Using the self-serve net installer/CentOS Stream: Difference between revisions
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Strugglers (talk | contribs) (→Supported install methods: CentOS 7.x available) |
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* Semi-interactive text mode (automated partitioning and package selection) | * Semi-interactive text mode (automated partitioning and package selection) | ||
* Interactive VNC GUI | * Interactive VNC GUI | ||
* Custom kickstart URL | |||
===CentOS 7.x=== | |||
* Semi-interactive text mode (automated partitioning) | |||
* Custom kickstart URL | * Custom kickstart URL | ||
Revision as of 14:36, 25 April 2015
Installing CentOS or Scientific Linux using the BitFolk installer.
Supported distributions
- CentOS 5.x
- CentOS 6.x
- CentOS 7.x
- Scientific Linux 6.x
Supported install methods
CentOS 5.x
- Interactive text-mode
- Custom kickstart URL
CentOS 6.x, Scientific Linux 6.x
- Semi-interactive text mode (automated partitioning and package selection)
- Interactive VNC GUI
- Custom kickstart URL
CentOS 7.x
- Semi-interactive text mode (automated partitioning)
- Custom kickstart URL
About kickstart
All RHEL-like installs use a kickstart profile.
The default kickstart profile
The default kickstart profile for CentOS 5.x performs a largely interactive text mode install, whereas the default kickstart for CentOS 6.x and Scientific Linux 6.x perform a mostly automatic install. In particular, the default installer kickstart for CentOS 6.x and Scientific Linux 6.x has automated partitioning and package selection. The different behaviour is down to Red Hat dropping disk partitioning and package selection from the text mode installer:
 Warning: | If you select text mode for a kickstart installation, make sure that you specify choices for the partitioning, bootloader, and package selection options. These steps are automated in text mode, and anaconda cannot prompt you for missing information. If you do not provide choices for these options, anaconda will stop the installation process. – http://docs.redhat.com/docs/en-US/Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux/6/html-single/Installation_Guide/index.html#s1-kickstart2-file |
Selecting a different kickstart profile
Since version v1.48bitfolk16 you can use the kickstart Xen Shell command to choose from some alternate kickstart profiles, or (from version v1.48bitfolk18) to specify a URL to your own custom profile.
Performing an interactive install
If you want to do an interactive install of CentOS 6.x or Scientific Linux 6.x you're going to need to use the VNC GUI kickstart.
This intially boots the text mode installer as far as acquiring an IP address and networking config (automated). It then generates a random password and starts a VNC server. You can connect to this with any VNC client, using the randomly-generated password. A normal GUI interactive install proceeds from there.
A typical Linux VNC client is vinagre.
CentOS 5's text mode installer
Partitioning
Soon after the install starts you'll see something like this:
Welcome to CentOS
+-------------------------+ Partitioning Type +-------------------------+
| |
| Installation requires partitioning of your hard drive. The |
| default layout is reasonable for most users. You can either |
| choose to use this or create your own. |
| |
| Remove all partitions on selected drives and create default layout. |
| Remove linux partitions on selected drives and create default layout. |
| Use free space on selected drives and create default layout. |
| Create custom layout. |
| |
| Which drive(s) do you want to use for this installation? |
| [*] xvda 10237 MB (Xen Virtual Block Device) ^ |
| [*] xvdb 251 MB (Xen Virtual Block Device) # |
| |
| +----+ +------+ |
| | OK | | Back | |
| +----+ +------+ |
| |
| |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
<Space>,<+>,<-> selection | <F2> Add drive | <F12> next screenYou are advised to:
- move the cursor to the "Create custom layout." line
- hit tab to move drive selection, where you can toggle the drives with the space key
- when done there, tab again to the "OK" button and press return to continue.
You will then see something like:
Welcome to CentOS
+------------------------------+ Partitioning +------------------------------+
| |
| Device Start End Size Type Mount Point |
| /dev/xvda ^ |
| Free space 1 1306 10240M Free space # |
| /dev/xvdb : |
| Free space 1 33 256M Free space : |
| /dev/xvdc : |
| Free space 1 621 4864M Free space : |
| : |
| : |
| : |
| v |
| |
| +-----+ +------+ +--------+ +------+ +----+ +------+ |
| | New | | Edit | | Delete | | RAID | | OK | | Back | |
| +-----+ +------+ +--------+ +------+ +----+ +------+ |
| |
| |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
F1-Help F2-New F3-Edit F4-Delete F5-Reset F12-OKYou just need to remember the above advice to put root as type ext3 on xvda1 and swap as xvdb1.
The install will now proceed normally and should be finished in a couple of minutes.
Finishing the install
Once the install has completed you'll see something like:
sending termination signals...done
sending kill signals...done
disabling swap...
/tmp/xvdb1
unmounting filesystems...
/mnt/runtime done
disabling /dev/loop0
/proc done
/dev/pts done
/sys done
/tmp/ramfs done
/selinux done
/mnt/sysimage/sys done
/mnt/sysimage/proc done
/mnt/sysimage/selinux done
/mnt/sysimage/dev done
/mnt/sysimage done
rebooting system
Restarting system.
xen-shell>You should now be able to boot into the new CentOS install.