7.3. Installing guests with PXE
Create a new bridge
- Create a new network script file in the
/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/directory. This example creates a file namedifcfg-installationwhich makes a bridge namedinstallation.# cd /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ # vim ifcfg-installation DEVICE=installation TYPE=Bridge BOOTPROTO=dhcp ONBOOT=yesWarning
The line,TYPE=Bridge, is case-sensitive. It must have uppercase 'B' and lower case 'ridge'.Important
Prior to the release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.9, a segmentation fault can occur when the bridge name contains only uppercase characters. Please upgrade to 5.9 or newer if uppercase names are required. - Start the new bridge by restarting the network service. The
ifup installationcommand can start the individual bridge but it is safer to test the entire network restarts properly.# service network restart - There are no interfaces added to the new bridge yet. Use the
brctl showcommand to view details about network bridges on the system.# brctl show bridge name bridge id STP enabled interfaces installation 8000.000000000000 no virbr0 8000.000000000000 yesThevirbr0bridge is the default bridge used bylibvirtfor Network Address Translation (NAT) on the default Ethernet device.
Add an interface to the new bridge
Edit the configuration file for the interface. Add theBRIDGEparameter to the configuration file with the name of the bridge created in the previous steps.# Intel Corporation Gigabit Network Connection DEVICE=eth1 BRIDGE=installation BOOTPROTO=dhcp HWADDR=00:13:20:F7:6E:8E ONBOOT=yesAfter editing the configuration file, restart networking or reboot.# service network restartVerify the interface is attached with thebrctl showcommand:# brctl show bridge name bridge id STP enabled interfaces installation 8000.001320f76e8e no eth1 virbr0 8000.000000000000 yesSecurity configuration
Configureiptablesto allow all traffic to be forwarded across the bridge.# iptables -I FORWARD -m physdev --physdev-is-bridged -j ACCEPT # service iptables save # service iptables restartNote
Alternatively, prevent bridged traffic from being processed byiptablesrules. In/etc/sysctl.confappend the following lines:net.bridge.bridge-nf-call-ip6tables = 0 net.bridge.bridge-nf-call-iptables = 0 net.bridge.bridge-nf-call-arptables = 0Reload the kernel parameters configured withsysctl.# sysctl -p /etc/sysctl.confRestart libvirt before the installation
Restart thelibvirtdaemon.# service libvirtd restart
For virt-install append the --network=bridge:installation installation parameter where installation is the name of your bridge. For PXE installations use the --pxe parameter.
Example 7.3. PXE installation with virt-install
# virt-install --accelerate --hvm --connect qemu:///system \
--network=bridge:installation --pxe\
--name EL10 --ram=756 \
--vcpus=4
--os-type=linux --os-variant=rhel5
--file=/var/lib/libvirt/images/EL10.img \
The steps below are the steps that vary from the standard virt-manager installation procedures. For the standard installations rsee Chapter 8, Guest operating system installation procedures.
Select PXE
Select PXE as the installation method.
Select the bridge
Select Shared physical device and select the bridge created in the previous procedure.
Start the installation
The installation is ready to start.