Sun N1 Service Provisioning System User's Guide for OS Provisioning Plug-In 3.0

Creating RedHat Linux Images and Profiles

After you create your RedHat Linux image server, you need to create the provisioning images and profiles.

If you want the JumpStart Enterprise Toolkit (JET) to generate your image and profile, seeCreating RedHat Linux Images and Profiles With JET.
If you want to manually create your image and profile, seeCreating Non-JET RedHat Linux Images and Profiles.

Creating RedHat Linux Images and Profiles With JET

The JumpStart Enterprise Toolkit (JET) is a set of utilities that simplifies the process of creating the profiles necessary to provision the RedHat Linux OS. Through the N1 SPS browser interface, you can generate the profile keywords and values that are required to perform an automated Kickstart installation of your target host.

If you prefer to not use JET, and create the profile values manually, you can create the RedHat Linux image and profile without using JET modules. See Creating Non-JET RedHat Linux Images and Profiles.

How to Create a RedHat Linux Provisioning Profile With JET (Browser Interface)

Before You Begin

Make sure the Linux image server exists and that the RedHat Linux operating system software is available to that server. For more information about creating the RedHat Linux image server, see Setting up the RedHat Linux Server.

Steps

In the Common Tasks section of the provisioning software page, select OS Provisioning.

On the OS Provisioning Common Tasks page, click Create Profile in the RedHat Linux Images section.

On the Plans Details page, click Run.

Choose variables to use for this plan.

To use an existing variables set, select a name from the drop-down menu in the LinuxImage component row of the Plan Parameters table.

To create a new variables set, click Select from List in the LinuxImage component row of the Plan Parameters table.

Click Create Set.

Type a name for the variables set.

Verify variables and change them, if needed.

The following table describes the additional variables and their default values.

Variable Name	Description	Default Value/Example
`osp_server`	Virtual server representing the OS provisioning service	`masterserver-osp` (Default)
`version`	Version of Linux to be deployed by this component	`3U4` (Example)
`architecture`	Architecture of the physical system, for example, x86 Note – This value is used to name the profile component and OS image. The value of this variable is not validated or enforced by the provisioning software.	`x86` (Default)
`installPath`	RedHat Linux image name to attach	`Linux:[version]_:[architecture]` For example: `Linux_3U4_x86`
`description`	Optional description for this profile	`test linux` (Example)
`min_disk_size`	Minimum disk space required to provision the RedHat Linux OS	`10GB` (Default)
`boot_server_name`	Name of RedHat Linux boot and install server	`masterserver` (Example)
`boot_server_subnet_address`	Subnet served by the boot and install server	`10.10.31.0` (Example)
`boot_server_subnet_ip_address`	IP address of the boot and install server on the subnet	`10.10.31.1` (Example)
`image_subnet_mask`	Netmask of the provisioning subnet	`255.255.255.0` (Default)
`kickstart_file` (Non-JET profiles only)	Absolute path of the Kickstart file `ks.cfg` on the boot server Do not specify a value for this variable for JET-generated profiles.	N/A
`pxe_boot_file` (Non-JET profiles only)	Relative path from the `/tftpboot` directory of the `pxelinux.0` boot file on the boot server Do not specify a value for this variable for JET-generated profiles.	N/A
`pxe_configuration_file` (Non-JET profiles only)	Relative path from the `pxelinux.cfg` directory of the PXE Linux configuration file on boot server Do not specify a value for this variable for JET-generated profiles.	N/A
`linux_component_folder`	Location of autogenerated Linux Provision component folder	`/com/sun/n1osp/autogen-:[target(..):sys.hostName]-linux` (Default)
`image_path` (JET profiles only)	NFS path to the OS image. Do not specify a value for this variable for non-JET profiles.	`nfs://10.10.31.1/export/install/RHEL3` (Example)
`kernel` (JET profiles only)	Relative path to the kernel in the OS image Do not specify a value for this variable for non-JET profiles.	`images/pxeboot/vmlinuz` (Default)
`initrd` (JET profiles only)	Relative path to `initrd` in the OS image Do not specify a value for this variable for non-JET profiles.	`images/pxeboot/initrd.img` (Default)

Save the variables set.

Select the variables set that you just saved from the drop-down menu in the LinuxImage component row of the Plan Parameters table.

On the Plan Details Run page, select the Linux image server on which to create the profile.

Tip –
The host name of the Linux image server ends in -linux.

If needed, change the Profile Name.

If needed, change the Profile Description.

Update the list of the JET modules to use.

The JET product modules are located on the JET server in the directory /opt/SUNWjet/Products.

By default, the plan variable JET Modules Name(s) lists two JET modules to include in the RedHat Linux profile component:
- base_config – Installs and configures the RedHat Linux OS. For information about base_config variables, see Basic RedHat OS Configuration Variables.
- spsra – Installs and configures the N1 SPS Remote Agent (RA) on a Solaris system. For information about spsra variables, see Component Variables for RedHat Remote Agents.
base_config is the required JET module for basic RedHat Linux installation. All other /opt/SUNWjet/Products modules are optional. Adding a module name to this list adds the module installation function and configuration variables to the newly created RedHat Linux provisioning profile.

Verify that the Use the Jet Modules Specified Above checkbox is selected.

Click Run Plan (includes preflight).

To verify that the Linux profile is created to the Linux image server, click Components in the left pane of the N1 SPS browser interface.

You should find a provision component in the folder /com/sun/n1osp/autogen-server-name-linux/provision/, where server-name is the Linux server name that you provided in the variable set. For example: /com/sun/n1osp/autogen-Linux3U4_x86-linux/provision/.

How to Create a JET RedHat Linux Provisioning Profile (Command-Line Interface)

Steps

To create a variable set for the LinuxImage component, type a command similar to the following example:

# cr_cli -cmd cdb.vs.add -comp NM:/com/sun/n1osp/untyped/LinuxImage \
-name "redhat3" -u admin -p admin -vars "osp_server=masterserver-osp; \
version=RedHat3.0;architecture=x86; \
installPath=Linux:[version]_:[architecture];description=test linux; \
min_disk_size=10GB;boot_server_name=bikickstart; \
boot_server_subnet_address=10.42.42.0;boot_server_subnet_ip_address=10.42.42.3;\
kickstart_file=/export/el30.cfg;pxe_boot_file=linux-install/pxelinux.0; \
pxe_configuration_file=el30-console"

To run the plan, type a command similar to the following example:
# cr_cli -cmd pe.p.run -u admin -p admin \ -PID NM:/com/sun/n1osp/untyped/LinuxImage-create-profile \ -tar H:NM:bikickstart-linux -comp - -vs redhat3 -pto 30 -nto 10 \ -f /tmp/redhat-profile
Note the default N1 SPS user value you specified with the -u option. This user must exist after the OS installation for the N1 SPS Remote Agent software to start on the target host.

Creating Non-JET RedHat Linux Images and Profiles

If you prefer to manually create the RedHat Linux images and profiles, you can create the RedHat Linux image and profile without using JET modules. This section describes how to create non-JET RedHat Linux images and profiles.

If you prefer to use JET to generate your images and profiles, see Creating RedHat Linux Images and Profiles With JET.

How to Create a PXE Configuration File for RedHat Linux OS Provisioning

To deploy non-JET RedHat Linux images to your target hosts, you need to manually create a PXE configuration file. This file contains parameters specific to each hardware platform and RedHat Linux distribution.

Steps

In a text editor, create a file with the following text.
```
default el30 ks
serial 0 9600
label el30
kernel vmlinuz
append linksleep=30 ksdevice=eth0 console=ttyS1,9600 load_ramdisk=1 initrd=initrd.img network
```
Where:
- The first line (default) indicates to use label el30 and do a Kickstart installation (passing ks to the kernel).
- The third line (label) defines a label el30.
- The fourth line (kernel) identifies the kernel to load. The path is relative to pxelinux.0.
- The fifth line (append) contains a series of network configuration parameters. The append parameters must be all on one line. The specific parameters shown here are as follows:
  
  linksleep=30 tells the kernel to wait before determining that the system is not working. Some network interfaces require a long time to come up.
  
  ksdevice=eth0 indicates to perform the installation through the eth0 interface. If this parameter is omitted, eth0 is assumed.
  
  console=ttyS1,9600 specify console parameters to show the installation output on the console. The parameters vary depending on the target hardware platform.
  
  load_ramdisk indicates to use initrd.img for the RAM disk. The path for the RAM disk is relative to pxelinux.0.
  
  network indicates to perform a network installation.

Save this file to the pxelinux.cfg subdirectory of the TFTP root directory on the boot and install server.

If you want to support provisioning of multiple releases of the RedHat Linux OS, assign a unique name to this file, such as rh30.cfg

How to Create a Non-JET RedHat Linux Provisioning Profile (Browser Interface)

Before You Begin

Create a PXE Linux configuration file, and locate this file in the pxelinux.cfg directory on the boot and install server. For an example of the PXE Linux configuration file, see How to Create a PXE Configuration File for RedHat Linux OS Provisioning.

Steps

In the Common Tasks section of the provisioning software page, select OS Provisioning.

On the OS Provisioning Common Tasks page, click Create Profile in the RedHat Linux Images section.

On the Plans Details page, click Run.

Choose variables to use for this plan.

To use an existing variables set, select a name from the drop-down menu in the LinuxImage component row of the Plan Parameters table.

To create a new variables set, click Select from List in the LinuxImage component row of the Plan Parameters table.

Click Create Set.

Type a name for the variables set.

Verify variables and change them, if needed.

The following table describes the additional variables and their default values.

Variable Name	Description	Default Value/Example
`osp_server`	Virtual server representing the OS provisioning service	`masterserver-osp` (Default)
`version`	Version of Linux to be deployed by this component	`3U4` (Example)
`architecture`	Architecture of the physical system, for example, x86 Note – This value is used to name the profile component and OS image. The value of this variable is not validated or enforced by the provisioning software.	`x86` (Default)
`installPath`	RedHat Linux image name to attach	`Linux:[version]_:[architecture]` For example: `Linux_3U4_x86`
`description`	Optional description for this profile	`test linux` (Example)
`min_disk_size`	Minimum disk space required to provision the RedHat Linux OS	`10GB` (Default)
`boot_server_name`	Name of RedHat Linux boot and install server	`masterserver` (Example)
`boot_server_subnet_address`	Subnet served by the boot and install server	`10.10.31.0` (Example)
`boot_server_subnet_ip_address`	IP address of the boot and install server on the subnet	`10.10.31.1` (Example)
`image_subnet_mask`	Netmask of the provisioning subnet	`255.255.255.0` (Default)
`kickstart_file` (Non-JET profiles only)	Absolute path of the Kickstart file `ks.cfg` on the boot server. This file must be accessible to the boot and install server. Do not specify a value for this variable for JET-generated profiles.	`/tftpboot/v6x/as21.cfg` (Example)
`pxe_boot_file` (Non-JET profiles only)	Relative path from the `/tftpboot` directory of the `pxelinux.0` boot file on the boot server Do not specify a value for this variable for JET-generated profiles.	`v6x/pxelinux.0` (Example)
`pxe_configuration_file` (Non-JET profiles only)	Relative path from the `pxelinux.cfg` directory of the PXE Linux configuration file on boot server Do not specify a value for this variable for JET-generated profiles.	`as21-console` (Example)
`linux_component_folder`	Location of autogenerated Linux Provision component folder	`/com/sun/n1osp/autogen-:[target(..):sys.hostName]-linux` (Default)
`image_path` (JET profiles only)	NFS path to the OS image. Do not specify a value for this variable for non-JET profiles.	N/A
`kernel` (JET profiles only)	Relative path to the kernel in the OS image Do not specify a value for this variable for non-JET profiles.	N/A
`initrd` (JET profiles only)	Relative path to `initrd` in the OS image Do not specify a value for this variable for non-JET profiles.	N/A

Save the variables set.

Select the variables set that you just saved from the drop-down menu in the LinuxImage component row of the Plan Parameters table.

On the Plan Details Run page, select the Linux image server on which to create the profile.

Tip –
The host name of the Linux image server ends in -linux.

Deselect the checkbox for Use the Jet Modules Specified Above.

Click Run Plan (includes preflight).

To verify that the Linux profile is created to the Linux image server, click Components in the left pane of the N1 SPS browser interface.

You should find a provision component in the folder /com/sun/n1osp/autogen-server-name-linux/provision/, where server-name is the Linux server name that you provided in the variable set. For example: /com/sun/n1osp/autogen-Linux3U4_x86-linux/provision/.

How to Create a Non-JET RedHat Linux Provisioning Profile (Command-Line Interface)

Steps

To create a variable set for the LinuxImage component, type a command similar to the following example:

# cr_cli -cmd cdb.vs.add -comp NM:/com/sun/n1osp/untyped/LinuxImage \
-name "redhat3" -u admin -p admin -vars "osp_server=masterserver-osp;version=RedHat3.0; \
architecture=x86;installPath=Linux:[version]_:[architecture]; \
description=test linux;min_disk_size=10GB; \
boot_server_name=bikickstart;boot_server_subnet_address=10.42.42.0; \
boot_server_subnet_ip_address=10.42.42.3;kickstart_file=/export/el30.cfg;\
pxe_boot_file=linux-install/pxelinux.0;pxe_configuration_file=el30-console"

To provide JET module information, create a file /tmp/redhat-profile that contains the following entries:
```
standard-nojet
Standard Linux
base_config
false
```
Where:
- The first line in the file corresponds to the Profile Name field in the plan variables section of the browser interface.
- The second line in the file corresponds to the Profile Description field in the plan variables section of the browser interface.
- The third line in the file corresponds to the JET Module Name field in the plan variables section of the browser interface.
- The fourth line in the file corresponds to the Use the Jet Modules Specified Above checkbox in the plan variables section of the browser interface.

To run the plan, type a command similar to the following example:
# cr_cli -cmd pe.p.run -u admin -p admin \ -PID NM:/com/sun/n1osp/untyped/LinuxImage-create-profile \ -tar H:NM:bikickstart-linux -comp - -vs redhat3 -pto 30 -nto 10 -f /tmp/redhat-profile
Note the default N1 SPS user value you specified with the -u option. This user must exist after the OS installation for the N1 SPS Remote Agent software to start on the target host.