Michael Hannon wrote:
> Greetings.  We're trying to do a kickstart installation of SL 3.0.1 via
> PXE, and we seem to be having trouble getting the installer to find the
> ks.cfg file.  The basic DHCP/TFTP stuff seems to be working, but when
> the installer starts, it stops to ask what language to use, etc., rather
> than just cruising through the installation.
>
> Here's the file that's supposed to trigger the kickstart process:
>
> [root@ucd-host pxelinux.cfg]# cat netboot-ks.SL.3.0.1
> default linux
> label linux
>   kernel vmlinuz-SL-3.0.1
>    append ksdevice=eth0 load_ramdisk=1 initrd=initrd-SL-3.0.1.img
> network ks=nfs:169.237.mm.nn:/SL/3.0.1/
>
> The crucial point is that we've stuck the ks.cfg file in with the rest
> of the SL distribution, and that directory is certainly exported via NFS
> (otherwise we wouldn't get to the point where the installer runs, ask
> for language, etc.).
>
> We've had similar problems in the past with some versions of Redhat
> linux.  The workaround that we found was to do a loopback mount of the
> initrd file, stuff the ks.cfg file in the appropriate directory, then
> umount.  I.e., we stuffed the ks.cfg file into the initrd.
>
> This isn't terribly taxing once one has stumbled onto the technique, but
> it's pretty ugly.  I was hoping that there would be a saner method.
>
> Do you folks have any words of wisdom about this?  Thanks.
>
>                                        - Mike
> --
> Michael Hannon            mailto:[log in to unmask]
> Dept. of Physics          530.752.4966
> University of California  530.752.4717 FAX
> Davis, CA 95616-8677

The only network based kickstart I've had work is via http.  Now granted, I
haven't even tried NFS based kickstart, so I don't know if it works or not.
But if you are looking for a more graceful way of doing it, and much more
flexible, you could always try that.
Troy
--
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Troy Dawson  [log in to unmask]  (630)840-6468
Fermilab  ComputingDivision/CSS  CSI Group
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