5.2. Anaconda Architecture

Anaconda is a set of Python modules and scripts. It also uses several external packages and libraries.

The major components of this toolset include the following packages:

Apart from the division into packages previously mentioned, Anaconda is internally divided into the user interface and a set of modules that run as separate processes and communicate by using the D-Bus library. These modules are:

Each module declares which parts of Kickstart it handles, and has methods to apply the configuration from Kickstart to the installation environment and to the installed system.

The Python code portion of Anaconda (pyanaconda) starts as a "main" process that owns the user interface. Any Kickstart data you provide are parsed by using the pykickstart module and the Boss module is started, it discovers all other modules, and starts them. Main process then sends Kickstart data to the modules according to their declared capabilities. Modules process the data, apply the configuration to the installation environment, and the UI validates if all required choices have been made. If not, you must supply the data in an interactive installation mode. Once all required choices have been made, the installation can start - the modules write data to the installed system.