3.2 Using a Kickstart File to Install a System

The software described in this documentation is either in Extended Support or Sustaining Support. See https://www.oracle.com/us/support/library/enterprise-linux-support-policies-069172.pdf for more information.
Oracle recommends that you upgrade the software described by this documentation as soon as possible.

3.2 Using a Kickstart File to Install a System

A kickstart installation requires access to the Oracle Linux installation media on a local CD-ROM drive or hard drive, or over the network using HTTP or NFS.

To use a kickstart file to install a system:

Boot the system from a bootable medium or from a network installation server that supports PXE client installation. If you need to modify the boot command, press Esc to access the command line. Note, however, that the boot configuration might not allow you to modify the boot command.
For PXE clients, it is usual to specify the kickstart parameters in the boot loader configuration. For example, the following example configures a kickstart installation for a PXE client that boots using pxelinux:
```
prompt 0
default ol6u6
timeout 0

label ol6u6
kernel vmlinuz-OL6u6
append initrd=initrd-OL6u6.img ksdevice=eth0 kssendmac ks=http://10.0.0.11/ksfiles/ol6u6_cfg.ks
```
The ksdevice=eth0 parameter specifies the interface to be used for network installation. If a system has multiple network interfaces, this prevents the installation from prompting you to choose an interface. Alternatively, you could specify ksdevice=bootif and add an ipappend 2 entry after the append entry:
```
prompt 0
default ol6u6
timeout 0

label ol6u6
kernel vmlinuz-OL6u6
append initrd=initrd-OL6u6.img ksdevice=bootif kssendmac ks=http://10.0.0.11/ksfiles/ol6u6_cfg.ks
ipappend 2
```
This configuration also prevents you from being prompted to choose a network interface but it does not control which interface is selected.
The next example configures a kickstart installation for a PXE client that boots using GRUB:
```
default=0
hiddenmenu
splashimage=(nd)/splash.xpm.gz
timeout=0

title Oracle Linux 6 Update 6 Installation
    root (nd)
    kernel /vmlinuz-OL6u6 ksdevice=eth0 kssendmac ks=http://10.0.0.11/ksfiles/ol6u6_cfg.ks
    initrd /initrd-OL6u6.img
```
Note
The ipappend 2 option does not work as documented for UEFI boot environments on Oracle Linux 6. In some situations, such as when using UEFI in conjunction with the Anaconda installer, the PXE environment does not pass the information required to identify the boot interface if you use the ksdevice=bootif option. This can cause the installation to stop to prompt the user to select an interface. The workaround is to manually set the BOOTIF environment variable to contain the MAC address of the device, prefixed with '01-'. For example:
```
prompt 0
timeout 0

title ol6u8-x86_64-UEFI
  root (nd)
  kernel vmlinuz-OL6u8 initrd=initrd-OL6u8.img ksdevice=bootif BOOTIF=01-08-00-27-60-95-d5  
 ks=http://10.0.0.11/ksfiles/ol6u8_cfg.ks
```
08-00-27-60-95-d5 in the above example is equivalent to the MAC address for the boot interface.
If you have not customized the boot configuration to use kickstart, you can use the ks option to specify the location of the kickstart file.
The following boot command specifies that the kickstart file is on the boot CD:
```
boot: linux ks=cdrom:/ks.cfg
```
If the kickstart file is located on an NFS server, you might use a boot command such as the following:
```
boot: linux ksdevice=eth0 ip=dhcp ks=nfs:10.0.0.11:/ksfiles/ks.cfg
```
where ksdevice=eth0 specifies the network interface and ip=dhcp specifies that DHCP should be used to configure this interface.
For more information, see Section 2.2, “Installation Boot Options”.
If the kickstart configuration does not specify the installation method, insert the installation DVD or make the installation image available to the system when prompted.