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Chapter 14. Starting Kickstart installations

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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 FTP server to install in an IBM Z LPAR

Use this procedure when installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux into an LPAR using an 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. 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 from Removable Media or Server.
  5. In the dialog box that follows, select 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. As Load parameter, fill in the number corresponding to the zipl boot menu entry that you prepared for booting the Red Hat Enterprise Linux installation program.
  8. 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. 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 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. As Boot program selector, fill in the number corresponding to the zipl boot menu entry that you prepared for booting the Red Hat Enterprise Linux installation program.
  10. Leave the Boot record logical block address as 0 and the Operating system specific load parameters empty.
  11. 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 System Z machine. The FCP adapter must be configured and available in your LPAR.

Procedure

  1. Log in on the IBM System 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 Systemstab, 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

Perform the following steps to 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. Execute the command:

    ftp host

    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.

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