Chapter 5. Preparing network-based repositories

Procedure

1. Install the nfs-utils package:

   # dnf install nfs-utils

2. Copy the DVD ISO image to a directory on the NFS server. This example assumes the DVD ISO is copied to the /nfs/rhel10-install/ directory on the NFS server.

3. Open the /etc/exports file using a text editor and add a line with the following syntax:

   /exported_directory/ clients

   • Replace /exported_directory/ with the full path to the directory with the ISO image.

   • Replace clients with one of the following:

     • The host name or IP address of the target system
     • The subnetwork that all target systems can use to access the ISO image
     • To allow any system with network access to the NFS server to use the ISO image, the asterisk sign (*)

     See the exports(5) man page for detailed information about the format of this field.

     For example, a basic configuration that makes the /nfs/rhel10-install/ directory available as read-only to all clients is:

     /nfs/rhel10-install *

4. Save the /etc/exports file and exit the text editor.

5. Enable the NFS service in firewalld:

   # firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service nfs

   # firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=mountd

   # firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=rpc-bind

   # firewall-cmd --reload

6. Start the nfs service:

   # systemctl enable --now nfs-server.service

   If the service was running before you changed the /etc/exports file, reload the NFS server configuration:

   # systemctl reload nfs-server.service

   The ISO image is now accessible over NFS and ready to be used as an installation source.

   When configuring the installation source, use nfs: as the protocol, the server host name or IP address, the colon sign (:), and the directory holding the ISO image. For example, if the server host name is myserver.example.com and you have saved the ISO image in /nfs/rhel10-install/:

   • On kernel command line, define the NFS installation source as inst.repo=nfs:myserver.example.com:/nfs/rhel10-install/ and
   • In the Kickstart file, define the NFS installation source as nfs --server=myserver.example.com --dir=/nfs/rhel10-install/.

Procedure

1. Install the httpd package.

   # dnf install httpd

2. Optional: Install the mod_ssl package if you want to use the https installation source:

   # dnf install mod_ssl

3. Copy the DVD ISO image to the HTTP(S) server.

4. Create a suitable directory for mounting the DVD ISO image, for example:

   # mkdir /mnt/rhel10-install/

5. Mount the DVD ISO image to the directory:

   # mount -o loop,ro -t iso9660 /image_directory/image.iso /mnt/rhel10-install/

   Replace /image_directory/image.iso with the path to the DVD ISO image.

6. Copy the files from the mounted image to the HTTP(S) server root.

   # cp -r /mnt/rhel10-install/ /var/www/html/

   This command creates the /var/www/html/rhel10-install/ directory with the content of the image. Note that some other copying methods might skip the .treeinfo file which is required for a valid installation source. Entering the cp command for entire directories copies .treeinfo correctly.

7. Unmount the DVD ISO:

   # umount /mnt/rhel10-install/

8. Enable the http service in firewalld:

   # firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=http

   # firewall-cmd --reload

9. Optional: Enable the https service in firewalld:

   # firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=https

   # firewall-cmd --reload

10. Start the httpd service:

    # systemctl enable --now httpd.service

    The installation tree is now accessible and ready to be used as the installation source.

    Note

    When configuring the installation source, use http:// or https:// as the protocol, the server host name or IP address, and the directory that contains the files from the ISO image, relative to the HTTP server root. For example, if you use HTTP, the server host name is myserver.example.com, and you have copied the files from the image to /var/www/html/rhel10-install/, specify http://myserver.example.com/rhel10-install/ as the installation source.

Procedure

1. Install the vsftpd package.

   # dnf install vsftpd

2. Open and edit the /etc/vsftpd/vsftpd.conf configuration file in a text editor.

   1. Change the line anonymous_enable=NO to anonymous_enable=YES
   2. Change the line write_enable=YES to write_enable=NO.

   3. Add lines pasv_min_port=<min_port> and pasv_max_port=<max_port>. Replace <min_port> and <max_port> with the port number range used by the FTP server in passive mode, for example, 10000 and 11000.

      This step might be necessary in network environments featuring various firewall/NAT setups.

   4. Optional: Add custom changes to your configuration. For available options, see the vsftpd.conf(5) man page. This procedure assumes that default options are used.

   5. Configure the firewall to allow the FTP port and port range from the previous step:

      # firewall-cmd --add-port min_port-max_port/tcp --permanent

      Replace <min_port> and <max_port> with the port numbers you entered into the /etc/vsftpd/vsftpd.conf configuration file.

   6. Configure the firewall to allow FTP service

      # firewall-cmd --add-service ftp --permanent

   7. Reload the firewall to apply the new rules:

      # firewall-cmd --reload

3. Copy the DVD ISO image to the FTP server.

4. Create a suitable directory for mounting the DVD ISO image, for example:

   # mkdir /mnt/rhel10-install

5. Mount the DVD ISO image to the directory:

   # mount -o loop,ro -t iso9660 /image-directory/image.iso /mnt/rhel10-install

   Replace /image-directory/image.iso with the path to the DVD ISO image.

6. Copy the files from the mounted image to the FTP server root:

   # cp -r /mnt/rhel10-install/ /var/ftp/

   This command creates the /var/ftp/rhel10-install/ directory with the content of the image. Some copying methods can skip the .treeinfo file which is required for a valid installation source. Entering the cp command for whole directories as shown in this procedure will copy .treeinfo correctly.

7. Start the vsftpd service:

   # systemctl enable --now vsftpd.service

   If the service was running before you changed the /etc/vsftpd/vsftpd.conf file, restart the service to load the edited file:

   # systemctl restart vsftpd.service

   The installation tree is now accessible and ready to be used as the installation source.

   When configuring the installation source, use ftp:// as the protocol, the server host name or IP address, and the directory in which you have stored the files from the ISO image, relative to the FTP server root. For example, if the server host name is myserver.example.com and you have copied the files from the image to /var/ftp/rhel10-install/, specify ftp://myserver.example.com/rhel10-install/ as the installation source.