2 Customizing Boot Loader Actions

Boot options determine how the installation proceeds. In addition to default settings, you can add more options before you start the installation.

• Configuring the Boot Loader
• Installation Boot Options

Configuring the Boot Loader

Boot options are specified at the boot command line of the boot menu.

1. Boot the system.

2. When the boot menu is displayed, select any installation option, then press either E on UEFI-based systems or Tab on BIOS-based systems.

   The boot options line is displayed with some default options already defined.

3. Add options at the end of the line.

   Separate multiple boot options with a space. Options that require parameters must be in the option=parameter format.

   For a list of common boot options, see Installation Boot Options.

4. Save the changes by pressing either Ctrl+X on UEFI-based systems or Return on BIOS-based systems.

   To discard your changes and return to the boot menu, press Esc.

This example shows settings for the inst.repo and inst.ks options:

inst.repo=nfs:nfs.example.com:/ISOs/OL8/full_image.iso \
inst.ks=nfs:nfs.example.com:/kickstart/OL8/server-ks.cfg ip=dhcp

With these directives, the installation program is instructed to do the following:

• Use the full installation image stored on an NFS share directory.

• Start the installation automatically by using a file also stored on an NFS share directory.

Installation Boot Options

This list contains some of the most commonly used boot options that further determine how the installation proceeds. You specify these options at the installation menu before you initiate the installation process.

You can refer to these additional information sources for more boot options:

• https://anaconda-installer.readthedocs.io/en/latest/boot-options.html

• The dracut.cmdline(7) manual page provides Dracut kernel command line options.

Installation Type

inst.graphical

Specifies a graphical-based installation.

inst.gpt

Applies only to BIOS-based systems with less than 2 TiB sized disk. Specifies to use the GUID partition table when boot loader is installed instead of the default MBR.

Installation Source

inst.repo=cdrom[:device]

Specifies a CD or DVD drive as the location that contains everything needed to install the software.

The installation program searches all the system's CD or DVD drives, unless a device is specified.

If access to a network is required and no network boot options are specified, the installation program enables DHCP on all available network devices.

inst.repo=ftp://user : password@FTP_server/path

Specifies an FTP server as the location that contains everything needed to install the software.

If access to a network is required and no network boot options are specified, the installation program enables DHCP on all available network devices.

inst.repo=hd:device:path

Specifies a local disk as the location that contains everything needed to install the software.

You can specify the device by its device name (sdb2), label (LABEL=label ), or UUID (UUID=uuid ).

inst.repo=[http:|https:]//HTTP_server/path

Specifies a web server as the location that contains everything needed to install the software. If your system has access to the Internet, you can use the BaseOS repository on the Oracle Linux yum server for the Oracle Linux release that you are installing. For example, you could set this value to https://yum.oracle.com/repo/OracleLinux/OL9/baseos/latest/x86_64

inst.repo=nfs:[options:]NFS_server:path

Specifies an NFS share as the location that contains everything needed to install the software.

Use options to specify a comma-separated list of NFS mount options.

The NFS share can be the path to an ISO image or a directory.

inst.stage2=[installation_source]

Specifies the location to fetch the installer runtime image; packages are ignored. If this option is not specified, inst.repo is used instead. The path specified for installation_source can match any of the protocol and path options used for inst.repo.

The directory path specified for the installation_source should contain a valid .treeinfo file that specifies the location of the runtime image. If a .treeinfo file is not present at the source, the installer uses LiveOS/squashfs.img as the default location at the specified source.

Important:

When specifying a runtime image in UEK network installations, use the UEK ISO for the installation repository as well. Do not combine using the standard Oracle Linux ISO image as the installation repository while specifying the Oracle Linux UEK Boot ISO for the runtime image.

Network Configuration

ip=[interface:]dhcp|dhcp6|auto6|ibft

Specifies a network automatic configuration method. If interface is not specified, all interfaces are configured. Use ibft to use the MAC address of the interface specified by the iSCSI Boot Firmware Table (iBFT) in the system BIOS or firmware.

ip=ip::gateway:netmask:hostname:interface:none

Specifies a static IP configuration for interface. Enclose IPv6 addresses in square brackets, for example [2509:f0d0:1001::0004].

nameserver=IP

Specifies the IP address of a DNS server to use during installation. Multiple nameserver options can be used.

bootdev=interface

Specifies the primary network interface. Required if you use more than one ip option.

inst.dhcpclass

Specifies a vendor class identifier to DHCP.

Kickstart Installations

inst.ks=cdrom[:device]/path

Specifies a kickstart file on a CD or DVD drive.

inst.ks=ftp://user : password@FTP_server/path

Specifies a kickstart file on an FTP server.

inst.ks=hd:device:path

Specifies a kickstart file a local disk.

You can specify the device by its device name (sdb2), label (LABEL=label ) or UUID (UUID=uuid ).

inst.ks=[http:|https:]//HTTP_server/path

Specifies a kickstart file on a web server.

inst.ks=nfs:[options:]NFS_server:path

Specifies a kickstart file on an NFS share.

Use options to specify a comma-separated list of NFS mount options.

Remote Installations

inst.vnc

Enables remote graphical-based installation by starting a VNC server.

A VNC client can connect by using a command such as vncviewer server:port , where server is the IP address of the system being installed.

After installation, the system starts in text mode even if a graphical desktop environment is selected as the base environment.

inst.vncconnect=client[:port]

Specifies the VNC client and optional port that is listening for connections from a VNC server (vncviewer -listen). The default port is 5900.

inst.vncpassword=password

Specifies the password for client connections using VNC.

Miscellaneous Boot Options

inst.keymap=layout

Specifies the keyboard layout for installation.

inst.lang=language

Specifies the language for installation.

inst.loglevel=level

Specifies the logging level for installation: critical, debug, error, info, or warning. The default level is info.