AutoYast2

SLES8 - Automatic Linux Installation and Configuration with YaST2

Anas Nashif

Concepts, Development and Documentation
SuSE Linux AG

Table of Contents
1. Introduction
1.1. Availability
1.2. Motivation
1.3. Overview and Concept
2. The Control File
2.1. Introduction
2.2. Format
2.3. Structure
2.3.1. Resources and Properties
2.3.2. Nested Resources
2.3.3. Attributes
2.4. The XML Document Type Definition (DTD)
2.4.1. Introduction
2.4.2. Example DTD
3. Creating A Control File
3.1. Using the Configuration Management System
3.1.1. Creating a new Profile
3.1.2. Import of Legacy and Foreign Configuration Files
3.1.3. Using Classes and Templates
3.2. Creating/Editing a Control File Manually
4. Configuration and Installation Options
4.1. Closer look on control file resources
4.1.1. General Options
4.1.2. Reporting
4.1.3. The Boot loader
4.1.4. Partitioning
4.1.5. Software
4.1.6. Services and Runlevels
4.1.7. Network configuration
4.1.8. Security settings
4.1.9. Users
4.1.10. Custom user scripts
4.1.11. System variable (Sysconfig)
4.1.12. Adding complete configurations
4.1.13. Miscellaneous hardware and system components
5. Autoinstallation
5.1. Collect information
5.2. Create the control file
5.3. Auto-installing a loose system
5.4. Choosing the right Boot Medium
5.4.1. Booting from a floppy
5.4.2. Network installations
5.4.3. Booting from CD-ROM
5.5. Installation Server Setup
5.5.1. Setting up an installation repository
5.5.2. Setting up a configuration repository
5.6. The Auto-Installation Process
5.6.1. X11 Interface
5.6.2. Serial console
5.6.3. Text based YaST2-Installation
5.7. Invoking the Auto-Installation process
5.7.1. Default behavior
5.7.2. Control file on boot media
5.7.3. Control file on a storage device
5.7.4. Control file on a Floppy
5.7.5. Control file on a NFS server
5.7.6. Control file retrievable via HTTP.
5.7.7. Control file retrievable via TFTP.
5.7.8. Control file on a NFS server
5.8. Combining linuxrc info file with YaST2 control file
5.9. System Configuration
5.9.1. Post-Install and System Configuration
5.9.2. System Customization
6. Advanced topics
6.1. Creating NFS directory for UL/SLES from distribution CDs
6.1.1. Introduction
6.1.2. Installation workflow
6.1.3. Example using SLES 8 and UnitedLinux 1.0 CDs
6.2. Advanced Linuxrc Options
6.2.1. Passing parameters to Linuxrc
6.2.2. 'info' file format
7. Legacy and foreign Configuration formats
7.1. Migration from YaST1 and ALICE
7.1.1. System Configuration with ALICE
7.2. Redhat Kickstart
7.2.1. Software selections and packages
7.2.2. User scripts
List of Tables
5-1. Keywords for linuxrc
5-2. Command line variables for AutoYaST
6-1. Advanced linuxrc keywords
7-1. ALICE vs. YaST2 modules
List of Figures
1-1. Auto-installation process
2-1. Editing the control file with kxmledit
3-1. Configuration System
3-2. Configuration Options
3-3. General Options
3-4. Defining Classes
List of Examples
2-1. XML Control File (Profile)
2-2. Control file container
2-3. Nested Resources
2-4. Nested Resources with type attributes
2-5. Example DTD
4-1. General Options
4-2. Reporting Behavior
4-3. Bootloader configuration
4-4. Automated partitioning
4-5. Detailed automated partitioning
4-6. Advanced Automated partitioning
4-7. Create LVM Physical Volume
4-8. LVM Logical Volumes
4-9. RAID1 configuration
4-10. Package selection in control file
4-11. Package selection in control file
4-12. Customized Package selection
4-13. Package selection file
4-14. Creating package database
4-15. Run-level Configuration
4-16. Network configuration
4-17. Netwrok configuration: Proxy
4-18. Network configuration: NIS
4-19. Network configuration: NIS+
4-20. Network configuration: LDAP client
4-21. Network configuration: NFS
4-22. Mail Configuration
4-23. Security configuration
4-24. User configuration
4-25. Post script configuration
4-26. Sysconfig Configuration
4-27. Dumping files into the installed system
4-28. Printer configuration
4-29. Sound configuration
5-1. Configuration file for PXELINUX net boot
5-2. Configuration file for PXELINUX local boot
5-3. PXELINUX Configuration
5-4. Tftpboot dir contents
5-5. /etc/dhcpd.conf with the root-path option
5-6. DHCP server configuration with PXE and Etherboot options
5-7. Determine HEX code for an IP address
5-8. Linxurc options in the control file