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| Newer page: | version 14 | Last edited on Thursday, August 24, 2006 9:47:28 am | by CraigBox | Revert |
| Older page: | version 8 | Last edited on Wednesday, May 14, 2003 8:56:50 am | by GreigMcGill | Revert |
@@ -1,28 +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 & 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.
------
-DebianLinux
+!! [Debian] and derivatives (ie. [Ubuntu])
-This isn't quite as easy; and it seems
to be because not all packages (notably
[LILO
]) choose to use debconf(7) as their post installation question
-asking tool
. There was
a great deal of debate by Debian developers about this, which appears to have been resolved
in the [suggestion that people use debconf
|http://www
.debian.org/doc
/debian-policy
/ch-archive
.html#s2
.3
.9
.1] in Debian policy
.
+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]
-Seems looks like
you have four 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
.
-#
[FAI (Fully Automated Installation)|http://www.informatik.uni-koeln.de/fai/] - This does an install
off an NFS server.
-# 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.
-# [SystemImager|http://www.systemimager.org] - what appears to be a free Ghost for Linux, SystemImager is software that automates Linux installs, software distribution, and production deployment.
-# [replicator|http://replicator.sourceforge.net/] - Designed for potato. Outdated
.
+[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.
-On your freshly installed
system, use dpkg --set-selections<installed-packages.
-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
+! Manual "automated installation"
of a Debian
system
------
+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:
-Part
of LinuxInstallationNotes
+<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>
+
+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>
+
+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.
