How to Create a PXE Installation Image for Oracle VM

At the release of this document, Oracle VM 2.2.1 is the minimum supported version of Oracle VM. These instructions are for creating a PXE installation image of Oracle VM Server.

Before You Begin

The PXE installation procedure requires the following items:

• You must have already completed the network infrastructure setup to support PXE. See Configuring a Linux Server to Support PXE Installation.

• A CD/DVD drive accessible to the PXE Server.

• Oracle VM Server distribution media set. This can be a set of CDs or a DVD.

1. Set up the directory structure that will hold the Oracle VM Server software.

   # mkdir -p /home/pxeboot/ovm_svr_2.2/

2. Enter the following commands to copy the contents of each OVM distribution CD to the appropriate PXE subdirectory:

   ---

   Note - Eject and insert CDs only when the CD/DVD drive is unmounted.

   ---

   # mount dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom

   # cp -r /mnt/cdrom/* /home/pxeboot/ovm_svr_2.2/

   # umount /mnt/cdrom

   If you are installing from a DVD, you only have to do this once. When the copy is done, proceed to the next step.

3. Copy the vmlinuz and initrd.img files to the appropriate PXE target subdirectory:

   # cp /home/pxeboot/ovm_svr_2.2/images/pxeboot/vmlinuz /home/pxeboot/ovm_svr_2.2

   # cp /home/pxeboot/ovm_svr_2.2/images/pxeboot/initrd.img /home/pxeboot/ovm_svr_2.2

4. Using a text editor, create a kickstart file (ks.cfg) in the following location on your PXE server:

   /home/pxeboot/ovm_svr_2.2/ks.cfg

5. Add the necessary kickstart commands.

   If you know the required commands, type them in. Or, you can copy and insert the following content:

   lang en_US
   #langsupport en_US
   keyboard us
   #mouse genericusb
   timezone --utc America/Los_Angeles
   rootpw xxxx
   reboot
   bootloader --location=mbr
   install
   nfs --server n.n.n.n --dir /home/pxeboot/ovm_svr_2.2
   clearpart --all
   part /boot --fstype ext3 --size 512 --ondisk sda
   part  swap --size 4096 --ondisk sda
   part / --fstype ext3 --size 1 --grow --ondisk sda
   network --bootproto dhcp
   # password : abc123
   ovsagent --iscrypted Y2fEjdGT1W6nsLqtJbGUVeUp9e4=
   #ovsmgmntif eth0
   auth  --useshadow  --enablemd5
   firewall --disabled
   #Do not configure the X Window System
   skipx
   text
   
   %packages
   @Everything
   
   %pre
   
   %post --nochroot
   
   %post

   where n.n.n.n is the IP address of your PXE server. Ensure that the location indicated after --dir is pointing to the top level of your image.

6. Save the kickstart file.
7. Using a text editor, create the PXE configuration file (to be named default). This file defines the menu shown to the target system during network boot.

   The following shows two examples labels for an Oracle VM menu:

   ---

   Note - Type the text block from append through ks.cfg as one continuous string with no returns.

   ---

   label ovm_svr_2.2 sda eth select
   kernel ovm_svr_2.2/images/pxeboot/vmlinuz
   append initrd=ovm_svr_2.2/images/pxeboot/initrd.img load_ramdisk=1 network 
   ks=nfs:n.n.n.n:/home/pxeboot/ovm_svr_2.2/ks.cfg mem=32g
   
   label ovm_svr_2.2 sda eth select serial console
   kernel ovm_svr_2.2/images/pxeboot/vmlinuz
   append initrd=ovm_svr_2.2/images/pxeboot/initrd.img load_ramdisk=1 network 
   ks=nfs:n.n.n.n:/home/pxeboot/ovm_svr_2.2/ks.cfg mem=32g 
   console=ttyS0,115200

   where n.n.n.n is the IP address of your PXE server.

8. Save the file as default in the following location on the PXE server:

   /home/pxeboot/pxelinux.cfg/default