8.2. Advanced Installation
8.2.1. Custom Partitioning
Custom partitioning on Red Hat Virtualization Host (RHVH) is not recommended. Red Hat strongly recommends using the Automatically configure partitioning option in the Installation Destination window.
If your installation requires custom partitioning, select the
I will configure partitioning option during the installation, and note that the following restrictions apply:
- You must select the LVM Thin Provisioning option in the Manual Partitioning window.
- The following directories are required and must be on thin provisioned logical volumes:
- root (
/)
/home
/tmp
/var
/var/log
/var/log/audit
For information about the required storage sizes for each partition, refer to the table below. - The
/bootdirectory should be defined as a standard partition. - The
/vardirectory must be on a separate volume or disk. - Only XFS or Ext4 file systems are supported.
| / | /home | /tmp | /boot | /var | /var/log | /var/log/audit | swap | Minimum Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 GB | 1 GB | 1 GB | 1 GB | 15 GB | 8 GB | 2 GB | 1 GB | 32 GB |
8.2.2. Automating Red Hat Virtualization Host Deployment
You can install Red Hat Virtualization Host (RHVH) without a physical media device by booting from the network using PXE. You can automate the installation process by using a Kickstart file containing the answers to the installation questions. The Kickstart file can also be accessed over the network, removing the need for physical media.
Instructions for both tasks can be found in the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Installation Guide, as RHVH is installed in much the same way as Red Hat Enterprise Linux. The main differences required for RHVH are included in the following procedure.
Procedure 8.2. Automating Deployment using PXE and Kickstart
- Download the RHVH ISO image from the Customer Portal:
- Log in to the Customer Portal at https://access.redhat.com.
- Click Downloads in the menu bar.
- Click Red Hat Virtualization, scroll up, and click to access the product download page.
- Choose the appropriate hypervisor image and click .
- Make the RHVH ISO image available over the network using the instructions in Installation Source on a Network.
- Configure the PXE server using the instructions in Preparing for a Network Installation.The following requirements apply in order to boot RHVH from the PXE server:
- Ensure that you copy the RHVH boot images to the
tftp/root directory.# cp URL/to/RHVH-ISO/images/pxeboot/{vmlinuz,initrd.img} /var/lib/tftpboot/pxelinux/ - The boot loader configuration file must include a RHVH label that specifies the RHVH boot images.
KERNEL URL/to/vmlinuz APPEND initrd=URL/to/initrd.img inst.stage2=URL/to/RHVH-ISO
- Create a Kickstart file and make it available over the network using the instructions in Kickstart Installations.The following constraints apply to RHVH Kickstart files:
- The
%packagessection is not required for RHVH. Instead, use theliveimgoption and specify thesquashfs.imgfile from the RHVH ISO image.liveimg --url=URL/to/squashfs.img
- The
autopartcommand is highly recommended. Thin provisioning must be used.autopart --type=thinp
If your installation requires manual partitioning instead, see Section 8.2.1, “Custom Partitioning” for a list of limitations that apply to partitions.The following example demonstrates how to configure manual partitioning.clearpart --all part /boot --fstype xfs --size=1000 --ondisk=sda part pv.01 --size=42000 --grow volgroup HostVG pv.01 logvol swap --vgname=HostVG --name=swap --fstype=swap --recommended logvol none --vgname=HostVG --name=HostPool --thinpool --size=40000 --grow logvol / --vgname=HostVG --name=root --thin --fstype=ext4 --poolname=HostPool --fsoptions="defaults,discard" --size=6000 --grow logvol /var --vgname=HostVG --name=var --thin --fstype=ext4 --poolname=HostPool --fsoptions="defaults,discard" --size=15000 logvol /var/log --vgname=HostVG --name=var_log --thin --fstype=ext4 --poolname=HostPool --fsoptions="defaults,discard" --size=8000 logvol /var/log/audit --vgname=HostVG --name=var_audit --thin --fstype=ext4 --poolname=HostPool --fsoptions="defaults,discard" --size=2000 logvol /home --vgname=HostVG --name=home --thin --fstype=ext4 --poolname=HostPool --fsoptions="defaults,discard" --size=1000 logvol /tmp --vgname=HostVG --name=tmp --thin --fstype=ext4 --poolname=HostPool --fsoptions="defaults,discard" --size=1000
- A
%postsection that calls thenodectl initcommand is required.%post nodectl init %end
To fully automate the installation process, you can add this Kickstart file to the boot loader configuration file on the PXE server. Specify the Kickstart location by addinginst.ks=to theAPPENDline:APPEND initrd=URL/to/initrd.img inst.stage2=URL/to/RHVH-ISO inst.ks=URL/to/RHVH-ks.cfg
Example 8.1. Red Hat Virtualization Host Kickstart File
The following is an example of a Kickstart file used to deploy Red Hat Virtualization Host. You can include additional commands and options as required.liveimg --url=http://1.2.3.4/path/to/squashfs.img clearpart --all autopart --type=thinp rootpw --plaintext ovirt timezone --utc America/Phoenix zerombr text reboot %post --erroronfail nodectl init %end
- Install RHVH using the instructions in Booting the Installation on AMD64 and Intel 64 Systems from the Network Using PXE.
