10.9. Choose an Installation Boot Method

You can use several methods to boot the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 installation program. The method you choose depends upon your installation media.

Note

Installation media must remain mounted throughout installation, including during execution of the %post section of a kickstart file.

Full installation DVD or USB drive: You can create bootable media from the full installation DVD ISO image. In this case, a single DVD or USB drive can be used to complete the entire installation - it will serve both as a boot device and as an installation source for installing software packages. See Chapter 3, Making Media for instructions on how to make a full installation DVD or USB drive.
Minimal boot CD, DVD or USB Flash Drive: A minimal boot CD, DVD or USB flash drive is created using a small ISO image, which only contains data necessary to boot the system and start the installation. If you use this boot media, you will need an additional installation source from which packages will be installed. See Chapter 3, Making Media for instructions on making boot CDs, DVDs and USB flash drives.
PXE Server: A preboot execution environment (PXE) server allows the installation program to boot over the network. After you boot the system, you complete the installation from a different installation source, such as a local hard drive or a location on a network. For more information on PXE servers, see Chapter 24, Preparing for a Network Installation.