| Chapter 5. Network Based Installation | ||
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| Chapter 5. Network Based Installation | ||
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Table of Contents
The installation method using AutoYaST provides a way to automatically and identically install groups of systems. The first step when preparing AutoYaST installations is deciding how you want the systems at your site to be installed. For example, the following scenario would be ideal to set up and perform automated installations:
You need to install SuSE Linux on 50 new systems.
The development department owns 30 out of the 50 new dual processor and SCSI systems, and its systems must be installed as clients with development software.
The sales department owns 20 out of the 50 new, uni-processor IDE based systems and its systems must be installed as clients with end user software and office tools.
Prerequisites:
A boot server on the same Ethernet segment
An install server with the SuSE Linux OS
An AutoYaST configuration server that defines rules and profiles.
A configuration repository holds the control files for multiple machines. The control files can have any file names, which have to specified at the boot time of a client. To avoid supplying the profile name for every client, you can only define the directory of the control files. If a directory is specified, then the client tries to load a file with a name matching it's IP address in HEX mode. This has the advantage that you will be dealing with consistent file names rather than IPs as file names which might lead to some confusion.
The configuration repository is the same directory you have to define if you are using the configuration system for creating control files.
To be able to use the HTTP protocol to retrieve control file while
auto-installing, you need a working HTTP server on the server
side. Install Apache or your favorite web
server and enable it using YaST2. Normally the the web server root
directory resides in /srv/www/htdocs
so you need to create a subdirectory below the root directory of
the web server which will be your configuration repository.
Create a directory and make it available via NFS to the clients by
exporting it. This directory may for example be in the same place
where you have copied the CDs. (i.e. /usr/local/SuSE)
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| 4.17. Ask the user for values during installation |  | Chapter 6. Rules and Classes |