book

Managing RPM-Based Systems with Kickstart and Yum

by Q. Ethan McCallum

March 2007

Intermediate to advanced

47 pages

1h 25m

English

O'Reilly Media, Inc.

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Manual Versus AutomatedWhy Kickstart and Yum?Is This Too Good to Be True?Will I Be a Kickstart Guinea Pig?I’m Sold. Where Do I Get Them?How Do I Work All of This Magic?Automating the BuildIngredientsInstall MediaDirectory structureServing it upCreating the Config FileConnecting the DotsBoot!Load the configurationLet it runTroubleshootingCustomizing Your Kickstart InstallPre- and Postinstall ScriptsCustom package groupsCustom RPMsDynamic ks.cfgKickstart SecurityKickstart UpgradesAbout Kickstart upgradesPreparing for a Kickstart upgradeBefore You Turn It Loose…Get a backout planTier your shopBut what could go wrong?Custom Yum RepoWhat Is Yum?Why Would I Want My Own Yum Repo?How Do I Set Up an Internal Yum Repo?Directory structureGenerating metadataConfiguring the clientsUsing Your Internal Yum RepoPre-Patching the Kickstart InstallationEliminate the Middle ManPreparing Your Prepatched Install TreeDirectory structureIntroducing novi: sorting the RPMsTake it for a spinSafely Automating YumAutomating Yum’s UpdatesCutting a ReleaseAdding the Change ControlBefore You Start…ks.cfg SyntaxInstallation TypeInstall MediaLanguages and InputVideoNetworkingAuthenticationFirewallTime ZoneBoot LoaderDisksRebootingTroubleshootingPackage SelectionPre- and Postinstall Scripts

Content preview from Managing RPM-Based Systems with Kickstart and Yum

Managing RPM-Based Systems with Kickstart and Yum

Q. Ethan McCallum

Beijing • Cambridge • Farnham • Köln • Sebastopol • Tokyo

March 12, 2007

Abstract

Managing multiple Red Hat-based systems can be easy—with the right tools. The yum package manager and the Kickstart installation utility are full of power and potential for automatic installation, customization, and updates. Here’s what you need to know to take control of your systems.

Manual Versus Automated

Why Kickstart and Yum?

Kickstart and yum are tools to automate installation, updates, and upgrades of Linux systems. Specifically, they operate on RPM-based Linux variants, such as the Red Hat Linux line (including the Enterprise and Fedora branches) and CentOS. Both tools have a learning curve and require some infrastructure for you to use them to their fullest extent.

As with any tool, it’s fair to ask, “What can it do for me? Why would I take the time to learn it?” My inspiration was, well, installing Fedora Core several times. To see what I mean, consider some of the information you enter when you install a Red Hat operating system (OS) by hand: