Linux Network Install Options?

verch writes "I work at a Large Corporation that is considering Linux as a competing platform to our large Solaris and Wintel install bases. One of the biggest concerns is how easily a large number of linux machines can be installed mostly unattended. For Solaris we mostly use jumpstart which allows us after minor preparation to simply remotely attach to the console of a machine and boot and install it over the network. x86 hardware tends not to be as nice, I don't know of any linux hardware that has remote console capabalities as nice as Sun's, and network boot options are limited (PXE?). Installation procedures that involve having to lood a CD or boot floppy into every machine could potentially be dealbreakers. So, what options exist for completely remote unattended installs of linux machines?" Had a similar question a while ago; have things improved since then?

Comments

I hope this helps

[Anonymous Coward]

I found the following site with google. It has a rough outline of booting intel hardware right off a network like a Sun machine. Good luck.

http://www.linuxdevices.com/files/misc/pxe_boot_ st b-howto.html

System Installer Suite

[grundy]

System Installer Suite I can't say enough about how cool this project is. Plus the developers all hang out on irc.openprojects.net in #sisuite.

See the Diskless-HOWTO

[tshoppa]

Most of the questions you need to be asking at this point (especially "how do I boot a PC over the network?") are answered in this section of the Diskless-HOWTO. It discusses TFTP, BOOTP, and network boot ROM's.

It's not supposed to be that easy

[Skapare]

If you can initiate a network install from the network, then you have a security problem. I'm glad it doesn't work like that. But PXE comes close, allowing a machine to boot from the network. Redhat supports this and the support code is available from them and Intel (who created PXE, which is found in their server grade network cards). There are also some machines that have serial consoles (like Sun). The Intel ISP-1100 rack mount servers have this, and I can control the BIOS and select the boot source this way.

Tell me why installing from a CD is a deal breaker. Is it because you see it as an interactive thing, requiring you to sit at the keyboard for each machine? I'm working on the design of a CD-based headless non-interactive install system. It can either have the files to install on the CD, or on the network (uses DHCP or generates a 10.X.X.X IP address from the low 24 bits of the ethernet address). You make sure the machine is configure to boot from a CD, stick in the CD, press reset to reboot, and the CD boots up and does it's thing without any more interaction from you. You have to have pre-built your system tree (I've done this with Slackware as well as Linux From Scratch). Unfortunately, my work is still a work in progress.

Re:Mandrake 8.2 (and probably 8.1)

[sharkey]

Here you go. Mandrake's auto-install page.

Re:kickstart

[edyu]

My company also need to network boot a large number of linux boxes. We use Redhat kickstart. It's one of the easiest way to install a large number of workstations.

Remote console

[PinkFreud]

http://www.dell.com/us/en/esg/topics/esg_pedge_rac kmain_servers_1_pedge_1650.htm

I seem to recall these having decent serial consoles, supported by the BIOS (one can even configure the BIOS via serial console).

Kickstart

[OrcSlicer]

RedHat and Mandrake's answer to jumpstart (wonder how they came up with the name :-) ). You have 1 server dedicated to being the jumpstart server, and then boot each machine off a specially made floppy. You can do multiple machines at once. The machines can be set to boot off dhcp after that, and you ssh in and tweak things out. You can set them with a static, but then the floppy has to be customized for each static address, which is a pain, and relatively or you can set them with a static, but then the floppy has to be customized for each static address, which is a pain, and relatively pointless for a mass installation

I'm not sure if the machines can get an IP address through dhcp while loading packages, which would mean the floppies couldn't be clones of each other, but clones minorly modified. I think they can get from dhcp while loading, but I'm not certain.

I've loaded 20 machines in one day using this.

We never had them reboot automatically, because we needed to eject the floppies, but if you make CD images, you can probably figure a way to eject them and then they will load off the HD correctly on the reboot.

You can also use the same jumpstart server with floppies customized for different machines if you have clusters of machines with different baseline package sets.

Drawbacks: It works over nfs (not sure if there are other delivery methods), which you would want to firewal off at the router.

Random nice things: you can put the passwd files on the floppy, which is more secure than having `them fly across the netowrk, methinks. It does mean you need to take care with the floppies, however.

Rob