Adding the command line variable autoyast will make linuxrc start in automated mode. Linuxrc searches for a configuration file, which should be distinguished from the main control file in the following places:

The configuration file used by linuxrc can have the following keywords (for a detailed description of how linuxrc works and other keywords, see “Advanced Linuxrc Options” ):

These variables and keywords will bring the system up to the point where YaST2 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. In most cases this file is not needed; it is however needed in special network environments where DHCP / BOOTP are not used or when special kernel modules have to be loaded.

All linuxrc keywords can be passed to linuxrc using the kernel command line. The command line can for example also be set when creating network boot-able images or it can be passed to the kernel using a specially configured DHCP server in combination with Etherboot or PXE.

The format of the special command line variable autoyast can be used as described in table “Command line variables for AutoYaST”

Several scenarios for auto-installation are possible using different types of infrastructure and source media. The simplest way is by using the source media from the SuSE Box. In that case you have either a DVD with all SuSE packages or a set of CD-ROMs. To initiate the auto-installation process however, the auto-installation command line variable should be entered at system boot-up and the control file should be accessible to YaST2. The following list of scenarios explains how the control file can be supplied and the setup needed for the auto-installation process to be successful.

	Disabling network and DHCP
	To disable network during installations where network is not needed or not available, for example when auto-installing from CD-ROMs use the linuxrc option netsetup to set network configuration behavior. To disable network setup use netsetup=0

If autoyast=default is defined, YaST2 will look for a file named autoinst.xml in the following three places:

With all autoyast invocation options, excluding default, it is possible to specify the location of the control file in the following ways:

If only the path prefix variable is defined, YaST2 will fetch the control file from the specified location in the following way:

As an example, for 192.0.2.91, the HTTP client will try:

in that order.

To determine the hex representation of the IP address of the client, use the utility called /usr/sbin/gethostip available with the syslinux package.

# /usr/sbin/gethostip 10.10.0.1
10.10.0.1 10.10.0.1 0A0A0001
	

The easiest way to auto-install a system without any network connection is by using the standard CD-ROMs that come in the SuSE Linux box. Using the CD-ROMs in combination with a floppy disk lets you getting started with AutoYaST very fast and without spending much time configuring installation server and network environments.

Create the control file and name it autoinst.xml. Copy the file autoinst.xml to a floppy by either mounting the floppy or by using the mtools.

mcopy autoinst.xml a:
      

If you choose to pass information to linuxrc using the info file, it is possible to integrate the keywords in the XML control file. In the case the file has to be accessible to linuxrc and has to be named info.

Linuxrc will look for a string (start_linuxrc_conf in the control file which represents the beginning of the file. If it is found, it will parse the content starting from that string and will finish when the string end_linuxrc_conf is found. The options are stored in the control file in the following way:

	  
....
  <install>
....
    <init>
      <info_file>
<![CDATA[
#
# Don't remove the following line:
# start_linuxrc_conf
#
install: nfs://192.168.1.1/CDs/full-i386
textmode: 1
autoyast: file:///info

# end_linuxrc_conf
# Do not remove the above comment
#
]]>

      </info_file>
    </init>
......
  </install>
....

	

Note that the autoyast keyword must point to the same file, i.e. if it is on a floppy, then the protocol floppy has to be used. In other cases where the info file is stored in the initial ram-disk, the file option has to be used.