Adding the command line variable autoyast causes linuxrc to 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 “Appendix B, Advanced Linuxrc Options” ):

These variables and keywords will bring the system up to the point where YaST 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 and 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 also be set when creating network bootable images or it can be passed to the kernel using a specially configured DHCP server in combination with Etherboot or PXE.

The command line variable autoyast can be used in the format described in table “Table 7.2, “Command Line Variables for AutoYaST””

Several scenarios for auto-installation are possible using different types of infrastructure and source media. The simplest way is to use the source media from SuSE. 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 YaST. The following list of scenarios explains how the control file can be supplied as well as the setup needed for the auto-installation process to succeed.

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

If autoyast=default is defined, YaST 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, YaST 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:

      
C000025B
C000025
C00002
C0000
C000
C00
C0
C
0080C8F6484C
default
    

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 to use the original SuSE CD-ROMs and a floppy disk. You do not need to set up an installation server nor the network environment.

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 this 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. If it is on a floppy, then the protocol floppy has to be used. If the info file is stored in the initial RAM disk, the file option has to be used.