9 The auto-installation process #
9.1 Introduction #
After the system has booted into an automatic installation and the control file has been retrieved, YaST configures the system according to the information provided in the control file. All configuration settings are summarized in a window that is shown by default and should be deactivated if a fully automatic installation is needed.
By the time YaST displays the summary of the configuration, YaST has only probed hardware and prepared the system for auto-installation. Nothing has been changed in the system yet. In case of any error, you can still abort the process.
A system should be automatically installable without the need to have any graphic adapter or monitor. Having a monitor attached to the client machine is nevertheless recommended so you can supervise the process and to get feedback in case of errors. Choose between the graphical and the text-based Ncurses interfaces. For headless clients, system messages can be monitored using the serial console.
9.1.1 X11 interface (graphical) #
This is the default interface while auto-installing. No special variables are required to activate it.
9.1.2 Serial console #
Start installing a system using the serial console by adding the keyword
console
(for example console=ttyS0
)
to the command line of the kernel. This starts linuxrc
in console mode and later YaST in serial console mode.
9.1.3 Text-based YaST installation #
This option can also be activated on the command line. To start YaST in
text mode, add textmode=1
on the command line.
Starting YaST in the text mode is recommended when installing a client with less than 64 MB or when X11 should not be configured, especially on headless machines.
9.2 Choosing the right boot medium #
There are different methods for booting the client. The computer can boot from its network interface card (NIC) to receive the boot images via DHCP or TFTP. Alternatively a suitable kernel and initrd image can be loaded from a flash disk (for example, a USB stick) or a bootable DVD-ROM.
YaST will check for autoinst.xml
in the root
directory of the boot medium or the initrd upon start-up and switch to an
automated installation if it was found. In case the control file is named
differently or located elsewhere, specify its location on the kernel command
line with the parameter
AutoYaST=URL
.
Alternatively, you can place the autoinst.xml
into a device, mounted either physically or virtually, that is labeled OEMDRV
. In this case, you do not need to specify the location of the autoinst.xml
on the kernel command line. The autoinst.xml
must be located in the root directory of the device.
9.2.1 Booting from a flash disk (for example, a USB stick) #
For testing/rescue purposes or because the NIC does not have a PROM or PXE, you can build a bootable flash disk to use with AutoYaST. Flash disks can also store the control file.
Use the following command to copy the contents of the installation image to a removable flash disk.
>
sudo
dd if=IMAGE of=FLASH_DISK bs=4M && sync
IMAGE needs to be replaced with the path to the
SLE-15-SP6-Online-ARCH-GM-media1.iso
or SLE-15-SP6-Full-ARCH-GM-media1.iso
image file. FLASH_DISK needs to be replaced
with the flash device. To identify the device, insert it and run:
#
grep -Ff <(hwinfo --disk --short) <(hwinfo --usb --short)
disk:
/dev/sdc General USB Flash Disk
Make sure the size of the device is sufficient for the desired image. You can check the size of the device with:
#
fdisk -l /dev/sdc | grep -e "^/dev"
/dev/sdc1 * 2048 31490047 31488000 15G 83 Linux
In this example, the device has a capacity of 15 GB. The command to use
for the SLE-15-SP6-Full-ARCH-GM-media1.iso
would be:
dd if=SLE-15-SP6-Full-ARCH-GM-media1.iso of=/dev/sdc bs=4M && sync
The device must not be mounted when running the dd
command. Note that all data on the partition will be erased!
9.2.2 Booting from the SUSE Linux Enterprise installation medium #
You can use the SUSE Linux Enterprise installation medium
(SLE-15-SP6-Online-ARCH-GM-media1.iso
or
SLE-15-SP6-Full-ARCH-GM-media1.iso
) in combination with other media. For
example, the control file can be provided via a flash disk or a specified
location on the network. Alternatively, create a customized installation
media that includes the control file.
9.2.3 Booting via PXE over the network #
Booting via PXE requires a DHCP and a TFTP server in your network. The computer will then boot without a physical medium. For instructions on setting up the required infrastructure, see Chapter 12, Remote installation.
If you install via PXE, the installation will run in an endless loop. This happens because after the first reboot, the machine performs the PXE boot again and restarts the installation instead of booting from the hard disk for the second stage of the installation.
There are several ways to solve this problem. You can use an HTTP server to provide the AutoYaST control file. Alternatively, instead of a static control file, run a CGI script on the Web server that provides the control file and changes the TFTP server configuration for your target host. This way, the next PXE boot of the machine will be from the hard disk by default.
Another way is to use AutoYaST to upload a new PXE boot configuration for the target host via the control file:
<pxe> <pxe_localboot config:type="boolean">true</pxe_localboot> <pxelinux-config> DEFAULT linux LABEL linux localboot 0 </pxelinux-config> <tftp-server>192.168.1.115</tftp-server> <pxelinux-dir>/pxelinux.cfg</pxelinux-dir> <filename>__MAC__</filename> </pxe>
This entry will upload a new configuration for the target host to the TFTP
server shortly before the first reboot happens. In most installations the
TFTP daemon runs as user nobody
.
You need to make sure this user has write permissions to the
pxelinux.cfg
directory. You can also configure the
file name that will be uploaded. If you use the “magic”
__MAC__
file name, the file name will be the MAC address
of your machine like, for example 01-08-00-27-79-49-ee
.
If the file name setting is missing, the IP address will be used for the
file name.
To do another auto-installation on the same machine, you need to remove the file from the TFTP server.
9.3 Invoking the auto-installation process #
9.3.1 Command line options #
Adding the command line variable autoyast
causes
linuxrc
to start in automated mode. The
linuxrc
program searches for a configuration file, which
should be distinguished from the main control file, in the following
places:
in the root directory of the initial RAM disk used for booting the system;
in the root directory of the boot medium.
The linuxrc
configuration file supports multiple
keywords. For a detailed description of how linuxrc
works and other keywords, see Appendix C, Advanced linuxrc
options. Some of
the more common ones are:
- autoupgrade
Initiate an automatic upgrade using AutoYaST; see Section 4.11, “Upgrade”.
- autoyast
Location of the control file for automatic installation; see AutoYaST control file locations for details.
- ifcfg
Configure and start the network. Required if the AutoYaST is to be fetched from a remote location. See Section C.3, “Advanced network setup” for details.
- insmod
Kernel modules to load
- install
Location of the installation directory, for example
install=nfs://192.168.2.1/CDs/
.Note: Disabling SSL checksWhen you are using HTTPS, SSL checking is enabled by default. If necessary, you can disable SSL checking by appending
ssl_verify=no
to your HTTPS URL, like the following examples:install=https://192.168.2.1/CDs/?ssl_verify=no
If you are passing multiple query options, separate them with ampersands:
install=https://192.168.2.1/CDs/?foo=bar&ssl_verify=no
See the "FTP/HTTP/HTTPS directory tree" section of
man 8 zypper
for more information.- instmode
Installation mode, for example
nfs
,http
etc. (not needed ifinstall
is set).- rootpassword
Password for root user if not specified in AutoYaST profile
- server
Server (NFS) to contact for source directory
- serverdir
Directory on NFS Server
- y2confirm
Even with <confirm>no</confirm> in the control file, the confirm proposal comes up.
These variables and keywords will bring the system up to the point where
YaST can take over with the main control file. Currently, the source
medium is automatically discovered, which in some cases makes it possible
to initiate the auto-install process without giving any instructions to
linuxrc
.
The traditional linuxrc
configuration file
(info
) has the function of giving the client enough
information about the installation server and the location of the sources.
Usually, this file is not required, but it is needed in special network
environments where DHCP and BOOTP are not used or when special kernel
modules need to be loaded.
You can pass keywords to linuxrc
using the kernel
command line. This can be done in several ways. You can specify
linuxrc
keywords along with other kernel parameters
interactively at boot time, in the usual way. You can also insert kernel
parameters into custom network-bootable disk images. It is also possible to
configure a DHCP server to pass kernel parameters in combination with
Etherboot or PXE.
autoyast2
boot option instead of autoyast
The autoyast2
option is similar to the
autoyast
option, but linuxrc
parses
the provided value and, for example, tries to configure a network when
needed. This option is not described in this documentation. For
information about differences between the AutoYaST and
linuxrc
URI syntax, see the linuxrc
appendix: Appendix C, Advanced linuxrc
options. AutoYaST's rules and classes are
not supported.
The command line variable autoyast
can be used in the
format described in the following list.
- Format of URIs
The
autoyast
syntax for the URIs for your control file locations can be confusing. The format is SCHEMA://HOST/PATH-TO-FILE. The number of forward slashes to use varies. For remote locations of your control file, the URI looks like this example for an NFS server, with two slashes:autoyast=nfs://SERVER/PATH
.It is different when your control file is on a local file system. For example,
autoyast=usb:///profile.xml
is the same asautoyast=usb://localhost/profile.xml
. You may omit the local host name, but you must keep the third slash.autoyast=usb://profile.xml
will fail becauseprofile.xml
is interpreted as the host name.- When no control file specification is needed
For upgrades, no
autoyast
variable is needed for an automated offline upgrade, see Procedure 4.1, “Starting AutoYaST in offline upgrade mode”.For new installations,
autoyast
will be started if a file namedautoinst.xml
is in one of the following three locations:The root directory of the installation flash disk (for example, a USB stick)
The root directory of the installation medium
The root directory of the initial RAM disk used to boot the system
autoyast=file:///PATH
Looks for control file in the specified path, relative to the source root directory, for example
file:///autoinst.xml
when the control file is in the top-level directory of any local file system, including mounted external devices such as a CD or USB drive. (This is the same asfile://localhost/autoinst.xml
.)autoyast=device://DEVICE/FILENAME
Looks for the control file on a storage device. Do not specify the full path to the device, but the device name only (for example,
device://vda1/autoyast.xml
). You may also omit specifying the device and triggerautoyast
to search all devices, for example,autoyast=device://localhost/autoinst.xml
, orautoyast=device:///autoinst.xml
.autoyast=nfs://SERVER/PATH
Looks for the control file on an NFS server.
autoyast=http://[user:password@]SERVER/PATH
Retrieves the control file from a Web server using the HTTP protocol. Specifying a user name and a password is optional.
autoyast=https://[user:password@]SERVER/PATH
Retrieves the control file from a Web server using HTTPS. Specifying a user name and a password is optional.
autoyast=tftp://SERVER/PATH
Retrieve the control file via TFTP.
autoyast=ftp://[user:password@]SERVER/PATH
Retrieve the control file via FTP. Specifying a user name and a password is optional.
autoyast=usb:///PATH
Retrieve the control file from USB devices (
autoyast
will search all connected USB devices).autoyast=relurl://PATH
Retrieve the control file from the installation source: either from the default installation source or from the installation source defined in
install=INSTALLATION_SOURCE_PATH
.autoyast=repo:/PATH
Retrieve the control file from the specified path. The path must be relative to the installation source.
autoyast=cifs://SERVER/PATH
Looks for the control file on a CIFS server.
autoyast=label://LABEL/PATH
Searches for a control file on a device with the specified label.
Several scenarios for auto-installation are possible using different types
of infrastructure and source media. The simplest way is to use the
appropriate installation media of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
(SLE-15-SP6-Online-ARCH-GM-media1.iso
or
SLE-15-SP6-Full-ARCH-GM-media1.iso
). But to initiate the
auto-installation process, the auto-installation command line variable
should be entered at system boot-up and the control file should be
accessible for YaST.
In a scripting context, you can use a serial console for your virtual machine, that allows you to work in text mode. Then you can pass the required parameters from an expect script or equivalent.
The following list of scenarios explains how the control file can be supplied:
- Using the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server installation media
When using the original installation media (
SLE-15-SP6-Online-ARCH-GM-media1.iso
orSLE-15-SP6-Full-ARCH-GM-media1.iso
is needed), the control file needs to be accessible via flash disk (for example, a USB stick) or network:Flash disk (for example, a USB stick). Access the control file via the
autoyast=usb://PATH
option.Network. Access the control file via the following commands:
autoyast=nfs://..
,autoyast=ftp://..
,autoyast=http://..
,autoyast=https://..
,autoyast=tftp://..
, orautoyast=cifs://..
. Network access needs to be defined using the boot options in linuxrc. This can be done via DHCP:netsetup=dhcp autoyast=http://163.122.3.5/autoyast.xml
- Using a custom installation media
In this case, you can include the control file directly on the installation media. When placing it in the root directory and naming it
autoinst.xml
, it will automatically be found and used for the installation. Otherwise useautoyast=file:///PATH
to specify the path to the control file.- Using a network installation source
This option is the most important one because installations of multiple machines are usually done using SLP or NFS servers and other network services like BOOTP and DHCP. The easiest way to make the control file available is to place it in the root directory of the installation source, naming it
autoinst.xml
. In this case, it will automatically be found and used for the installation. The control file can also reside in the following places:Flash disk (for example, a USB stick). Access the control file via the
autoyast=usb://PATH
option.Network. Access the control file via the following commands:
autoyast=nfs://..
,autoyast=ftp://..
,autoyast=http://..
,autoyast=https://..
,autoyast=tftp://..
, orautoyast=cifs://..
.
To disable the network during installations where it is not needed or
unavailable, for example when auto-installing from DVD-ROMs, use the
linuxrc
option netsetup=0
to disable
the network setup.
With all AutoYaST invocation options it is possible to specify the location of the control file in the following ways:
Specify the exact location of the control file:
autoyast=http://192.168.1.1/control-files/client01.xml
Specify a directory where several control files are located:
autoyast=http://192.168.1.1/control-files/
In this case the relevant control file is retrieved using the hex digit representation of the IP as described below.
The path of this directory needs to end with a
/
.The files in the directory must not have any extension, for example
.xml
. So the file name needs to be the IP or MAC address only.>
ls -r control-files C00002 0080C8F6484C default
If only the path prefix variable is defined, YaST will fetch the control file from the specified location in the following way:
First, it will search for the control file using its own IP address in uppercase hexadecimal, for example
192.0.2.91 -> C000025B
.If this file is not found, YaST will remove one hex digit and try again. This action is repeated until the file with the correct name is found. Ultimately, it will try looking for a file with the MAC address of the client as the file name (mac should have the following syntax:
0080C8F6484C
) and if not found a file nameddefault
(in lowercase).
As an example, for 192.0.2.91, the HTTP client will try:
C000025B C000025 C00002 C0000 C000 C00 C0 C 0080C8F6484C default
in that order.
To determine the hex representation of the IP address of the client, use
the utility called /usr/bin/gethostip
available with the
syslinux
package.
>
/usr/bin/gethostip 10.10.0.1
10.10.0.1 10.10.0.1 0A0A0001
9.3.2 Auto-installing a single system #
The easiest way to auto-install a system without any network connection is to use the original SUSE Linux Enterprise Server DVD-ROMs and a flash disk (for example, a USB stick). You do not need to set up an installation server nor the network environment.
Create the control file and name it autoinst.xml
. Copy
the file autoinst.xml
to the flash disk.
9.3.3 Combining the linuxrc
info
file with the AutoYaST control file #
If you choose to pass information to linuxrc
using the
info
file or as boot options, you may integrate the
keywords into the AutoYaST control file. Add an info_file
section as shown in the example below. This section contains
keyword—value pairs, separated by colons, one pair per line.
linuxrc
Options in the AutoYaST control file #.... <install> .... <init> <info_file> install: nfs://192.168.1.1/CDs/full-x86_64 dud: https://example.com/driver_updates/filename.dud upgrade: 1 textmode: 1 </info_file> </init> ...... </install> ....
Note that the autoyast2
keyword must point to the same
file. If it is on a flash disk (for example, a USB stick), then the option
usb://
needs to be used. If the
info
file is stored in the initial RAM disk, the
file:///
option needs to be used.
9.4 System configuration #
The system configuration during auto-installation is the most important part of the whole process. As you have seen in the previous chapters, almost anything can be configured automatically on the target system. In addition to the pre-defined directives, you can always use post-scripts to change other things in the system. Additionally you can change any system variables, and if required, copy complete configuration files into the target system.
9.4.1 Post-install and system configuration #
The post-installation and system configuration are initiated directly after the last package is installed on the target system and continue after the system has booted for the first time.
Before the system is booted for the first time, AutoYaST writes all data collected during installation and writes the boot loader in the specified location. In addition to these regular tasks, AutoYaST executes the chroot-scripts as specified in the control file. Note that these scripts are executed while the system is not yet mounted.
If a different kernel than the default is installed, a hard reboot will be
required. A hard reboot can also be forced during auto-installation,
independent of the installed kernel. Use the reboot
property of the general
resource (see
Section 4.1, “General options”).
9.4.2 System customization #
Most of the system customization is done in the second stage of the installation. If you require customization that cannot be done using AutoYaST resources, use post-install scripts for further modifications.
You can define an unlimited number of custom scripts in the control file, either by editing the control file or by using the configuration system.