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Linux OpenSUSE Sys Admin

OpenSUSE AutoYast/AutoInstall Howto Part 3

OpenSUSE and SLES (SuSE Linux Enterprise Server) both come with AutoYaST which is a very powerful tool that allows administrators to quickly and easily deploy servers that have an identical configuration for rapid server deployment.

In this three part series we will explore creating a repository for use with multiple systems, creating and customizing the AutoInstall file, and finally running through an install procedure.

Part 3 – Putting it all together and installing a server

In this part we will look at running through a machine install making use of our newly created repository and AutoInstall file.


Check out Part 1 – Creating a repository for use with multiple systems
Part 2 – Creating and Customizing the AutoInstall file

What you will need:

  • OpenSUSE Installation Media
  • Server/Desktop/VM that has access to DHCP and the HTTP server holding the Repository

OpenSUSE Installation Media

You will need to boot the new machine with some form of installation media. This can be either the full installation DVD or my preference is the small network install CD (I prefer this as not all my servers have DVD drives, plus it is an 88mb ISO to upload to my VM Servers rather then a 5gb ISO). To get a copy of the Network Install disk goto http://software.opensuse.org/ and select Network for the installation medium.

Installation

For the screenshots in this Demo I am using a VM hosted on VMWare ESXi 4.0.

The machine should boot into the following screen.

AutoYast_Demo_Part3_01

To start with press F4 to bring up the source menu.

AutoYast_Demo_Part3_02

Select HTTP. You will then need to enter the details of your repository server (remember the directory in this context is the directory relative to the webroot)

AutoYast_Demo_Part3_03

The next part you need to fill in some extra details for the boot options.

autoyast=http://192.168.0.65/autoyast/autoinstall/demo.xml

This will be the AutoInstall file you have created.

AutoYast_Demo_Part3_04

Next select Installation and press enter. For the rest just sit back and wait.

AutoYast_Demo_Part3_05

AutoYast_Demo_Part3_06

AutoYast_Demo_Part3_07

If you didn’t select an automated installation you will be stopped before the following screen presented with all the information regarding the installation (change what you need to then hit Install).

AutoYast_Demo_Part3_08

AutoYast_Demo_Part3_09

AutoYast_Demo_Part3_10

This is after the first reboot, when presented with the install screen again just select “Boot from Hard Disk” or let it time out. You could also remove the CD/DVD just before the machine reboots.

AutoYast_Demo_Part3_11

AutoYast_Demo_Part3_12

And that is it. The machine install is complete. That concludes the series on AutoYast/AutoInstall. Sometime in the next few weeks I will put together a short howto on creating your own local Update repository.

One reply on “OpenSUSE AutoYast/AutoInstall Howto Part 3”

Is it possible to add the source of repository to XML file instead of using source menu (F4)?

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