Install Red Hat Enterprise Linux Automatically Using Kickstart
General Information
Installing a VM takes a while and is probably not too likely to occur on the exam, but you should be prepared to do it in case.
Create Kickstart File
Start with the kickstart containing many of the config options selected for the existing system located at:
- /root/anaconda-ks.cfg
- Modify as needed
Create Kickstart File: CLI
If you do not have a GUI, you can:
- Modify a default kickstart file on a system that you have access to directly (/root/anaconda-ks.cfg).
- Use a CLI tool ksshell to create a file or modify an existing
- Install ksshell (provided by pykickstart)
yum install pykickstart
- Create a kickstart file
- Open an existing kickstart to modify
ksshell --input /root/anaconda-ks.cfg --output mynewkickstart.cfg
- Start from scratch
ksshell --output mynewkickstart.cfg
- ksshell edit mode
- Tab Completion: While in the ks shell, use tab completion to see available commands
- View current kickstart
ks> .show
- Quit and write to output file
ks> .quit
Create Kickstart File: GUI
If you have a GUI: You can install the kickstart config generator
yum install system-config-kickstart
Launch GUI Configurator
system-config-kickstart
- You can create a new kickstart file or load an existing (such as /root/anaconda-ks.cfg)
Kickstart a System
Once you have a kickstart file created
- Move kickstart file onto the system that is sharing the installation files
- Boot VM and specify a network location for install, along with a kickstart location
- System will go through installation automatically, using the kickstart file