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Newer page: version 14 Last edited on Thursday, August 24, 2006 9:47:28 am by CraigBox
Older page: version 12 Last edited on Wednesday, June 21, 2006 5:19:25 pm by CraigBox Revert
@@ -1,34 +1,44 @@
+!! Automatic installation  
+  
 If you have a lab full of machines, or you have a number of machines that need to be set up with the same configuration (eg: you are building firewalls), you might be interested in a method of automatically installing machines. 
  
------  
- RedHat Linux 
+!! RedHat Linux & derivatives (RedHatEnterpriseLinux, FedoraCore, CentOs)  
  
 Automatic installs on Red Hat are made very easy by the fact that [RPM]s do not ask you question when they are installed. Red Hat policy is to shoot first and ask questions later; if a file is going to be overwritten, a new file (file.rpmnew) is written in its place. 
  
-The 'standard' way to do a Red Hat automatic install is with KickStart. This is a feature built into anaconda (the Red Hat installer) that allows you to run ksconfig(1 ) and generate a configuration file that you can put on a floppy, then boot a system, have it automatically pick up an IP address by DHCP, mount a share for files and start installing based on the configuration file you build with ksconfig(1)
+The 'standard' way to do a Red Hat automatic install is with KickStart. This is a feature that allows you to run ksconfig(8 ) and generate a configuration file that you can put on a floppy or the network. You then boot a system into anaconda (the Red Hat installer) , have it automatically pick up an IP address by DHCP, mount a share for files and start installing based on the configuration file you built with ksconfig. 
  
------  
- [Debian] and [Ubuntu] 
+!! [Debian] and derivatives (ie. [Ubuntu])  
  
-* Preseed an installation, in the same fashion as a Kickstart file.  
-** http://wiki.debian.org/DebianInstaller/Preseed - Note changes at the bottom of the file between sarge/hoary and etch/dapper.  
-** [Debian manual|http://d-i.alioth.debian.org/manual/en.i386/ch04s07.html#automatic-install], [sample preseed|http://d-i.alioth.debian.org/manual/example-preseed.txt]  
-* http://instalinux.com/ can build you an automatically installing CD image, which fetches packages off your network. This is cool.  
-* UbuntuRemastering and https://help.ubuntu.com/community/InstallCDCustomizationHowTo  
+Since Debian replaced bootfloppies with debian-installer in Sarge, you have been able to pre-seed questions in an installation, in the same fashion as a Kickstart file. The best source of information is the [Debian Installer manual| http://wiki.debian.org/DebianInstaller/Preseed] - note the changes at the bottom of the file between sarge/warty-breezy and etch/dapper-onwards . There is also a section on [automatic installation in the Debian manual|http://d-i.alioth.debian.org/manual/en.i386/ch04s07.html#automatic-install], and a [sample preseed file |http://d-i.alioth.debian.org/manual/example-preseed.txt] 
  
-Other options:  
+You can use the preseed file manually, specified on the CD boot command line, via floppy/network, or you can burn it to the CD for a totally automated installation. See UbuntuRemastering for information on this.  
  
-* AutoInstall - This is a kickstart-alike config on a floppy system, but designed to be generated by a pre installed Debian system generating you a config rather than a bunch of questions in a configuration program. Developed by [Progeny]. See http://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/users-guide/ap-ami.en.html for some configuration options.  
-* [FAI (Fully Automated Installation)|http://www.informatik.uni-koeln.de/fai/] - This does an install off an NFS server. 
+[FAI (Fully Automated Installation)|http://www.informatik.uni-koeln.de/fai/] is another system for doing lots of similar installs off an NFS server. 
  
-Quick 'n' Dirty note: If you are quite happy to do a base install of debian manually (which is pretty quick), and just want to restore a system to the state it was in, in terms of the packages you had installed, a very cool tool is dpkg --get-selections>installed-packages.  
+! Manual "automated installation" of a Debian system 
  
-On your freshly installed system, use dpkg --set-selections<installed-packages , and then apt-get -u dselect-upgrade.  
+If you are quite happy to do a base install of Debian manually (which is pretty quick) , and just want to restore a system to the state it was in:  
  
-If you wish to get really tricksy, you can copy the debconf database as well, so your config choices will be pre -selected for you. -- GreigMcGill  
+<pre>  
+apt- get install debconf-utils  
+dpkg --get-selections | gzip -9 > $BACKUP_DIR/dpkg-selections  
+debconf-get-selections | gzip -9 > $BACKUP_DIR/debconf-selections  
+</pre>  
  
-(AutoInstall has a really good set of scripts for the debconf database.) -- CraigBox  
+Then, on your freshly installed system, you can do:  
  
------ 
+<pre>  
+debconf -set -selections < debconf -selections  
+dpkg --set-selections < dpkg-selections  
+apt-get -u dselect-upgrade  
+</pre>  
  
-Part of LinuxInstallationNotes 
+This will install all the packages you had installed on the previous system, and preseeds the answers to al of the debconf questions you would otherwise have been asked.  
+  
+!! Cross distro ([Debian], [SUSE], [Fedora], [Ubuntu])  
+  
+[InstaLinux|http://instalinux.com/] asks you some questions about your network and then builds you a small downloadable automatically-installing CD boot image.  
+  
+-----  
+This page is part of our LinuxInstallationNotes.