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

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). See https://access.redhat.com/solutions/1232413 for details.

   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.

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). See https://access.redhat.com/solutions/1234773 for details.

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.