automating linux installations at cern g. cancio, l. cons, p. defert, m. olive, i. reguero, c. rossi...
TRANSCRIPT
Automating Linux Automating Linux Installations at CERNInstallations at CERN
G. Cancio, L. Cons, P. Defert, M. Olive,
I. Reguero, C. Rossi IT/PDP, CERN
presented by G. Cancio
AgendaAgenda
Linux at CERN Automating installations Kickstart usage: Architecture,
configuration, problems Work to be done
Linux at CERNLinux at CERN
Currently, ~ 1000 PC’s running Linux on the site most of them farm nodes in the Computer Centre
Now: increase of 50-100 per month Tomorrow: several thousands PC’s How to manage their installation /
reinstallation/ upgrade? Manual installation takes ~ 20 minutes per node, requiring
human interaction
Automating installationsAutomating installations Requirements for an automated installation procedure:
run unattended allow parallel installations scalable to new clients, and new OS releases flexible configuration customizable to specific needs
Examples: JumpStart, Ignite-UX, Kickstart
Examples:
Kickstart OverviewKickstart Overview Automated installation system provided by RedHat Configuration file describes system setup for a
machine disk partitions, packages to install, mouse and keyboard setup etc…
May contain a post installation procedure
Configurations may be stored on.. the installation diskette itself NFS server using BOOTP
ArchitectureArchitecture
Register machine in LANDB and BOOTP server
put KS cfg file on NFS server load installer on target using
floppy or ANIS(*) installer contacts BOOTP
server and gets network info and KS config file
mount install server, start main installation
MAC address
linuxsoft: /ks/asis-w6
NFSmount
Installation target (asis-w6)
LANDB AFS
BOOTP server
NFS server
mirror
update
(*)ANIS (=Automated Network Installation System): System for booting over the network an installation client
Configuration Example (I)Configuration Example (I)
# network setup
network --bootproto static ---ip 1.2.3.4 \
--netmask 255.255.255.0 --gateway 1.2.1.1 \
--nameserver 1.2.1.2
# NFS install server to use
nfs --server linuxsoft --dir /redhat/cern/6.1
# packages to install
%packages
@ CERN recommended setup
Configuration Example(II)Configuration Example(II)
post installation after first reboot:
%post
(...)
cat >/etc/rc.d/init.d/ks-post <<EOF
#!/bin/sh -x
(...)
# install AFS via SUE
/usr/sue/etc/sue.install afs
(...)
EOF
ProblemsProblems
Bugs (RH 6.1): root password encryption not working incorrect /etc/hosts generation X config tool buggy
Other problems: No low-level configuration for partitions (-
> run fdisk in postinstall) Command syntax changing
Current status & Current status & limitationslimitations
More than 370 systems installed using Kickstart RedHat releases available: 5.1, 6.0 and 6.1
Limitations: Kickstart file writing is complex Kickstart syntax changes Chaos: how to manage 1000’s of
configurations?
Installation Management Installation Management SystemSystem
We are developing a system for managing the
installations
Client side:User-friendly GUI front-end for defining setups
Templates for several Hardware configs and usage types farm node, workstation, laptop..
Configuration defaults site defaults, group defaults, cluster defaults
Installation Management Installation Management System (II)System (II)
Configuration database stored centrally reuse of configurations same configuration for multiple installation targets
Flexibility configuration data stored in intermediate format reuse stored configurations for new Kickstart releases (.. or
other installation systems)
Plugins for extending Kickstart functionality ie. For site-specific installation options implemented in the post-install section
GUI prototypeGUI prototype
ContactsContacts
CERN IT/PDP: http://wwwinfo.cern.ch/pdp
Linux at CERN: http://wwwinfo.cern.ch/dis/linux Automated Network Installation System (ANIS):
[email protected] Installation Management System: