Chapter 1. Using Kickstart files for installing MicroShift in RHEL

Procedure

1. Install the microshift-release-info RPM package containing the sample Kickstart files that are in the /usr/share/microshift/kickstart directory by running the following command:

   $ sudo dnf install -y microshift-release-info

2. Install the utilities used during the Kickstart file creation by running the following command:

   $ sudo dnf install -y openssl gettext

3. Set the variables pointing to secrets included in kickstart.ks.

   • The PULL_SECRET file contents are copied to the /etc/crio/openshift-pull-secret directory at the post-installation stage to authenticate OpenShift Container Platform container registry access.

     Example command setting the PULL_SECRET variable:

     $ export PULL_SECRET="$(cat ~/.pull-secret.json)"

   • Set a password in the PASSWD_TEXT variable to use in the`USER_PASSWD` setting by running the following command:

     Example command setting the PASSWD_TEXT variable.

     $ PASSWD_TEXT=<my_redhat_user_plain_text_password> 1

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     Replace <my_redhat_user_plain_text_password> with the password you want to use.

   • The USER_PASSWD setting is used as an encrypted password for the redhat user for logging into the host. Encrypt your password string using the SHA-512 encryption standard.

     Example command setting the USER_PASSWD variable.

     $ export USER_PASSWD="$(openssl passwd -6 "${PASSWD_TEXT}")"  1

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     Only the encrypted password is included in the Kickstart file. The plain text password is not.

Next steps

1. Follow the instructions for your installation type to create a working Kickstart file from the provided template. Instructions for RPM-based, RHEL for Edge, and image mode for RHEL installations follow this procedure.
2. Optional. Create a virtual machine (VM) using the Kickstart file. Creating a VM allows you to test and validate the values in your Kickstart file.

Procedure

1. Add the following variables to create an RPM Kickstart file:

   Example commands setting the Kickstart file variables.

   • The RHSM_ORG variable contains a Red Hat Subscription Manager organization ID for the subscription registration command in the Kickstart file.

     $ export RHSM_ORG="$(cat ~/.rhsm-activation-org)"

   • The RHSM_KEY variable contains a Red Hat Subscription Manager activation key for the subscription registration command in the Kickstart file.

     $ export RHSM_KEY="$(cat ~/.rhsm-activation-key)"

   • The MICROSHIFT_VER variable references the MicroShift version to install using the 4.y format. The latest available .z version of the 4.y version set in this variable is automatically installed.

     $ export MICROSHIFT_VER=4.17 1

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     For the minor version you set, the latest z-stream of that version is installed.

2. Run the following command to create the kickstart.ks file to be used during the virtual machine installation:

   envsubst < \
       /usr/share/microshift/kickstart/kickstart-rpm.ks.template > \
       "${HOME}/kickstart.ks"

Procedure

1. Add the following required variables to create an RHEL for Edge Kickstart file:

   Example commands setting required variables.

   • The OSTREE_SERVER_URL variable contains an rpm-ostree server URL that is passed to the ostreesetup Kickstart command.

     $ export OSTREE_SERVER_URL="<http://my_ostree_server_url>" 1

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     Replace http://my_ostree_server_url with your server URL.

   • The OSTREE_COMMIT_REF variable contains an rpm-ostree commit reference that is installed from the server.

     $ export OSTREE_COMMIT_REF="<myostree_commit_reference>" 1

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     Replace <myostree_commit_reference> with the rpm-ostree commit reference.

2. Optional. Add the following variable for server authentication:

   • The AUTH_CONFIG contents are copied to /etc/ostree/auth.json at the pre-install stage to authenticate access to the OSTREE_SERVER_URL server. If no server authentication is required, skip this setting.

     $ export AUTH_CONFIG="$(cat ~/.ostree-auth.json)"

3. Run the following command to create the kickstart.ks file to be used during the installation:

   envsubst < \
       /usr/share/microshift/kickstart/kickstart-ostree.ks.template > \
       "${HOME}/kickstart.ks"

Procedure

1. Set the required BOOTC_IMAGE_URL variable value to point to an image used in the RHEL Kickstart file installation process by running the following command:

   $ export BOOTC_IMAGE_URL=<myregistry>/<myorg>/<mypath>/microshift-image:tag 1

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   Replace <myregistry>,<myorg>, and <mypath> with your information.

   • The BOOTC_IMAGE_URL variable contains a reference to the image that is installed with the ostreecontainer command. You can specify a z-stream release other than the latest by using the tag if required.

2. Optional. Add variables and values for registry authentication and configuration by using the following commands:

   Example commands setting optional variables

   • Set the AUTH_CONFIG variable to authenticate access to the BOOTC_IMAGE_URL image by running the following command:

     $ export AUTH_CONFIG="$(cat ~/.quay-auth.json)" 1

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     See the containers-auth.json(5) manual page for more information about this file format.

   • Set the REGISTRY_CONFIG variable to configure access to the registry containing the BOOTC_IMAGE_URL image by running the following command:

     $ export REGISTRY_CONFIG="$(cat ~/.quay-config.conf)" 1

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     See the containers-registries.conf(5) manual page for more information about this file format.

3. Create the kickstart.ks file to be used during the installation by running the following command:

   envsubst < \
       /usr/share/microshift/kickstart/kickstart-bootc.ks.template > \
       "${HOME}/kickstart.ks"