Chapter 1. Installing RHEL AI on bare metal

• RHEL GUI
• Kickstart with embedded container image
• Kickstart with custom container image

Prerequisites

• You have downloaded and unzipped the x86_64 or aarch64 Red Hat Enterprise Linux AI ISO image from the RHEL AI download page.
• You have access to a bare-metal host with compatible NVIDIA CUDA, AMD ROCm, or Intel Gaudi 3 AI accelerators installed.

Procedure

• Optional: Install using the graphical installer

  You can use the interactive RHEL graphical installer and the RHEL AI ISO image to deploy RHEL AI on your machine. For more information about booting a RHEL ISO by using the RHEL installation program, see Interactively installing RHEL from installation media.

• Optional: Install using Kickstart with an embedded container image. You customize the RHEL AI installation by using your own Kickstart file.

  1. Create the Kickstart file with your preferred parameters. For more information, see Creating a Kickstart file with the Kickstart configuration tool.

     Sample rhelai-bootc.ks Kickstart file with embedded container image for NVIDIA CUDA AI accelerators

     ostreecontainer --url=/run/install/repo/container --transport=oci --no-signature-verification
     
     # Switch bootc to point to Red Hat container image for upgrades
     %post
     bootc switch --mutate-in-place --transport registry registry.redhat.io/rhelai3/bootc-cuda-rhel9:3.4.0
     touch /etc/cloud/cloud-init.disabled
     %end
     
     # Customize target system network environment
     network --bootproto=dhcp --device=link --activate
     
     # Customize target system disk partitioning
     clearpart --all --initlabel --disklabel=gpt
     reqpart --add-boot
     part / --grow --fstype xfs
     
     # Optional: customize services
     firewall --disabled
     services --enabled=sshd
     
     # Optional: add a user
     user --name=cloud-user --groups=wheel --plaintext --password <YOUR_PASSWORD>
     sshkey --username cloud-user "<SSH_PUB_KEY>"
     
     # Optional: add a root user SSH public key
     rootpw --iscrypted locked
     sshkey --username root <SSH_ROOT_PUB_KEY>"
     reboot

     Sample rhelai-bootc.ks Kickstart file with embedded container image for AMD ROCm AI accelerators

     ostreecontainer --url=/run/install/repo/container --transport=oci --no-signature-verification
     
     # Switch bootc to point to Red Hat container image for upgrades
     %post
     bootc switch --mutate-in-place --transport registry registry.redhat.io/rhelai3/bootc-rocm-rhel9:3.4.0
     touch /etc/cloud/cloud-init.disabled
     %end
     
     # Customize target system network environment
     network --bootproto=dhcp --device=link --activate
     
     # Customize target system disk partitioning
     clearpart --all --initlabel --disklabel=gpt
     reqpart --add-boot
     part / --grow --fstype xfs
     
     # Optional: customize services
     firewall --disabled
     services --enabled=sshd
     
     # Optional: add a user
     user --name=cloud-user --groups=wheel --plaintext --password <YOUR_PASSWORD>
     sshkey --username cloud-user "<SSH_PUB_KEY>"
     
     # Optional: add a root user SSH public key
     rootpw --iscrypted locked
     sshkey --username root <SSH_ROOT_PUB_KEY>"
     reboot

     Sample rhelai-bootc.ks Kickstart file with embedded container image for Intel Gaudi 3 AI accelerators

     ostreecontainer --url=/run/install/repo/container --transport=oci --no-signature-verification
     
     # Switch bootc to point to Red Hat container image for upgrades
     %post
     bootc switch --mutate-in-place --transport registry registry.redhat.io/rhelai3/bootc-gaudi-rhel9:3.4.0
     touch /etc/cloud/cloud-init.disabled
     %end
     
     # Customize target system network environment
     network --bootproto=dhcp --device=link --activate
     
     # Customize target system disk partitioning
     clearpart --all --initlabel --disklabel=gpt
     reqpart --add-boot
     part / --grow --fstype xfs
     
     # Optional: customize services
     firewall --disabled
     services --enabled=sshd
     
     # Optional: add a user
     user --name=cloud-user --groups=wheel --plaintext --password <YOUR_PASSWORD>
     sshkey --username cloud-user "<SSH_PUB_KEY>"
     
     # Optional: add a root user SSH public key
     rootpw --iscrypted locked
     sshkey --username root <SSH_ROOT_PUB_KEY>"
     reboot

     The sample Kickstart uses the embedded container image in the ISO file, signaled by the ostreecontainer command with the --url=/run/install/repo/container parameter. The bootc switch parameter points to the Red Hat registry for future updates and then you can add your own customizations.

  2. Embed the Kickstart into the RHEL AI ISO so your machine can restart and deploy RHEL AI. Use the mkksiso utility to embed the rhelai-bootc.ks Kickstart file in the boot ISO. The mkksiso utility is in the lorax rpm package.

     $ mkksiso rhelai-bootc.ks <DOWNLOADED-RHELAI-ISO> rhelai-bootc-ks.iso

  3. Boot the machine using the updated ISO. After the installation is complete, the host reboots and you can login to the system using the credentials you added in the Kickstart file.

     Important

     Be aware that having a custom Kickstart in your ISO will automatically start the installation, and disk partitioning, without prompting the user. Based on the disk configuration, local storage might be completely wiped or overwritten.

• Optional: Install using Kickstart with custom container image

  • Follow the procedure as above for embedding the container image, but instead customize the Kickstart file to include your custom container image, for example:

    Sample rhelai-bootc.ks Kickstart file with custom container image

    # Customize target system network environment
    network --bootproto=dhcp --device=link --activate
    
    # Customize target system disk partitioning
    clearpart --all --initlabel --disklabel=gpt
    reqpart --add-boot
    part / --grow --fstype xfs
    
    # Apply the custom bootc container
    ostreecontainer --url <CUSTOM_CONTAINER_IMAGE_REGISTRY_URL>
    
    # Optional: customize services
    firewall --disabled
    services --enabled=sshd
    
    # Optional: add a user
    user --name=cloud-user --groups=wheel --plaintext --password <YOUR_PASSWORD>
    sshkey --username cloud-user "<SSH_PUB_KEY>"
    
    # Optional: add a root user SSH public key
    rootpw --iscrypted locked
    sshkey --username root <SSH_ROOT_PUB_KEY>"
    reboot