Chapter 6. Using PXE to Provision Hosts

Procedure

1. In the Satellite web UI, navigate to Hosts > Create Host.
2. In the Name field, enter a name for the host.
3. Click the Organization and Location tabs and change the context to match your requirements.
4. From the Host Group list, select a host group that you want to use to populate the form.
5. Click the Interface tab, and on the host’s interface, click Edit.

6. Verify that the fields are populated with values. Note in particular:

   • The Name from the Host tab becomes the DNS name.
   • Satellite Server automatically assigns an IP address for the new host.
7. In the MAC address field, enter a MAC address for the host. This ensures the identification of the host during the PXE boot process.
8. Ensure that Satellite Server automatically selects the Managed, Primary, and Provision options for the first interface on the host. If not, select them.
9. In the MAC address field, enter a MAC address of the host’s provisioning interface. This ensures the identification of the host during the PXE boot process.
10. Click OK to save. To add another interface, click Add Interface. You can select only one interface for Provision and Primary.
11. Click the Operating System tab, and verify that all fields contain values. Confirm each aspect of the operating system.

12. Optional: Click Resolve in Provisioning template to check the new host can identify the right provisioning templates to use.

    For more information about associating provisioning templates, see Section 2.11, “Provisioning Templates”.

13. Click the Parameters tab, and ensure that a parameter exists that provides an activation key. If not, add an activation key.

14. Click Submit to save the host details.

    For more information about network interfaces, see Adding network interfaces.

CLI procedure

1. Create the host with the hammer host create command.

   # hammer host create --name "My_Unattended_Host" --organization "My_Organization" \
   --location "My_Location" --hostgroup "My_Host_Group" --mac "aa:aa:aa:aa:aa:aa" \
   --build true --enabled true --managed true

2. Ensure the network interface options are set using the hammer host interface update command.

   # hammer host interface update --host "test1" --managed true \
   --primary true --provision true

Procedure

1. On Capsule that you use for provisioning, update the grub2-efi package to the latest version:

   # satellite-maintain packages install grub2-efi

2. Enable foreman-proxy-http, foreman-proxy-httpboot, and foreman-proxy-tftp features.

   # satellite-installer --scenario satellite \
   --foreman-proxy-httpboot true \
   --foreman-proxy-http true \
   --foreman-proxy-tftp true

3. In the Satellite web UI, navigate to Hosts > Create Host.
4. In the Name field, enter a name for the host.
5. Click the Organization and Location tabs and change the context to match your requirements.
6. From the Host Group list, select a host group that you want to use to populate the form.
7. Click the Interface tab, and on the host’s interface, click Edit.

8. Verify that the fields are populated with values. Note in particular:

   • The Name from the Host tab becomes the DNS name.
   • Satellite Server automatically assigns an IP address for the new host.
9. In the MAC address field, enter a MAC address of the host’s provisioning interface. This ensures the identification of the host during the PXE boot process.
10. Ensure that Satellite Server automatically selects the Managed, Primary, and Provision options for the first interface on the host. If not, select them.
11. Click OK to save. To add another interface, click Add Interface. You can select only one interface for Provision and Primary.
12. Click the Operating System tab, and verify that all fields contain values. Confirm each aspect of the operating system.
13. From the PXE Loader list, select Grub2 UEFI HTTP.

14. Optional: Click Resolve in Provisioning template to check the new host can identify the right provisioning templates to use.

    For more information about associating provisioning templates, see Section 2.13, “Creating Provisioning Templates”.

15. Click the Parameters tab, and ensure that a parameter exists that provides an activation key. If not, add an activation key.

16. Click Submit to save the host details.

    For more information about network interfaces, see Adding network interfaces.

17. Set the host to boot in UEFI mode from network.
18. Start the host.
19. From the boot menu, select Kickstart default PXEGrub2.

CLI procedure

1. On Capsule that you use for provisioning, update the grub2-efi package to the latest version:

   # satellite-maintain packages install grub2-efi

2. Enable foreman-proxy-http, foreman-proxy-httpboot, and foreman-proxy-tftp true features.

   # satellite-installer --scenario satellite \
   --foreman-proxy-httpboot true \
   --foreman-proxy-http true \
   --foreman-proxy-tftp true

3. Create the host with the hammer host create command.

   # hammer host create --name "My_Host" \
   --organization "My_Organization" \
   --location "My_Location" \
   --hostgroup "My_Host_Group" \
   --mac "aa:aa:aa:aa:aa:aa" \
   --build true \
   --enabled true \
   --managed true \
   --pxe-loader "Grub2 UEFI HTTP"

4. Ensure the network interface options are set using the hammer host interface update command.

   # hammer host interface update --host "My_Host" \
   --managed true \
   --primary true \
   --provision true

5. Set the host to boot in UEFI mode from network.
6. Start the host.
7. From the boot menu, select Kickstart default PXEGrub2.

1. In the Satellite web UI, navigate to Hosts > Provisioning Templates.
2. Create a provisioning template, or clone and edit an existing template. For more information, see Section 2.13, “Creating Provisioning Templates”.
3. In the template, click the Template tab.

4. In the Template editor field, add the create_users snippet to the %post section:

   <%= snippet('create_users') %>

5. Select the Default check box.
6. Click the Association tab.
7. From the Application Operating Systems list, select an operating system.
8. Click Submit to save the provisioning template.

9. Create a host that is associated with the provisioning template or rebuild a host using the OS associated with the modified template. For more information, see Creating a Host in the Managing Hosts guide.

   The SSH keys of the Owned by user are added automatically when the create_users snippet is executed during the provisioning process. You can set Owned by to an individual user or a user group. If you set Owned by to a user group, the SSH keys of all users in the user group are added automatically.