RHEL8 Kickstart

This repository contains examples for setups with a Kickstart file.

• server/ - for a default server installation
• openstack-node/ - for the preparation of OpenStack nodes

Preparation of the Kickstart file

The Kickstart files in the subdirectories are for a specific use case. You can use rhel8-server/anaconda-ks.cfg as a template for your use case. The root password and the subscription data must be changes.

You can also use the Kickstart Generator from Red Hat and do some adjustments (for example manage the subscription with RHSM).

Preparation of the Image

The following instructions show the required steps to create a bootable image with a Kickstart file for an automated installation. Replace "bastian" with your username.

Download the ISO: https://developers.redhat.com/products/rhel/download

# Mount the iso:
mount -o loop /tmp/rhel-8.5-x86_64-dvd.iso /mnt/

# Copy the content to a working directory:
cp -avRf /mnt/* /home/bastian/rhel-install/

# Unmount the ISO:
umount /mnt

# Copy the Kickstart file into the working directory:
cp /root/anaconda-ks.cfg /home/bastian/rhel-install/

# Get the volume name of the ISO: 
isoinfo -d -i ISONAME.iso | grep "Volume id" | \ sed -e 's/Volume id: //' -e 's/ /\\x20/g'

# Add the menu entry to the isolinux boot menu (see example below)

# Mount the efi bootloader: 
mount /root/rhel-install/images/efiboot.img /mnt/

# Add the a menu entry for the Kickstart installation to the grub menu (see example below): 
nano /mnt/EFI/BOOT/grub.cfg

# Unmount the image: 
umount /mnt

# Create the new ISO (change the volume name, input dir and output file): 
mkisofs -untranslated-filenames -volid "RHEL-8-5-0-BaseOS-x86_64" -J -joliet-long -rational-rock -translation-table -input-charset utf-8 -b isolinux/isolinux.bin -c isolinux/boot.cat -no-emul-boot -boot-load-size 4 -boot-info-table -eltorito-alt-boot -e images/efiboot.img -no-emul-boot -o rhel8-ks.iso -graft-points /home/bastian/rhel-install/

# Make the new ISO bootable:
isohybrid --uefi rhel8-ks.iso

Example isolinux boot menu

Set the inst.stage2=hd:LABEL= and inst.ks=hd:LABEL= values to the volume name of the ISO, see step 6

label kickstart
  menu label ^Kickstart Installation of RHEL8.5
  kernel vmlinuz
  append initrd=initrd.img inst.stage2=hd:LABEL=RHEL-8-5-0-BaseOS-x86_64 inst.ks=hd:LABEL=RHEL-8-5-0-BaseOS-x86_64:/anaconda-ks.cfg

Example grub boot menu

Set the inst.stage2=hd:LABEL= and inst.ks=hd:LABEL= values to the volume name of the ISO, see step 6

menuentry 'Kickstart Installation of RHEL8.5' --class fedora --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
        linuxefi /images/pxeboot/vmlinuz inst.stage2=hd:LABEL=RHEL-8-5-0-BaseOS-x86_64 inst.ks=hd:LABEL=RHEL-8-5-0-BaseOS-x86_64:/anaconda-ks.cfg
        initrdefi /images/pxeboot/initrd.img
}