C H A P T E R 1

Introduction

Data centers are increasingly employing a mixture of Linux- and Solaris trademark -based systems. The Sun Control Station is an integrated management solution designed to support a large diversity of systems.

For busy system administrators, one key area of systems management is simplifying and automating the tasks related to performing an initial installation and configuration on a client, and allowing a given configuration to be installed on a large number of clients.

The AllStart control module integrates Kickstart and AutoYaST technologies to provide a quick and unified method of installing and customizing Linux-based systems.

Kickstart is a Red Hat feature that allows you to automate most of the tasks in a Red Hat Linux installation, such as:

Language selection.

Network configuration and selection of distribution source.

Keyboard selection.

Boot Loader installation.

Disk partitioning and creation of file systems.

Mouse selection.

X Window system server configuration.

Time Zone Selection.

Selection of an (initial) root password.

Configuration of firewall rules.

Configuration of security options (for example, md5 and yp).

Customization of the distribution payload.

Kickstart allows for you to run an unattended installation process, by putting the information you would normally type at the keyboard into a configuration file. It also provides a method to install additional software that is not distributed as part of the Red Hat Linux distribution.

AutoYaST is the system for installing one ore more Sun Java Desktop Systems automatically and without user intervention; it is fully integrated in the installer YaST2.

The AutoYaST tool is designed to allow the creation of a configuration for a single system or a set of systems. The configuration is stored in a control file which is read during the automated installation and can be made available to the installer in different ways.

AutoYaST configurations are XML-based and the configuration is fully compatible with configuration modules in YaST2.

Using AutoYaST, multiple systems sharing the same environment and hardware performing similar tasks can easily be installed in parallel. A configuration file (referred to as control file) is created using existing configuration resources. The control file can be easily tailored for any specific environment.

The AllStart control module provides a common user interface for creating software payloads, defining client profiles, and monitoring and validating system installations and updates.

This module allows you to:

Select files or RPMs to load onto a client.

Select the distributions of different OSs to load onto a client.

Create customized payloads made up of files and OS distributions.

Create profiles containing configuration information.

Add clients on to which the payloads and profiles are loaded (using the Media Access Layer [MAC] address of the client).

Requirements

You must have the following conditions in place for the AllStart control module to function correctly.

Your clients must be configured to "netboot" in order to retrieve the payloads from the Sun Control Station.

There can be no other Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) servers on the same subnet as your control station running the AllStart control module.

The following software components must be installed on your clients:

DHCP daemon (dhcpd).

Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP).

Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).

Network Files Sharing daemon (nfsd).

If you intend to store the ISO images of the OS distributions on the server running the Sun Control Station 2.0 software, ensure that there is sufficient space on your hard disk drives (HDDs).

For example, a typical Linux OS distribution is roughly 600-800MBs. Furthermore, these ISO files are copied to another directory when you create a payload, thus doubling the amount of disk space used.

During the upload, ISO images are mounted and the RPM files are copied into the directory /scs/data/allstart/iso/. After the distribution has been loaded successfully, the ISO images can be deleted.

Overview

Note - For a description of the procedures and UI screens, see Chapter 2, AllStart Features.

Using the AllStart module consists of four separate steps:

1. Create a payload(s) from files and distributions.

2. Create a profile(s) containing configuration information.

3. Select a client(s) on which to install a payload and a profile, and enable the client entry (or entries).

4. Configure a client(s) to boot from the network ("netboot") and then reboot the client so that it pulls the payload and profile from the Sun Control Station.

Creating a Payload

The first step is to create a payload. A payload consists of an OS distribution and other individual files all bundled together.

You can select the components of the OS distribution that you want to include in the payload. The individual files are installed on the client after the distribution has been installed.

The files and distributions can be located locally or on a CD-ROM. If located locally, the distribution must be in /scs/data/allstart/iso/.

Each payload is identified by a unique, descriptive name.

Creating a Profile

The second step is to create a profile. A profile contains configuration information that will be applied to a client along with a payload. You also configure security settings in a profile.

Some of the items in a profile include:

Default language.

Type of keyboard.

Type of mouse.

Time zone in which the clients that you will configure are located.

Root password for the clients.

Choice to reboot the client after payload installation.

Boot loader options.

Partition options for the HDDs.

Authentication information.

X configurations.

Custom script options.

Specifying a Client

The third step is to specify a client(s) on which to install a payload and profile.

This includes entering information for the following parameters:

MAC address.

Install IP address.

Type of install.

Output port for the serial console.

Serial console baud.

Install network interface (ethx) over which to load the payload and profile.

Payload to load.

Profile to load.

Information for the network interfaces on the client.

Enable or Disable a Client

Once the client entry has been created, you must enable the client in the AllStart Clients table.

Enabling a client is a similar function to publishing a package file in the Software Management module. You can have a package file loaded on to a control station, but you must publish the package file to make it visible to managed hosts or other control stations.

In the same way, you must enable a client entry in the AllStart Clients table so that it is visible to that client machine on the network.

If you do not enable a client entry, the client cannot receive the payload and profile when you netboot the client because it will not "see" its client entry.

Installing a Payload and Profile to a Client

The final step is to configure your client(s) to boot from the network.

Once this setting is configured, reboot the client so that it pulls the payload and profile from the control station. The client entry must be enabled in the AllStart Clients table for this operation to succeed.

Note - The installation is not an active "push" operation from the Sun Control Station to the client. The client must "pull" the payload and profile from the control station; the client receives a payload and profile according to the client entry in the AllStart Clients table.

Importing a New Client into Sun Control Station

Once you have installed a payload and profile on the client, you can import the client into the Sun Control Station framework, using the Add Host function (through the Administration > Hosts > Add screen).

The control-station agent RPM is available to add as a extra file to any payload that you create, but you have to manually add it to the payload. The Sun Control Station can import a client only if this agent is loaded on the client.

For more information on importing a new client, refer to the PDF Sun Control Station--Administrator Manual (part number 817-3603-xx).

General information

Task Progress dialog

When you launch a task (for example, saving a profile or uploading a distribution), a Task Progress dialog appears in the user interface (UI). This dialog has a Status field indicating the current status of the task and a progress bar. When the progress bar displays 100%, the task has completed.

If you want to perform another task in the UI while the current task is underway, you can put the Task Progress dialog in the background. Simply click the button labelled Run Task In Background below the progress bar.

To return to the Task Progress dialog, select Administration > Tasks on the left. The Task table appears. If the task is still underway, a status message is displayed in the Duration column. Click on the progress-bar icon in this column to re-display the Task Progress dialog for this task.

Once the task is complete and the progress bar displays 100%, two buttons appear below the Task Progress dialog: Done and View Events.

To view the list of events associated with the task just completed, click View Events. The Events For <Task> table appears. If you then click the up-arrow icon in the top-right corner, the Tasks table appears.

To return to the previous screen, click Done.