAC address that pxelinux set in the BOOTIF variable. Set IPAPPEND 2 in your pxelinux.cfg file to have pxelinux set the BOOTIF variable.

    For example: 

    network --bootproto=dhcp --device=em1

  • --ipv4-dns-search/--ipv6-dns-search - Set the DNS search domains manually. You must use these options together with --device options and mirror their respective NetworkManager properties, for example: 

    network --device ens3 --ipv4-dns-search domain1.example.com,domain2.example.com
  • --ipv4-ignore-auto-dns/--ipv6-ignore-auto-dns - Set to ignore the DNS settings from DHCP. You must use these options together with --device options and these options do not require any arguments.
  • --ip= - IP address of the device.
  • --ipv6= - IPv6 address of the device, in the form of address[/prefix length] - for example, 3ffe:ffff:0:1::1/128. If prefix is omitted, 64 is used. You can also use auto for automatic configuration, or dhcp for DHCPv6-only configuration (no router advertisements).
  • --gateway= - Default gateway as a single IPv4 address.
  • --ipv6gateway= - Default gateway as a single IPv6 address.
  • --nodefroute - Prevents the interface being set as the default route. Use this option when you activate additional devices with the --activate= option, for example, a NIC on a separate subnet for an iSCSI target.
  • --nameserver= - DNS name server, as an IP address. To specify more than one name server, use this option once, and separate each IP address with a comma.
  • --netmask= - Network mask for the installed system.

  • --hostname= - Used to configure the target system’s host name. The host name can either be a fully qualified domain name (FQDN) in the format hostname.domainname, or a short host name without the domain. Many networks have a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) service that automatically supplies connected systems with a domain name. To allow the DHCP service to assign the domain name to this machine, specify only the short host name.

    When using static IP and host name configuration, it depends on the planned system use case whether to use a short name or FQDN. Red Hat Identity Management configures FQDN during provisioning but some 3rd party software products may require short name. In either case, to ensure availability of both forms in all situations, add an entry for the host in /etc/hosts in the format IP FQDN short-alias.

    The value localhost means that no specific static host name for the target system is configured, and the actual host name of the installed system is configured during the processing of the network configuration, for example, by NetworkManager using DHCP or DNS.

    Host names can only contain alphanumeric characters and - or .. Host name should be equal to or less than 64 characters. Host names cannot start or end with - and .. To be compliant with DNS, each part of a FQDN should be equal to or less than 63 characters and the FQDN total length, including dots, should not exceed 255 characters.

    If you only want to configure the target system’s host name, use the --hostname option in the network command and do not include any other option.

    If you provide additional options when configuring the host name, the network command configures a device using the options specified. If you do not specify which device to configure using the --device option, the default --device link value is used. Additionally, if you do not specify the protocol using the --bootproto option, the device is configured to use DHCP by default.

  • --ethtool= - Specifies additional low-level settings for the network device which will be passed to the ethtool program.
  • --onboot= - Whether or not to enable the device at boot time.
  • --dhcpclass= - The DHCP class.
  • --mtu= - The MTU of the device.
  • --noipv4 - Disable IPv4 on this device.
  • --noipv6 - Disable IPv6 on this device.

  • --bondslaves= - When this option is used, the bond device specified by the --device= option is created using secondary devices defined in the --bondslaves= option. For example: 

    network --device=bond0 --bondslaves=em1,em2

    The above command creates a bond device named bond0 using the em1 and em2 interfaces as its secondary devices.

  • --bondopts= - a list of optional parameters for a bonded interface, which is specified using the --bondslaves= and --device= options. Options in this list must be separated by commas (“,”) or semicolons (“;”). If an option itself contains a comma, use a semicolon to separate the options. For example: 

    network --bondopts=mode=active-backup,balance-rr;primary=eth1
    Important

    The --bondopts=mode= parameter only supports full mode names such as balance-rr or broadcast, not their numerical representations such as 0 or 3. For the list of available and supported modes, see the Configuring and Managing Networking Guide.

  • --vlanid= - Specifies virtual LAN (VLAN) ID number (802.1q tag) for the device created using the device specified in --device= as a parent. For example, network --device=em1 --vlanid=171 creates a virtual LAN device em1.171.

  • --interfacename= - Specify a custom interface name for a virtual LAN device. This option should be used when the default name generated by the --vlanid= option is not desirable. This option must be used along with --vlanid=. For example: 

    network --device=em1 --vlanid=171 --interfacename=vlan171

    The above command creates a virtual LAN interface named vlan171 on the em1 device with an ID of 171.

    The interface name can be arbitrary (for example, my-vlan), but in specific cases, the following conventions must be followed:

    • If the name contains a dot (.), it must take the form of NAME.ID. The NAME is arbitrary, but the ID must be the VLAN ID. For example: em1.171 or my-vlan.171.
    • Names starting with vlan must take the form of vlanID - for example, vlan171.

  • --teamslaves= - Team device specified by the --device= option will be created using secondary devices specified in this option. Secondary devices are separated by commas. A secondary device can be followed by its configuration, which is a single-quoted JSON string with double quotes escaped by the \ character. For example: 

    network --teamslaves="p3p1'{\"prio\": -10, \"sticky\": true}',p3p2'{\"prio\": 100}'"

    See also the --teamconfig= option.

  • --teamconfig= - Double-quoted team device configuration which is a JSON string with double quotes escaped by the \ character. The device name is specified by --device= option and its secondary devices and their configuration by --teamslaves= option. For example: 

    network --device team0 --activate --bootproto static --ip=10.34.102.222 --netmask=255.255.255.0 --gateway=10.34.102.254 --nameserver=10.34.39.2 --teamslaves="p3p1'{\"prio\": -10, \"sticky\": true}',p3p2'{\"prio\": 100}'" --teamconfig="{\"runner\": {\"name\": \"activebackup\"}}"

  • --bridgeslaves= - When this option is used, the network bridge with device name specified using the --device= option will be created and devices defined in the --bridgeslaves= option will be added to the bridge. For example: 

    network --device=bridge0 --bridgeslaves=em1

  • --bridgeopts= - An optional comma-separated list of parameters for the bridged interface. Available values are stp, priority, forward-delay, hello-time, max-age, and ageing-time. For information about these parameters, see the bridge setting table in the nm-settings(5) man page or at Network Configuration Setting Specification.

    Also see the Configuring and managing networking document for general information about network bridging.

  • --bindto=mac - Bind the device configuration file on the installed system to the device MAC address (HWADDR) instead of the default binding to the interface name (DEVICE). This option is independent of the --device= option - --bindto=mac will be applied even if the same network command also specifies a device name, link, or bootif.

Notes

  • The ethN device names such as eth0 are no longer available in Red Hat Enterprise Linux due to changes in the naming scheme. For more information about the device naming scheme, see the upstream document Predictable Network Interface Names.
  • If you used a Kickstart option or a boot option to specify an installation repository on a network, but no network is available at the start of the installation, the installation program displays the Network Configuration window to set up a network connection prior to displaying the Installation Summary window. For more details, see Configuring network and host name options.

B.4.2. realm

The realm Kickstart command is optional. Use it to join an Active Directory or IPA domain. For more information about this command, see the join section of the realm(8) man page on your system.

Syntax

realm join [OPTIONS] domain

Mandatory options

  • domain - The domain to join.

Options

  • --computer-ou=OU= - Provide the distinguished name of an organizational unit in order to create the computer account. The exact format of the distinguished name depends on the client software and membership software. The root DSE portion of the distinguished name can usually be left out.
  • --no-password - Join automatically without a password.
  • --one-time-password= - Join using a one-time password. This is not possible with all types of realm.
  • --client-software= - Only join realms which can run this client software. Valid values include sssd and winbind. Not all realms support all values. By default, the client software is chosen automatically.
  • --server-software= - Only join realms which can run this server software. Possible values include active-directory or freeipa.
  • --membership-software= - Use this software when joining the realm. Valid values include samba and adcli. Not all realms support all values. By default, the membership software is chosen automatically.

B.5. Kickstart commands for handling storage

The Kickstart commands in this section configure aspects of storage such as devices, disks, partitions, LVM, and filesystems.

Important

The sdX (or /dev/sdX) format does not guarantee consistent device names across reboots, which can complicate the usage of some Kickstart commands. When a command requires a device node name, you can use any item from /dev/disk as an alternative. For example, instead of using the following device name:

part / --fstype=xfs --onpart=sda1

You can use an entry similar to one of the following:

part / --fstype=xfs --onpart=/dev/disk/by-path/pci-0000:00:05.0-scsi-0:0:0:0-part1

part / --fstype=xfs --onpart=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-ST3160815AS_6RA0C882-part1

By using this approach, the command always targets the same storage device. This is especially useful in large storage environments. To explore the available device names on the system, you can use the ls -lR /dev/disk command during the interactive installation. For more information about different ways to consistently refer to storage devices, see Overview of persistent naming attributes.

B.5.1. device (deprecated)

The device Kickstart command is optional. Use it to load additional kernel modules.

On most PCI systems, the installation program automatically detects Ethernet and SCSI cards. However, on older systems and some PCI systems, Kickstart requires a hint to find the proper devices. The device command, which tells the installation program to install extra modules, uses the following format:

Syntax

device moduleName --opts=options

Options

  • moduleName - Replace with the name of the kernel module which should be installed.

  • --opts= - Options to pass to the kernel module. For example: 

    device --opts="aic152x=0x340 io=11"

B.5.2. ignoredisk

The ignoredisk Kickstart command is optional. It causes the installation program to ignore the specified disks.

This is useful if you use automatic partitioning and want to be sure that some disks are ignored. For example, without ignoredisk, attempting to deploy on a SAN-cluster the Kickstart would fail, as the installation program detects passive paths to the SAN that return no partition table. Use this command only once.

Syntax

ignoredisk --drives=drive1,drive2,... | --only-use=drive

Options

  • --drives=driveN,…​ - Replace driveN with one of sda, sdb,…​, hda,…​ and so on.

  • --only-use=driveN,…​ - Specifies a list of disks for the installation program to use. All other disks are ignored. For example, to use disk sda during installation and ignore all other disks: 

    ignoredisk --only-use=sda

    To include a multipath device that does not use LVM: 

    ignoredisk --only-use=disk/by-id/dm-uuid-mpath-2416CD96995134CA5D787F00A5AA11017

    To include a multipath device that uses LVM: 

    ignoredisk --only-use==/dev/disk/by-id/dm-uuid-mpath-
    bootloader --location=mbr

You must specify only one of the --drives or --only-use.

Notes

  • The --interactive option is deprecated in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8. This option allowed users to manually navigate the advanced storage screen.

  • To ignore a multipath device that does not use logical volume manager (LVM), use the format disk/by-id/dm-uuid-mpath-WWID, where WWID is the world-wide identifier for the device. For example, to ignore a disk with WWID 2416CD96995134CA5D787F00A5AA11017, use: 

    ignoredisk --drives=disk/by-id/dm-uuid-mpath-2416CD96995134CA5D787F00A5AA11017
  • Never specify multipath devices by device names like mpatha. Device names such as this are not specific to a particular disk. The disk named /dev/mpatha during installation might not be the one that you expect it to be. Therefore, the clearpart command could target the wrong disk.

  • The sdX (or /dev/sdX) format does not guarantee consistent device names across reboots, which can complicate the usage of some Kickstart commands. When a command requires a device node name, you can use any item from /dev/disk as an alternative. For example, instead of using the following device name: 

    part / --fstype=xfs --onpart=sda1

    You can use an entry similar to one of the following: 

    part / --fstype=xfs --onpart=/dev/disk/by-path/pci-0000:00:05.0-scsi-0:0:0:0-part1

part / --fstype=xfs --onpart=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-ST3160815AS_6RA0C882-part1

    By using this approach, the command always targets the same storage device. This is especially useful in large storage environments. To explore the available device names on the system, you can use the ls -lR /dev/disk command during the interactive installation. For more information about different ways to consistently refer to storage devices, see Overview of persistent naming attributes.

B.5.3. clearpart

The clearpart Kickstart command is optional. It removes partitions from the system, prior to creation of new partitions. By default, no partitions are removed. Use this command only once.

Syntax

clearpart OPTIONS

Options

  • --all - Erases all partitions from the system.

    This option will erase all disks which can be reached by the installation program, including any attached network storage. Use this option with caution.

    You can prevent clearpart from wiping storage you want to preserve by using the --drives= option and specifying only the drives you want to clear, by attaching network storage later (for example, in the %post section of the Kickstart file), or by blocklisting the kernel modules used to access network storage.

  • --drives= - Specifies which drives to clear partitions from. For example, the following clears all the partitions on the first two drives on the primary IDE controller: 

    clearpart --drives=hda,hdb --all

    To clear a multipath device, use the format disk/by-id/scsi-WWID, where WWID is the world-wide identifier for the device. For example, to clear a disk with WWID 58095BEC5510947BE8C0360F604351918, use: 

    clearpart --drives=disk/by-id/scsi-58095BEC5510947BE8C0360F604351918

    This format is preferable for all multipath devices, but if errors arise, multipath devices that do not use logical volume manager (LVM) can also be cleared using the format disk/by-id/dm-uuid-mpath-WWID, where WWID is the world-wide identifier for the device. For example, to clear a disk with WWID 2416CD96995134CA5D787F00A5AA11017, use: 

    clearpart --drives=disk/by-id/dm-uuid-mpath-2416CD96995134CA5D787F00A5AA11017

    Never specify multipath devices by device names like mpatha. Device names such as this are not specific to a particular disk. The disk named /dev/mpatha during installation might not be the one that you expect it to be. Therefore, the clearpart command could target the wrong disk.

  • --initlabel - Initializes a disk (or disks) by creating a default disk label for all disks in their respective architecture that have been designated for formatting (for example, msdos for x86). Because --initlabel can see all disks, it is important to ensure only those drives that are to be formatted are connected. Disks cleared by clearpart will have the label created even in case the --initlabel is not used. 

    clearpart --initlabel --drives=names_of_disks

    For example: 

    clearpart --initlabel --drives=dasda,dasdb,dasdc

  • --list= - Specifies which partitions to clear. This option overrides the --all and --linux options if used. Can be used across different drives. For example: 

    clearpart --list=sda2,sda3,sdb1
  • --disklabel=LABEL - Set the default disklabel to use. Only disklabels supported for the platform will be accepted. For example, on the 64-bit Intel and AMD architectures, the msdos and gpt disklabels are accepted, but dasd is not accepted.
  • --linux - Erases all Linux partitions.
  • --none (default) - Do not remove any partitions.
  • --cdl - Reformat any LDL DASDs to CDL format.

Notes

  • The sdX (or /dev/sdX) format does not guarantee consistent device names across reboots, which can complicate the usage of some Kickstart commands. When a command requires a device node name, you can use any item from /dev/disk as an alternative. For example, instead of using the following device name: 

    part / --fstype=xfs --onpart=sda1

    You can use an entry similar to one of the following: 

    part / --fstype=xfs --onpart=/dev/disk/by-path/pci-0000:00:05.0-scsi-0:0:0:0-part1

part / --fstype=xfs --onpart=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-ST3160815AS_6RA0C882-part1

    By using this approach, the command always targets the same storage device. This is especially useful in large storage environments. To explore the available device names on the system, you can use the ls -lR /dev/disk command during the interactive installation. For more information about different ways to consistently refer to storage devices, see Overview of persistent naming attributes.

  • If the clearpart command is used, then the part --onpart command cannot be used on a logical partition.

B.5.4. zerombr

The zerombr Kickstart command is optional. The zerombr initializes any invalid partition tables that are found on disks and destroys all of the contents of disks with invalid partition tables. This command is required when performing an installation on an 64-bit IBM Z system with unformatted Direct Access Storage Device (DASD) disks, otherwise the unformatted disks are not formatted and used during the installation. Use this command only once.

Syntax

zerombr

Notes

  • On 64-bit IBM Z, if zerombr is specified, any Direct Access Storage Device (DASD) visible to the installation program which is not already low-level formatted is automatically low-level formatted with dasdfmt. The command also prevents user choice during interactive installations.
  • If zerombr is not specified and there is at least one unformatted DASD visible to the installation program, a non-interactive Kickstart installation exits unsuccessfully.
  • If zerombr is not specified and there is at least one unformatted DASD visible to the installation program, an interactive installation exits if the user does not agree to format all visible and unformatted DASDs. To circumvent this, only activate those DASDs that you will use during installation. You can always add more DASDs after installation is complete.
  • This command has no options.

B.5.5. bootloader

The bootloader Kickstart command is required. It specifies how the boot loader should be installed. Use this command only once.

Syntax

bootloader [OPTIONS]

Options

  • --append= - Specifies additional kernel parameters. To specify multiple parameters, separate them with spaces. For example: 

    bootloader --location=mbr --append="hdd=ide-scsi ide=nodma"

    The rhgb and quiet parameters are automatically added when the plymouth package is installed, even if you do not specify them here or do not use the --append= command at all. To disable this behavior, explicitly disallow installation of plymouth: 

    %packages
-plymouth
%end

    This option is useful for disabling mechanisms which were implemented to mitigate the Meltdown and Spectre speculative execution vulnerabilities found in most modern processors (CVE-2017-5754, CVE-2017-5753, and CVE-2017-5715). In some cases, these mechanisms may be unnecessary, and keeping them enabled causes decreased performance with no improvement in security. To disable these mechanisms, add the options to do so into your Kickstart file - for example, bootloader --append="nopti noibrs noibpb" on AMD64/Intel 64 systems.

    Warning

    Ensure your system is not at risk of attack before disabling any of the vulnerability mitigation mechanisms. See the Red Hat vulnerability response article for information about the Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities.

  • --boot-drive= - Specifies which drive the boot loader should be written to, and therefore which drive the computer will boot from. If you use a multipath device as the boot drive, specify the device using its disk/by-id/dm-uuid-mpath-WWID name.

    Important

    The --boot-drive= option is currently being ignored in Red Hat Enterprise Linux installations on 64-bit IBM Z systems using the zipl boot loader. When zipl is installed, it determines the boot drive on its own.

  • --leavebootorder - The installation program will add Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 to the top of the list of installed systems in the boot loader, and preserve all existing entries as well as their order.
Important

This option is applicable for Power systems only and UEFI systems should not use this option.

  • --driveorder= - Specifies which drive is first in the BIOS boot order. For example: 

    bootloader --driveorder=sda,hda

  • --location= - Specifies where the boot record is written. Valid values are the following:

    • mbr - The default option. Depends on whether the drive uses the Master Boot Record (MBR) or GUID Partition Table (GPT) scheme:

      On a GPT-formatted disk, this option installs stage 1.5 of the boot loader into the BIOS boot partition.

      On an MBR-formatted disk, stage 1.5 is installed into the empty space between the MBR and the first partition.

    • partition - Install the boot loader on the first sector of the partition containing the kernel.
    • none - Do not install the boot loader.

    In most cases, this option does not need to be specified.

  • --nombr - Do not install the boot loader to the MBR.

  • --password= - If using GRUB2, sets the boot loader password to the one specified with this option. This should be used to restrict access to the GRUB2 shell, where arbitrary kernel options can be passed.

    If a password is specified, GRUB2 also asks for a user name. The user name is always root.

  • --iscrypted - Normally, when you specify a boot loader password using the --password= option, it is stored in the Kickstart file in plain text. If you want to encrypt the password, use this option and an encrypted password.

    To generate an encrypted password, use the grub2-mkpasswd-pbkdf2 command, enter the password you want to use, and copy the command’s output (the hash starting with grub.pbkdf2) into the Kickstart file. An example bootloader Kickstart entry with an encrypted password looks similar to the following: 

    bootloader --iscrypted --password=grub.pbkdf2.sha512.10000.5520C6C9832F3AC3D149AC0B24BE69E2D4FB0DBEEDBD29CA1D30A044DE2645C4C7A291E585D4DC43F8A4D82479F8B95CA4BA4381F8550510B75E8E0BB2938990.C688B6F0EF935701FF9BD1A8EC7FE5BD2333799C98F28420C5CC8F1A2A233DE22C83705BB614EA17F3FDFDF4AC2161CEA3384E56EB38A2E39102F5334C47405E
  • --timeout= - Specifies the amount of time the boot loader waits before booting the default option (in seconds).
  • --default= - Sets the default boot image in the boot loader configuration.
  • --extlinux - Use the extlinux boot loader instead of GRUB2. This option only works on systems supported by extlinux.
  • --disabled - This option is a stronger version of --location=none. While --location=none simply disables boot loader installation, --disabled disables boot loader installation and also disables installation of the package containing the boot loader, thus saving space.

Notes

  • Red Hat recommends setting up a boot loader password on every system. An unprotected boot loader can allow a potential attacker to modify the system’s boot options and gain unauthorized access to the system.
  • In some cases, a special partition is required to install the boot loader on AMD64, Intel 64, and 64-bit ARM systems. The type and size of this partition depends on whether the disk you are installing the boot loader to uses the Master Boot Record (MBR) or a GUID Partition Table (GPT) schema. For more information, see the Configuring boot loader section.

  • The sdX (or /dev/sdX) format does not guarantee consistent device names across reboots, which can complicate the usage of some Kickstart commands. When a command requires a device node name, you can use any item from /dev/disk as an alternative. For example, instead of using the following device name: 

    part / --fstype=xfs --onpart=sda1

    You can use an entry similar to one of the following: 

    part / --fstype=xfs --onpart=/dev/disk/by-path/pci-0000:00:05.0-scsi-0:0:0:0-part1

part / --fstype=xfs --onpart=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-ST3160815AS_6RA0C882-part1

    By using this approach, the command always targets the same storage device. This is especially useful in large storage environments. To explore the available device names on the system, you can use the ls -lR /dev/disk command during the interactive installation. For more information about different ways to consistently refer to storage devices, see Overview of persistent naming attributes.

  • The --upgrade option is deprecated in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.

B.5.6. autopart

The autopart Kickstart command is optional. It automatically creates partitions.

The automatically created partitions are: a root (/) partition (1 GiB or larger), a swap partition, and an appropriate /boot partition for the architecture. On large enough drives (50 GiB and larger), this also creates a /home partition. Use this command only once.

Syntax

autopart OPTIONS

Options

  • --type= - Selects one of the predefined automatic partitioning schemes you want to use. Accepts the following values:

    • lvm: The LVM partitioning scheme.
    • plain: Regular partitions with no LVM.
    • thinp: The LVM Thin Provisioning partitioning scheme.
  • --fstype= - Selects one of the available file system types. The available values are ext2, ext3, ext4, xfs, and vfat. The default file system is xfs.
  • --nohome - Disables automatic creation of the /home partition.
  • --nolvm - Do not use LVM for automatic partitioning. This option is equal to --type=plain.
  • --noboot - Do not create a /boot partition.
  • --noswap - Do not create a swap partition.

  • --encrypted - Encrypts all partitions with Linux Unified Key Setup (LUKS). This is equivalent to checking the Encrypt partitions check box on the initial partitioning screen during a manual graphical installation.

    Note

    When encrypting one or more partitions, Anaconda attempts to gather 256 bits of entropy to ensure the partitions are encrypted securely. Gathering entropy can take some time - the process will stop after a maximum of 10 minutes, regardless of whether sufficient entropy has been gathered.

    The process can be sped up by interacting with the installation system (typing on the keyboard or moving the mouse). If you are installing in a virtual machine, you can also attach a virtio-rng device (a virtual random number generator) to the guest.

  • --luks-version=LUKS_VERSION - Specifies which version of LUKS format should be used to encrypt the filesystem. This option is only meaningful if --encrypted is specified.
  • --passphrase= - Provides a default system-wide passphrase for all encrypted devices.
  • --escrowcert=URL_of_X.509_certificate - Stores data encryption keys of all encrypted volumes as files in /root, encrypted using the X.509 certificate from the URL specified with URL_of_X.509_certificate. The keys are stored as a separate file for each encrypted volume. This option is only meaningful if --encrypted is specified.
  • --backuppassphrase - Adds a randomly-generated passphrase to each encrypted volume. Store these passphrases in separate files in /root, encrypted using the X.509 certificate specified with --escrowcert. This option is only meaningful if --escrowcert is specified.
  • --cipher= - Specifies the type of encryption to use if the Anaconda default aes-xts-plain64 is not satisfactory. You must use this option together with the --encrypted option; by itself it has no effect. Available types of encryption are listed in the Security hardening document, but Red Hat strongly recommends using either aes-xts-plain64 or aes-cbc-essiv:sha256.
  • --pbkdf=PBKDF - Sets Password-Based Key Derivation Function (PBKDF) algorithm for LUKS keyslot. See also the man page cryptsetup(8). This option is only meaningful if --encrypted is specified.
  • --pbkdf-memory=PBKDF_MEMORY - Sets the memory cost for PBKDF. See also the man page cryptsetup(8). This option is only meaningful if --encrypted is specified.
  • --pbkdf-time=PBKDF_TIME - Sets the number of milliseconds to spend with PBKDF passphrase processing. See also --iter-time in the man page cryptsetup(8). This option is only meaningful if --encrypted is specified, and is mutually exclusive with --pbkdf-iterations.
  • --pbkdf-iterations=PBKDF_ITERATIONS - Sets the number of iterations directly and avoids PBKDF benchmark. See also --pbkdf-force-iterations in the man page cryptsetup(8). This option is only meaningful if --encrypted is specified, and is mutually exclusive with --pbkdf-time.

Notes

  • The autopart option cannot be used together with the part/partition, raid, logvol, or volgroup options in the same Kickstart file.
  • The autopart command is not mandatory, but you must include it if there are no part or mount commands in your Kickstart script.
  • It is recommended to use the autopart --nohome Kickstart option when installing on a single FBA DASD of the CMS type. This ensures that the installation program does not create a separate /home partition. The installation then proceeds successfully.
  • If you lose the LUKS passphrase, any encrypted partitions and their data is completely inaccessible. There is no way to recover a lost passphrase. However, you can save encryption passphrases with the --escrowcert and create backup encryption passphrases with the --backuppassphrase options.
  • Ensure that the disk sector sizes are consistent when using autopart, autopart --type=lvm, or autopart=thinp.

B.5.7. reqpart

The reqpart Kickstart command is optional. It automatically creates partitions required by your hardware platform. These include a /boot/efi partition for systems with UEFI firmware, a biosboot partition for systems with BIOS firmware and GPT, and a PRePBoot partition for IBM Power Systems. Use this command only once.

Syntax

reqpart [--add-boot]

Options

  • --add-boot - Creates a separate /boot partition in addition to the platform-specific partition created by the base command.

Note

  • This command cannot be used together with autopart, because autopart does everything the reqpart command does and, in addition, creates other partitions or logical volumes such as / and swap. In contrast with autopart, this command only creates platform-specific partitions and leaves the rest of the drive empty, allowing you to create a custom layout.

B.5.8. part or partition

The part or partition Kickstart command is required. It creates a partition on the system.

Syntax

part|partition mntpoint [OPTIONS]

Options

  • mntpoint - Where the partition is mounted. The value must be of one of the following forms:

    • /path

      For example, /, /usr, /home

    • swap

      The partition is used as swap space.

      To determine the size of the swap partition automatically, use the --recommended option: 

      swap --recommended

      The size assigned will be effective but not precisely calibrated for your system.

      To determine the size of the swap partition automatically but also allow extra space for your system to hibernate, use the --hibernation option: 

      swap --hibernation

      The size assigned will be equivalent to the swap space assigned by --recommended plus the amount of RAM on your system. For the swap sizes assigned by these commands, see Recommended Partitioning Scheme for AMD64, Intel 64, and 64-bit ARM systems.

    • raid.id

      The partition is used for software RAID (see raid).

    • pv.id

      The partition is used for LVM (see logvol).

    • biosboot

      The partition will be used for a BIOS Boot partition. A 1 MiB BIOS boot partition is necessary on BIOS-based AMD64 and Intel 64 systems using a GUID Partition Table (GPT); the boot loader will be installed into it. It is not necessary on UEFI systems. See also the bootloader command.

    • /boot/efi

      An EFI System Partition. A 50 MiB EFI partition is necessary on UEFI-based AMD64, Intel 64, and 64-bit ARM; the recommended size is 200 MiB. It is not necessary on BIOS systems. See also the bootloader command.

  • --size= - The minimum partition size in MiB. Specify an integer value here such as 500 (do not include the unit). Installation fails if size specified is too small. Set the --size value as the minimum amount of space you require. For size recommendations, see Recommended Partitioning Scheme.
  • --grow - Specifies the partition to grow to fill available space (if any), or up to the maximum size setting, if one is specified. If you use --grow= without setting --maxsize= on a swap partition, Anaconda limits the maximum size of the swap partition. For systems that have less than 2 GiB of physical memory, the imposed limit is twice the amount of physical memory. For systems with more than 2 GiB, the imposed limit is the size of physical memory plus 2GiB.
  • --maxsize= - The maximum partition size in MiB when the partition is set to grow. Specify an integer value here such as 500 (do not include the unit).
  • --noformat - Specifies that the partition should not be formatted, for use with the --onpart command.

  • --onpart= or --usepart= - Specifies the device on which to place the partition. Uses an existing blank device and format it to the new specified type. For example: 

    partition /home --onpart=hda1

    puts /home on /dev/hda1.

    These options can also add a partition to a logical volume. For example: 

    partition pv.1 --onpart=hda2

    The device must already exist on the system; the --onpart option will not create it.

    It is also possible to specify an entire drive, rather than a partition, in which case Anaconda will format and use the drive without creating a partition table. However, installation of GRUB2 is not supported on a device formatted in this way, and must be placed on a drive with a partition table. 

    partition pv.1 --onpart=hdb

  • --ondisk= or --ondrive= - Creates a partition (specified by the part command) on an existing disk.This command always creates a partition. Forces the partition to be created on a particular disk. For example, --ondisk=sdb puts the partition on the second SCSI disk on the system.

    To specify a multipath device that does not use logical volume manager (LVM), use the format disk/by-id/dm-uuid-mpath-WWID, where WWID is the world-wide identifier for the device. For example, to specify a disk with WWID 2416CD96995134CA5D787F00A5AA11017, use: 

    part / --fstype=xfs --grow --asprimary --size=8192 --ondisk=disk/by-id/dm-uuid-mpath-2416CD96995134CA5D787F00A5AA11017
    Warning

    Never specify multipath devices by device names like mpatha. Device names such as this are not specific to a particular disk. The disk named /dev/mpatha during installation might not be the one that you expect it to be. Therefore, the part command could target the wrong disk.

  • --asprimary - Forces the partition to be allocated as a primary partition. If the partition cannot be allocated as primary (usually due to too many primary partitions being already allocated), the partitioning process fails. This option only makes sense when the disk uses a Master Boot Record (MBR); for GUID Partition Table (GPT)-labeled disks this option has no meaning.
  • --fsprofile= - Specifies a usage type to be passed to the program that makes a filesystem on this partition. A usage type defines a variety of tuning parameters to be used when making a filesystem. For this option to work, the filesystem must support the concept of usage types and there must be a configuration file that lists valid types. For ext2, ext3, ext4, this configuration file is /etc/mke2fs.conf.

  • --mkfsoptions= - Specifies additional parameters to be passed to the program that makes a filesystem on this partition. This is similar to --fsprofile but works for all filesystems, not just the ones that support the profile concept. No processing is done on the list of arguments, so they must be supplied in a format that can be passed directly to the mkfs program. This means multiple options should be comma-separated or surrounded by double quotes, depending on the filesystem. For example, 

    part /opt/foo1 --size=512 --fstype=ext4 --mkfsoptions="-O ^has_journal,^flex_bg,^metadata_csum"

part /opt/foo2 --size=512 --fstype=xfs --mkfsoptions="-m bigtime=0,finobt=0"

For details, see the man pages of the filesystems you are creating. For example, mkfs.ext4 or mkfs.xfs.

  • --fstype= - Sets the file system type for the partition. Valid values are xfs, ext2, ext3, ext4, swap, vfat, efi and biosboot.

  • --fsoptions - Specifies a free form string of options to be used when mounting the filesystem. This string will be copied into the /etc/fstab file of the installed system and should be enclosed in quotes.

    Note

    In the EFI system partition (/boot/efi), anaconda hard codes the value and ignores the users specified --fsoptions values.

  • --label= - assign a label to an individual partition.
  • --recommended - Determine the size of the partition automatically. For details about the recommended scheme, see Recommended Partitioning Scheme for AMD64, Intel 64, and 64-bit ARM. This option can only be used for partitions which result in a file system such as the /boot partition and swap space. It cannot be used to create LVM physical volumes or RAID members.
  • --onbiosdisk - Forces the partition to be created on a particular disk as discovered by the BIOS.

  • --encrypted - Specifies that this partition should be encrypted with Linux Unified Key Setup (LUKS), using the passphrase provided in the --passphrase option. If you do not specify a passphrase, Anaconda uses the default, system-wide passphrase set with the autopart --passphrase command, or stops the installation and prompts you to provide a passphrase if no default is set.

    Note

    When encrypting one or more partitions, Anaconda attempts to gather 256 bits of entropy to ensure the partitions are encrypted securely. Gathering entropy can take some time - the process will stop after a maximum of 10 minutes, regardless of whether sufficient entropy has been gathered.

    The process can be sped up by interacting with the installation system (typing on the keyboard or moving the mouse). If you are installing in a virtual machine, you can also attach a virtio-rng device (a virtual random number generator) to the guest.

  • --luks-version=LUKS_VERSION - Specifies which version of LUKS format should be used to encrypt the filesystem. This option is only meaningful if --encrypted is specified.
  • --passphrase= - Specifies the passphrase to use when encrypting this partition. You must use this option together with the --encrypted option; by itself it has no effect.
  • --cipher= - Specifies the type of encryption to use if the Anaconda default aes-xts-plain64 is not satisfactory. You must use this option together with the --encrypted option; by itself it has no effect. Available types of encryption are listed in the Security hardening document, but Red Hat strongly recommends using either aes-xts-plain64 or aes-cbc-essiv:sha256.
  • --escrowcert=URL_of_X.509_certificate - Store data encryption keys of all encrypted partitions as files in /root, encrypted using the X.509 certificate from the URL specified with URL_of_X.509_certificate. The keys are stored as a separate file for each encrypted partition. This option is only meaningful if --encrypted is specified.
  • --backuppassphrase - Add a randomly-generated passphrase to each encrypted partition. Store these passphrases in separate files in /root, encrypted using the X.509 certificate specified with --escrowcert. This option is only meaningful if --escrowcert is specified.
  • --pbkdf=PBKDF - Sets Password-Based Key Derivation Function (PBKDF) algorithm for LUKS keyslot. See also the man page cryptsetup(8). This option is only meaningful if --encrypted is specified.
  • --pbkdf-memory=PBKDF_MEMORY - Sets the memory cost for PBKDF. See also the man page cryptsetup(8). This option is only meaningful if --encrypted is specified.
  • --pbkdf-time=PBKDF_TIME - Sets the number of milliseconds to spend with PBKDF passphrase processing. See also --iter-time in the man page cryptsetup(8). This option is only meaningful if --encrypted is specified, and is mutually exclusive with --pbkdf-iterations.
  • --pbkdf-iterations=PBKDF_ITERATIONS - Sets the number of iterations directly and avoids PBKDF benchmark. See also --pbkdf-force-iterations in the man page cryptsetup(8). This option is only meaningful if --encrypted is specified, and is mutually exclusive with --pbkdf-time.
  • --resize= - Resize an existing partition. When using this option, specify the target size (in MiB) using the --size= option and the target partition using the --onpart= option.

Notes

  • The part command is not mandatory, but you must include either part, autopart or mount in your Kickstart script.
  • The --active option is deprecated in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.
  • If partitioning fails for any reason, diagnostic messages appear on virtual console 3.
  • All partitions created are formatted as part of the installation process unless --noformat and --onpart are used.

  • The sdX (or /dev/sdX) format does not guarantee consistent device names across reboots, which can complicate the usage of some Kickstart commands. When a command requires a device node name, you can use any item from /dev/disk as an alternative. For example, instead of using the following device name: 

    part / --fstype=xfs --onpart=sda1

    You can use an entry similar to one of the following: 

    part / --fstype=xfs --onpart=/dev/disk/by-path/pci-0000:00:05.0-scsi-0:0:0:0-part1

part / --fstype=xfs --onpart=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-ST3160815AS_6RA0C882-part1

    By using this approach, the command always targets the same storage device. This is especially useful in large storage environments. To explore the available device names on the system, you can use the ls -lR /dev/disk command during the interactive installation. For more information about different ways to consistently refer to storage devices, see Overview of persistent naming attributes.

  • If you lose the LUKS passphrase, any encrypted partitions and their data is completely inaccessible. There is no way to recover a lost passphrase. However, you can save encryption passphrases with the --escrowcert and create backup encryption passphrases with the --backuppassphrase options.

B.5.9. raid

The raid Kickstart command is optional. It assembles a software RAID device.

Syntax

raid mntpoint --level=level --device=device-name partitions*

Options

  • mntpoint - Location where the RAID file system is mounted. If it is /, the RAID level must be 1 unless a boot partition (/boot) is present. If a boot partition is present, the /boot partition must be level 1 and the root (/) partition can be any of the available types. The partitions* (which denotes that multiple partitions can be listed) lists the RAID identifiers to add to the RAID array.

    Important
    • On IBM Power Systems, if a RAID device has been prepared and has not been reformatted during the installation, ensure that the RAID metadata version is 0.90 or 1.0 if you intend to put the /boot and PReP partitions on the RAID device. The mdadm metadata versions 1.1 and 1.2 are not supported for the /boot and PReP partitions.
    • The PReP Boot partitions are not required on PowerNV systems.
  • --level= - RAID level to use (0, 1, 4, 5, 6, or 10).

  • --device= - Name of the RAID device to use - for example, --device=root.

    Important

    Do not use mdraid names in the form of md0 - these names are not guaranteed to be persistent. Instead, use meaningful names such as root or swap. Using meaningful names creates a symbolic link from /dev/md/name to whichever /dev/mdX node is assigned to the array.

    If you have an old (v0.90 metadata) array that you cannot assign a name to, you can specify the array by a filesystem label or UUID. For example, --device=LABEL=root or --device=UUID=93348e56-4631-d0f0-6f5b-45c47f570b88.

    You can use the UUID of the file system on the RAID device or UUID of the RAID device itself. The UUID of the RAID device should be in the 8-4-4-4-12 format. UUID reported by mdadm is in the 8:8:8:8 format which needs to be changed. For example 93348e56:4631d0f0:6f5b45c4:7f570b88 should be changed to 93348e56-4631-d0f0-6f5b-45c47f570b88.

  • --chunksize= - Sets the chunk size of a RAID storage in KiB. In certain situations, using a different chunk size than the default (512 Kib) can improve the performance of the RAID.
  • --spares= - Specifies the number of spare drives allocated for the RAID array. Spare drives are used to rebuild the array in case of drive failure.
  • --fsprofile= - Specifies a usage type to be passed to the program that makes a filesystem on this partition. A usage type defines a variety of tuning parameters to be used when making a filesystem. For this option to work, the filesystem must support the concept of usage types and there must be a configuration file that lists valid types. For ext2, ext3, and ext4, this configuration file is /etc/mke2fs.conf.
  • --fstype= - Sets the file system type for the RAID array. Valid values are xfs, ext2, ext3, ext4, swap, and vfat.
  • --fsoptions= - Specifies a free form string of options to be used when mounting the filesystem. This string will be copied into the /etc/fstab file of the installed system and should be enclosed in quotes. In the EFI system partition (/boot/efi), anaconda hard codes the value and ignores the users specified --fsoptions values.

  • --mkfsoptions= - Specifies additional parameters to be passed to the program that makes a filesystem on this partition. No processing is done on the list of arguments, so they must be supplied in a format that can be passed directly to the mkfs program. This means multiple options should be comma-separated or surrounded by double quotes, depending on the filesystem. For example, 

    part /opt/foo1 --size=512 --fstype=ext4 --mkfsoptions="-O ^has_journal,^flex_bg,^metadata_csum"

part /opt/foo2 --size=512 --fstype=xfs --mkfsoptions="-m bigtime=0,finobt=0"

For details, see the man pages of the filesystems you are creating. For example, mkfs.ext4 or mkfs.xfs.

  • --label= - Specify the label to give to the filesystem to be made. If the given label is already in use by another filesystem, a new label will be created.
  • --noformat - Use an existing RAID device and do not format the RAID array.
  • --useexisting - Use an existing RAID device and reformat it.

  • --encrypted - Specifies that this RAID device should be encrypted with Linux Unified Key Setup (LUKS), using the passphrase provided in the --passphrase option. If you do not specify a passphrase, Anaconda uses the default, system-wide passphrase set with the autopart --passphrase command, or stops the installation and prompts you to provide a passphrase if no default is set.

    Note

    When encrypting one or more partitions, Anaconda attempts to gather 256 bits of entropy to ensure the partitions are encrypted securely. Gathering entropy can take some time - the process will stop after a maximum of 10 minutes, regardless of whether sufficient entropy has been gathered.

    The process can be sped up by interacting with the installation system (typing on the keyboard or moving the mouse). If you are installing in a virtual machine, you can also attach a virtio-rng device (a virtual random number generator) to the guest.

  • --luks-version=LUKS_VERSION - Specifies which version of LUKS format should be used to encrypt the filesystem. This option is only meaningful if --encrypted is specified.
  • --cipher= - Specifies the type of encryption to use if the Anaconda default aes-xts-plain64 is not satisfactory. You must use this option together with the --encrypted option; by itself it has no effect. Available types of encryption are listed in the Security hardening document, but Red Hat strongly recommends using either aes-xts-plain64 or aes-cbc-essiv:sha256.
  • --passphrase= - Specifies the passphrase to use when encrypting this RAID device. You must use this option together with the --encrypted option; by itself it has no effect.
  • --escrowcert=URL_of_X.509_certificate - Store the data encryption key for this device in a file in /root, encrypted using the X.509 certificate from the URL specified with URL_of_X.509_certificate. This option is only meaningful if --encrypted is specified.
  • --backuppassphrase - Add a randomly-generated passphrase to this device. Store the passphrase in a file in /root, encrypted using the X.509 certificate specified with --escrowcert. This option is only meaningful if --escrowcert is specified.
  • --pbkdf=PBKDF - Sets Password-Based Key Derivation Function (PBKDF) algorithm for LUKS keyslot. See also the man page cryptsetup(8). This option is only meaningful if --encrypted is specified.
  • --pbkdf-memory=PBKDF_MEMORY - Sets the memory cost for PBKDF. See also the man page cryptsetup(8). This option is only meaningful if --encrypted is specified.
  • --pbkdf-time=PBKDF_TIME - Sets the number of milliseconds to spend with PBKDF passphrase processing. See also --iter-time in the man page cryptsetup(8). This option is only meaningful if --encrypted is specified, and is mutually exclusive with --pbkdf-iterations.
  • --pbkdf-iterations=PBKDF_ITERATIONS - Sets the number of iterations directly and avoids PBKDF benchmark. See also --pbkdf-force-iterations in the man page cryptsetup(8). This option is only meaningful if --encrypted is specified, and is mutually exclusive with --pbkdf-time.

Example

The following example shows how to create a RAID level 1 partition for /, and a RAID level 5 for /home, assuming there are three SCSI disks on the system. It also creates three swap partitions, one on each drive. 

part raid.01 --size=6000 --ondisk=sda
part raid.02 --size=6000 --ondisk=sdb
part raid.03 --size=6000 --ondisk=sdc
part swap --size=512 --ondisk=sda
part swap --size=512 --ondisk=sdb
part swap --size=512 --ondisk=sdc
part raid.11 --size=1 --grow --ondisk=sda
part raid.12 --size=1 --grow --ondisk=sdb
part raid.13 --size=1 --grow --ondisk=sdc
raid / --level=1 --device=rhel8-root --label=rhel8-root raid.01 raid.02 raid.03
raid /home --level=5 --device=rhel8-home --label=rhel8-home raid.11 raid.12 raid.13

Note

  • If you lose the LUKS passphrase, any encrypted partitions and their data is completely inaccessible. There is no way to recover a lost passphrase. However, you can save encryption passphrases with the --escrowcert and create backup encryption passphrases with the --backuppassphrase options.

B.5.10. volgroup

The volgroup Kickstart command is optional. It creates a Logical Volume Manager (LVM) group.

Syntax

volgroup name [OPTIONS] [partition*]

Mandatory options

  • name - Name of the new volume group.

Options

  • partition - Physical volume partitions to use as backing storage for the volume group.
  • --noformat - Use an existing volume group and do not format it.

  • --useexisting - Use an existing volume group and reformat it. If you use this option, do not specify a partition. For example: 

    volgroup rhel00 --useexisting --noformat
  • --pesize= - Set the size of the volume group’s physical extents in KiB. The default value is 4096 (4 MiB), and the minimum value is 1024 (1 MiB).
  • --reserved-space= - Specify an amount of space to leave unused in a volume group in MiB. Applicable only to newly created volume groups.
  • --reserved-percent= - Specify a percentage of total volume group space to leave unused. Applicable only to newly created volume groups.

Notes

  • Create the partition first, then create the logical volume group, and then create the logical volume. For example: 

    part pv.01 --size 10000
volgroup my_volgrp pv.01
logvol / --vgname=my_volgrp --size=2000 --name=root

  • Do not use the dash (-) character in logical volume and volume group names when installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux using Kickstart. If this character is used, the installation finishes normally, but the /dev/mapper/ directory will list these volumes and volume groups with every dash doubled. For example, a volume group named volgrp-01 containing a logical volume named logvol-01 will be listed as /dev/mapper/volgrp--01-logvol--01.

    This limitation only applies to newly created logical volume and volume group names. If you are reusing existing ones using the --noformat option, their names will not be changed.

B.5.11. logvol

The logvol Kickstart command is optional. It creates a logical volume for Logical Volume Manager (LVM).

Syntax

logvol mntpoint --vgname=name --name=name [OPTIONS]

Mandatory options

mntpoint

The mount point where the partition is mounted. Must be of one of the following forms:

  • /path

    For example, / or /home

  • swap

    The partition is used as swap space.

    To determine the size of the swap partition automatically, use the --recommended option: 

    swap --recommended

    To determine the size of the swap partition automatically and also allow extra space for your system to hibernate, use the --hibernation option: 

    swap --hibernation

    The size assigned will be equivalent to the swap space assigned by --recommended plus the amount of RAM on your system. For the swap sizes assigned by these commands, see Recommended Partitioning Scheme for AMD64, Intel 64, and 64-bit ARM systems.

--vgname=name
Name of the volume group.
--name=name
Name of the logical volume.

Optional options

--noformat
Use an existing logical volume and do not format it.
--useexisting
Use an existing logical volume and reformat it.
--fstype=
Sets the file system type for the logical volume. Valid values are xfs, ext2, ext3, ext4, swap, and vfat.
--fsoptions=

Specifies a free form string of options to be used when mounting the filesystem. This string will be copied into the /etc/fstab file of the installed system and should be enclosed in quotes.

Note

In the EFI system partition (/boot/efi), anaconda hard codes the value and ignores the users specified --fsoptions values.

--mkfsoptions=

Specifies additional parameters to be passed to the program that makes a filesystem on this partition. No processing is done on the list of arguments, so they must be supplied in a format that can be passed directly to the mkfs program. This means multiple options should be comma-separated or surrounded by double quotes, depending on the filesystem. For example, 

part /opt/foo1 --size=512 --fstype=ext4 --mkfsoptions="-O ^has_journal,^flex_bg,^metadata_csum"

part /opt/foo2 --size=512 --fstype=xfs --mkfsoptions="-m bigtime=0,finobt=0"

For details, see the man pages of the filesystems you are creating. For example, mkfs.ext4 or mkfs.xfs.

--fsprofile=
Specifies a usage type to be passed to the program that makes a filesystem on this partition. A usage type defines a variety of tuning parameters to be used when making a filesystem. For this option to work, the filesystem must support the concept of usage types and there must be a configuration file that lists valid types. For ext2, ext3, and ext4, this configuration file is /etc/mke2fs.conf.
--label=
Sets a label for the logical volume.
--grow
Extends the logical volume to occupy the available space (if any), or up to the maximum size specified, if any. The option must be used only if you have pre-allocated a minimum storage space in the disk image, and would want the volume to grow and occupy the available space. In a physical environment, this is an one-time-action. However, in a virtual environment, the volume size increases as and when the virtual machine writes any data to the virtual disk.
--size=
The size of the logical volume in MiB. This option cannot be used together with the --percent= option.
--percent=

The size of the logical volume, as a percentage of the free space in the volume group after any statically-sized logical volumes are taken into account. This option cannot be used together with the --size= option.

Important

When creating a new logical volume, you must either specify its size statically using the --size= option, or as a percentage of remaining free space using the --percent= option. You cannot use both of these options on the same logical volume.

--maxsize=
The maximum size in MiB when the logical volume is set to grow. Specify an integer value here such as 500 (do not include the unit).
--recommended
Use this option when creating a logical volume to determine the size of this volume automatically, based on your system’s hardware. For details about the recommended scheme, see Recommended Partitioning Scheme for AMD64, Intel 64, and 64-bit ARM systems.
--resize
Resize a logical volume. If you use this option, you must also specify --useexisting and --size.
--encrypted

Specifies that this logical volume should be encrypted with Linux Unified Key Setup (LUKS), using the passphrase provided in the --passphrase= option. If you do not specify a passphrase, the installation program uses the default, system-wide passphrase set with the autopart --passphrase command, or stops the installation and prompts you to provide a passphrase if no default is set.

Note

When encrypting one or more partitions, Anaconda attempts to gather 256 bits of entropy to ensure the partitions are encrypted securely. Gathering entropy can take some time - the process will stop after a maximum of 10 minutes, regardless of whether sufficient entropy has been gathered.

The process can be sped up by interacting with the installation system (typing on the keyboard or moving the mouse). If you are installing in a virtual machine, you can also attach a virtio-rng device (a virtual random number generator) to the guest.

--passphrase=
Specifies the passphrase to use when encrypting this logical volume. You must use this option together with the --encrypted option; it has no effect by itself.
--cipher=
Specifies the type of encryption to use if the Anaconda default aes-xts-plain64 is not satisfactory. You must use this option together with the --encrypted option; by itself it has no effect. Available types of encryption are listed in the Security hardening document, but Red Hat strongly recommends using either aes-xts-plain64 or aes-cbc-essiv:sha256.
--escrowcert=URL_of_X.509_certificate
Store data encryption keys of all encrypted volumes as files in /root, encrypted using the X.509 certificate from the URL specified with URL_of_X.509_certificate. The keys are stored as a separate file for each encrypted volume. This option is only meaningful if --encrypted is specified.
--luks-version=LUKS_VERSION
Specifies which version of LUKS format should be used to encrypt the filesystem. This option is only meaningful if --encrypted is specified.
--backuppassphrase
Add a randomly-generated passphrase to each encrypted volume. Store these passphrases in separate files in /root, encrypted using the X.509 certificate specified with --escrowcert. This option is only meaningful if --escrowcert is specified.
--pbkdf=PBKDF
Sets Password-Based Key Derivation Function (PBKDF) algorithm for LUKS keyslot. See also the man page cryptsetup(8). This option is only meaningful if --encrypted is specified.
--pbkdf-memory=PBKDF_MEMORY
Sets the memory cost for PBKDF. See also the man page cryptsetup(8). This option is only meaningful if --encrypted is specified.
--pbkdf-time=PBKDF_TIME
Sets the number of milliseconds to spend with PBKDF passphrase processing. See also --iter-time in the man page cryptsetup(8). This option is only meaningful if --encrypted is specified, and is mutually exclusive with --pbkdf-iterations.
--pbkdf-iterations=PBKDF_ITERATIONS
Sets the number of iterations directly and avoids PBKDF benchmark. See also --pbkdf-force-iterations in the man page cryptsetup(8). This option is only meaningful if --encrypted is specified, and is mutually exclusive with --pbkdf-time.
--thinpool
Creates a thin pool logical volume. (Use a mount point of none)
--metadatasize=size
Specify the metadata area size (in MiB) for a new thin pool device.
--chunksize=size
Specify the chunk size (in KiB) for a new thin pool device.
--thin
Create a thin logical volume. (Requires use of --poolname)
--poolname=name
Specify the name of the thin pool in which to create a thin logical volume. Requires the --thin option.
--profile=name
Specify the configuration profile name to use with thin logical volumes. If used, the name will also be included in the metadata for the given logical volume. By default, the available profiles are default and thin-performance and are defined in the /etc/lvm/profile/ directory. See the lvm(8) man page for additional information.
--cachepvs=
A comma-separated list of physical volumes which should be used as a cache for this volume.
--cachemode=

Specify which mode should be used to cache this logical volume - either writeback or writethrough.

Note

For more information about cached logical volumes and their modes, see the lvmcache(7) man page on your system.

--cachesize=
Size of cache attached to the logical volume, specified in MiB. This option requires the --cachepvs= option.

Notes

  • Do not use the dash (-) character in logical volume and volume group names when installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux using Kickstart. If this character is used, the installation finishes normally, but the /dev/mapper/ directory will list these volumes and volume groups with every dash doubled. For example, a volume group named volgrp-01 containing a logical volume named logvol-01 will be listed as /dev/mapper/volgrp—​01-logvol—​01.

    This limitation only applies to newly created logical volume and volume group names. If you are reusing existing ones using the --noformat option, their names will not be changed.

  • If you lose the LUKS passphrase, any encrypted partitions and their data is completely inaccessible. There is no way to recover a lost passphrase. However, you can save encryption passphrases with the --escrowcert and create backup encryption passphrases with the --backuppassphrase options.

Examples

  • Create the partition first, create the logical volume group, and then create the logical volume: 

    part pv.01 --size 3000
volgroup myvg pv.01
logvol / --vgname=myvg --size=2000 --name=rootvol

  • Create the partition first, create the logical volume group, and then create the logical volume to occupy 90% of the remaining space in the volume group: 

    part pv.01 --size 1 --grow
volgroup myvg pv.01
logvol / --vgname=myvg --name=rootvol --percent=90

Additional resources

B.5.12. snapshot

The snapshot Kickstart command is optional. Use it to create LVM thin volume snapshots during the installation process. This enables you to back up a logical volume before or after the installation.

To create multiple snapshots, add the snaphost Kickstart command multiple times.

Syntax

snapshot vg_name/lv_name --name=snapshot_name --when=pre-install|post-install

Options

  • vg_name/lv_name - Sets the name of the volume group and logical volume to create the snapshot from.
  • --name=snapshot_name - Sets the name of the snapshot. This name must be unique within the volume group.
  • --when=pre-install|post-install - Sets if the snapshot is created before the installation begins or after the installation is completed.

B.5.13. mount

The mount Kickstart command is optional. It assigns a mount point to an existing block device, and optionally reformats it to a given format.

Syntax

mount [OPTIONS] device mountpoint

Mandatory options:

  • device - The block device to mount.
  • mountpoint - Where to mount the device. It must be a valid mount point, such as / or /usr, or none if the device is unmountable (for example swap).

Optional options:

  • --reformat= - Specifies a new format (such as ext4) to which the device should be reformatted.
  • --mkfsoptions= - Specifies additional options to be passed to the command which creates the new file system specified in --reformat=. The list of options provided here is not processed, so they must be specified in a format that can be passed directly to the mkfs program. The list of options should be either comma-separated or surrounded by double quotes, depending on the file system. See the mkfs man page for the file system you want to create (for example mkfs.ext4(8) or mkfs.xfs(8)) for specific details.
  • --mountoptions= - Specifies a free form string that contains options to be used when mounting the file system. The string will be copied to the /etc/fstab file on the installed system and should be enclosed in double quotes. See the mount(8) man page for a full list of mount options, and fstab(5) for basics.

Notes

  • Unlike most other storage configuration commands in Kickstart, mount does not require you to describe the entire storage configuration in the Kickstart file. You only need to ensure that the described block device exists on the system. However, if you want to create the storage stack with all the devices mounted, you must use other commands such as part to do so.
  • You can not use mount together with other storage-related commands such as part, logvol, or autopart in the same Kickstart file.

B.5.14. zipl

The zipl Kickstart command is optional. It specifies the ZIPL configuration for 64-bit IBM Z. Use this command only once.

Options

  • --secure-boot - Enables secure boot if it is supported by the installing system.
Note

When installed on a system that is later than IBM z14, the installed system cannot be booted from an IBM z14 or earlier model.

  • --force-secure-boot - Enables secure boot unconditionally.
Note

Installation is not supported on IBM z14 and earlier models.

  • --no-secure-boot - Disables secure boot.
Note

Secure Boot is not supported on IBM z14 and earlier models. Use --no-secure-boot if you intend to boot the installed system on IBM z14 and earlier models.

B.5.15. fcoe

The fcoe Kickstart command is optional. It specifies which FCoE devices should be activated automatically in addition to those discovered by Enhanced Disk Drive Services (EDD).

Syntax

fcoe --nic=name [OPTIONS]

Options

  • --nic= (required) - The name of the device to be activated.
  • --dcb= - Establish Data Center Bridging (DCB) settings.
  • --autovlan - Discover VLANs automatically. This option is enabled by default.

B.5.16. iscsi

The iscsi Kickstart command is optional. It specifies additional iSCSI storage to be attached during installation.

Syntax

iscsi --ipaddr=address [OPTIONS]

Mandatory options

  • --ipaddr= (required) - the IP address of the target to connect to.

Optional options

  • --port= (required) - the port number. If not present, --port=3260 is used automatically by default.
  • --target= - the target IQN (iSCSI Qualified Name).
  • --iface= - bind the connection to a specific network interface instead of using the default one determined by the network layer. Once used, it must be specified in all instances of the iscsi command in the entire Kickstart file.
  • --user= - the user name required to authenticate with the target
  • --password= - the password that corresponds with the user name specified for the target
  • --reverse-user= - the user name required to authenticate with the initiator from a target that uses reverse CHAP authentication
  • --reverse-password= - the password that corresponds with the user name specified for the initiator

Notes

  • If you use the iscsi command, you must also assign a name to the iSCSI node, using the iscsiname command. The iscsiname command must appear before the iscsi command in the Kickstart file.
  • Wherever possible, configure iSCSI storage in the system BIOS or firmware (iBFT for Intel systems) rather than use the iscsi command. Anaconda automatically detects and uses disks configured in BIOS or firmware and no special configuration is necessary in the Kickstart file.
  • If you must use the iscsi command, ensure that networking is activated at the beginning of the installation, and that the iscsi command appears in the Kickstart file before you refer to iSCSI disks with commands such as clearpart or ignoredisk.

B.5.17. iscsiname

The iscsiname Kickstart command is optional. It assigns a name to an iSCSI node specified by the iscsi command. Use this command only once.

Syntax

iscsiname iqname

Options

  • iqname - Name to assign to the iSCSI node.

Note

  • If you use the iscsi command in your Kickstart file, you must specify iscsiname earlier in the Kickstart file.

B.5.18. nvdimm

The nvdimm Kickstart command is optional. It performs an action on Non-Volatile Dual In-line Memory Module (NVDIMM) devices. By default, NVDIMM devices are ignored by the installation program. You must use the nvdimm command to enable installation on these devices.

Syntax

nvdimm action [OPTIONS]

Actions

  • reconfigure - Reconfigure a specific NVDIMM device into a given mode. Additionally, the specified device is implicitly marked as to be used, so a subsequent nvdimm use command for the same device is redundant. This action uses the following format: 

    nvdimm reconfigure [--namespace=NAMESPACE] [--mode=MODE] [--sectorsize=SECTORSIZE]

    • --namespace= - The device specification by namespace. For example: 

      nvdimm reconfigure --namespace=namespace0.0 --mode=sector --sectorsize=512
    • --mode= - The mode specification. Currently, only the value sector is available.

    • --sectorsize= - Size of a sector for sector mode. For example: 

      nvdimm reconfigure --namespace=namespace0.0 --mode=sector --sectorsize=512

      The supported sector sizes are 512 and 4096 bytes.

  • use - Specify a NVDIMM device as a target for installation. The device must be already configured to the sector mode by the nvdimm reconfigure command. This action uses the following format: 

    nvdimm use [--namespace=NAMESPACE|--blockdevs=DEVICES]

    • --namespace= - Specifies the device by namespace. For example: 

      nvdimm use --namespace=namespace0.0

    • --blockdevs= - Specifies a comma-separated list of block devices corresponding to the NVDIMM devices to be used. The asterisk * wildcard is supported. For example: 

      nvdimm use --blockdevs=pmem0s,pmem1s
nvdimm use --blockdevs=pmem*

B.5.19. zfcp

The zfcp Kickstart command is optional. It defines a Fibre channel device.

This option only applies on 64-bit IBM Z. All of the options described below must be specified.

Syntax

zfcp --devnum=devnum [--wwpn=wwpn --fcplun=lun]

Options

  • --devnum= - The device number (zFCP adapter device bus ID).
  • --wwpn= - The device’s World Wide Port Name (WWPN). Takes the form of a 16-digit number, preceded by 0x.
  • --fcplun= - The device’s Logical Unit Number (LUN). Takes the form of a 16-digit number, preceded by 0x.
Note

It is sufficient to specify an FCP device bus ID if automatic LUN scanning is available and when installing 8 or later releases. Otherwise all three parameters are required. Automatic LUN scanning is available for FCP devices operating in NPIV mode if it is not disabled through the zfcp.allow_lun_scan module parameter (enabled by default). It provides access to all SCSI devices found in the storage area network attached to the FCP device with the specified bus ID.

Example

zfcp --devnum=0.0.4000 --wwpn=0x5005076300C213e9 --fcplun=0x5022000000000000
zfcp --devnum=0.0.4000

B.6. Kickstart commands for addons supplied with the RHEL installation program

The Kickstart commands in this section are related to add-ons supplied by default with the Red Hat Enterprise Linux installation program: Kdump and OpenSCAP.

B.6.1. %addon com_redhat_kdump

The %addon com_redhat_kdump Kickstart command is optional. This command configures the kdump kernel crash dumping mechanism.

Syntax

%addon com_redhat_kdump [OPTIONS]
%end

Note

The syntax for this command is unusual because it is an add-on rather than a built-in Kickstart command.

Notes

Kdump is a kernel crash dumping mechanism that allows you to save the contents of the system’s memory for later analysis. It relies on kexec, which can be used to boot a Linux kernel from the context of another kernel without rebooting the system, and preserve the contents of the first kernel’s memory that would otherwise be lost.

In case of a system crash, kexec boots into a second kernel (a capture kernel). This capture kernel resides in a reserved part of the system memory. Kdump then captures the contents of the crashed kernel’s memory (a crash dump) and saves it to a specified location. The location cannot be configured using this Kickstart command; it must be configured after the installation by editing the /etc/kdump.conf configuration file.

For more information about Kdump, see the Installing kdump.

Options

  • --enable - Enable kdump on the installed system.
  • --disable - Disable kdump on the installed system.

  • --reserve-mb= - The amount of memory you want to reserve for kdump, in MiB. For example: 

    %addon com_redhat_kdump --enable --reserve-mb=128
%end

    You can also specify auto instead of a numeric value. In that case, the installation program will determine the amount of memory automatically based on the criteria described in the Memory requirements for kdump section of the Managing, monitoring and updating the kernel document.

    If you enable kdump and do not specify a --reserve-mb= option, the value auto will be used.

  • --enablefadump - Enable firmware-assisted dumping on systems which allow it (notably, IBM Power Systems servers).

B.6.2. %addon org_fedora_oscap

The %addon org_fedora_oscap Kickstart command is optional.

The OpenSCAP installation program add-on is used to apply SCAP (Security Content Automation Protocol) content - security policies - on the installed system. This add-on has been enabled by default since Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.2. When enabled, the packages necessary to provide this functionality will automatically be installed. However, by default, no policies are enforced, meaning that no checks are performed during or after installation unless specifically configured.

Important

Applying a security policy is not necessary on all systems. This command should only be used when a specific policy is mandated by your organization rules or government regulations.

Unlike most other commands, this add-on does not accept regular options, but uses key-value pairs in the body of the %addon definition instead. These pairs are whitespace-agnostic. Values can be optionally enclosed in single quotes (') or double quotes (").

Syntax

%addon org_fedora_oscap
key = value
%end

Keys

The following keys are recognized by the add-on:

content-type

Type of the security content. Possible values are datastream, archive, rpm, and scap-security-guide.

If the content-type is scap-security-guide, the add-on will use content provided by the scap-security-guide package, which is present on the boot media. This means that all other keys except profile will have no effect.

content-url
Location of the security content. The content must be accessible using HTTP, HTTPS, or FTP; local storage is currently not supported. A network connection must be available to reach content definitions in a remote location.
datastream-id
ID of the data stream referenced in the content-url value. Used only if content-type is datastream.
xccdf-id
ID of the benchmark you want to use.
content-path
Path to the datastream or the XCCDF file which should be used, given as a relative path in the archive.
profile
ID of the profile to be applied. Use default to apply the default profile.
fingerprint
A MD5, SHA1 or SHA2 checksum of the content referenced by content-url.
tailoring-path
Path to a tailoring file which should be used, given as a relative path in the archive.

Examples

  • The following is an example %addon org_fedora_oscap section which uses content from the scap-security-guide on the installation media:

    Example B.1. Sample OpenSCAP Add-on Definition Using SCAP Security Guide

    %addon org_fedora_oscap
content-type = scap-security-guide
profile = xccdf_org.ssgproject.content_profile_pci-dss
%end

  • The following is a more complex example which loads a custom profile from a web server:

    Example B.2. Sample OpenSCAP Add-on Definition Using a Datastream

    %addon org_fedora_oscap
content-type = datastream
content-url = http://www.example.com/scap/testing_ds.xml
datastream-id = scap_example.com_datastream_testing
xccdf-id = scap_example.com_cref_xccdf.xml
profile =  xccdf_example.com_profile_my_profile
fingerprint = 240f2f18222faa98856c3b4fc50c4195
%end

Additional resources

B.7. Commands used in Anaconda

The pwpolicy command is an Anaconda UI specific command that can be used only in the %anaconda section of the kickstart file.

B.7.1. pwpolicy

The pwpolicy Kickstart command is optional. Use this command to enforce a custom password policy during installation. The policy requires you to create passwords for the root, users, or the luks user accounts. The factors such as password length and strength decide the validity of a password.

Syntax

pwpolicy name [--minlen=length] [--minquality=quality] [--strict|--notstrict] [--emptyok|--notempty] [--changesok|--nochanges]

Mandatory options

  • name - Replace with either root, user or luks to enforce the policy for the root password, user passwords, or LUKS passphrase, respectively.

Optional options

  • --minlen= - Sets the minimum allowed password length, in characters. The default is 6.
  • --minquality= - Sets the minimum allowed password quality as defined by the libpwquality library. The default value is 1.
  • --strict - Enables strict password enforcement. Passwords which do not meet the requirements specified in --minquality= and --minlen= will not be accepted. This option is disabled by default.
  • --notstrict - Passwords which do not meet the minimum quality requirements specified by the --minquality= and -minlen= options will be allowed, after Done is clicked twice in the GUI. For text mode interface, a similar mechanism is used.
  • --emptyok - Allows the use of empty passwords. Enabled by default for user passwords.
  • --notempty - Disallows the use of empty passwords. Enabled by default for the root password and the LUKS passphrase.
  • --changesok - Allows changing the password in the user interface, even if the Kickstart file already specifies a password. Disabled by default.
  • --nochanges - Disallows changing passwords which are already set in the Kickstart file. Enabled by default.

Notes

  • The pwpolicy command is an Anaconda-UI specific command that can be used only in the %anaconda section of the kickstart file.
  • The libpwquality library is used to check minimum password requirements (length and quality). You can use the pwscore and pwmake commands provided by the libpwquality package to check the quality score of a password, or to create a random password with a given score. See the pwscore(1) and pwmake(1) man page for details about these commands.

B.8. Kickstart commands for system recovery

The Kickstart command in this section repairs an installed system.

B.8.1. rescue

The rescue Kickstart command is optional. It provides a shell environment with root privileges and a set of system management tools to repair the installation and to troubleshoot the issues like:

  • Mount file systems as read-only
  • Blocklist or add a driver provided on a driver disc
  • Install or upgrade system packages
  • Manage partitions
Note

The Kickstart rescue mode is different from the rescue mode and emergency mode, which are provided as part of the systemd and service manager.

The rescue command does not modify the system on its own. It only sets up the rescue environment by mounting the system under /mnt/sysimage in a read-write mode. You can choose not to mount the system, or to mount it in read-only mode. Use this command only once.

Syntax

rescue [--nomount|--romount]

Options

  • --nomount or --romount - Controls how the installed system is mounted in the rescue environment. By default, the installation program finds your system and mount it in read-write mode, telling you where it has performed this mount. You can optionally select to not mount anything (the --nomount option) or mount in read-only mode (the --romount option). Only one of these two options can be used.

Notes

To run a rescue mode, make a copy of the Kickstart file, and include the rescue command in it.

Using the rescue command causes the installer to perform the following steps:

  1. Run the %pre script.

  2. Set up environment for rescue mode.

    The following kickstart commands take effect:

    1. updates
    2. sshpw
    3. logging
    4. lang
    5. network

  3. Set up advanced storage environment.

    The following kickstart commands take effect:

    1. fcoe
    2. iscsi
    3. iscsiname
    4. nvdimm
    5. zfcp

  4. Mount the system 

    rescue [--nomount|--romount]

  5. Run %post script

    This step is run only if the installed system is mounted in read-write mode.

  6. Start shell
  7. Reboot system

Appendix C. Boot options reference

You can use the boot options to modify the default behavior of the installation program.

C.1. Installation source boot options

This section describes various installation source boot options.

inst.repo=

The inst.repo= boot option specifies the installation source, that is, the location providing the package repositories and a valid .treeinfo file that describes them. For example: inst.repo=cdrom. The target of the inst.repo= option must be one of the following installation media:

  • an installable tree, which is a directory structure containing the installation program images, packages, and repository data as well as a valid .treeinfo file
  • a DVD (a physical disk present in the system DVD drive)

  • an ISO image of the full Red Hat Enterprise Linux installation DVD, placed on a disk or a network location accessible to the system.

    Use the inst.repo= boot option to configure different installation methods using different formats. The following table contains details of the inst.repo= boot option syntax:

    Table C.1. Types and format for the inst.repo= boot option and installation source
    Source typeBoot option formatSource format

    CD/DVD drive

    inst.repo=cdrom:<device>

    Installation DVD as a physical disk. [a]

    Mountable device (HDD and USB stick)

    inst.repo=hd:<device>:/<path>

    Image file of the installation DVD.

    NFS Server

    inst.repo=nfs:[options:]<server>:/<path>

    Image file of the installation DVD, or an installation tree, which is a complete copy of the directories and files on the installation DVD. [b]

    HTTP Server

    inst.repo=http://<host>/<path>

    Installation tree that is a complete copy of the directories and files on the installation DVD.

    HTTPS Server

    inst.repo=https://<host>/<path>

    FTP Server

    inst.repo=ftp://<username>:<password>@<host>/<path>

    HMC

    inst.repo=hmc

    		 
    [a] If device is left out, installation program automatically searches for a drive containing the installation DVD.
    [b] The NFS Server option uses NFS protocol version 3 by default. To use a different version, add nfsvers=X to options, replacing X with the version number that you want to use.

Set disk device names with the following formats:

  • Kernel device name, for example /dev/sda1 or sdb2
  • File system label, for example LABEL=Flash or LABEL=RHEL8
  • File system UUID, for example UUID=8176c7bf-04ff-403a-a832-9557f94e61db

Non-alphanumeric characters must be represented as \xNN, where NN is the hexadecimal representation of the character. For example, \x20 is a white space (" ").

inst.addrepo=

Use the inst.addrepo= boot option to add an additional repository that you can use as another installation source along with the main repository (inst.repo=). You can use the inst.addrepo= boot option multiple times during one boot. The following table contains details of the inst.addrepo= boot option syntax.

Note

The REPO_NAME is the name of the repository and is required in the installation process. These repositories are only used during the installation process; they are not installed on the installed system.

For more information about unified ISO, see Unified ISO.

Table C.2. Installation sources and boot option format
Installation sourceBoot option formatAdditional information

Installable tree at a URL

inst.addrepo=REPO_NAME,[http,https,ftp]://<host>/<path>

Looks for the installable tree at a given URL.

Installable tree at an NFS path

inst.addrepo=REPO_NAME,nfs://<server>:/<path>

Looks for the installable tree at a given NFS path. A colon is required after the host. The installation program passes everything after nfs:// directly to the mount command instead of parsing URLs according to RFC 2224.

Installable tree in the installation environment

inst.addrepo=REPO_NAME,file://<path>

Looks for the installable tree at the given location in the installation environment. To use this option, the repository must be mounted before the installation program attempts to load the available software groups. The benefit of this option is that you can have multiple repositories on one bootable ISO, and you can install both the main repository and additional repositories from the ISO. The path to the additional repositories is /run/install/source/REPO_ISO_PATH. Additionally, you can mount the repository directory in the %pre section in the Kickstart file. The path must be absolute and start with /, for example inst.addrepo=REPO_NAME,file:///<path>

Disk

inst.addrepo=REPO_NAME,hd:<device>:<path>

Mounts the given <device> partition and installs from the ISO that is specified by the <path>. If the <path> is not specified, the installation program looks for a valid installation ISO on the <device>. This installation method requires an ISO with a valid installable tree.

inst.stage2=

The inst.stage2= boot option specifies the location of the installation program’s runtime image. This option expects the path to a directory that contains a valid .treeinfo file and reads the runtime image location from the .treeinfo file. If the .treeinfo file is not available, the installation program attempts to load the image from images/install.img.

When you do not specify the inst.stage2 option, the installation program attempts to use the location specified with the inst.repo option.

Use this option when you want to manually specify the installation source in the installation program at a later time. For example, when you want to select the Content Delivery Network (CDN) as an installation source. The installation DVD and Boot ISO already contain a suitable inst.stage2 option to boot the installation program from the respective ISO.

If you want to specify an installation source, use the inst.repo= option instead.

Note

By default, the inst.stage2= boot option is used on the installation media and is set to a specific label; for example, inst.stage2=hd:LABEL=RHEL-x-0-0-BaseOS-x86_64. If you modify the default label of the file system that contains the runtime image, or if you use a customized procedure to boot the installation system, verify that the inst.stage2= boot option is set to the correct value.

inst.noverifyssl

Use the inst.noverifyssl boot option to prevent the installer from verifying SSL certificates for all HTTPS connections with the exception of additional Kickstart repositories, where --noverifyssl can be set per repository.

For example, if your remote installation source is using self-signed SSL certificates, the inst.noverifyssl boot option enables the installer to complete the installation without verifying the SSL certificates.

Example when specifying the source using inst.stage2=

inst.stage2=https://hostname/path_to_install_image/ inst.noverifyssl

Example when specifying the source using inst.repo=

inst.repo=https://hostname/path_to_install_repository/ inst.noverifyssl

inst.stage2.all

Use the inst.stage2.all boot option to specify several HTTP, HTTPS, or FTP sources. You can use the inst.stage2= boot option multiple times with the inst.stage2.all option to fetch the image from the sources sequentially until one succeeds. For example: 

inst.stage2.all
inst.stage2=http://hostname1/path_to_install_tree/
inst.stage2=http://hostname2/path_to_install_tree/
inst.stage2=http://hostname3/path_to_install_tree/
inst.dd=
The inst.dd= boot option is used to perform a driver update during the installation. For more information about how to update drivers during installation, see the Updating drivers during installation.
inst.repo=hmc
This option eliminates the requirement of an external network setup and expands the installation options. When booting from a Binary DVD, the installation program prompts you to enter additional kernel parameters. To set the DVD as an installation source, append the inst.repo=hmc option to the kernel parameters. The installation program then enables support element (SE) and hardware management console (HMC) file access, fetches the images for stage2 from the DVD, and provides access to the packages on the DVD for software selection.
proxy=

This boot option is used when performing an installation from a HTTP, HTTPS, and FTP protocol. For example: 

[PROTOCOL://][USERNAME[:PASSWORD]@]HOST[:PORT]
inst.nosave=

Use the inst.nosave= boot option to control the installation logs and related files that are not saved to the installed system, for example input_ks, output_ks, all_ks, logs and all. You can combine multiple values separated by a comma. For example, 

inst.nosave=Input_ks,logs
Note

The inst.nosave boot option is used for excluding files from the installed system that cannot be removed by a Kickstart %post script, such as logs and input/output Kickstart results.

input_ks
Disables the ability to save the input Kickstart results.
output_ks
Disables the ability to save the output Kickstart results generated by the installation program.
all_ks
Disables the ability to save the input and output Kickstart results.
logs
Disables the ability to save all installation logs.
all
Disables the ability to save all Kickstart results, and all logs.
inst.multilib
Use the inst.multilib boot option to set DNF’s multilib_policy to all, instead of best.
inst.memcheck
The inst.memcheck boot option performs a check to verify that the system has enough RAM to complete the installation. If there is not enough RAM, the installation process is stopped. The system check is approximate and memory usage during installation depends on the package selection, user interface, for example graphical or text, and other parameters.
inst.nomemcheck
The inst.nomemcheck boot option does not perform a check to verify if the system has enough RAM to complete the installation. Any attempt to perform the installation with less than the minimum amount of memory is unsupported, and might result in the installation process failing.

C.2. Network boot options

If your scenario requires booting from an image over the network instead of booting from a local image, you can use the following options to customize network booting.

Note

Initialize the network with the dracut tool. For complete list of dracut options, see the dracut.cmdline(7) man page on your system.

ip=

Use the ip= boot option to configure one or more network interfaces. To configure multiple interfaces, use one of the following methods;

  • use the ip option multiple times, once for each interface; to do so, use the rd.neednet=1 option, and specify a primary boot interface using the bootdev option.
  • use the ip option once, and then use Kickstart to set up further interfaces. This option accepts several different formats. The following tables contain information about the most common options.

In the following tables:

  • The ip parameter specifies the client IP address and IPv6 requires square brackets, for example 192.0.2.1 or [2001:db8::99].
  • The gateway parameter is the default gateway. IPv6 requires square brackets.
  • The netmask parameter is the netmask to be used. This can be either a full netmask (for example, 255.255.255.0) or a prefix (for example, 64).

  • The hostname parameter is the host name of the client system. This parameter is optional.

    Table C.3. Boot option formats to configure the network interface
    Boot option formatConfiguration method

    ip=method

    Automatic configuration of any interface

    ip=interface:method

    Automatic configuration of a specific interface

    ip=ip::gateway:netmask:hostname:interface:none

    Static configuration, for example, IPv4: ip=192.0.2.1::192.0.2.254:255.255.255.0:server.example.com:enp1s0:none

    IPv6: ip=[2001:db8::1]::[2001:db8::fffe]:64:server.example.com:enp1s0:none

    ip=ip::gateway:netmask:hostname:interface:method:mtu

    Automatic configuration of a specific interface with an override

    Configuration methods for the automatic interface

    The method automatic configuration of a specific interface with an override opens the interface using the specified method of automatic configuration, such as dhcp, but overrides the automatically obtained IP address, gateway, netmask, host name or other specified parameters. All parameters are optional, so specify only the parameters that you want to override.

    The method parameter can be any of the following:

    DHCP
    dhcp
    IPv6 DHCP
    dhcp6
    IPv6 automatic configuration
    auto6
    iSCSI Boot Firmware Table (iBFT)
    ibft
    Note
    • If you use a boot option that requires network access, such as inst.ks=http://host/path, without specifying the ip option, the default value of the ip option is ip=dhcp..
    • To connect to an iSCSI target automatically, activate a network device for accessing the target by using the ip=ibft boot option.
    nameserver=

    The nameserver= option specifies the address of the name server. You can use this option multiple times.

    Note

    The ip= parameter requires square brackets. However, an IPv6 address does not work with square brackets. An example of the correct syntax to use for an IPv6 address is nameserver=2001:db8::1.

    bootdev=
    The bootdev= option specifies the boot interface. This option is mandatory if you use more than one ip option.
    ifname=

    The ifname= options assigns an interface name to a network device with a given MAC address. You can use this option multiple times. The syntax is ifname=interface:MAC. For example: 

    ifname=eth0:01:23:45:67:89:ab
    Note

    The ifname= option is the only supported way to set custom network interface names during installation.

    inst.dhcpclass=
    The inst.dhcpclass= option specifies the DHCP vendor class identifier. The dhcpd service recognizes this value as vendor-class-identifier. The default value is anaconda-$(uname -srm). To ensure the inst.dhcpclass= option is applied correctly, request network activation during the early stage of installation by also adding the ip option.
    inst.waitfornet=
    Using the inst.waitfornet=SECONDS boot option causes the installation system to wait for network connectivity before installation. The value given in the SECONDS argument specifies the maximum amount of time to wait for network connectivity before timing out and continuing the installation process even if network connectivity is not present.
    vlan=

    Use the vlan= option to configure a Virtual LAN (VLAN) device on a specified interface with a given name. The syntax is vlan=name:interface. For example: 

    vlan=vlan5:enp0s1

    This configures a VLAN device named vlan5 on the enp0s1 interface. The name can take the following forms:

  • VLAN_PLUS_VID: vlan0005
  • VLAN_PLUS_VID_NO_PAD: vlan5
  • DEV_PLUS_VID: enp0s1.0005

  • DEV_PLUS_VID_NO_PAD: enp0s1.5

    bond=

    Use the bond= option to configure a bonding device with the following syntax: bond=name[:interfaces][:options]. Replace name with the bonding device name, interfaces with a comma-separated list of physical (Ethernet) interfaces, and options with a comma-separated list of bonding options. For example: 

    bond=bond0:enp0s1,enp0s2:mode=active-backup,tx_queues=32,downdelay=5000

    For a list of available options, execute the modinfo bonding command.

    team=

    Use the team= option to configure a team device with the following syntax: team=name:interfaces. Replace name with the desired name of the team device and interfaces with a comma-separated list of physical (Ethernet) devices to be used as underlying interfaces in the team device. For example: 

    team=team0:enp0s1,enp0s2
    bridge=

    Use the bridge= option to configure a bridge device with the following syntax: bridge=name:interfaces. Replace name with the desired name of the bridge device and interfaces with a comma-separated list of physical (Ethernet) devices to be used as underlying interfaces in the bridge device. For example: 

    bridge=bridge0:enp0s1,enp0s2

Additional resources

C.3. Console boot options

This section describes how to configure boot options for your console, monitor display, and keyboard.

console=
Use the console= option to specify a device that you want to use as the primary console. For example, to use a console on the first serial port, use console=ttyS0. When using the console= argument, the installation starts with a text UI. If you must use the console= option multiple times, the boot message is displayed on all specified console. However, the installation program uses only the last specified console. For example, if you specify console=ttyS0 console=ttyS1, the installation program uses ttyS1.
inst.lang=
Use the inst.lang= option to set the language that you want to use during the installation. To view the list of locales, enter the command locale -a | grep _ or the localectl list-locales | grep _ command.
inst.singlelang
Use the inst.singlelang option to install in single language mode, which results in no available interactive options for the installation language and language support configuration. If a language is specified using the inst.lang boot option or the lang Kickstart command, then it is used. If no language is specified, the installation program defaults to en_US.UTF-8.
inst.geoloc=

Use the inst.geoloc= option to configure geolocation usage in the installation program. Geolocation is used to preset the language and time zone, and uses the following syntax: inst.geoloc=value. The value can be any of the following parameters:

  • Disable geolocation: inst.geoloc=0
  • Use the Fedora GeoIP API: inst.geoloc=provider_fedora_geoip.

  • Use the Hostip.info GeoIP API: inst.geoloc=provider_hostip.

    If you do not specify the inst.geoloc= option, the default option is provider_fedora_geoip.

inst.keymap=
Use the inst.keymap= option to specify the keyboard layout to use for the installation.
inst.cmdline
Use the inst.cmdline option to force the installation program to run in command-line mode. This mode does not allow any interaction, and you must specify all options in a Kickstart file or on the command line.
inst.graphical
Use the inst.graphical option to force the installation program to run in graphical mode. The graphical mode is the default.
inst.text
Use the inst.text option to force the installation program to run in text mode instead of graphical mode.
inst.noninteractive
Use the inst.noninteractive boot option to run the installation program in a non-interactive mode. User interaction is not permitted in the non-interactive mode, and inst.noninteractive you can use the inst.nointeractive option with a graphical or text installation. When you use the inst.noninteractive option in text mode, it behaves the same as the inst.cmdline option.
inst.resolution=
Use the inst.resolution= option to specify the screen resolution in graphical mode. The format is NxM, where N is the screen width and M is the screen height (in pixels). The recommended resolution is 1024x768.
inst.vnc
Use the inst.vnc option to run the graphical installation using Virtual Network Computing (VNC). You must use a VNC client application to interact with the installation program. When VNC sharing is enabled, multiple clients can connect. A system installed using VNC starts in text mode.
inst.vncpassword=
Use the inst.vncpassword= option to set a password on the VNC server that is used by the installation program.
inst.vncconnect=
Use the inst.vncconnect= option to connect to a listening VNC client at the given host location, for example, inst.vncconnect=<host>[:<port>] The default port is 5900. You can use this option by entering the command vncviewer -listen.
inst.xdriver=
Use the inst.xdriver= option to specify the name of the X driver to use both during installation and on the installed system.
inst.usefbx
Use the inst.usefbx option to prompt the installation program to use the frame buffer X driver instead of a hardware-specific driver. This option is equivalent to the inst.xdriver=fbdev option.
modprobe.blacklist=

Use the modprobe.blacklist= option to blocklist or completely disable one or more drivers. Drivers (mods) that you disable using this option cannot load when the installation starts. After the installation finishes, the installed system retains these settings. You can find a list of the blocklisted drivers in the /etc/modprobe.d/ directory. Use a comma-separated list to disable multiple drivers. For example: 

modprobe.blacklist=ahci,firewire_ohci
Note

You can use modprobe.blacklist in combination with the different command line options. For example, use it with the inst.dd option to ensure that an updated version of an existing driver is loaded from a driver update disc: 

modprobe.blacklist=virtio_blk
inst.xtimeout=
Use the inst.xtimeout= option to specify the timeout in seconds for starting X server.
inst.sshd

Use the inst.sshd option to start the sshd service during installation, so that you can connect to the system during the installation using SSH, and monitor the installation progress. For more information about SSH, see the ssh(1) man page on your system. By default, the sshd option is automatically started only on the 64-bit IBM Z architecture. On other architectures, sshd is not started unless you use the inst.sshd option.

Note

During installation, the root account has no password by default. You can set a root password during installation with the sshpw Kickstart command.

inst.kdump_addon=
Use the inst.kdump_addon= option to enable or disable the Kdump configuration screen (add-on) in the installation program. This screen is enabled by default; use inst.kdump_addon=off to disable it. Disabling the add-on disables the Kdump screens in both the graphical and text-based interface as well as the %addon com_redhat_kdump Kickstart command.

C.4. Debug boot options

This section describes the options you can use when debugging issues.

inst.rescue
Use the inst.rescue option to run the rescue environment for diagnosing and fixing systems. For more information, see repair a filesystem in rescue mode.
inst.updates=

Use the inst.updates= option to specify the location of the updates.img file that you want to apply during installation. The updates.img file can be derived from one of several sources.

Table C.4. updates.img file sources
SourceDescriptionExample

Updates from a network

Specify the network location of updates.img. This does not require any modification to the installation tree. To use this method, edit the kernel command line to include inst.updates.

inst.updates=http://website.com/path/to/updates.img.

Updates from a disk image

Save an updates.img on a floppy drive or a USB key. This can be done only with an ext2 filesystem type of updates.img. To save the contents of the image on your floppy drive, insert the floppy disc and run the command.

dd if=updates.img of=/dev/fd0 bs=72k count=20. To use a USB key or flash media, replace /dev/fd0 with the device name of your USB flash drive.

Updates from an installation tree

If you are using a CD, disk, HTTP, or FTP install, save the updates.img in the installation tree so that all installations can detect the .img file. The file name must be updates.img.

For NFS installs, save the file in the images/ directory, or in the RHupdates/ directory.

inst.loglevel=

Use the inst.loglevel= option to specify the minimum level of messages logged on a terminal. This option applies only to terminal logging; log files always contain messages of all levels. Possible values for this option from the lowest to highest level are:

  • debug
  • info
  • warning
  • error
  • critical

The default value is info, which means that by default, the logging terminal displays messages ranging from info to critical.

inst.syslog=
Sends log messages to the syslog process on the specified host when the installation starts. You can use inst.syslog= only if the remote syslog process is configured to accept incoming connections.
inst.virtiolog=
Use the inst.virtiolog= option to specify which virtio port (a character device at /dev/virtio-ports/name) to use for forwarding logs. The default value is org.fedoraproject.anaconda.log.0.
inst.zram=

Controls the usage of zRAM swap during installation. The option creates a compressed block device inside the system RAM and uses it for swap space instead of using the disk. This setup allows the installation program to run with less available memory and improve installation speed. You can configure the inst.zram= option using the following values:

  • inst.zram=1 to enable zRAM swap, regardless of system memory size. By default, swap on zRAM is enabled on systems with 2 GiB or less RAM.
  • inst.zram=0 to disable zRAM swap, regardless of system memory size. By default, swap on zRAM is disabled on systems with more than 2 GiB of memory.
rd.live.ram
Copies the stage 2 image in images/install.img into RAM. Note that this increases the memory required for installation by the size of the image which is usually between 400 and 800MB.
inst.nokill
Prevent the installation program from rebooting when a fatal error occurs, or at the end of the installation process. Use it capture installation logs which would be lost upon reboot.
inst.noshell
Prevent a shell on terminal session 2 (tty2) during installation.
inst.notmux
Prevent the use of tmux during installation. The output is generated without terminal control characters and is meant for non-interactive uses.
inst.remotelog=
Sends all the logs to a remote host:port using a TCP connection. The connection is retired if there is no listener and the installation proceeds as normal.

C.5. Storage boot options

This section describes the options you can specify to customize booting from a storage device.

inst.nodmraid
Disables dmraid support.
Warning

Use this option with caution. If you have a disk that is incorrectly identified as part of a firmware RAID array, it might have some stale RAID metadata on it that must be removed using the appropriate tool such as, dmraid or wipefs.

inst.nompath
Disables support for multipath devices. Use this option only if your system has a false-positive that incorrectly identifies a normal block device as a multipath device.
Warning

Use this option with caution. Do not use this option with multipath hardware. Using this option to install to a single path of a multipath device is not supported.

inst.gpt
Forces the installation program to install partition information to a GUID Partition Table (GPT) instead of a Master Boot Record (MBR). This option is not valid on UEFI-based systems, unless they are in BIOS compatibility mode. Normally, BIOS-based systems and UEFI-based systems in BIOS compatibility mode attempt to use the MBR schema for storing partitioning information, unless the disk is 2^32 sectors in size or larger. Disk sectors are typically 512 bytes in size, meaning that this is usually equivalent to 2 TiB. The inst.gpt boot option allows a GPT to be written to smaller disks.
inst.wait_for_disks=
Use the inst.wait_for_disks= option to specify the number of seconds installation program to wait for disk devices to appear at the beginning of the installation. Use this option when you use the OEMDRV-labeled device to automatically load the Kickstart file or the kernel drivers but the device takes longer time to appear during the boot process. By default, installation program waits for 5 seconds. Use 0 seconds to minimize the delay.

C.6. Deprecated boot options

This section contains information about deprecated boot options. These options are still accepted by the installation program but they are deprecated and are scheduled to be removed in a future release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

method
The method option is an alias for inst.repo.
dns
Use nameserver instead of dns. Note that nameserver does not accept comma-separated lists; use multiple nameserver options instead.
netmask, gateway, hostname
The netmask, gateway, and hostname options are provided as part of the ip option.
ip=bootif
A PXE-supplied BOOTIF option is used automatically, so there is no requirement to use ip=bootif.
ksdevice
Table C.5. Values for the ksdevice boot option
ValueInformation

Not present

N/A

ksdevice=link

Ignored as this option is the same as the default behavior

ksdevice=bootif

Ignored as this option is the default if BOOTIF= is present

ksdevice=ibft

Replaced with ip=ibft. See ip for details

ksdevice=<MAC>

Replaced with BOOTIF=${MAC/:/-}

ksdevice=<DEV>

Replaced with bootdev

C.7. Removed boot options

This section contains the boot options that have been removed from Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

Note

dracut provides advanced boot options. For more information about dracut, see the dracut.cmdline(7) man page on your system.

askmethod, asknetwork
initramfs is completely non-interactive, so the askmethod and asknetwork options have been removed. Use inst.repo or specify the appropriate network options.
blacklist, nofirewire
The modprobe option now handles blocklisting kernel modules. Use modprobe.blacklist=<mod1>,<mod2>. You can blocklist the firewire module by using modprobe.blacklist=firewire_ohci.
inst.headless=
The headless= option specified that the system that is being installed to does not have any display hardware, and that the installation program is not required to look for any display hardware.
inst.decorated
The inst.decorated option was used to specify the graphical installation in a decorated window. By default, the window is not decorated, so it does not have a title bar, resize controls, and so on. This option was no longer required.
repo=nfsiso
Use the inst.repo=nfs: option.
serial
Use the console=ttyS0 option.
updates
Use the inst.updates option.
essid, wepkey, wpakey
Dracut does not support wireless networking.
ethtool
This option was no longer required.
gdb
This option was removed because many options are available for debugging dracut-based initramfs.
inst.mediacheck
Use the dracut option rd.live.check option.
ks=floppy
Use the inst.ks=hd:<device> option.
display
For a remote display of the UI, use the inst.vnc option.
utf8
This option was no longer required because the default TERM setting behaves as expected.
noipv6
ipv6 is built into the kernel and cannot be removed by the installation program. You can disable ipv6 by using ipv6.disable=1. This setting is used by the installed system.
upgradeany
This option was no longer required because the installation program no longer handles upgrades.

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