6.4. Configuring the HTTP server for HTTP boot

Procedure

1. Install the HTTP server:

   # dnf install httpd

2. Create the /var/www/html/redhat directory:

   # mkdir -p /var/www/html/redhat

3. Download the RHEL DVD ISO file. See All Red Hat Enterprise Linux Downloads.

4. Create a mount point for the ISO file:

   # mkdir -p /var/www/html/redhat/iso

5. Mount the ISO file:

   # mount -o loop,ro -t iso9660 path-to-RHEL-DVD.iso /var/www/html/redhat/iso

6. Copy the boot loader, kernel, and initramfs from the mounted ISO file into your HTML directory:

   # cp -r /var/www/html/redhat/iso/images /var/www/html/redhat
   # cp -r /var/www/html/redhat/iso/EFI /var/www/html/redhat

7. Make the boot loader configuration editable and ensure the boot files are owned by the user running httpd server (apache):

   # chmod 644 /var/www/html/redhat/EFI/BOOT/grub.cfg
   # chown -R apache:apache /var/www/html/redhat/EFI

8. Edit the /var/www/html/redhat/EFI/BOOT/grub.cfg file and replace its content with the following:

   set default="1"
   
   function load_video {
     insmod efi_gop
     insmod efi_uga
     insmod video_bochs
     insmod video_cirrus
     insmod all_video
   }
   
   load_video
   set gfxpayload=keep
   
   set timeout=60
   
   menuentry 'Install Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.0' --class fedora --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
       	linuxefi /redhat/images/pxeboot/vmlinuz inst.repo=http://192.168.124.2/redhat/iso quiet
       	initrdefi /redhat/images/pxeboot/initrd.img
   }
   submenu 'Troubleshooting -->' {
       	menuentry 'Install Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.0 in text mode' --class fedora --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
               	linuxefi /redhat/images/pxeboot/vmlinuz inst.repo=http://192.168.124.2/redhat/iso inst.text quiet
               	initrdefi /redhat/images/pxeboot/initrd.img
       	}
       	menuentry 'Rescue a Red Hat Enterprise Linux system' --class fedora --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
               	linuxefi /redhat/images/pxeboot/vmlinuz inst.stage2=http://192.168.124.2/redhat/iso inst.rescue quiet
               	initrdefi /redhat/images/pxeboot/initrd.img
       	}
   }

   In this file, update the following strings:

   Install Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.0

   Edit the version number to match the version of RHEL that you downloaded.

   192.168.124.2

   Replace with the IP address of your server.

9. Open ports in the firewall to allow HTTP (80), DHCP (67, 68) and DHCPv6 (546, 547) traffic:

   # firewall-cmd --zone public \
                  --add-port={80/tcp,67/udp,68/udp,546/udp,547/udp}

   This command enables temporary access until the next server reboot.

10. Optional: To enable permanent access, add the --permanent option to the command.

11. Reload firewall rules:

    # firewall-cmd --reload

12. Start the HTTP server:

    # systemctl enable --now httpd

13. Make the html directory and its content readable and executable:

    # chmod -cR u=rwX,g=rX,o=rX /var/www/html

14. Restore the SELinux context of the html directory:

    # restorecon -FvvR /var/www/html