SUSE® Linux Enterprise Desktop can be installed in different ways. Apart from the usual media installation covered in Chapter 2, Installation with YaST, you can choose from various network-based approaches or even take a completely hands-off approach to the installation of SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop.
Each method is introduced by means of two short checklists: one listing the prerequisites for this method and the other illustrating the basic procedure. More detail is then provided for all the techniques used in these installation scenarios.
In the following sections, the system to hold your new SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop installation is called target system or installation target. The term repository (previously called “installation source”) is used for all sources of installation data. This includes physical media, such as CD and DVD, and network servers distributing the installation data in your network.
This section covers the configuration tasks needed in complex boot scenarios. It contains ready-to-apply configuration examples for DHCP, PXE boot, TFTP, and Wake on LAN.
There are two ways to set up a DHCP server. For SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop, YaST provides a graphical interface to the process. Users can also manually edit the configuration files.
To announce the TFTP server's location to the network clients and specify the boot image file the installation target should use, add two declarations to your DHCP server configuration.
Log in as root to the machine hosting the DHCP server.
Start › › .
Complete the setup wizard for basic DHCP server setup.
Select and select when warned about leaving the start-up dialog.
In the dialog, select the subnet in which the new system should be located and click .
In the dialog select to add a new option to the subnet's configuration.
Select filename and enter pxelinux.0
as the value.
Add another option (next-server) and set its value to
the address of the TFTP server.
Select and to complete the DHCP server configuration.
To configure DHCP to provide a static IP address to a specific host, enter
the of the DHCP server configuration
module
(Step 4)
and add a new declaration of the host type. Add the options
hardware and fixed-address to this host
declaration and provide the appropriate values.
All the DHCP server needs to do, apart from providing automatic address allocation to your network clients, is to announce the IP address of the TFTP server and the file that needs to be pulled in by the installation routines on the target machine.
Log in as root to the machine hosting the DHCP server.
Append the following lines to a subnet configuration of your DHCP
server's configuration file located under
/etc/dhcpd.conf:
subnet 192.168.1.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 {
range dynamic-bootp 192.168.1.200 192.168.1.228;
# PXE related settings
#
# "next-server" defines the TFTP server that will be used
next-server ip_tftp_server;
#
# "filename" specifies the pxelinux image on the TFTP server
# the server runs in chroot under /srv/tftpboot
filename "pxelinux.0";
}
Replace
ip_of_the_tftp_server with the actual IP
address of the TFTP server. For more information about the options
available in dhcpd.conf, refer to the
dhcpd.conf manual page.
Restart the DHCP server by executing systemctl restart
dhcpd.
If you plan on using SSH for the remote control of a PXE and Wake on LAN installation, explicitly specify the IP address DHCP should provide to the installation target. To achieve this, modify the above mentioned DHCP configuration according to the following example:
group {
# PXE related settings
#
# "next-server" defines the TFTP server that will be used
next-server ip_tftp_server:
#
# "filename" specifies the pxelinux image on the TFTP server
# the server runs in chroot under /srv/tftpboot
filename "pxelinux.0";
host test {
hardware ethernet mac_address;
fixed-address some_ip_address;
}
}The host statement introduces the host name of the installation target. To bind the host name and IP address to a specific host, you must know and specify the system's hardware (MAC) address. Replace all the variables used in this example with the actual values that match your environment.
After restarting the DHCP server, it provides a static IP to the host specified, enabling you to connect to the system via SSH.
If using a SUSE based installation, you may use YaST to set up a TFTP Server. Alternatively, set it up manually. The TFTP server delivers the boot image to the target system after it boots and sends a request for it.
Log in as root.
Start › › and install the requested package.
Click to make sure that the server is started and included in the boot routines. No further action from your side is required to secure this. xinetd starts tftpd at boot time.
Click to open the appropriate port in the firewall running on your machine. If there is no firewall running on your server, this option is not available.
Click to browse for the boot image directory.
The default directory /tftpboot is created and
selected automatically.
Click to apply your settings and start the server.
Log in as root and install the packages
tftp and xinetd.
If unavailable, create /srv/tftpboot and
/srv/tftpboot/pxelinux.cfg directories.
Add the appropriate files needed for the boot image as described in Section 4.3, “Using PXE Boot”.
Modify the configuration of xinetd located under
/etc/xinetd.d to make sure that the TFTP server is
started on boot:
If it does not exist, create a file called tftp
under this directory with touch tftp. Then run
chmod 755 tftp.
Open the file tftp and add the following lines:
service tftp
{
socket_type = dgram
protocol = udp
wait = yes
user = root
server = /usr/sbin/in.tftpd
server_args = -s /srv/tftpboot
disable = no
}
Save the file and restart xinetd with systemctl restart
xinetd.
Some technical background information and PXE's complete specifications are available in the Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) Specification (http://www.pix.net/software/pxeboot/archive/pxespec.pdf).
Change to the directory
boot/<architecture>/loader of your installation
repository and copy the linux,
initrd, message,
biostest, and memtest files to
the /srv/tftpboot directory by entering the
following:
cp -a linux initrd message biostest memtest /srv/tftpboot
Install the syslinux package directly from your
installation DVDs with YaST.
Copy the /usr/share/syslinux/pxelinux.0 file to the
/srv/tftpboot directory by entering the following:
cp -a /usr/share/syslinux/pxelinux.0 /srv/tftpboot
Change to the directory of your installation repository and copy the
isolinux.cfg file to
/srv/tftpboot/pxelinux.cfg/default by entering the following:
cp -a boot/<architecture>/loader/isolinux.cfg /srv/tftpboot/pxelinux.cfg/default
Edit the /srv/tftpboot/pxelinux.cfg/default file and
remove the lines beginning with readinfo and
framebuffer.
Insert the following entries in the append lines of the default
failsafe and apic labels:
insmod=kernel module
By means of this entry, enter the network Kernel module needed to support network installation on the PXE client. Replace kernel module with the appropriate module name for your network device.
netdevice=interface
This entry defines the client's network interface that must be used for the network installation. It is only necessary if the client is equipped with several network cards and must be adapted accordingly. In case of a single network card, this entry can be omitted.
install=nfs://ip_instserver/path_to_repository/DVD1
This entry defines the NFS server and the repository for the client
installation. Replace
ip_instserver with the actual IP address of
your installation server. path_to_repository
should be replaced with the actual path to the repository. HTTP, FTP,
or SMB repositories are addressed in a similar manner, except for the
protocol prefix, which should read http,
ftp, or smb.
If you need to pass other boot options to the installation routines,
such as SSH or VNC boot parameters, append them to the
install entry. An overview of parameters and some
examples are given in
Section 5.2, “Booting the Target System for Installation”.
It is possible to use different file names for Kernel and initrd images. This is useful if you want to provide different operating systems from the same boot server. However, you should be aware that only one dot is permitted in the file names that are provided by TFTP for the PXE boot.
An example /srv/tftpboot/pxelinux.cfg/default file
follows. Adjust the protocol prefix for the repository to match your
network setup and specify your preferred method of connecting to the
installer by adding the vnc and
VNCPassword or the ssh and
ssh.password options to the install
entry. The lines separated by \ must be entered as one
continuous line without a line break and without the \.
default harddisk
# default
label linux
kernel linux
append initrd=initrd ramdisk_size=65536 \
install=nfs://ip_instserver/path_to_repository/product/DVD1
# repair
label repair
kernel linux
append initrd=initrd splash=silent repair=1 showopts
# rescue
label rescue
kernel linux
append initrd=initrd ramdisk_size=65536 rescue=1
# bios test
label firmware
kernel linux
append initrd=biostest,initrd splash=silent install=exec:/bin/run_biostest showopts
# memory test
label memtest
kernel memtest
# hard disk
label harddisk
localboot 0
implicit 0
display message
prompt 1
timeout 100Replace ip_instserver and path_to_repository with the values used in your setup.
The following section serves as a short reference to the PXELINUX options
used in this setup. Find more information about the options available in
the documentation of the syslinux package located
under /usr/share/doc/packages/syslinux/.
The options listed here are a subset of all the options available for the PXELINUX configuration file.
APPEND options...
Add one or more options to the Kernel command line. These are added for both automatic and manual boots. The options are added at the very beginning of the Kernel command line, usually permitting explicitly entered Kernel options to override them.
APPEND -
Append nothing. APPEND with a single hyphen as argument
in a LABEL section can be used to override a global
APPEND.
DEFAULT kernel options...
Sets the default Kernel command line. If PXELINUX boots automatically, it acts as if the entries after DEFAULT had been typed in at the boot prompt, except the auto option is automatically added, indicating an automatic boot.
If no configuration file exists or no DEFAULT entry is defined in the configuration file, the default is the Kernel name “linux” with no options.
IFAPPEND FLAG
Adds a specific option to the kernel command line depending on the
FLAG value. The IFAPPEND
option is available only on PXELINUX. FLAG
expects a value, described in
Table 4.1, “Generated and Added Kernel Command Line Options from IFAPPEND”:
IFAPPEND #|
Argument |
Generated Kernel Command Line / Description |
|---|---|
|
|
ip=CLIENT_IP:BOOT_SERVER_IP:GW_IP:NETMASK The placeholders are replaced based on the input from the DHCP/BOOTP or PXE boot server. Note, this option is not a substitute for running a DHCP client in the booted system. Without regular renewals, the lease acquired by the PXE BIOS will expire, making the IP address available for reuse by the DHCP server. |
|
|
BOOTIF=MAC_ADDRESS_OF_BOOT_INTERFACE This option is useful if you want to avoid timeouts when the installation server probes one LAN interface after the other until it gets a reply from a DHCP server. Using this option allows an initrd program to determine from which interface the system has been booted. linuxrc reads this option and uses this network interface. |
|
|
SYSUUID=SYSTEM_UUID
Adds UUIDs in lowercase hexadecimals, see
|
LABEL label KERNEL image
APPEND options...
Indicates that if label is entered as the
Kernel to boot, PXELINUX should instead boot
image and the specified
APPEND options should be used instead of the ones
specified in the global section of the file (before the first
LABEL command). The default for
image is the same as
label and, if no APPEND is
given, the default is to use the global entry (if any). Up to 128
LABEL entries are permitted.
PXELINUX uses the following syntax:
label mylabel kernel mykernel append myoptions
Labels are mangled as if they were file names and they must be unique after mangling. For example, the two labels “v2.6.30” and “v2.6.31” would not be distinguishable under PXELINUX because both mangle to the same DOS file name.
The Kernel does not need to be a Linux Kernel; it can be a boot sector or a COMBOOT file.
LOCALBOOT type
On PXELINUX, specifying LOCALBOOT 0 instead of a
KERNEL option means invoking this particular label and
causes a local disk boot instead of a Kernel boot.
|
Argument |
Description |
|---|---|
|
|
Perform a normal boot |
|
|
Perform a local boot with the Universal Network Driver Interface (UNDI) driver still resident in memory |
|
|
Perform a local boot with the entire PXE stack, including the UNDI driver, still resident in memory |
All other values are undefined. If you do not know what the UNDI or PXE
stacks are, specify 0.
TIMEOUT time-out
Indicates how long to wait at the boot prompt until booting automatically, in units of 1/10 second. The time-out is canceled when the user types anything on the keyboard, assuming the user will complete the command begun. A time-out of zero disables the time-out completely (this is also the default). The maximum possible time-out value is 35996 (just less than one hour).
PROMPT flag_val
If flag_val is 0, displays the boot prompt only if
Shift or Alt is pressed or
Caps Lock or Scroll Lock is set (this
is the default). If flag_val is 1, always displays the
boot prompt.
F2 filename F1 filename ..etc... F9 filename F10 filename
Displays the indicated file on the screen when a function key is pressed
at the boot prompt. This can be used to implement preboot online help
(presumably for the Kernel command line options). For backward
compatibility with earlier releases, F10 can be also
entered as F0. Note that there is currently no way to
bind file names to F11 and F12.
Prepare the system's BIOS for PXE boot by including the PXE option in the BIOS boot order.
Do not place the PXE option ahead of the hard disk boot option in the BIOS. Otherwise this system would try to re-install itself every time you boot it.
Wake on LAN (WOL) requires the appropriate BIOS option to be enabled prior to the installation. Also, note down the MAC address of the target system. This data is needed to initiate Wake on LAN.
Wake on LAN allows a machine to be turned on by a special network packet containing the machine's MAC address. Because every machine in the world has a unique MAC identifier, you do not need to worry about accidentally turning on the wrong machine.
If the controlling machine is not located in the same network segment as the installation target that should be awakened, either configure the WOL requests to be sent as multicasts or remotely control a machine on that network segment to act as the sender of these requests.
Users of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server can use a YaST module called WOL to easily configure Wake on LAN. Users of other versions of SUSE Linux-based operating systems can use a command line tool.
Log in as root.
Start › › .
Click and enter the host name and MAC address of the target system.
To turn on this machine, select the appropriate entry and click .