LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning User's Guide

Transcription

1 LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning User's Guide Release Trademarks and Copyright Notices: LinMin, LinMin BMP, LinMin Bare Metal, LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning, Open Country, OC, LinMin Provision, LinMin-Provision, OC Provision, OC-Provision, OCM, OCM Provision, LinMin Manager, OC Manager, OCM Manager, LinMin Agent, OC Agent and OCM Agent are trademarks of LinMin Corp. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torwalds. Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Contact: or linmin-support@linmin.com. Before contacting LinMin Support, in /usr/local/linmin please execute./linmin-bmpsupport-help.sh and to linmin-support@linmin.com the resulting file lbmp-supporthelp_{timestamp}*.help file. This file captures all your system settings, actions taken and installation results. Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 1

2 Table of Contents 1 Introduction to LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning LinMin: Primary Modes of Operation LinMin: Release and Revision History Enhancements for LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning Enhancements for LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning Enhancements for LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning Enhancements for LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning Enhancements for LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning Enhancements for LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning Enhancements for LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning Enhancements for LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning Enhancements for LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning Enhancements for LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning Upload and Extract OS Media and Drivers Upload the Linux (except Debian) OS Media Upload the Linux ISO Image to the LinMin Server Extract Linux Distro ISO with the script loadlinux.pl Upload the Linux DVD/CD-ROM Media from the command line Access the Debian Distribution Media Select the Debian Distribution and Mirror with debian-setup.pl Creating a local Debian mirror (optional) Upload and Extract the Windows OS Media & Drivers Upload the Windows ISO Image to the LinMin Server Run the Script loadwindows.pl and Create the Custom Windows Installation Locate and Copy Drivers to your Windows Custom Installation Identify the Required NIC Drivers Identify the Required NIC RIS (Remote Installation Service) Drivers Identify Required Storage Drivers Identify Required Other Drivers Obtain the Required Drivers Obtain the NIC Drivers Obtain the NIC RIS (Remote Installation Service) Drivers Obtain the Storage Drivers Obtain the Other Drivers Copy the Drivers to the LinMin Server Copy the NIC Drivers Copy the NIC RIS (Remote Installation Service) Drivers Copy the Storage Drivers Copy Other Drivers Integrate the Drivers into your Windows Custom Installation Troubleshooting Windows Network Driver Problems Resources for Customizing Windows Installations Create LinMin Provisioning Roles Access the LinMin Server's Graphical User Interface LinMin server password MAC-Independent Provisioning Configure the MAC-Independent Provisioning Roles Menu The 2 Methods for Creating MAC-Independent Provisioning Roles Create MAC-Independent Provisioning Roles for Red Hat, CentOS, Fedora or Asianux.. 35 Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 2

3 3.2.3 Create MAC-Independent Provisioning Roles for Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) and OpenSUSE Create MAC-Independent Provisioning Roles for Ubuntu or Debian Create MAC-Independent Provisioning Roles for Windows General Comments on MAC-Independent Provisioning Role Configure MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles Create MAC-Specific Provisioning Role Templates The 2 Methods for Creating MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles Create MAC-Specific Provisioning Role Templates for Red Hat, CentOS, Fedora or Asianux Create MAC-Specific Provisioning Role Templates for Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) and OpenSUSE Create MAC-Specific Provisioning Role Templates for Ubuntu or Debian Create MAC-Specific Provisioning Role Templates for Windows Create MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles MAC-Specific Provisioning Business Rules Best Practices with MAC-Specific Provisioning Set Up the LinMin Client for Provisioning Provision the LinMin Client System Configuring VMware Clients Provisioning VMware Clients Configuring VirtualBox Clients Provisioning VirtualBox Clients Customize the Provisioning Process Customize Provisioning with Linux Distributions Customize Provisioning with Windows OSs Update Drivers Update Linux Drivers Update Drivers on SuSE-Based Distributions Single Driver Update Multiple Driver Update Update Drivers on Red Hat-Based Distributions Bare Metal Imaging: Backup and Restore Introduction to LinMin Imaging Preparation before Imaging: Information to Collect Creating Imaging Profiles Next Network Boot Imaging Actions Image Backup Directory Locations Imaging Control File Locations Managing the LinMin Server Start/Stop/Restart/Check the LinMin Server LinMin Status and Error Log Files LinMin Provisioning and Media Log Files Update the LinMin Server Update the License Key File Upgrade to a New Version of LinMin Reconfigure the LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning Server Uninstall the LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning Server Appendix A: Troubleshooting the LinMin Server Appendix B: Determine the Client's MAC Address B.1 Client without an OS (bare-metal client)...80 Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 3

4 B.2 Client with an existing Windows OS...80 B.3 Client with an existing Linux OS...80 B.4 Client operating on VMware...80 B.5 Client with Sun SPARC architecture...81 Appendix C: Installing Software and Running Scripts After Provisioning C.1 Create the Provisioning Command Files C.2 Create the Third Party Software Control File Templates C Control File Template for Red Hat-based Linux Distributions...82 C Post-Install Scripting for Red Hat-based Linux Distributions...83 C Post-Install Package Installations/Updates for Red Hat-based Linux Distributions...84 C.2.2 Control File Template for SUSE-based Linux Distributions...84 Appendix D: LinMin Architecture Appendix E: DHCP & LAN/VLAN Considerations E.1 Introduction E.2 Example A: Single (V)LAN subnet with no dynamic DHCP IP support E.3 Example B: Two (V)LAN subnets, One Dedicated to LinMin BMP E.4 Example C: Single (V)LAN Subnet with Other Servers Running on the Same Subnet Dependent on DHCP service E.5 Example D: Multiple (V)LAN Subnet Configuration Overview E.6 Example E: Multiple (V)LAN Subnet Configuration Specifics Appendix F: Application Program Interface (API) Appendix G: Provisioning Unsupported Distros/OSs Appendix H: License Keys and Licensing Appendix I: Useful Links Addendum 1: Option for Provisioning Solaris x A1.1 Introduction to Provisioning Solaris x A1.2 Installing and Uninstalling the Solaris x86 Option A1.3 Upload the Solaris OS Media A1.3.1 Upload the Solaris ISO Image to the LinMin Server A1.3.2 Extract the Solaris ISO with the script loadlinux.pl A1.4 MAC-Independent Provisioning A1.4.1 Configure the MAC-Independent Provisioning Roles Menu A The 2 Methods for Creating MAC-Independent Provisioning Roles A1.4.2 Create MAC-Independent Provisioning Roles for Solaris 10 x A1.5 Configure MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles A1.5.1 Create MAC-Specific Provisioning Role Templates A The 2 Methods for Creating MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles A Create MAC-Specific Provisioning Role Templates for Solaris A1.5.2 Create MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles A1.6 General Notes on Provisioning Solaris x A1.6.1 The file config.tar Addendum 2: Option for Provisioning Solaris SPARC A2.1 Introduction to Provisioning Solaris SPARC A2.2 Installing & Uninstalling the Solaris SPARC Option A2.3 Upload the Solaris OS Media A2.3.1 Upload the Solaris SPARC ISO Image to the LinMin Server A2.3.2 Extract the Solaris ISO with the script loadlinux.pl A2.4 Configure MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles A2.4.1 Create MAC-Specific Provisioning Role Templates A Create MAC-Specific Provisioning Role Templates for Solaris SPARC A2.4.2 Create MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 4

5 A2.4.3 Provisioning SPARC Systems with DHCP A2.5 Customizing Jumpstart Files with Solaris SPARC A2.5.1 Jumpstart Configuration File Modifications with Template Edits A2.5.2 Customization of Base Templates Error! No table of contents entries found. Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 5

6 1 Introduction to LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning (LBMP ) is a software application that enables a system to remotely install operating systems on servers, blades, workstations and virtual machines as well as backup and restore entire disk images over a Local Area Network. 1.1 LinMin: Primary Modes of Operation MAC-Independent Provisioning -- an interactive mode in which the user selects the Provisioning Role (OS plus applications) to be installed from the client system s user interface (display and keyboard) at Network Boot (PXE Boot) time. This mode is not available for Solaris clients MAC-Specific Provisioning Role -- an automated mode that does bare-metal provisioning of a system with the distro or OS, applications and unique parameters (network settings, password, host name, etc.) based on a system s unique MAC address. MAC-Specific Imaging an automated mode that performs a disk image snapshot (backup) or restore when that a uniquely identified client performs a network boot. This mode is not available for Solaris clients. LinMin enables system administrators to remotely install the Linux Distribution (' distro ), Microsoft Windows operating system (OS) or optionally Sun Solaris 10 OS of their choice on client systems. Systems can be physical or virtual servers, blades, desktops and appliances. This process is known as bare metal system provisioning ( Provisioning ). LinMin also can perform bare metal imaging: the backup and restore of all contents of the disks of client systems. LinMin s benefits include: Better utilization of existing systems (easy repurposing of systems) Fully automatic or manually-initiated installation of operating systems onto client systems Choice of default system profiles or highly customized, purpose-specific templates (e.g., web server) Centralized software distribution Disaster Recovery Reduced administration costs and application of IT best practices (repeatability, quality, etc.) Reduced power consumption by enabling systems to be consolidated and redundant systems powered down until needed again. This document provides instructions for setting up the LinMin server, instructions for provisioning LinMin clients, and instructions for managing the LinMin server (including starting, stopping, and upgrading it). There are several applications that you will use in setting up your LinMin environment: 1) setup.pl, a program that you run to install or upgrade LBMP, and to change internal parameters when you relocate your server to another network 2) loaddvd.pl to upload.iso files to your LinMin Server and loadlinux.pl or loadwindows.pl that you use each time you want to extract files from the distro/os.iso and prepare LinMin to provision systems. debian-setup.sh is used to select Debian distributions and mirrors. 3) A Firefox Browser-based User Interface to create provisioning and imaging roles, and to assign roles to individual systems. You access the Login page by going to for Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 6

7 example, Remember, the process to provision with LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning is very straightforward: - Upload the.iso of the Linux, Windows or optionally Solaris media into LinMin, then automatically extract the contents to prepare LinMin to provision systems (or for Debian, specify a public mirror) - Use the GUI with your Firefox Browser to configure MAC-Independent or MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles, and optionally MAC-Specific Imaging Profiles - Boot your client system to the network and provision or image (backup, restore) depending on how you have set up the business rules for that system. Once you are comfortable with this process, you will be ready to move into advanced concepts, such as post-os installation and configuration of applications, copying files, executing scripts, adding drivers for newer hardware support and so on. It should take less than 1 hour from the time to start installing LBMP on a freshly installed and updated Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.2/5.3 or CentOS 5.2/5.3 i386 system to the time you have provisioned your first system. If it is taking you longer, please linmin-support@linmin.com immediately for assistance. While LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning greatly simplifies the task of provisioning systems with different Linux Distributions and Windows Operating Systems, please ensure that you have properly licensed the Linux distributions that are not freely downloadable (Red Hat and Novell SuSE among others) and the Microsoft Windows Operating Systems before using them. NOTE TO SYSTEM ADMINISTRATORS: The LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning itself runs on Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 5.2/5.3/5.4 or CentOS 5.2/5.3/5.4, and will provision and image clients systems with many different versions of Linux, Windows and optionally Solaris (note: no imaging is available for Solaris). Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 7

8 1.2 LinMin: Release and Revision History Enhancements for LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning 5.1 Automatic download of all required subsystems from Red Hat or yum repositories Automatic detection of multiple Ethernet cards and guided selection of preferred provisioning Ethernet card Automatic configuration of multiple DNS servers Automatic scheduling of daily LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning database backups Enhanced error capture and logging Support for provisioning over 20 new 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems including Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.2, Novell SLES 10 SP2, Asianux 3.0, Novell SLES 10 Service Packs, Fedora 8, Ubuntu Hardy Heron 8.04 LTS and Fedora 9. Redesigned Graphical User Interface Enhanced directory structures for provisionable operating systems Enhanced control files for all provisional Linux distributions More Provisioning Business Rules options - MAC-Specific: Ignore (boot from local disk) - MAC-Specific: Always provision from LinMin Bare Metal - MAC-Specific: Provision the next time (only) from the network, then switch to Ignore (boot from disk) - MAC-Independent: fallback to boot from disk if service is disabled Enhanced MAC-Specific provisioning dashboard (to view all systems at a glance) Enhanced logging of provisioning events Enhancements for LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning 5.2 Enhanced Installation Process Supports the provisioning for Ubuntu (and no longer or 8.04) and enhanced Fedora 9 support GUI improvements Runs on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.2 and CentOS 5.2 (in addition to Releases 5.1) Application Program Interface (API) so that external applications can add/update/delete/read MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles Enhancements for LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning 5.3 GUI-based, one-click selection of Linux distros or Windows OSs to be provisioned (and all parameters get automatically filled in) Dynamic detection of what Linux distros and Windows OSs have the DVD/CD media uploaded Support for OpenSUSE 10 and 11 (32 and 64 bit) Support for Windows 2003 Server 64 bit Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 8

9 1.2.4 Enhancements for LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning loadlinux.pl now allows for unsupported distros to be uploaded; loadlinux.pl prompts user after reading the media identifier LinMin s DHCP installed as non-authoritative to better integrate with other DHCP servers. Support for OpenSUSE 11.1 Support for SLES 11 and SLES 10 SP3 Support for Ubuntu 8.10 Support for RHEL 5.3 and CentOS 5.3 Support for Fedora Enhancements for LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning 5.4 Support for running LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3 New disk imaging subsystem - Significantly faster performance - Better compression - Does not copy empty blocks for known Linux and Windows file systems - File format is incompatible with older imaging subsystem. Contact us on how to restore old images. Enhancements to loadlinux.pl allowing the media upload of unsupported ISOs/distros. DHCP gets installed as non-authoritative. Please consult the Installation Guide under Software Requirements for details Support for the provisioning of systems with newer NICs Enhancements for LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning New loaddvd.pl script uploads.iso files from CDs/DVDs (for uniform uploading of Windows, Linux and Solaris OS media) New directory structures for known-good driver repositories created at LinMin installation/upgrade time Revised loadwindows.pl now generates driver directories for each Windows Custom Installation Revised addwindriver.pl automatically integrates Windows Drivers into a Windows Custom Installation, creates backup of driver-related information Revised loadlinux.pl now extracts distro installation media from an on-disk.iso, not from DVD/CD Bare Metal Imaging supports larger number of named disk devices Enhancements for LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning Support for provisioning Ubuntu 9.04 Support for imaging multi-disk (non-raid) systems Support for provisioning Solaris 10 x86 (with optional software; imaging Solaris x86 systems not supported.) Enhanced lbmp-supporthelp.sh script Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 9

10 Enhanced error checking of MAC addresses when creating MAC-Specific provisioning and imaging roles Removal of NFS configuration page in the GUI (all configuration is automated with no user interaction) Enhancements for LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning Enhanced LinMin upgrade process reduces user interaction, detects and reports differences between the LinMin-supplied configuration files and prior ones modified by the user, automated backup and other enhancements The provisioning log lbmpprovisioned.log now contains the name of the Provisioning Role or Provisioning Role Template Enhanced setup.pl for better user experience Streamlined mechanism to start, stop, restart and check all services needed by LinMin: linmin-services.sh replacing lbmp-checkstatus.sh Built-in workarounds for Red Hat Enterprise Linux/CentOS bugs: o Time zone parameters changed from GMT+/- to Continent/City format to work around the omission of GMT in ISO media (for RHEL/CentOS 5.3 only) o Kernel parameters now forced provision to eth0 (can be modified) to avoid imgstage2 error (for all kickstart-based Linux distributions) Enhancements for LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning 5.5 Support for the provisioning of Solaris on SPARC CPU architecture (with an optional module) The provisioning log lbmpprovisioned.log enhanced and renamed to linmin-bmp-pxe-event.log The script lbmp-supporthelp.sh enhanced and renamed to linmin-bmp-support-help.sh Changed business rules to enable the provisioning of a system automatically following an imaging event (e.g., so one can make a disk backup and then provision the system) Support for the provisioning of 32-bit and 64-bit versions of: Fedora 11 RHEL 4.8 CentOS 4.8 Debian 4.0 (Etch) Debian 5.0 (Lenny) Support automated image backup immediately following the provisioning of a system Enhancements for LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning Support for the provisioning of 32-bit and 64-bit versions of: RHEL 5.4 CentOS 5.4 Debian (Lenny) and dynamic sub-version selection for Debian 4 and Debian 5 to accommodate changes in Debian releases Implemented an automated workaround to address installer bugs in Debian 4.0 Etch x86-64 (Debian 5.0 Lenny x86-64 installation files are automatically downloaded to provision Debian 4.0 Etch x86-64 systems) Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 10

11 2 Upload and Extract OS Media and Drivers In order to use LinMin to remotely install operating systems (except for Debian: see section 2.2) on remote systems, 3 steps are required: Copy the OS media in.iso format to the LinMin Server. This can be done by: o Downloading a.iso file from the Internet or copying it from another system, or o Using the LinMin script loaddvd.pl to copy the contents of a DVD or CD in.iso format # The recommended locations for your.iso files are these pre-existing directories: /home/tftpboot/isos/linux /home/tftpboot/isos/unix /home/tftpboot/isos/windows Extract the contents of the.iso file and place them in the proper location on the LinMin Server using: o The script loadlinux.pl for all supported versions of Linux (except Debian) o The script loadwindows.pl for all supported versions of Windows An additional step is required for Windows only: adding device drivers Use your Firefox browser to create provisioning roles both MAC-Independent and MAC-Specific Provisioning, as described in Section Upload the Linux (except Debian) OS Media Instructions for preparing Debian distributions are in Section Upload the Linux ISO Image to the LinMin Server Copy the OS distro media in.iso format to the LinMin Server. # The recommended location for your.iso files is this pre-existing directory: /home/tftpboot/isos/linux If you already have the Linux distro in.iso format on your LinMin server, simply copy the.iso file to the /home/tftpboot/isos/linux/ directory: cd /name_of_directory_where_the_.iso_file_is_located ls *.iso CentOS-5.2-i386-bin-DVD.iso cp p CentOS-5.2-i386-bin-DVD.iso /home/tftpboot/isos/linux/centos-5.2-i386-bin- DVD.iso If you have the Linux DVD on your LinMin Server, place the CD or DVD in the CD/DVD reader and: Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 11

12 Change to proper directory with the command: cd /home/tftpboot/bin Execute the loaddvd.pl script by executing the following command: perl loaddvd.pl The script will ask you to confirm that you wish to upload the.iso file. If you have the Linux DVD on another system, insert the CD or DVD in the CD/DVD reader and type on a single line: dd if=/dev/cdrom of=/home/tmp/centos-5.2-i386-bin-dvd.iso Then copy the file from this system to /home/tftpboot/isos/linux/ on your LinMin Server. Ensure the CD or DVD medium is free of dust, fingerprints and scratches Extract Linux Distro ISO with the script loadlinux.pl Go to the directory where the script is located: cd /home/tftpboot/bin Execute the script perl loadlinux.pl Select the Linux distribution to copy The script displays a list of types of Linux distributions to select from. For example, if you select Red Hat, you will be presented with a selection. In the example below, Red Hat Enterprise 5.3 i386 was selected by entering the number 56: 52. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.1 i386 (DVD) 53. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.1 x86_64 (DVD) 54. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.2 i386 (DVD) 55. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.2 x86_64 (DVD) 56. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3 i386 (DVD) 57. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3 x86_64 (DVD) Please enter your selection: 56 Ubuntu Media: For Ubuntu and 8.10, only DVD media is supported, and can be obtained at no charge from remote repositories. For example, for Ubuntu : Allow the ISO extraction operation to complete The loadlinux.pl script provides visual feedback, and the operation will take several minutes (for a DVD ISO with Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 12

13 3 to 4 GB). Attempting to abort the extraction operation can corrupt files. If this happens, delete the contents of the directory for the distro located in /home/tftpboot/pub/distro_name/disc1 (or /CD1) and run loadlinux.pl again. Select another new Linux distribution to copy, or exit the program Upload the Linux DVD/CD-ROM Media from the command line Copying the.iso to /home/tftpboot/isos/linux/ and then using the script loadlinux.pl is by far the easiest way to get Linux ready for provisioning, as any supported version of Linux will be automatically placed exactly where it should be. This section offers an alternate way of doing so using the command line only. Open a terminal window and follow the process outlined below. The example provided is to copy a CentOS 5.2 i386 DVD. Substitute the precise name of the CD or DVD you wish to upload to the LinMin provisioning server. Lines starting with # are comments (so do not execute these): # mount the ISO (*.iso), in this case CentOS-5.2-i386-bin-DVD.iso, file into a # temporary directory that you name: mkdir -p /media/centos52dvdiso mount -o loop -t iso9660 CentOS-5.2-i386-bin-DVD.iso /media/centos52dvdiso # see the contents ls -la /media/centos52dvdiso # copy content to /disc1 for RHEL, CentOS, Fedora, Asianux; mkdir -p /home/tftpboot/pub/centos5_2_i386/disc1 cp -r /media/centos52dvdiso/* /home/tftpboot/pub/centos5_2_i386/disc1/ # clean up umount /media/centos52dvdiso rm -rf /media/centos52dvdiso # Notes: do not omit the /disc1/ (for Red Hat-based Linux distributions) # Use /CD1/ instead if you are uploading Novell SLES or OpenSUSE media # If you are CDs, you will repeat the process for /disc2/ (or /CD2/), etc. Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 13

14 2.2 Access the Debian Distribution Media Unlike other Linux distributions that are self-contained on a single DVD, Debian releases are very large, requiring multiple DVDs when installing from physical media. For remotely provisioning systems with Debian, the supported method involves accessing public Debian repositories (or alternatively, creating a local Debian mirror.) 4 base directories are created at LinMin installation or upgrade time in pub/: debian4_x_x_i386, debian4_x_x_x86_64, debian5_x_x_i386 and debian5_x_x_x86_64. These will be cloned and renamed upon running debian-setup.pl as described below. The script debian-setup.sh will: Prompt you to select the Debian release of choice (4.0 Etch or 5.0 Lenny) Prompt you to select the Debian sub-version (e.g., 0.3 for Debian 5.0 Lenny or 0r8 for Debian 4.0 Etch) Prompt you to select the CPU architecture (i386 or x86-64) Provide a default public repository (http.us.debian.org) and prompt you to select an alternate repository if so desired Clone then rename a directory in /home/tftpboot/pub/ (for example, from pub/debian5_x_x_x86_64/ to pub/debian5_0_3_x86_64/). Copy to the LinMin server the 2 critical files needed to start the provisioning process (linux and initrd.gz) Edit the LinMin-supplied configuration files (.cfg for MAC-Independent provisioning and.tmpl for MAC-Specific provisioning) to point to the selected public repository to download files during the provisioning process If you re-run the script to change the public repository, you will need to manually update the name of the new public repository in Provisioning Role Templates and Provisioning Roles you have already created. Note: The mirror distribution directory sub-version must be valid, completing the mirror path element Debian#.{sub-version} e.g. Lenny = 0.3 = // Etch = 0r8 = // If the sub-version is invalid, the script will exit as incomplete. Notes on Debian configuration ( control ) files: LinMin provides configuration files (preseed.cfg) to provision a basic server configuration with no GUI. The contents of preseed.cfg files can be modified, for example to replace the default SATA ( sda ) disk type with the IDE ( hda ) disk type. Do make such a change, edit the preseed.cfg file and change the line d-i partman-auto/disk string /dev/sda to d-i partman-auto/disk string /dev/hda. If changes are made to a preseed.cfg file in pub/debian5_x_x_i386, upon running debian-setup.pl for this distribution, the changes made to the preseed.cfg file will be carried to the newly created pub/debian5_0_3_i386 and will subsequently be incorporated in new MAC-Independent Provisioning Roles and MAC-Specific Provisioning Role Templates. If changes are made to a preseed.cfg file in pub/debian5_0_3_i386 (after debian-setup.pl has been executed), the changes will subsequently be incorporated in new MAC-Independent Provisioning Roles and MAC-Specific Provisioning Role Templates. To edit a preseed.cfg file for a specific MAC-Specific Provisioning Role after having selected the Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 14

15 appropriate MAC-Specific Provisioning Role Template, use the GUI in the MAC-Specific Provisioning Role Edit page: changes made to the preseed file with the GUI will be localized to this particular MAC- Specific Provisioning Role Select the Debian Distribution and Mirror with debian-setup.pl Example 1: Selecting the defaults (64-bit Lenny from the repository http.us.debian.org) by hitting Enter at the default prompts: cd /usr/local/linmin./debian-setup.sh Passed options: Start: LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning Debian Setup...establish a mirror and get network boot modules Respond: Enter the release :etch:lenny: [lenny] :...enter sub-version for Debian 5, e.g. 0.3 or 0.4 Respond: Enter the mirror distribution directory sub-version [0.3] : Respond: Enter the architecture :32:64: [64] : Respond: Confirm or enter the mirror [http.us.debian.org] :...checking mirror access... Release: lenny Architecture: x86_64 Mirror: http.us.debian.org Directory: /home/tftpboot/pub/debian5_0_3_x86_64 Respond: Confirm entries :yes:no:exit: [] :yes Example 2: Changing the mirror used by an existing Debian setup (Etch, i386) from mirrors.kernel.org to http.us.debian.org cd /usr/local/linmin./debian-setup.sh Passed options: Start: LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning Debian Setup...establish a mirror and get network boot modules Respond: Enter the release :etch:lenny: [lenny] :etch...enter sub-version for Debian4., e.g. 0r8 or 0r9 Respond: Enter the mirror distribution directory sub-version [0r8] : Respond: Enter the architecture :32:64: [64] :32...enter 'local' for LinMin server local mirror Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 15

16 Respond: Confirm or enter the mirror [mirrors.kernel.org] :http.us.debian.org...checking mirror access... Release: etch Architecture: i386 Mirror: http.us.debian.org Directory: /home/tftpboot/pub/debian4_0r8_i386 Respond: Confirm entries :yes:no:exit: [] :yes The netboot directory already exists:... Execute: ls -l /home/tftpboot/pub/debian4_0r8_i386/netboot Results: total rw-r--r-- 1 root root Apr 8 02:03 initrd.gz -rw-r--r-- 1 root root Apr 8 02:05 linux Return Code:0... Respond: Continue and replace existing modules :yes:no:exit: [] :yes... Execute: rm -rf /home/tftpboot/pub/debian4_0r8_i386/netboot Results: Return Code: check for MAC Independent cfg...check for MAC Specific cfg... Execute: mkdir /home/tftpboot/pub/debian4_0r8_i386/netboot Results: Return Code: getting the linux netboot module... Execute: wget -q Results: Return Code: getting the initrd.gz netboot module... Execute: wget -q Results: Return Code: Retrieved the netboot modules Change mirror in configuration files......from: mirrors.kernel.org...to: http.us.debian.org...change mirror in: /home/tftpboot/pub/debian4_0r8_i386/debian4_0r8_i386_preseed.cfg...change mirror in: /home/tftpboot/templates/debian4_0r8_i386.tmpl... Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 16

17 NOTE: The source mirror for etch i386 was changed. New MAC Specific Provisioning Role Templates and Provisioning Roles will use the new source mirror. Existing Provisioning Role Templates and Provisioning Roles will need to be manually edited to use the new source mirror: * Existing MAC Specific Provisioning Role Templates need to be updated in one of two ways, using the GUI: 1) Provisioning Role Template -> Edit -> replace the old mirror name with the new mirror name -> OK, or 2) Provisioning Role Template -> Edit -> Import Control File Template -> debian4_0r8_i386.tmpl -> OK * Existing MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles then need to be re-freshed using the GUI: MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles -> Edit -> OK Respond: Note above and enter to exit... :noted: [noted] : Please follow the above instructions to edit existing Debian Provisioning Role Templates and Provisioning Roles to replace the old mirror with the new one. Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 17

18 Example 3: Changing the mirror used by an existing Debian setup (Lenny, x86-64) from mirrors.kernel.org to a local mirror located on the LinMin Server cd /usr/local/linmin./debian-setup.sh Passed options: Start: LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning Debian Setup...establish a mirror and get network boot modules Respond: Enter the release :etch:lenny: [lenny] :...enter sub-version for Debian5., e.g. 0.3 or 0.4 Respond: Enter the mirror distribution directory sub-version [0.3] : Respond: Enter the architecture :32:64: [64] :...enter 'local' for LinMin server local mirror Respond: Confirm or enter the mirror [http.us.debian.org] :local...checking mirror access... Release: lenny Architecture: x86_64 Mirror: /tftpboot/mirrors Directory: /home/tftpboot/pub/debian5_0_3_x86_64 Respond: Confirm entries :yes:no:exit: [] :yes The netboot directory already exists:... Execute: ls -l /home/tftpboot/pub/debian5_0_3_x86_64/netboot Results: total rw-r--r-- 1 root root Jun 25 14:16 initrd.gz -rw-r--r-- 1 root root Jun 25 14:20 linux Return Code:0... Respond: Continue and replace existing modules :yes:no:exit: [] :yes... Execute: rm -rf /home/tftpboot/pub/debian5_0_3_x86_64/netboot Results: Return Code: check for MAC Independent cfg...check for MAC Specific cfg... Execute: mkdir /home/tftpboot/pub/debian5_0_3_x86_64/netboot Results: Return Code: getting the linux netboot module... Execute: Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 18

19 wget -q Results: Return Code: getting the initrd.gz netboot module... Execute: wget -q Results: Return Code: Retrieved the netboot modules Change mirror in configuration files......from: http.us.debian.org...to: /tftpboot/mirrors...change mirror in: /home/tftpboot/pub/debian5_0_3_x86_64/debian5_0_3_x86_64_preseed.cfg...change mirror in: /home/tftpboot/templates/debian5_0_3_x86_64.tmpl... NOTE: The source mirror for lenny x86_64 was changed. New MAC Specific Provisioning Role Templates and Provisioning Roles will use the new source mirror. Existing Provisioning Role Templates and Provisioning Roles will need to be manually edited to use the new source mirror: * Existing MAC Specific Provisioning Role Templates need to be updated in one of two ways, using the GUI: 1) Provisioning Role Template -> Edit -> replace the old mirror name with the new mirror name -> OK, or 2) Provisioning Role Template -> Edit -> Import Control File Template -> debian5_0_3_x86_64.tmpl -> OK * Existing MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles then need to be re-freshed using the GUI: MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles -> Edit -> OK Respond: Note above and enter to exit... :noted: [noted] : Please follow the above instructions to edit existing Debian Provisioning Role Templates and Provisioning Roles to replace the old mirror with the new one Creating a local Debian mirror (optional) If you prefer to create and maintain a local Debian mirror, follow these instructions to create the mirror on the LinMin server. mkdir p /home/tftpboot/mirrors/debian Step 1 Obtain the Debian mirroring script and set the correct permissions Obtain the anonftpsync script from the following location: cut and paste it into a text editor, and save it in /home/tftpboot/mirrors/debian. Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 19

20 Execute the following command: chmod 744 anonftpsync Step 2 -- Edit the anonftpsync script The anonftpsync script will be used to download the Debian distribution from the web site you select. Locate your download web site at the following location: Edit the following variables in the anonftpsync script, and for RSYNC_HOST and RSYNC_DIR, use the correct values for the download site you select: TO=/home/tftpboot/mirrors/debian RSYNC_HOST=<the_host_you_have_selected> RSYNC_DIR=<the_rsync_repository_used_by_the_host_you_selected> ARCH_EXCLUDE (this variable is optional; ensure you comment out this variable with the # character if you are not using it) EXCLUDE (this variable is optional; ensure you comment out this variable with the # character if you are not using it) LOGDIR=/var/log savelog $LOGFILE comment out this variable with the # character Ensure that you exclude all unnecessary architectures and sub-trees; otherwise the download times will be impractically long even with a fast connection. Even with the proper exclusions, the repository size for a single architecture can be tens of gigabytes with a resulting lengthy download time. If you wish to download from the US FTP site, you are recommended to set below environment variables as following: # Note: this example excludes the release 3.1 ( Sarge ) and 4.0 ( Etch ); 5.0, called Lenny i386 will be mirrored. These are the only changes needed to the anonftpsync file. Please substitute the remote mirror of your choice instead of ftp.us.debian.org TO=/home/tftpboot/mirrors/debian RSYNC_HOST=ftp.us.debian.org RSYNC_DIR=debian/ LOGDIR=/var/log ARCH_EXCLUDE= alpha amd64 arm armel hppa hurd-i386 ia64 m68k mips mipsel mipsel powerpc s390 sparc EXCLUDE= \ --exclude testing/ --exclude unstable/ \ --exclude source/ --exclude sarge/ --exclude etch/ \ --exclude *.orig.tar.gz --exclude *.diff.gz --exclude *.dsc \ --exclude /contrib/ --exclude /non-free/ \ #savelog $LOGFILE Step 3 Execute the script./anonftpsync Step 4 Ensure availability of the package lists Once the mirror has finished downloading, execute the following commands to ensure proper availability of the necessary package lists: cd /home/tftpboot/mirrors/dists ln -s lenny stable After setting up your mirror, please execute the debian-setup.sh script in /usr/local/linmin and select the local option. Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 20

21 2.3 Upload and Extract the Windows OS Media & Drivers Overview: In order to perform remote, unattended installations of Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP, the following steps must be performed: 1) Place an ISO image on your LinMin server (either by copying an ISO image from another source, or by converting the contents of a Microsoft-supplied Windows CD to an ISO image using the loaddvd.pl utility.) 2) Run the script loadwindows.pl to extract installation files from the.iso file, and to create a directory containing the installation files for a given version of Windows. We call this a Windows Custom Installation. 3) Locate the drivers you need to supplement what came on the Windows CD or ISO file so that your system provisions successfully, and copy them to specific directories. This is necessary because hardware manufactured since the Microsoft CDs were published needs drivers provided by the hardware manufacturer(s). Pay particular attention to the need for 2 types of Network Interface Card (NIC) drivers: regular and Remote Installation Service (RIS). 4) Run the script addwindriver.pl to integrate the drivers into the Custom Installation. After you have performed these steps, the Windows Custom Installation you have built is ready to be used for both MAC-Independent and MAC-Specific Provisioning as outlined in Section Upload the Windows ISO Image to the LinMin Server Copy the OS media in.iso format to the LinMin Server. # The recommended location for your.iso files is this pre-existing directory: /home/tftpboot/isos/windows If you already have the Windows OS in.iso format on your LinMin server, simply copy the.iso file to the /home/tftpboot/isos/windows/ directory: cd /name_of_directory_where_the_.iso_file_is_located ls *.iso win2003server32.iso cp p win2003server32.iso /home/tftpboot/isos/windows/win2003server32.iso If you have the OS CD or DVD on your LinMin Server, place the CD or DVD in the CD/DVD reader and: Change to proper directory with the command: cd /home/tftpboot/bin Execute the loaddvd.pl script by executing the following command: perl loaddvd.pl The script will ask you to confirm that you wish to upload the.iso file. Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 21

22 If you have the OS CD or DVD on another system, insert the CD or DVD in the CD/DVD reader and type on a single line: dd if=/dev/cdrom of=/home/tmp/win2003server32.iso Then copy the file from this system to /home/tftpboot/isos/windows/ on your LinMin Server. You can give any name to the Windows ISO image you copy into the LinMin server. Example names for your Windows ISO image are: windows2003server.iso or windowsxp_sp3.iso. Be as descriptive as possible. Ensure the CD or DVD medium is free of dust, fingerprints and scratches. Ensure that the CD or DVD you use is bootable (for example, if you used a slipstream tool to create the CD/DVD,) otherwise the remote installation will fail Run the Script loadwindows.pl and Create the Custom Windows Installation Once the media in.iso format is copied to the LinMin Server, run the script loadwindows to create one or more Custom Installations, each of which may have different drivers, patch levels or applications. Run the loadwindows.pl script Change to proper directory with the command: cd /home/tftpboot/bin Execute the Windows setup program by executing the following command: perl loadwindows.pl Select your Windows OS, select your Custom Installation name and enter your product key The loadwindows.pl script opens a list of families of Windows OSs: select the one that best describes your ISO. [root@linminbaremetal# perl loadwindows.pl LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning Windows Custom Installation Creation Utility Please select Windows Version: :2 1. Windows XP Family 32-bit (Pro, Home, Media Center, etc) 2. Windows 2003 Server Family 32-bit (Standard, Advanced, Web, etc) 3. Windows 2003 Server Family 64-bit (Standard, Advanced, Web, etc) Provide a unique name for your Windows Custom Installation. This will create a directory in /home/tftpboot/pub/ that will be unique: for example, entering win2003server32 will create the directory /home/tftpboot/pub/win2003server32. Try to be descriptive, as this name will automatically populate the dropdown menus used to create provisioning roles and templates). LinMin has generated several Custom Installation names, but feel free to describe your Custom Installation the way you prefer (we recommend the name start with w or W ): win2003enterpriseserver32r2, win2003enterpriseserver64r2, win2003server32r2, win2003server32, win2003server64r2, win2003webserver32r2, win2003webserver64r2, winxppro32sp2, winxppro32sp3 Please enter a unique directory name in /home/tftpboot/pub/ for this Windows Custom Installation. Make the first character w or W: win2003server32 Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 22

23 Provide the path to the Windows ISO file: Enter path to ISO file: win2003server32.iso Note: If the ISO is located in /home/tftpboot/isos/windows/, there is no need to enter the path. Product Key: you will be asked if you want to enter the product key. If you answer y and enter your key, the product key will be embedded in your.sif file. If you say n, the installation will stall while waiting for you to type in the client Product Key on the client system. Do you want to enter a Product Key?(y/n)y key:4zxr4-9sz2q-excb1-rlg3p-s7gqm The script loadwindows.pl will now provide on-screen status messages as it loads the files, extracts the drivers that came with the ISO, and completes its operation. The.sif files for provisioning Windows clients can be modified to perform custom installations Locate and Copy Drivers to your Windows Custom Installation Provisioning LinMin clients with Windows OSs often requires updating Windows drivers obtaining drivers newer than those on the installation disks used to create the ISO images for provisioning. Updating these drivers requires four steps: 1. Identify the required drivers 2. Obtain the drivers 3. Copy the drivers to the LinMin server 4. Integrate the drivers into the LinMin server When you have performed these steps, your Windows Custom Installation is ready to be included in Provisioning Roles Identify the Required NIC Drivers There are 2 different yet equally important types of NIC (Network Interface Card) Drivers: NIC drivers are used after OS installation to manage the Ethernet and other ports. The OS media typically includes the drivers to perform these functions, though certain vendors of NICs and of motherboards with on-board NICs may have enhanced drivers that can be used instead. NIC RIS (Remote Installation Service) drivers. The RIS driver is used only during the provisioning process to allow the OS to be installed. There is difficult to determine whether you need a specialized NIC driver until you have provisioned the system with the Windows OS and you are trying its network connectivity, so the recommended approach is to add a driver pack that includes support for all popular NICs (see the section Obtain the NIC Drivers ) Identify the Required NIC RIS (Remote Installation Service) Drivers Identifying the NIC RIS driver needed to successfully provision a system is essential, or you will not be able to provision a system and the client system you are trying to provision will display a message such as: Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 23

24 You must document the brand/model number of your system, motherboard and/or NIC in order to obtain the proper RIS driver. Please remember that 100% of all Windows installations require a generic NIC driver, whereas less than 5% of all Windows installations are remotely installed, and thus need a NIC RIS driver. Certain manufactures of motherboards and NICs will supply media containing both types of NIC drivers, others will require that you go to their Web site to locate the NIC RIS drivers Identify Required Storage Drivers Systems with typical IDE and SATA drivers will most often find the correct Storage driver in the Windows installation and proceed with the installation. In certain cases, for example if you have hardware RAID devices, the correct driver will not have been incorporated in the Windows Custom Installation yet and you will need to identify, obtain and integrate the proper driver. An example of an error screen a LinMin client might display when you attempt to provision it with a Windows OS that does not contain the correct storage drivers is shown below: Note: while the example error message states that the Setup program could not find any hard disk drives installed, the actual error is that the Setup program could not find the storage drivers Identify Required Other Drivers Other is a catch-all expression that applies to a variety of non-nic and non-storage devices. These include chipset, CPU, audio, graphics and other hardware components of your system. You typically cannot know ahead of time whether the proper drivers were included in a Custom Installation until you power up the system after the OS was installed and get error messages from the Windows OS or you see the performance of a device to be sub-par (e.g., a high performance graphics card that does not display at the anticipated high resolution is probably missing its preferred driver and has reverted back to a standard, lower resolution. Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 24

25 2.3.4 Obtain the Required Drivers Windows drivers are often specific to the CPU architecture (32-bit vs 64-bit) and to the version of Windows being provisioned (Windows 2003 Server, Windows XP). Please pay attention to this when you locate, load and use your Windows drivers. This section will reference Internet sites where one can locate and download Driver Packs for categories of drivers such as NIC, Storage, Graphics and so on. These Driver Packs are very convenient because they eliminate hours of research and consolidation. This consolidation work is typically performed by professionals who volunteer their time (and who often accept donations). Please read and understand the licensing terms of such sites. And with all Internet sites, beware of what you may be downloading unknowingly! One such site is as that LinMin has used successfully in its QA labs (and there are several others providing the same service.) Please note that these files are compressed using the.7z file extension, and a.exe application is provided to decompress the files on a system running Windows. The drivers obtained from various download sites are often organized in many directories/folders and need to copied into a single directory/folder. As an alternative to doing this one directory at a time, you may use the following command to copy all driver files from multiple directories source into one directory target: x=`find ~/winlandrivers -type f`; cp -p $x /home/tftpboot/drivers/windows2003/nic/ Note: drivers may be duplicated in multiple directories and you may see (and ignore) messages like these -- cp: will not overwrite just-created `/home/tftpboot/pub/win/drivers/nic/netusr.inf' with `/root/winlandrivers/d/l/u5/netusr.inf' cp: will not overwrite just-created `/home/tftpboot/pub/win/drivers/nic/nvnetbus.tag' with `/root/winlandrivers/d/l/nv6a/nvnetbus.tag' Obtain the NIC Drivers NIC drivers for a system installed with a Windows OSs are easy to obtain: 1. The driver disk supplied with the NIC (or supplied with the motherboard with integrated NIC) 2. The NIC vendor's website 3. Sites containing large numbers of drivers organized in Packs such as DriverPacks/ The basic NIC drivers are comprised of 2 files, both of which are necessary:.inf and.sys.if these drivers are provided in separate directories, you must move all the drivers from their individual directories into a single directory. You must also rename files with upper cases to have all lower cases. You may encounter NIC RIS drivers while you search for regular NIC drivers. Please look at the next section to understand how to treat NIC RIS drivers Obtain the NIC RIS (Remote Installation Service) Drivers NIC drivers for Windows OSs can be obtained from: 4. The driver disk supplied with the NIC (or supplied with the motherboard with integrated NIC) 5. The NIC vendor's website 6. Sites containing large numbers of drivers such as (though differentiating between NIC and NIC_RIS drivers is often difficult) The basic NIC RIS drivers are comprised of 2 files, both of which are necessary:.inf and.sys. The.inf files for RIS and non-ris drivers are different, yet they have the same file name Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 25

26 RIS drivers are typically smaller than non-ris drivers and both share the same.sys file. Therefore, the user should place.sys files and RIS version of.inf files together in the designated, separate directory Obtain the Storage Drivers Storage drivers can be obtained from: the driver disk supplied with the storage device (This is frequently a floppy disk called an F6 Disk.) or from the storage device vendor's website The basic storage drivers are comprised of several different files:.oem,.inf,.sys, and.cat. Some vendors also package storage drivers in.dll files. If these drivers are provided in directories, you must move all the drivers from their individual directories into the same directory. Further information on Storage Drivers can be found in Section Copy the Storage Drivers Obtain the Other Drivers Sound, video or other drivers can be obtained from the media that came with your system or peripherals. You can also download selected packs from Copy the Drivers to the LinMin Server Best practices with Windows drivers Obtaining and keeping track of Windows drivers is a time consuming and error-prone exercise, especially with NIC RIS drivers that share names with NIC non-ris drivers. We recommend that you maintain a repository of drivers by OS type (Windows bit, Windows bit and Windows XP 32-bit) and by driver type. Once you have downloaded (or extracted from vendor CD-ROM or DVD) drivers for certain devices, put them in a safe place (and please back it up!), and remove known-bad drivers as you discover them. Keep in mind that drivers that once worked on a certain motherboard or NIC may stop working when a new batch of hardware is delivered: even if the part numbers are identical, the components or firmware on them may have changed and this will require that you locate the updated drivers (NIC RIS drivers typically) and test them. Maintain a known-good driver repository Note that directories already exist for you to copy your drivers to: /home/tftpboot/win_drivers/win2003_32/disk /home/tftpboot/win_drivers/win2003_32/nic /home/tftpboot/win_drivers/win2003_32/nic_ris /home/tftpboot/win_drivers/win2003_32/other /home/tftpboot/win_drivers/win2003_64/disk /home/tftpboot/win_drivers/win2003_64/nic /home/tftpboot/win_drivers/win2003_64/nic_ris /home/tftpboot/win_drivers/win2003_64/other /home/tftpboot/win_drivers/winxp_32/disk /home/tftpboot/win_drivers/winxp_32/nic /home/tftpboot/win_drivers/winxp_32/nic_ris /home/tftpboot/win_drivers/winxp_32/other Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 26

27 LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning User's Guide Published Oct. 16, 2009 Note: the directories above are intended to keep all known good drivers that your organization requires. Copy a subset of your drivers from your known-good driver repository to the Windows Custom Installation to match unique hardware you may have Once you have obtained the drivers and placed them in your known good repository (above), you will need to copy a subset of the drivers you need for a given Windows Unique Installation (in our example, win2003server32): /home/tftpboot/pub/win2003server32/addwindrivers/disk /home/tftpboot/pub/win2003server32/addwindrivers/nic /home/tftpboot/pub/win2003server32/addwindrivers/nic_ris /home/tftpboot/pub/win2003server32/addwindrivers/other The drivers obtained from various download sites are often organized in many directories/folders and need to copied into a single directory/folder. As an alternative to doing this one file directory at a time, you may use the following command to copy all driver files from multiple directories source into one directory target: x=`find ~/winlandrivers -type f`; cp -p $x /home/tftpboot/pub/drivers/windows/nic/ Note: drivers may be duplicated in multiple directories and you may see messages like this -- cp: will not overwrite just-created `/home/tftpboot/pub/win/drivers/nic/netusr.inf' with `/root/winlandrivers/d/l/u5/netusr.inf' cp: will not overwrite just-created `/home/tftpboot/pub/win/drivers/nic/nvnetbus.tag' with `/root/winlandrivers/d/l/nv6a/nvnetbus.tag' cp: will not overwrite just-created `/home/tftpboot/pub/win/drivers/nic/nvnetbus.cat' with `/root/ Copy the NIC Drivers NIC drivers (vs. NIC RIS drivers) are used by Windows after the system has been provisioned. Multiple NIC drivers can reside in the same directory/folder as long as each driver has a unique filename. Subdirectories for different Windows OSs are also acceptable. If your NIC drivers are in one compressed exe file, for example, driver-<name>-<version>.exe, you will need to execute the file on a Windows system to extract the files to a folder. If your NIC drivers are in a compressed zip file, for example, driver-<name>-<version>.zip, extract the contents of the compressed file to a directory. When you have located and extracted the drivers, copy the extracted files to the known-good repository on you LinMin server (in this case, drivers for Windows bit): /home/tftpboot/win_drivers/windows2003_32/nic Then, each time you create a Windows Unique Installation, copy required drivers from the known-good repository to the correct drivers directory for your Windows Custom Installation: /home/tftpboot/pub/win2003server32/addwindrivers/nic umber of subdirectories such as winxp, Some vendors package the drivers into an "All in One" driver pack that contains drivers for all Windows OSs in one compressed file. The extraction creates a n win2k, and winnt. Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 27

28 Capitalization of drivers: some.inf or.sys driver names may appear as driver.sys or driver.inf. The suffixes SYS and INF need to be lower case. You need to re name them with lower case suffixes, e.g., driver.sys or driver.inf. After you copy the NIC drivers, integrate them into your Windows Custom Installation by following the instructions in Section Copy the NIC RIS (Remote Installation Service) Drivers NIC RIS drivers are used only during the provisioning process. Multiple NIC RIS drivers can reside in the same directory/folder as long as each driver has a unique filename. Sub-directories for different Windows OSs are also acceptable. If your NIC drivers are in one compressed.exe file, for example, driver-<name>-<version>.exe, you will need to execute the file on a Windows system to extract the files to a folder. If your NIC drivers are in a compressed.zip file, for example, driver-<name>-<version>.zip, extract the contents of the compressed file to a directory. When you have located and extracted the drivers, copy the extracted files to the known-good repository on you LinMin server (in this case, drivers for Windows bit): /home/tftpboot/win_drivers/windows2003_32/nic_ris Then, each time you create a Windows Unique Installation, copy required drivers from the known-good repository to the correct drivers directory for your Windows Custom Installation: /home/tftpboot/pub/win2003server32/addwindrivers/nic_ris Some vendors package the drivers into an "All in One" driver pack that contains drivers for all Windows OSs in one compressed file. The extraction creates a number of subdirectories such as winxp, win2k, and winnt. You may find RIS-compatible drivers in a separate folder labeled "RIS Compatible INF" or "RIS". Ensure you use the drivers (.inf and.sys files) from the RIS folders and the drivers from the Windows OS folders but place them in separate directory on your system as shown. If the RIS folder has no.sys file, use the.sys file from the appropriate Windows OS folder. Obtain both the.inf and.sys files. Telling NIC and NIC RIS drivers apart: the.inf files for NIC and for NIC RIS drivers often have the same name. The NIC RIS drivers are typically much smaller than the regular NIC drivers. Capitalization of drivers: some.inf or.sys driver names may appear as driver.sys or driver.inf. The suffixes SYS and INF need to be lower case. You need to rename them with lower case suffixes, e.g., driver.sys or driver.inf. After you copy the NIC drivers, integrate them into your Windows Custom Installation by following the instructions in Section Copy the Storage Drivers NIC drivers and storage drivers cannot be in the same directory. The storage drivers must be in one directory without any sub-directories. If your storage drivers are in one compressed.exe file, for example, driver-<name>-<version>.exe, you will need to execute the file on a Windows system to extract the files to a folder and then copy them to the LinMin Server. If your storage drivers are in a compressed.zip file, for example driver-<name>-<version>.zip, extract the Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 28

29 contents of the compressed file to a temporary directory. If the extraction process created sub-folders or sub-directories containing drivers, copy the.oem,.inf,.sys,.cat, and in some cases,.dll (see Note 1) files into a single directory/folder. If your driver package includes a.dll file, you must use it. From the extracted directory/folder, copy the driver files (.OEM,.inf,.sys,.CAT, and in some cases,.dll files to your known-good driver repository on the LinMin server, for example: /home/tftpboot/win_drivers/windows2003_32/disk Then, each time you create a Windows Unique Installation, copy required drivers from the known-good repository to the correct drivers directory for your Windows Custom Installation: /home/tftpboot/pub/win2003server32/addwindrivers/disk If your storage drivers are in a compressed zip file, for example driver-< name>-< version>.zip, extract the contents of the compressed file to a directory, and then copy the driver files to the directory /home/tftpboot/win_drivers/windows2003_32/disk on the LinMin server. Some vendors package all storage drivers as.oem,.inf,.sys, and.cat files, while some vendors package storage drivers as these four types plus a.dll file. If your drive r package includes a.dll file, you must use it. Some vendors package the drivers into an "All in One" driver package that when extracted, has one folder/directory that contains a file called txtsetup.oem and subfolders/subdirectories containing the actual storage drivers for different versions of Windows. If the extracted file structure has the txtsetup.oem file in the root folder of the directory into which it was extracted (and not in the Windows OS subfolders/subdirectories), you need to copy txtsetup.oem from this root folder/directory into each Windows OS subfolder/subdirectory. If the extracted file structure has the txtsetup.oem file in each Windows OS subfolder/subdirectory, the Windows OS subfolder/subdirectory is likely to include all the storage driver files you need for a specific version of Windows. M ore information on txtsetup.oem can be found at Multiple storage drivers can be used with a given Windows Custom Installation by editing the txtsetup.oem file: details and community support can be found online: After you copy the storage drivers, integrate them into your Windows Custom Installation by following the instructions in Section Copy Other Drivers Extract any sound, video, or other drivers you want to install on a Windows client during provisioning, and copy the extracted drivers to the known-good repository on you LinMin server (in this case, drivers for Windows XP 32-bit): /home/tftpboot/win_drivers/winxp_32/other Then, each time you create a Windows Unique Installation, copy required drivers from the known-good repository to the correct drivers directory for your Windows Custom Installation: /home/tftpboot/pub/windowsxpsp3_32/addwindrivers/other Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 29

30 After you copy the NIC drivers, integrate them into your Windows Custom Installation by following the instructions in Section Integrate the Drivers into your Windows Custom Installation To integrate the drivers into your Windows Custom Installation: cd /home/tftpboot/bin perl addwindriver.pl You will be prompted for the name of the Windows Custom Installation that you created when you ran loadwindows.pl Windows OS installation directory in pub/ you will be adding these drivers to: windows2003_32 # The example above is if you created the directory # /home/tftpboot/pub/windows2003_ Troubleshooting Windows Network Driver Problems If you cannot get it past the Windows' client initial setup screen because it says the network driver is required for install, this is because your RIS-capable NIC's network driver was not included in either the OS installation media or in the "driver pack" you downloaded and integrated into your Windows installation using the script addwindriver.pl. To get around this problem, you simply need to add the proper Network Driver and Information files to the proper directories on the LinMin server then run the script addwindriver.pl which places them in the file "devlist.cache". Do not manually edit this file and instead always use addwindriver.pl. First, you need to identify network card s and or motherboard manufacturer and part number. Then check their website and locate then download the necessary files (3 per NIC) for the Network Driver and the 2 Information Files to support this network card. Follow the instructions in Obtain your NIC Drivers, Obtain your NIC RIS Drivers, Copy your NIC Drivers and Copy your NIC RIS Drivers. Now execute: /home/tftpboot/bin/perl addwindriver.pl This will correctly take the proper files and populate the file devlist.cache located in the respective directories listed above. Remember: do not edit devlist.cache files manually. To verify the process, please check the file 'devlist.cache'. Open the file with a text editor, and you'll now see the driver added (.sys and.inf files). Now reprovision your system, and watch Microsoft Windows get installed. Ensure that the CD or DVD you use is bootable (for example, if you used a slipstream tool to create the CD/DVD,) otherwise the remote installation will fail. Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 30

31 2.3.8 Resources for Customizing Windows Installations Customizing Windows installations is a common process that organizations with large numbers of Windows installations frequently perform. A customized Windows installation enables you to incorporate service packs and patches to the OS (released since the media was published by Microsoft), add specific drivers, install applications, etc. Two popular approaches are: Creating customized ISOs using a free tool such as nlite ( After you have used nlite to add/remove/update software components and create an ISO, burn it to CD/DVD. Make sure it is a bootable CD/DVD. Once you have tested it by installing your customized Windows on a system, use the same media with LinMin s loadwindows.pl script as you would with any Microsoft-supplied media. Instructing the Windows installer to perform additional functions and/or application installations during the provisioning process by customizing the.sif file (including the "RunOnce" section.) The site unattended.msfn.org provides tutorials, examples and a very popular forum for further assistance from the community. Please note that LinMin does not provide technical support for customizing Windows installations, as there are forums and groups dedicated to these topics. Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 31

32 3 Create LinMin Provisioning Roles 3.1 Access the LinMin Server's Graphical User Interface For the remainder of the LinMin server setup, you will be working on the LinMin Graphical User Interface (GUI) from your Firefox browser. Open the GUI by typing the following URL into a browser installed on the LinMin server: for example: LinMin presents the Login page, which is shown in Figure 1. LinMin Login Page LinMin server password The default password is baremetal. For security reasons, we recommend restricting access to the LinMin Server only to trusted individuals. Once the login has been accepted, LinMin opens the Main Menu page, shown in Figure 2. The default password cannot be changed at this time, though we plan on offering this feature in the future. The vast majority of customers use LinMin as a software appliance deployed in a trusted environment (private networks, behind firewalls), so this is rarely an issue. A workaround is to open a firewall port and assign it LinMin, such that access to the login page require knowledge of both the IP address and the specific port that was randomly assigned to the LinMin server. Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 32

33 LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning Main Menu Do not use the browser's navigation ( Back ) or refresh features. Use the navigation buttons on LinMin's GUI instead or you risk losing information you have entered. On the LinMin server UI configuration pages, you can obtain information about an entry by rolling the mouse over the icon to the right of the field. The mouse over opens an information panel about that entry. 3.2 MAC-Independent Provisioning MAC-Independent Provisioning -- an interactive mode in which the user selects the Provisioning Role (OS plus applications) to be installed from the client system s user interface at Network Boot (PXE Boot) time Configure the MAC-Independent Provisioning Roles Menu Click on MAC-Independent Provisioning and you will first be presented with the following screen (which has no roles on it because you just installed LinMin and haven t yet added any MAC-Independent Provisioning Roles): Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 33

34 Note that until you create a MAC-Independent Provisioning Role, the default for client systems that boot from the network is to be redirected to boot from their local hard disk. After you have created MAC-Independent Provisioning Roles (explained starting the next section of this User s Guide), you be presented with the list of Provisioning Roles (operating system, applications, post-installation scripts) that you (the LinMin Administrator) have prepared and that will be selected from by the person on the client system from the PXE (Pre-boot execution Environment) screen when a system boots to the network. There is a one-to-one correspondence between the MAC-Independent Provisioning Roles Setup page (above) and the screen that will appear on the UI of the client system that made a network boot request (below). Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 34

35 When the client system boots to the network, the user will select an item from a list (or if a default was set by the LinMin Administrator, it will be installed starting in 60 seconds if no selection is made) as shown above The 2 Methods for Creating MAC-Independent Provisioning Roles Method 1: Release 5.3 of LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning introduced the single-click selection feature for provisioning roles. Template files provide the required information to dynamically build a GUI drop-down selection list. MAC-Independent Provisioning Roles can be automatically filled out by simply selecting the desired Linux distro or Windows OS from the dropdown menu. The various fields are auto-filled with the proper kernel, RAM disk, configuration/control files and optional kernel parameters. An asterisk (*) following a drop-down list entry indicates that the media is loaded and ready for use. Notations and warnings exist to indicate if the selected distro/os media is loaded and ready for use. If you have customized and renamed your control/configuration file(s), you may use the browse button to point to the desired file and replace the default file that was auto-selected. Method 2: You may also use the built-in file browser to point to the proper kernel, RAM disk and configuration/control file, and manually enter the appropriate kernel parameters. We recommend that you use Method 1, as it is far quicker, easier, and less error-prone Create MAC-Independent Provisioning Roles for Red Hat, CentOS, Fedora or Asianux Using Role Creation Method 1, select the distro you want to provision (remember, if there s an asterisk next to a dropdown selection, it means that the distro media is loaded and ready for use): Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 35

36 After you have selected the last item Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.2 x86_64, the form s fields will be automatically populated: If you decide to use Method 2 (using the file browser to manually select the files, please note the paths and file names for the kernel ( vmlinuz ) and ramdisk (initrd), as well as the control file (*.cfg) in the image above. Note: The RHEL 5.3 and CentOS 5.3 ISOs have a bug whereby GMT time zones were omitted from the release. The workaround to avoid having to manually enter the time zone during provisioning is to edit the control files (.cfg). For example, edit the file: /home/tftpboot/pub/rhel5_3_i386/rhel5_3_i386.cfg Locate in the file: timezone --utc Etc/GMT-8 (or timezone --utc America/Los_Angeles) Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 36

37 and replace it with: timezone --utc America/New_York (for the U.S. Eastern time zone) Create MAC-Independent Provisioning Roles for Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) and OpenSUSE Using Role Creation Method 1, select the distro you want to provision (remember, if there s an asterisk next to a dropdown selection, it means that the distro media is loaded and ready for use): After you have selected the item SLES 10 SP2 i386 Linux, the form s fields will be automatically populated: Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 37

38 If you decide to use Method 2 (using the file browser to manually select the files, please note the paths and file names for the kernel ( linux ) and ramdisk (initrd), as well as the control file (*.xml) in the image above Create MAC-Independent Provisioning Roles for Ubuntu or Debian Using Role Creation Method 1, select the distro you want to provision (remember, if there s an asterisk next to a dropdown selection, it means that the distro media is loaded and ready for use): After you have selected the item Ubuntu x86_64 Linux, the form s fields will be automatically populated: Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 38

39 If you decide to use Method 2 (using the file browser to manually select the files), please note the paths and file names for the kernel ( linux ) and ramdisk (initrd.gz), as well as the control file (*.cfg) in the image above. If you create a Provisioning Role for a Ubuntu or Debian option, ensure that you add the additional kernel parameters specified in the information panel associated with the Enter additional kernel parameters field. Follow the instructions in the Important note in the LinMin Bare Metal Provision User's Guide, Step 2b. (The Important note describes entering additional kernel parameters for a Debian or Ubuntu MAC-Independent Provisioning Menu Role.) For Ubuntu distributions, enter the following additional kernel parameters: Ubuntu / Debian Distribution Required Values for the Enter additional kernel parameters Text Entry Box Ubuntu locale=en_us console-setup/layoutcode=us (see Notes 2 and 3) Debian (for etch only) locale=en_us console-setup/layoutcode=us (see Notes 2 and 3) The Separate the languagechooser and ramdisk_size entries by one space Separate the locale and console-setup entries by one space. The console-setup/layoutcode setting specifies the keyboard layout. To use a non-us keyboard layout, substitute the country-keycode for us. For: Browse to the directory (substitute amd64 for i386 if desired): Select the file: Locate kernel file: /pub/[ubuntu_distribution]/install/netboot/ubuntu-installer/i386/ linux Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 39

40 Locate initrd file: /pub/[ubuntu_distribution]/install/netboot/ubuntu-installer/i386/ initrd.gz Locate Preseed control file: /pub/[ubuntu_distribution]/ preseed.cfg NOTE: For Ubuntu : Path to kernel: pub/ubuntu8_04_1_i386/install/netboot/ubuntu-installer/i386/linux Path to initrd: pub/ubuntu8_04_1_i386/install/netboot/ubuntu-installer/i386/initrd.gz Use the pub/ubuntu8_04_1_x86_64/ directory and amd64 instead of i386 for 64-bit deployments. Starting with Ubuntu 9.04, passwords must have at least 8 characters Create MAC-Independent Provisioning Roles for Windows Using Role Creation Method 1, select the distro you want to provision (remember, if there s an asterisk next to a dropdown selection, it means that the distro media is loaded and ready for use, and in this case, we purposefully did not load the media, so there will be no asterisk and the auto-filled form will show the error message indicating that the media has not been loaded): After you have selected the item MS Windows 2003 Server 64-bit R2, the form s fields will be automatically populated (but the error message appears because the media was not loaded): Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 40

41 Note the error messages above, indicating that LinMin did not find the Windows media. When using Method 2 for the Windows or Other Option to create a Provisioning Role for a Windows OS, use the Browse buttons to go to the pub/<windows_installation_name> directory (in our previous example, pub/ win2k3_web_edition-sata). In that directory, select the kernel and initrd files for your Windows OS. The names of the Windows kernel and initrd files are shown below. The Windows or Other Option does not use a control file. Windows 2003 Windows XP kernel name w2k3t.0 wixpt.0 initrd name (Windows clients use sif files in place of initrd) w2k3t.sif wixpt.sif If you are using the Boot Menu to provision SCSI/SATA clients and IDE clients with the same Windows OS, you will need to create separate menu items for <Windows-OS>-sata and <Windows-OS>-ide General Comments on MAC-Independent Provisioning Role On the MAC-Independent Provisioning Roles page, enter the keystroke (numbers and/or letters) to be associated with the menu item and the name (menu item text) that will be shown on the MAC-Independent Provisioning Menu. The kernel parameters field has other uses as well. For example, if the target machine has multiple Ethernet interfaces then the kernel should be passed the correct provisioning interface via the parameter "ksdevice" e.g. "ksdevice=eth1", where you want to provision over eth1 and not eth0. LinMin has provided you with at least 1 control file per supported distro. You may wish to edit this control file to have fewer or more packages installed and to change other characteristics of the systems being Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 41

42 provisioned. If you make such changes, please change the file name to something other than what LinMin provided, and back these control files up. Should you change your networking address (e.g., the IP address of the LBMP server) and use the Setup program, the URL in each control file delivered by LinMin will be updated and your changes will be lost if did not rename the control file name. Arrange the MAC-Independent Provisioning Roles for display When you have created menu items, the MAC-Independent Provisioning Roles page will display the menu items. Arrange the order in which the boot menu will display the items by using the arrows to the right of the Make Default buttons. When you select a key (keystroke to be pressed by the user on the client system to provision a certain distro) and you move items up and down, the numbers will be out of order. If you wish to change numbers, please make sure you don t use an already assigned number. You may also use alphanumeric character strings (with no spaces) instead of single numbers or letters. Set a default boot option If you intend to run unattended installations or to install headless clients, you must set one of the menu items as the default option. Toggling the Default button changes the choice. If you attempt to install a headless client without setting a default option, the headless client remains at the PXE boot screen until the machine's power is turned off. Set the default option on the Boot Menu Configuration page by clicking the Make Default button beside the chosen menu item. After the default option is set, the LinMin server uses the default when: - the user selects the default by pressing Enter at the PXE boot screen - the user takes no action within the 60-second timeout interval Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 42

43 3.3 Configure MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles To automatically provision clients based on MAC addresses, first create Role Templates (distro/os and in the case of Linux, unique control files directing the installation of specific packages and execution of scripts), then create MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles for each system to which you assign a specific Role Template, MAC address, IP address, Host Name and provisioning rules Create MAC-Specific Provisioning Role Templates LinMin uses Role Templates to define a system personality (e.g., RHEL 5.3 JBoss server, CentOS firewall, Windows 2003 Server, Ubuntu desktop) that then gets applied to one or more systems based on their MAC address. Beyond selection of the Linux distribution or Windows OS, Role templates can be customized for Linux by one of two methods: Importing one of the Role templates provided with the LinMin server (in tftpboot/templates/) Designing a new Role template using LinMin s parameterized variables. You can use more than one Role template for each OS. You could, for example, use one RHEL 5.3 Role Template for a workstation and RHEL 5.3 Role Template for a database server. Role templates can be modified to install Third Party Agents, applications and user-defined software during provisioning. Instructions for modifying Role templates are in an Appendix of this User s Guide The 2 Methods for Creating MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles Method 1: LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning offers a single-click selection feature for creating provisioning role templates. Template files provide the required information to dynamically build a GUI drop-down selection list. MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles can be automatically filled out by simply selecting the desired Linux distro or Windows OS from the dropdown menu. The various fields are auto-filled with the proper kernel, RAM disk, configuration/control files and optional kernel parameters. An asterisk (*) following a drop-down list entry indicates that the media is loaded and ready for use. Notations and warnings exist to indicate if the selected distro/os media is loaded and ready for use. If you have customized and renamed your control/configuration file(s), you may use the browse button to point to the desired file and replace the default file that was auto-selected. Method 2: You may also use the built-in file browser to point to the proper kernel, RAM disk and.tmpl configuration/control file in /home/tftpboot/templates/, and manually enter the appropriate kernel parameters. We recommend that you use Method 1, as it is far quicker, easier, and less error-prone. To access the list of Role Templates (or to create your first one), select either the Provisioning Role Templates link on LinMin's Main Menu page or the navigation bar's MAC-Specific Provisioning link and choose Provisioning Role Templates from the drop down box. LinMin opens the Provisioning Role Templates List, which is shown below. Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 43

44 MAC-Specific Provisioning Role Templates List Create a new Role Template by clicking Create a Provisioning Role Template or edit an existing one by clicking on the Edit button next to the desired Role Template. LinMin opens the Provisioning Roles Template page, as shown below: Create MAC-Specific Provisioning Role Templates for Red Hat, CentOS, Fedora or Asianux Using Role Creation Method 1, select the distro you want to provision (remember, if there s an asterisk next to a dropdown selection, it means that the distro media is loaded and ready for use): Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 44

45 After you have selected the last item Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.2 x86_64, the form s fields will be automatically populated: If you decide to use Method 2 (using the file browser to manually select the files, please note the paths and file names for the kernel ( vmlinuz ) and ramdisk (initrd), as well as the control file (*.tmpl) in the image above. For more information on Anaconda/kickstart options, go to Note: The RHEL 5.3 and CentOS 5.3 ISOs have a bug whereby GMT time zones were omitted from the release. The workaround to avoid having to manually enter the time zone during provisioning is to edit the template control files (.tmpl). For example, to enter your correct time zone edit the file: /home/tftpboot/templates/rhel5_3_x86_64ks.tmpl Locate in the file: timezone --utc $node_time_zone and replace it with: timezone --utc America/Los_Angeles Create MAC-Specific Provisioning Role Templates for Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) and OpenSUSE Using Role Creation Method 1, select the distro you want to provision (remember, if there s an asterisk next to a dropdown selection, it means that the distro media is loaded and ready for use): Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 45

46 After you have selected the item SLES 10 SP2 i386 Linux, the form s fields will be automatically populated: If you decide to use Method 2 (using the file browser to manually select the files, please note the paths and file names for the kernel ( linux ) and ramdisk (initrd), as well as the control file (*.tmpl) in the image above Create MAC-Specific Provisioning Role Templates for Ubuntu or Debian Using Role Creation Method 1, select the distro you want to provision (remember, if there s an asterisk next to a Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 46

47 dropdown selection, it means that the distro media is loaded and ready for use): After you have selected the item Ubuntu x86_64 Desktop Linux, the form s fields will be automatically populated: If you decide to use Method 2 (using the file browser to manually select the files, please note the paths and file names for the kernel ( linux ) and ramdisk (initrd.gz), as well as the control file (*.cfg) in the image above. If you create a Provisioning Role for a Ubuntu or Debian option, ensure that you add the additional kernel parameters specified in the information panel associated with the Enter additional kernel parameters field. Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 47

48 Follow the instructions in the Important note in the LinMin Bare Metal Provision User's Guide, Step 2b. (The Important note describes entering additional kernel parameters for a Debian or Ubuntu MAC-Independent Provisioning Menu Role.) For Ubuntu distributions, enter the following additional kernel parameters: Ubuntu / Debian Distribution Required Values for the Enter additional kernel parameters Text Entry Box Ubuntu locale=en_us console-setup/layoutcode=us (see Notes 2 and 3) Debian (for etch only) locale=en_us console-setup/layoutcode=us (see Notes 2 and 3) The Separate the languagechooser and ramdisk_size entries by one space Separate the locale and console-setup entries by one space. The console-setup/layoutcode setting specifies the keyboard layout. To use a non-us keyboard layout, substitute the country-keycode for us. For: Browse to the directory (substitute amd64 for i386 if desired): Select the file: Locate kernel file: /pub/[ubuntu_distribution]/install/netboot/ubuntu-installer/i386/ linux Locate initrd file: /pub/[ubuntu_distribution]/install/netboot/ubuntu-installer/i386/ initrd.gz Locate Preseed control file: /pub/[ubuntu_distribution]/ preseed.cfg Create MAC-Specific Provisioning Role Templates for Windows Using Role Creation Method 1, select the distro you want to provision (remember, if there s an asterisk next to a dropdown selection, it means that the distro media is loaded and ready for use, and in this case, we purposefully did not load the media, so there will be no asterisk and the auto-filled form will show the error message indicating that the media has not been loaded): Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 48

49 After you have selected the item MS Windows 2003 Server 64-bit R2, the form s fields will be automatically populated (but the error message appears because the media was not loaded): Note the error messages above, indicating that LinMin did not find the Windows media. When using Method 2 for the Windows or Other Option to create a Provisioning Role for a Windows OS, use the Browse buttons to go to the pub/<windows_installation_name> directory (in our previous example, pub/ win2k3_web_edition-sata). In that directory, select the kernel and initrd files for your Windows OS. The names Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 49

50 of the Windows kernel and initrd files are shown below. The Windows or Other Option does not use a control file. Windows 2003 Windows XP kernel name w2k3t.0 wixpt.0 initrd name (Windows clients use sif files in place of initrd) w2k3t.sif wixpt.sif If you are using the Boot Menu to provision SCSI/SATA clients and IDE clients with the same Windows OS, you will need to create separate menu items for <Windows-OS>-sata and <Windows-OS>-ide. Using Method 2 (manual mode) to create Provisioning Role Templates: The Provisioning Role Template Edit page includes options to select the OS, the path to the kernel, and the path to initrd. It also provides a field in which to display and edit the control file template (Linux only) supplied by LinMin. Step 1 -- Select the proper file type for your OS On the menu associated with Type, select your profile template's type: Red Hat-based Distro Novell SLES Distro Ubuntu or Debian Distro Windows OS Step 2 - Select the kernel Click the Browse button associated with Path to kernel, and on the resulting page, go to the appropriate directory and select the kernel that will be assigned to the client during provisioning. Step 3-- Select initrd Click the Browse button associated with Path to initrd, and on the resulting page, go to the appropriate directory and select the initrd that will be assigned to the client during provisioning. NOTE: For Ubuntu : Path to kernel: pub/ubuntu8_04_1_i386/install/netboot/ubuntu-installer/i386/linux Path to initrd: pub/ubuntu8_04_1_i386/install/netboot/ubuntu-installer/i386/initrd.gz Use the pub/ubuntu8_04_1_x86_64/ directory and amd64 instead of i386 for 64-bit deployments. Step 4 Import a LinMin-supplied control file template (Linux only) Click the Import button associated with Template Data, and browse to the /home/tftpboot/templates directory, where you will find the provided templates. Select the template for your Linux OS, and LinMin will import that template into the Profile Template Edit page. IMPORTANT: For MAC-Specific Templates, you use a different control file than you do for MAC- Independent Roles. For MAC-Specific Templates, please make sure you import a file from tftpboot/templates (for example, rhel5_2_i386.tmpl, and NOT tftpboot/pub/rhel5_2_i386/rhel5_2_i386.cfg.) Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 50

51 The reason for this is that the.tmpl files contain variable names (e.g., $node_timezone) that get replaced dynamically when use the GUI to create a MAC-Specific System Role, whereas the.cfg or.xml files in /pub/distro_directory_name/ have those values replaced when you run setup.pl, and retain those values until you run setup.pl again. Step 5 Make any required changes to the imported template In the Template Data area, make any required changes to the template file. Do not change any of the values such as $node_ip_address or any other variable starting with the $ symbol. These will be substituted automatically when you assign the Role Template to a specific system. You may however edit any other value (add/remove software packages, add post-installation scripts, etc) Step 6 -- Click the OK button LinMin will then display the new template in the Role Template List. Note that with Linux distros, you can extensively modify the control files to automatically install applications and pre-install data collected from other systems. Below is an example of a more elaborate set of MAC-Specific Provisioning Role Templates: Create MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles LinMin uses MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles to assign network and unique information to each client during provisioning. Before you create a provision profile, you will need to know the client machine's MAC address. Instructions for determining a MAC address are in this document's Appendix B. Create the provision profile by the following steps: Step 1 Select MAC-Specific Provision Roles Select either the MAC-Specific Provisioning link on LinMin's Main Menu page or the navigation bar's MAC- Specific Provisioning link and choose MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles from the drop down box. LinMin Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 51

52 opens the MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles page, shown below, where several profiles have been created. MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles Page Step 2 Create a MAC-Specific provisioning role On MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles page, click the Add MAC-Specific Role button. Step 3 Enter the profile Information LinMin opens the Profile Edit page shown below: Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 52

53 MAC-Specific Provisioning Role for CentOS 5.2 i386 Desktop MAC-Specific Provisioning Role for SLES 10 SP2 i386 Create a profile by entering the required information and clicking the OK button to store the MAC-Specific Provisioning Role. The GMT selection does not apply to Windows clients, as that information is gathered from the.sif file. The Provisioning Role Template must have already been created as described in Section of this Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 53

54 document. When creating a provision profile for either the Ubuntu Desktop or the Ubuntu Server distribution, the default user login (via the GUI) is debian or ubuntu respectively, and password is insecure (by convention). The Root user can login only from the command line after hitting Control-Alt-F1 The Ubuntu Desktop distribution does not allow the root user to log in from the GUI, therefore, you must create the provision profile with a user name other than root. NOTE: Some Linux distros change way they label time zones. Until recently, GMT-7 was universally accepted across all distros. As of 2009, we see the some beta distros no longer honor this representation and instead force the change to America/Los_Angeles or US/Pacific. While we wait to see if the GA versions of these distros will add in the universal GMT format, we have hard coded the time zones into control/configuration files, and these can then be edited by hand rather that through the LinMin GUI MAC-Specific Provisioning Business Rules Important: you can prevent accidental re-provisioning of a specific system by using the Enable Provisioning radio buttons: 1. Ignore will process the request from the specific MAC address and redirect the system to boot from its local hard disk. Use this option for mission critical system where you may wish to manually recover data or system state and prevent an accidental re-provisioning of the system. 2. Always will force the system to be provisioned each time it makes a network boot. 3. Next Boot Only will provision the system on the next boot only, then set the state to Ignore. This works with systems that you manually trigger to boot from the network, but also allows you to set the system s BIOS to boot from the Network first, then to HD: if the option is set for a given MAC address, it will get provisioned, and upon reboot, will be ignored until you manually reset the radio button to Next Boot. Note: Imaging Roles (in the following section) take priority over MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles Business Rules Best Practices with MAC-Specific Provisioning Avoid recycling MAC Provisioning Role Templates. Use the Copy function to copy known good templates then modify the recently created Role Templates. Edit should be used for permanent changes to existing templates and development changes to new templates. It is best when making changes to Role Templates to keep previous known good templates until the new ones are proven. These can be valuable to determine what changed and what may be causing any new issues in a new template. You can append or prepend information such as "obsolete-yyymmdd" to the names to avoid selection confusion. They can be deleted when the copied and modified clones are known to be good. Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 54

55 4 Set Up the LinMin Client for Provisioning The recommended boot order configured in the BIOS is as follows: - ATAPI (CD-ROM/DVD Reader) - Hard Disk - Network However, if you use MAC-Specific Roles, and have a Role created for a specific system, you can set the system to boot from the Network first, then to the Hard Disk if you use the option Next Boot Only (where the next network boot provisions the system with an OS, and subsequent boots are ignored by LBMP which forces the system in question will boot from its local disk each time, until the LinMin Administrator changes this setting.) If the system has no OS installed, or has a damaged boot record (MBR), and has no bootable CD/DVD in its reader, it will then automatically boot from the network, get provisioned, and when it reboots, it will boot from the recently provisioned hard drive. If the system has an OS installed and you wish to re-purpose the system, during the boot process press the F- 12 key (or other Boot from the Network function key as displayed by the BIOS) and the system will: - Display the Default Boot Menu if no MAC address-based profile was created. The user makes the selection, or the Default selection gets installed starting in 60 seconds if there is no manual selection. - Automatically get provisioned with the MAC address-based profile as specified by IT. - Have a disk snapshot ( backup ) initiated if so selected by IT using the LBMP GUI - Have a disk restore initiated if so selected by IT using the LBMP GUI. If your BIOS does not support the interactive Boot from the Network option, then change the BIOS settings to boot first to the Network, then to Hard Disk, and after the installation of the distro is complete, interrupt the reboot of the system and change the BIOS settings to CD-ROM/DVD, then Hard Disk, then Network. Alternatively, you can specify in the control file to halt instead of reboot, and decide when to power the system back up and change its BIOS settings. If you have a working system, IT can SSH into an individual system (or use a systems management tool or script to access multiple systems at once), delete the Master Boot Record and force a reboot which will then force the re-purposing of the system. This is potentially harmful if an error is made, as you will loose all contents of your hard disk(s), but it enables mass re-purposing without human intervention on each system. BIOS settings and entry procedures are manufacturer specific. Refer to the client system's BIOS documentation to determine the correct procedures and settings. Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 55

56 5 Provision the LinMin Client System Step 1 Connect the LinMin client to the provisioning network Step 2 -- Verify the BIOS settings Step 3 If the LinMin client does not have native PXE capability, insert the floppy disk or the USB flash drive Step 3 is not required if your LinMin client has native PXE capability; clients without native PXE-boot capability can be provisioned by using a floppy disk or USB flash drive to initiate the PXE boot. Step 4 -- Boot the LinMin client (and hit F12 if it has an installed distro or OS you wish to overwrite) Step 5 Provision the System If you are using interactive provisioning, select the Boot Menu will be presented to the client's UI, and the user makes the selection, or waits 60 seconds for the Default Boot option to get invoked. If you are using automated provisioning, the proper profile will be applied based your system's MAC address. When a client provisioned with a Windows OS boots, the client requires a password, and the default password is password. If you want a different default password, you can edit the Windows sif file to change the default password. Information about editing the Windows sif files is in Section 5.4 of this document. Operating the LinMin server without firewall software during the provisioning process enhances performance. Significant performance gains can be achieved by using 1 Gbit NICs and switches instead of 100 Mbit networking hardware. When provisioning the Fedora Core 5 distribution, the Kickstart control file installs both the X Window System and Gnome, but the Kickstart control file does not configure X Window. If you want to use X Window, you will need to manually configure the client after provisioning is completed. When you provision the RHEL 4.2 distribution to a LinMin client using the AMD x86_64 Opteron processor, you will need to manually start the client machine after provisioning. 5.1 Configuring VMware Clients VMware Server and VMware Workstation clients are most easily configured as follows: Virtual Machine Type = Typical Operating System = other Other Operating System Type = other Disk Allocation = unclick Pre-allocate disk (if you pre-allocate the disk, you cannot provision the client.) If your VMware system has a special selection for the exact OS you intend on deploying (for example Windows/Windows Server 2003 Web Edition), then use it. Hit F-12 as you would with a physical system for Client-side booting, or enter the VM s MAC address in the MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles (refer to Appendix B-4 for how to create a static MAC address for VMware). Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 56

57 5.2 Provisioning VMware Clients LinMin s MAC-Independent and MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles can be used to provision both physical systems (servers, blades, workstations or appliances) and virtual systems (e.g., VMware virtual machines) with no modifications whatsoever. Caption: MAC-Independent selection menu in a VMware virtual machine is identical in look and feel to a physical system Caption: Provisioning in progress in a VMware virtual machine Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 57

58 Caption: Provisioning complete in a VMware virtual machine This ability to interchangeably deploy physical and virtual systems enables IT users to use out-of-the-box, LinMin-supplied roles and templates, and deploy operating systems to physical systems and virtual machines with no incremental effort. More importantly, LinMin s physical and virtual deployment ability lets IT domain experts refine and augment the LinMin-supplied roles and templates (e.g., change partitioning options, add/remove applications, execute scripts to configure applications, copy data from remote systems), while adhering to best IT practices (repeatability, compliance) in anticipation of repurposing existing systems or deploying new physical systems or virtual machines. Once the provisioning roles are tested and approved, not only can IT users quickly meet demands by bringing new systems on line in minutes, they can also easily experiment and compare the performance of live applications when running on different types of systems, or measure the impact of replacing older, less powerefficient systems with newer or consolidated systems. processor, you will need to manually start the client machine after provisioning. Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 58

59 5.3 Configuring VirtualBox Clients The following screen shots show how to set up VirtualBox clients (in this case, for OpenSUSE). Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 59

60 Hit F-12 as you would with a physical system for Client-side booting, or enter the VM s MAC address in the MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles. 5.2 Provisioning VirtualBox Clients Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 60

61 6 Customize the Provisioning Process 6.1 Customize Provisioning with Linux Distributions This option uses the Kickstart control file; therefore, it can be used only with Red Hat-based Linux distributions. Begin by importing your distribution's profile template into LinMin's Profile Template Edit page. Locate the section that begins with the following designation: %packages All user-defined software that is to be installed during provisioning must be entered under this %packages section of the profile template. Individual packages are listed by name with no symbol or space in front, as is shown for the dhcp package in Figure 17. Groups are listed with symbol and one space in front of the group name as is shown for the GNOME Desktop Environment package in Figure 4. (The groups that the Kickstart control file recognizes are listed in the Red Hat--or Red Hat-based--distribution's comps.xml file, usually located in the distribution's disc 1 Red Hat/base directory.) Figure 17 Example of %packages Section of Kickstart Control File When all software to be installed during provisioning is listed in the %packages section of the Kickstart control file, save the file. Further options available with the Kickstart control file's %packages installation are: %packages --resolvedeps Install the listed packages and automatically resolve package dependencies. If this option is not specified and there are package dependencies, the automated installation pauses and prompts the user. %packages ignoredeps Ignore the unresolved dependencies and install the listed packages without the dependencies. %packages ignoremissing Ignore the missing packages and groups instead of halting the installation to ask if the installation should be aborted or continued. More information is available at: Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 61

62 6.2 Customize Provisioning with Windows OSs After the setup program, loadwindows.pl, has been run, you can edit the Windows.sif files to customize provisioning Windows clients. The sif files are located on the LinMin server under the /home/tftpboot/pub/<windows_os> directory. The sections of the sif files that can be edited are: [GuiUnattended] AdminPassword TimeZone [Display] [UserData] ProductKey ComputerName FullName OrgName [RegionalSettings] [GuiRunOnce] for post-installation scripts [Identification] JoinWorkgroup OR JoinDomain [Components] Each section of the sif file contains instructions for editing that section. Follow the instructions for the section you want to edit. Each sif file also contains instructions on how to add and comment out parameters. Some options in the provided Windows sif files are commented out with the semicolon (;) character. To activate such an option, edit the Windows sif file, and remove the ; from the front of the option. Some options have a corresponding option that is activated by default. When you activate one of these options, you will need to comment out its corresponding default option. Some options that have default activated settings are: regional, Workgroup/DNS, and partitioning. Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 62

63 7 Update Drivers 7.1 Update Linux Drivers Update Drivers on SuSE-Based Distributions The following instructions apply to updating drivers for SuSE and SLES distributions Single Driver Update The default AutoYaST installation process is capable of recognizing driver updates. AutoYaST requires only that a specially named file exists in the base directory of CD 1 for the distribution. Obtain the updated driver by downloading the correct ISO image update for the selected driver from the device vendor. The image should be in the format described for driver updates in the open SuSE organization's Howtos at Multiple Driver Update Update multiple drivers by the following steps: Step 1 -- Obtain driver update from the vendor From the device vendor, download the correct ISO image update for the selected drivers. The image should be in the format described for driver updates in the open SuSE organization's Howtos at: Step 2 -- Mount the drivers to a directory on the LinMin client machine Mount the drivers with the following command: mount -o loop <image_name> /tmp/<your_dir_name> Step 3 -- Create the driver update directory structure Create a directory structure for the driver updates that matches the example shown in Figure 18. Figure 18 Example Directory Structure for SuSE Driver Update Step 4 Create three empty files and copy them to the correct directory Use the touch command to create three empty files with the following names: Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 63

64 update.pre update.post update.post2 Copy all three files to the following directory: /tmp/<your_dir_name>/linux/suse/<arch>/install. Step 5 -- Merge updates Execute Steps 5a through 5d for every driver you update. For each step that requires a command, type the entire command on one line, although the command is shown here on two lines for clarity. Step 5a Merge update.pre Copy update.pre from the driver image to a new directory under a unique name with the command: cp /tmp<your_dir_name>/linux/suse/<arch>/install/update.pre /home/<new_dir_name>/linux/suse/<arch>/install/<new_driver_name>.pre Add a call to update.pre by opening the update.pre file in a text editor, and adding the following line to the file: sh <new_driver_name>.pre Step 5b Merge update.post Copy update.post from the driver image to a new directory under a unique name with the command: cp /tmp/<your_dir_name>/linux/suse/<arch>/install/update.post /home/<new_dir_name>/linux/suse/<arch>/install/<new_driver_name>.post Add a call to update.post by opening the update.post file in a text editor, and adding the following line to the file: sh <new_driver_name>.post Step 5c Merge update.post2 Copy update.post2 from the driver image to a new directory under a unique name with the command: cp /tmp/<your_dir_name>/linux/suse/<arch>/install/update.post2 /home/<new_dir_name>/linux/suse/<arch>/install/<new_driver_name>.post2 Add a call to update.post2 by opening the update.post2 file in a text editor, and adding the following line to the file: sh <new_driver_name>.post2 Step 5d Merge the tar files Step 5d is not required for the first driver you update. Merge the tar files with the following command: tar -uzvf /home/<new_dir_name>/linux/suse/<arch>/install/update.tar.gz tar -xzvf /tmp/<your_dir_name>/linux/suse/<arch>/install/update.tar.gz Step 6 Copy the rpm files If any rpm files are present, copy them with the following command: Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 64

65 cp /tmp/<your_dir_name>/linux/suse/<arch>/install/*.rpm /home/<new_dir_name>/linux/suse/<arch>/install/ Step 7 -- Copy the modules Copy the modules with the command: cp /tmp<your_dir_name>/linux/suse/<arch>/modules/* /home/<new_dir_name>/linux/suse/<arch>/modules Step 8 -- Package the image Package the image by executing: mkfs.cramfs /home/<new_dir_name> /home/tftpboot/pub/<distro>/cd1/driverupdate Update Drivers on Red Hat-Based Distributions For information on updating drivers on Red Hat-based distributions (and rebuilding the kernel), contact LinMin Support at linmin-support@linmin.com. Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 65

66 8 Bare Metal Imaging: Backup and Restore 8.1 Introduction to LinMin Imaging Before you start using disk imaging, first read this entire section of the User s Guide. Please take several precautions including backing up the system that you will be testing LinMin s imaging function with. Disk imaging backup is a non-destructive process, however disk imaging restore will erase and overwrite all contents of the system you are restoring. Before doing a restore, please look at the directory where the image files are stored to ensure that what you see in that directory is reasonable, allowing for compression. E.g., if you back up a system with 250 GB of data on its disk(s), and the backup directory contains only 10 MB, then clearly something wrong happened during backup (check to see you used the correct designation for the disk containing the Master Boot Record.) You can also monitor progress on the client system s UI, along with progress bars, average backup/restore speed, elapsed time and estimated time to completion. Please become familiar with the disk imaging subsystem before restoring a mission critical system. The LinMin imaging subsystem will recognize all major Linux and Windows file systems and will not back up empty disk sectors. For other file systems, the entire disk will be compressed and copied, increasing the time and disk space required to perform imaging functions. Non-x86 CPU architectures such as SPARC are not supported with LinMin s imaging function. Imaging of Solaris x86 is not supported at this time. Hardware and Software RAID devices are not supported at this time. Please contact linminsupport@linmin.com for availability dates. LinMin Bare Metal Imaging is intended for Disaster Recovery (DR). Restoring an image to the same system from which the backup was made can be done if the disk has been replaced with a larger disk using the same architecture (e.g., a SATA disk replacing a smaller SATA disk), after manually editing a file. Contact LinMin Support for information on this capability. While cloning (deploying the image collected from a system, and deploying the image to a system with identical hardware) appears to work consistently, cloning is not a supported function (try it at your own risk). Furthermore, it requires manually editing parameters (network settings, etc.) of the newly cloned systems. 8.2 Preparation before Imaging: Information to Collect Before you create an imaging profile, you will need to know the client machine's: MAC address. Instructions for determining a MAC address are in this document's Appendix B. You must also know the drive where the master boot record (MBR) is located, e.g., sda, sdb, sdc, hda, hdb, hdc and so on. If using Linux, use the df command to identify your disk type. Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 66

67 8.3 Creating Imaging Profiles To create a profile, click the Add Imaging Profile button on the Imaging main page. LinMin opens the Disk Imagining Profile Edit page shown below: Disk Imaging Profile Edit Page Enter all required information, including the drive designation (sda, sdb, sdc, hda, hdb, hdc and so on) where your master boot record (MBR) is located and click the OK button. Notes: The backup directory will be created only at the time the first backup. Unique Profile Name: if you leave the default-to-mac_mac default, upon clicking OK, a name will be generated as MAC_[this-MAC-address], e.g., MAC_ C-A1-B2-01. Disk Image Snapshot Directory Name: if you leave the default-to-mac_mac-date-time default, upon clicking OK, a directory will be generated as MAC_[thisMACaddress]-[currentDate]-[currentTime], e.g., MAC_ C-A1-B2-01_ Restore with no backup dir -- red bold message above table -- Failed to activate restore for MAC_ C-A1-B2-01, there is no backup to restore Multi-disk (non-raid) imaging: if your client system has more than one physical hard drive, you can instruct LinMin to back your disks by entering the disk identifiers. For example, if you have 3 disks called sda, sdb and sdc, enter into the field labeled Drive Type and Letter : sda, sdb, sdc Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 67

68 8.4 Next Network Boot Imaging Actions On LinMin's main menu, select the Imaging Profiles link or select MAC-Specific Imaging on the navigation bar. LinMin opens the MAC-Specific Imaging page, shown below: Disk Imaging Profiles Page Notes the buttons under the column labeled Next Boot Action : The green checkmark will cause the word Backup to appear in the column and will start a backup the next time the client system boots to the network. The yellow Caution triangle will cause the word Restore to appear in the column and will start a system restore the next time your client system boots to the network. ALL FILES ON YOUR SYSTEM WILL BE OVERWRITTEN! The yellow arrows are the Reset function, and will clear the column of any text labels. Action after backup or restore: upon completing a backup or a restore, the LinMin server will reset itself to take no action at the next network boot, and the client system will automatically reboot. Restore a directory if no backup has been performed: if you attempt to perform a Restore without having first performed a backup, you will get an error message Failed to activate restore for MAC_ C-A1-B2-01, there is no backup to restore (or whatever backup directory name you gave it). Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 68

69 Priorities for Next Network Boot Actions: Imaging and Provisioning o Disk Imaging actions (backup and restore) take priority over provisioning actions. After an imaging action, the client system will boot from its local hard drive. The restore operation will overwrite the client's entire hard drive. Because the Image Snapshot occurs after you have properly shut down the system before booting it to the network, there will be very high file, application and database integrity since none of the applications or services were running during the backup. This also means that your system is unavailable for use during backup or restore. If you have created an Imaging Profile, and set it to either Backup or Restore and wish to change the contents of the Profile, first Reset the Next Boot Action, then edit the Profile and save your changes, and then change to Next Boot Action to either Backup or Restore. In this way, the changes to the Profile will be properly recorded. 8.5 Image Backup Directory Locations Backup Image Locations: Imaging Profiles are used to backup (create a snapshot of all disc/partitions contents) or restore a client at that client's next network boot. The backup or restore is performed to or from subdirectories of /home/tftpboot/images/ that you specify when creating or editing a given system s Imaging Profile. When selecting the name of the Snapshot (backup) file, we suggest you include the date in it, such that you can have different rollback dates. Otherwise, you will be backing up to the same file each time, and will only have the last backup to rely on. A directory with the name you selected will be created and populated: Disk Imaging directory on the LinMin server for each client system Disk Space: please ensure that you have enough disk space to contain the disk images you capture. You may also create a symbolic link to another location to replace the designated default (if you have not already created backup directories there): Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 69

70 cd /home/tftpboot rm /home/tftpboot/images link -s {/new_path_you_designate/} images Note: LinMin uses a component provided by the open source project which is distributed under the terms of the Gnu Public License (GPL). LinMin regularly contributes to the Clonezilla project. Thank you Clonezilla! 8.6 Imaging Control File Locations Image Control File Locations: For each system to be imaged, control files exist to force the client system to take appropriate actions based on the User s requests. You can locate these files at: [root@linminbaremetal ~]# cd /home/tftpboot/pxelinux.cfg When a new Imaging profile is created, 2 files get created, containing directives for backup and for restore. -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 465 Mar 6 04: b0-97-a8.backup -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 465 Mar 6 04: b0-97-a8.restore When the IT user clicks on a System s Next Action icon, a third file active appears. -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 465 Mar 6 08: b0-97-a8.active -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 465 Mar 6 04: b0-97-a8.backup -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 465 Mar 6 04: b0-97-a8.restore If the user clicks Backup, then LinMin copies the file backup to active. If the user clicks Restore, then LinMin copies the file restore to active. If the user clicks Reset, then LinMin deletes the file active. After an imaging (backup or restore) event, then LinMin deletes the file active. If there is no file active, no action is taken. If there is a file active, its contents will dictate the type of imaging action. No backup directories are created until the first backup for that directory name occurs. Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 70

71 9 Managing the LinMin Server The LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning server is comprised of LinMin-developed components and services as well as services provided by the underlying operating system/disto. These services include (among others): oc-provision-server, dhcpd, NFS mountd, NFS daemon, NFS quotas, NFS services, postgresql service and Avahi daemon LinMin provides a single service group enabler called linmin-services.sh with 4 options: start, stop, restart and status. 9.1 Start/Stop/Restart/Check the LinMin Server The LinMin Server will start every time the system on which it runs is powered on. At any time, you can stop, start, restart or check the status of the LinMin server by following the instructions below: Execute as root user: To start all services required to run LinMin (including at system boot time): /usr/local/linmin/linmin-services.sh start Note that the script can also be executed by: cd /usr/local/linmin./linmin-services.sh start To stop all services required to run LinMin: /usr/local/linmin/linmin-services.sh stop To restart (shut down then start) all services required to run LinMin: /usr/local/linmin/linmin-services.sh restart To check the status of all services required to run LinMin: /usr/local/linmin/linmin-services.sh status The script may be invoked at any time a status check is desired. If all services are running, the following message will appear: LinMin Bare Metal server status is OK Error results will be displayed on the console and logged to /usr/local/linmin/status/ current_status_check and to a status_errors. {scripttimestamp}. 9.2 LinMin Status and Error Log Files The script linmin-services.sh generates or updates log and error files in /usr/local/linmin/status/: Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 71

72 current_status_check (contains results of the most recent execution of the script linmin-services.sh) prior_status_check (contains results of the second- most recent execution of the script linminservices.sh) status_errors.{scripttimestamp} [...] (file generated each time there is an error condition) To review the latest results: cat /usr/local/linmin/status/current_status_check or: cd /usr/local/linmin/status/ cat current_status_check 9.3 LinMin Provisioning and Media Log Files The LinMin server logs many other system activities and user actions to assist customers and LinMin s support team to better troubleshoot systems: [root@linminbaremetal linmin]# ll *log -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 3125 Jan 22 12:52 lbmp-checkinstall.sh.log -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 0 Jan 27 03:05 LBMPcronRestart.log -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 268 Jan 22 11:26 lbmp-streaminstall.sh-exec.log -rw-r--r-- 1 root root Jan 22 11:26 LinMinBareMetalPreInstall.exp.log -rw-r--r-- 1 root root Jan 22 11:20 linmin-bmp exp.log -rw-r--r-- 1 root root Jan 26 11:52 linmin-bmp-pxe-event.log -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 711 Jan 22 11:47 loadlinux.log -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 612 Jan 22 11:23 ocp-install.log /usr/local/linmin/linmin-bmp-pxe-event.log This log file contains the MAC addresses you have provisioned and a summary of the actions taken including the Provisioning Role or Role Template used. Note that this file doesn t get updated immediately upon a provisioning event, but rather after a minute or so. This the recommended way of seeing all provisioning events (MAC address, time, action taken, etc.) :52:56 MAC 00:11:09:62:9c:49 pxeboot request :52:56... profile:/home/tftpboot/pxelinux.cfg/ c :52:56... profile after boot:/home/tftpboot/pxelinux.cfg/ c-49-after-next-boot :52:56... control after boot:/home/tftpboot/controlfiles/ c49.cfg-after-next-boot :52:56 psql linminbmp -U postgres -c "select enable_provisioning_flag from profiles where mac_address = '00:11:09:62:9c:49'"; Provisioning Role Template: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.2 x86_64 JBoss Server :52:56... sql select profiles enable_provisioning_flag: enable_provisioning_flag : : ignore : (1 row) : : Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 72

73 To parse the linmin-bmp-pxe-event.log file to identify unique MAC addresses or to identify MAC addresses by event type (provisioning, imaging), execute the following command: grep 'MAC ' linmin-bmp-pxe-event.log cut -d' ' -f4 sort uniq wc -l * replace 'MAC ' with 'PXE control: \/home' for MAC Specific count (slashes matter) * replace 'MAC ' with 'Independent' for MAC Independent count * replace 'MAC ' with 'PXE imaging' for all imaging actions count * replace 'MAC ' with 'Backup' for image backup count * replace 'MAC ' with 'Restore' for image restore count Media upload log: [root@linminbaremetal linmin]# more loadlinux.log Thu Jan 22 11:37:41 PST 2009 Load media source CD-DVD # 1 for: CentOS 5.2 i386 (DVD) Distro Media Content first 8 lines in: /tmp/mj2lvkhtu1/.discinfo Final i386 1,2,3,4,5,6 CentOS/base /home/buildcentos/centos/5.2/en/i386/centos CentOS/pixmaps... media accepted: ok Copied contents of /tmp/mj2lvkhtu1/ to /home/tftpboot//pub/centos5_2_i386/disc1/... copy ended Thu Jan 22 11:47:09 PST copy started Thu Jan 22 11:37:46 PST copy packages returned: 1 LinMin Server Log: When the LinMin server is installed on a Linux OS, the server's log file can be found by executing the following command: tail -f /var/log/opencountry/ocprovision/ocprovision-default-0.log In this XML file, you will see a series of transactions per provisioning event, including the MAC-address of the systems you have provisioned. Every time you start or restart LBMP, a new log file gets created, and the previous log files have their file names incremented by 1. The same happens once you have exceeded the default file size. Default file size and maximum number of saved logs can be modified by editing the file: /home/tftpboot/config/logging.properties Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 73

74 9.4 Update the LinMin Server Update the License Key File Your license key file's status is available on the LinMin Server's User Interface. Click the navigation bar's Help link and select About from the drop down box to open the About LinMin page. Thirty days before the license expires, LinMin provides a warning on the About LinMin page. When you see the warning, contact LinMin at linmin-support@linmin.com to renew your license. Install the new LinMin license key file by copying it to /usr/local/linmin on your LinMin Server and executing the instructions in Section Reconfigure the Server. After properly running setup.pl, your Help About page will display the details of your license key information, per the example below: If your license expires, the About page displays a notice and allows a 15-day grace period during which you will be able to use your LinMin software. However, if you do not renew your license before the grace period ends, LBMP will no longer provision systems. Important: Should your license expire or should you exceed the number of authorized client systems and you received a new key from LinMin, prior to running setup.pl, delete the file home/tftpboot/pxelinux.cfg/autoboot.lic then run setup.pl to add the new license key file Upgrade to a New Version of LinMin An upgrade of LinMin preserves the OS installation media you have copied into the server, and the upgrade also preserves existing boot menus, profile templates, MAC-Independent Provisioning Roles, imaging profiles, and any provisioning command files and control file templates you have created. Please refer to the Installation Guide s Appendix E: Upgrading to a Newer Version of LinMin. Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 74

75 9.4.3 Reconfigure the LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning Server Any time you need to change the LinMin server configuration (network settings, etc.), do so by the following steps: Step 1 Change to the correct directory cd /home/tftpboot/bin Step 2 -- Execute the setup program perl setup.pl As the setup.pl program executes, follow all prompts, and enter your new or changed information. Please be sure to have backed up all control files and templates that you have modified. 9.5 Uninstall the LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning Server To uninstall the LinMin server, perform the following steps: Execute as root user: cd /usr/local/linmin./lbmp-uninstall.sh If you have backed up all your control files, you may then delete the /home/tftpboot and /usr/local/opencountry directories and subdirectories. Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 75

76 Appendix A: Troubleshooting the LinMin Server To assist in troubleshooting a LinMin server on a Linux operating system (OS), a set of scenarios are provided with premises about the cause of the problems and suggested solutions. Before contacting LinMin Support, in /usr/local/linmin please execute./linmin-bmp-support-help.sh and to linmin-support@linmin.com the resulting file lbmp-supporthelp_{timestamp}*.help file. This file captures all your system settings, actions taken and installation results. Troubleshooting Key LinMin Server Problem LinMin Client Problem Operating System (OS) being provisioned to client = all Server will not start Scenario #1 Client will not start after provisioning Scenario #3 Client's MAC-Independent Provisioning works for some but not all--oss Scenario #4 Server has no User Interface Scenario #2 OS being provisioned to client = Asianux Client will not start Scenario #5 OS being provisioned to client = Debian Provisioning fails Scenario #6 Pop-up box appears during provisioning Scenario #7 OS being provisioned to client = Windows Client will not start after provisioning and has an error message about the NIC device drivers Client will not start after provisioning and has an error message about hard driver controller device drivers During provisioning Red Hat-based boxes unable to retrieve age/stage2.img Instructions are in the Troubleshooti ng Windows Network Drivers section of this document Instructions are in the Update Windows Drivers section of this document Scenario 8 During Client Booting PXE-M0F: Exiting Intel Boot Agent Scenario 9 Scenario #1 The LinMin server does not respond or will not start. Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 76

77 Premise: The LinMin server's disk has inadequate space to copy the distro/os CD/DVDs. Solution: Check the LinMin server's disk usage, and ensure that adequate space exists for the distro/os files. Premise: The LinMin server was not properly started. Solution: Manually re-start all services: /usr/local/linmin/linmin-services.sh restart Refer to Section 9 for more on linmin-services.sh and on error logs Scenario #2: When you log in to the LinMin server's User Interface at: the browser screen is blank. Premise: You have another service running that also uses Port 80 and conflicts with LBMP. Solution: Stop services (such as Apache) that use Port 80 Premise: Your LinMin server's SELinux is set to enforcing. Solution: Change Security Enabled (SE) Linux by performing the following steps: Open the /etc/sysconfig/selinux file (the file that sets the SE Linux status) in a text editor, and look for one of the following lines: SELINUX=permissive or SELINUX=enforcing or SELINUX=disabled If SELinux was set to enforcing, change this line to the following: SELINUX=permissive Close and save the /etc/sysconfig/selinux file, and reboot the system. Note: permissive only logs what SELinux might do and does not cause any software/subsystem to not function. It is one way to learn what a subsystem is trying to do and how to enforce stronger security. Scenario #3: While attempting to provision a client after creating a provision profile for this client, the client does not boot correctly Premise: The client's provision profile has an incorrect MAC address. (The LinMin server uses the client's MAC address to map to the profile template.) Instructions for determining the client's MAC address are in Appendix B of this document. Solution: Edit the client's provision profile, and ensure that the MAC address is correct. Premise: The client cannot find the live (non-linmin) DHCP server running on the subnet. Solution: Make sure that your live DHCP is installed, properly configured and running. Refer to the Installation Guide on co-existing properly with your live DHCP server. Make sure that the LinMin server's firewall ports are opened as required. Make sure that you don t have another active LBMP server on the same subnet Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 77

78 Scenario #4: The MAC-Independent Provisioning works for some, but not all, Distros and OSs. Premise: You have not assigned the correct boot/install option for the non-provisioning OS(s). Solution: Assign the correct boot/install option for each OS as follows: For Red Hat, Asianux, CentOS, Fedora Core, and Lineox distributions, use the Kickstart option. For SUSE-based distributions, use the YaST option. For Ubuntu and Debian distributions, use the Debian option. For Windows OSs, use the Generic option. Scenario #5: When provisioning a client with the Asianux distribution, the client GUI doesn't start after provisioning. Solution: Log in to the client's terminal, and as root user, type the following command: startx Scenario #6: When provisioning Debian to a client, the provisioning fails, and the system can't find the correct installation source. Premise: A step in the Debian setup was missed. Solution: Follow all documentation in the LinMin User's Guide, section on Prepare Debian Distributions. Creating the symbolic link with the following two commands is particularly important. cd /home/tftpboot/pub/debian/dists ln -s etch stable Scenario #7: When provisioning Debian to a client, a popup box for language selection appears. Premise: The language option was not set while performing the Debian Install Option Configuration. Solution: Open LinMin's main menu, select the Boot Menu Configuration link, and on the Boot Menu Configuration page, click the Debian Option button. LinMin opens the Debian Install Option Configuration page. On this page, add the following string to the text entry box beside Enter additional kernel parameters: languagechooser/language-name=english or <your_language> Scenario #8 The Red Hat-based (Red Hat, Fedora, CentOS, Asianux) client system being provisioned interrupts the provisioning process and displays a message similar to: unable to retrieve This error can be caused by many situations that can be very difficult to isolate. Common causes and remedies experienced by LinMin and its customers include: This stage2 failure is often caused when the provisioning target has multiple NICs or the Linux distro has a kernel that is not in sync with PXE protocols. Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 78

79 o Force the kickstart installation to take place over a specified Ethernet device o Add the line network --device=eth# in the *ks.cfg in pub/ (for MAC-Independent Provisioning) or to the MAC-Specific Role Template text box containing the control file (for MAC-Specific Provisioning). You may append device=eth# to any existing line starting with network after other parameters you may find. The eth# is normally eth0 but can be eth1, eth2, etc. o The ksdevice option at the install boot prompt can be used by adding the ksdevice=eth# parameter. This is accomplished by entering "ksdevice=eth#" in the GUI "Enter any additional kernel parameters" field of Provisioning Role Templates (for MAC-Specific Provisioning) or of Provisioning Roles (for MAC-Independent Provisioning). The eth# is normally eth0 but can be eth1, eth2, etc. An other kernel parameter that addresses the issue under certain circumstances is ksdevice=link Network connectivity problems (race conditions or other situations requiring resetting devices). Also, the anaconda installer has a known bug whereby it does not retry to locate the installation media directory and will simply time out, giving the unable to retrieve message. o Disconnect and reconnect client systems network cable to switch/router; power down and up switch/router. Optionally, disconnecting cables from the LinMin server to its switch/router and cables between all connected network devices up to the client system, powering down all devices including shutting down the LinMin server, then reconnecting all cables, powering on all network devices, then the LinMin server, then the client system (this is a rare instance, but it happens occasionally) o Slow link response on switches - set each interface "spanning-tree portfast" o Changein the control files the IP address of the LinMin server from a fixed IP address to an externally resolvable DNS address: From: url --url To: url --url Corrupted ISO media or extracted files o Re-download the ISO file (or clean the CD/DVD and re-run loaddvd.pl) and run loadwindows.pl or loadlinux.pl Scenario #9: The client UI displays PXE-M0F: Exiting Intel Boot Agent then hangs, does not boot from HD Premise: The BIOS cannot find the HD that it is supposed to boot from Solution 1: Obtain a BIOS FLASH update from the manufacturer Solution 2: When using Always boot from the network first because you are letting LinMin rules decide whether a system is to be provisioned, imaged or booted from local HD, ensure the boot sequence is network, ATAPI, floppy, hard drive Solution 3: If have configured your system to boot from the network last, the boot sequence should be ATAPI, floppy, hard drive, network Premise: Bad network cable Solution 1: Replace the network cable and retry Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 79

80 Appendix B: Determine the Client's MAC Address The client machine's MAC address can be determined by one of the following procedures. B.1 Client without an OS (bare-metal client) The MAC address may be printed on the machine's manufacturer's label or available in the manufacturer's documentation. Alternatively, the BIOS may display the MAC address if a distro or OS is not installed. If the MAC address is still not made available, simply provision the system with any MAC-Independent Provisioning option, and obtain the MAC address by following the instructions in section B.3 of this Appendix B.2 Client with an existing Windows OS On the client machine, open a Command Prompt (either from Start --> Run, and in the Open text entry box, type cmd When the Command Prompt window opens, type the command: ipconfig /all Look under the heading Ethernet adapter for Local Area Connection: for Physical Address B.3 Client with an existing Linux OS On the client machine, open a terminal window and type: ifconfig In the stdout from the command, the MAC address will be the value beside Hwaddr B.4 Client operating on VMware VMware, by default, assigns a random MAC address to a machine each time the machine boots. Since LinMin's provision profiles and imaging profiles are assigned to the client by the client's MAC address, you will need to assign static MAC addresses to each VMware client that will use these profiles. Assign a static MAC address to a VMware client by the following steps: Open the client's virtualmachinename.vmx file, which is located at: /root/vmware/virtualmachinename/virtualmachinename.vmx (for VMware Workstation) /var/lib/vmware/virtualmachinename/virtualmachinename.vmx (for VMware Server): If the machine has never booted as a VMware client Locate the following line: ethernet0.present = "TRUE" Add the following two lines below the ethernet0.present line: ethernet0.addresstype = "static" ethernet0.address = "00:50:56:XX:YY:YY" (where XX is any valid HEX number that equals less than 24 and YY:YY are any valid HEX numbers) The first three couplets, 00:50:56, must be used exactly in the MAC address. If the machine has been booted as a VMware client (even if it didn't boot successfully) Locate the following three lines: Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 80

81 ethernet0.present = "TRUE" ethernet0.addresstype = "static" ethernet0.address = "00:50:56:06:05:11" Change the last line to your static MAC address using the following rules: The first three couplets, 00:50:56, must be used exactly in the MAC address. The fourth couplet must be valid HEX numbers that equal less than 24 The fifth and sixth couplets can be any valid HEX numbers Refer to your VMware documentation for additional information about assigning static MAC addresses. B.5 Client with Sun SPARC architecture SPARC client without an OS installed or running (bare-metal client): o At the ok prompt type "banner" o This will show some system information including the MAC address. For a running SPARC system with a single active interface the following command will show the interface configuration including the MAC address: o ifconfig -au Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 81

82 Appendix C: Installing Software and Running Scripts After Provisioning Installing Third Party Agents and other applications during provisioning can be done as described in this appendix. For illustration purposes only, LinMin Agent in a.exp format will be used in this User's Guide as an example. Substitute your own Agent (IBM Tivoli, HP OpenView, BMC, etc.) and your other applications and installation mechanisms in the instructions provided below. C.1 Create the Provisioning Command Files Repeat the steps in this section for each Linux distribution with which Third Party Agents will be installed during provisioning. Step 1 Obtain the linmin-install.exp program Download the Agent installation program from your Agent vendor's download site. Step 2 Execute the extract-for-provision program Change to the directory where you downloaded the linmin-install.exp program and execute the following command:./linmin-install.exp extract-for-provision <agent.os> Executing the linmin-install.exp command creates the provisioning program, which is named: linminprovision-<agent.os>.exp. Step 3 Copy the linmin-provision-<agent.os>.exp program to the correct directory Copy linmin-provision-<agent.os>.exp to the /home/tftpboot/pub/linmin directory Step 4 Copy the rsync-*.i586.rpm file This step is required only for SLES9 and SUSE10 distributions. Copy the file, rsync-*.i586.rpm (available on the distribution CDs), to the /home/tftpboot/pub/linmin directory. C.2 Create the Third Party Software Control File Templates The control file for MAC-Independent Provisioning is located in the /home/tftpboot/pub/<distribution> directory. If you are using profile-based provisioning, use the profile template located in the /home/tftpboot/templates directory. C Control File Template for Red Hat-based Linux Distributions The Red Hat-based control file (the Kickstart control file) has the extension ".cfg" (for example, rhel.cfg). Import the control file for your Red Hat-base distribution into LinMin's Profile Template Edit page, and locate the section that begins with the following designation: %packages Immediately following the last package/file name in the %packages section, add the following section to your Kickstart control file. For <agent.os>, use the value for your Linux distribution from Table 2. The value for <group_name> must match the LinMin Manager group in which the LinMin Agent(s) will be installed. Use your value from LinMin Pre-installation Checklist Table 1. Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 82

83 %post # # #We are chrooted when this part runs. #This post-install installs OC-Agent on the system being #provisioned. # touch /root/postinstall.log #change for correct rsync launch chkconfig --level 345 rsync on # Acquire installation data cd /root wget -r -nv -nh - cut-dirs=2 \ <agent.os>.exp # Install agent cd /root/linmin chmod 755 linmin-provision-<agent.os>.exp./linmin-provision-<agent.os>.exp <group_name> >& /root/postinstall.log # Place configuration files #chkconfig --add linminagent chkconfig --level 345 linminagent on echo "Received and placed config files." >>/root/postinstall.log echo "Finished." >>/root/postinstall.log cat > /etc/sysconfig/network << EOF NETWORKING=yes HOSTNAME=<hostname_of_local_machine> EOF When all information has been added, save and close your Kickstart file. If you are installing LinMin Agents on RHEL. 4.1, RHEL 4.2, or CentOS 4.2, ensure the Kickstart file contains an instruction to disable SELinux. Examine the Kickstart file for the following line: (It is frequently located under the #Firewall configuration section.) selinux -disabled If this line is not present, add it to the file. C Post-Install Scripting for Red Hat-based Linux Distributions The following example show how to run scripts immediately after installing a Red Hat-based Linux distribution. We will use a LinMin-supplied script that captures major system settings and places them in a text file. On the LinMin server: # make a script available via wget mkdir /home/tftpboot/www/postscripts cp -p /usr/local/linmin/lbmp-boxinfo.sh /home/tftpboot/www/postscripts/ Modify the kickstart control file to wget and execute the lbmp-boxinfo.sh script: %post cd /tmp wget > lbmp-boxinfo.sh-txt After having provisioned a system, note the files copied and created by LinMin: Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 83

84 ~]# ll /tmp/lbmp-boxinfo* -rw-r--r-- 1 root root Jan 18 03:02 /tmp/lbmp-boxinfo_mac-00-0c c- 87_IP _ txt -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 6089 Jan 17 20:32 /tmp/lbmp-boxinfo.sh -rw-r--r-- 1 root root Jan 18 03:02 /tmp/lbmp-boxinfo.sh-txt C Post-Install Package Installations/Updates for Red Hat-based Linux Distributions Assuming the client system has access to a yum or Red Hat repository, edit the %post portion of the control file to install or update packages. Alternatively, use wget to first copy files from your LinMin server to the client system: # Check the remote repository for updates to specific packages yum update packagename # Install specific RPM packages rpm -ivh package1name.rpm package2name.rpm # Update specific RPM packages rpm -Uvh package1name.rpm package2name.rpm C.2.2 Control File Template for SUSE-based Linux Distributions Import the SuSE Linux control file template, controlfile.xml, into LinMin's Profile Template Edit page. You will need to insert text into three locations in the controlfile.xml file. (1) Locate the section that begins with the following designation: <script> controlfile.xml also contains a <scripts> element ensure you add the lines under the <script> element. Immediately following this line, add the following text to your SUSE control file. #network is enabled here in postinstall section <network_needed config:type="boolean">true</network_needed> (2) Locate the section that begins with the following designation: echo No Post-install script defined Add the following text: For <agent.os>, use the value for your SUSE-based distribution from Table 2. touch /root/postinstall.log # Acquire installation data cd /root wget <agent.os>.exp wget # Install agent chmod 755 linmin-provision-<agent.os>.exp rpm -Uvh rsync i586.rpm >& rsync.log./linmin-provision-<agent.os>.exp <group_name> >& /root/postinstall.log echo "Installed agent." >>/root/postinstall.log # Place configuration files echo "Received and placed config files." >>/root/postinstall.log echo "Finished." >>/root/postinstall.log (3) Ensure the <scripts> section of controlfile.xml ends as follows: Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 84

85 ]]> </source> </script> </post-scripts> </scripts> When all information has been added, save and close your SuSE control files. C.2.3 Control File Template for Debian Linux Distributions The Debian-based control file is called preseed.cfg. Import the Debian control file into Lineman's Profile Template Edit page and locate the section that begins with the following designation: base-config base-config/late_command Under the base-config base-config/late_command section, add the following commands. The value for <group_name> must match the LinMin Manager group in which the LinMin Agent(s) will be installed. Use your value from LinMin Pre-installation Checklist Table 1. These instructions must be entered into the Debian control file on a continuous line; line breaks may prevent parsing the file. base-config base-config/late_command string cd /root;apt-get update;apt-get install rsync;wget -r -nh --cut-dirs=2 exp;cd /root/linmin;chmod 755 linmin-provision-debian31.exp;./linmin-provisiondebian31.exp <group_name> >>/root/agentinstall.log;/sbin/chkconfig --level 345 linminagent on;echo Finished. >>/root/agent_install.log;echo " localhost.localdomain localhost" > /etc/hosts; Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 85

86 Appendix D: LinMin Architecture Interface Layer: o Browser-based graphical user interface (PHP) for: Creation of system-specific ( MAC-Specific ) provisioning role templates that define an operating system and optionally application installation and configuration Assignment of provisioning role templates, networking configuration and business rules to individual systems Creation of MAC-Specific imaging roles and business rules Creation of system-independent ( MAC-Independent ) provisioning roles and client-side, pre-boot, manual OS selection screen Application Programming Interface with GUI-based teaching mode Scripts (perl) for: o OS media uploading o Driver integration o LBMP configuration Services Layer (Java): o Web server o Low-level services (tftp, ftp, binl, bootp, etc.) intercept PXE (Preboot execution Environment) requests sent by the client system or virtual machine to the LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning server and initiate action based on the business rules set by the IT user using the graphical user interface, or by external applications using the application programming interface (see the Operational Description section for examples of actions) Database (PostgreSQL) Layer: o Stores relevant information for each system s provisioning and imaging roles File System Layer: o OS Media and drivers o Control/Configuration Files o Log files o Imaging files Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 86

87 Appendix E: DHCP & LAN/VLAN Considerations E.1 Introduction To service PXE boot requests the LinMin Bare Metal server contains an active non-authoritative DHCP server. This DHCP is configured to service PXE requests over a range of IP addresses on the LAN subnet LinMin is running on. The IP range is the maximum number of provisioning and/or imaging events that can run concurrently. The DHCP leases for this range of IPs are short in duration and the IPs are reused. LinMin's default range is.151 to.200 set for 50 concurrent events. There are many ways to configure the LinMin BMP DHCP from a single LAN subnet to complex topologies spanning multiple LANs. Note that VLANs and LANs are interchangeable and usually require no additional configurations. Example A below shows LinMin's default installed configuration. All involved DHCP instances must allow and forward PXE boot requests to the LinMin BMP IP: this includes the LinMin server DHCP and the DHCP services of other LANs and VLANs when multiple subnets are being serviced by the LinMin BMP server. A common LinMin BMP install configuration uses dual NIC connections to two LANs. The LinMin server has Internet access via one NIC and the provisioning/imaging events run on the other NIC with no internet access, often a 10-dot subnet. This avoids all DHCP conflicts since the LinMin BMP DHCP is the only DHCP service on the subnet that services LinMin PXE events. This configuration is achieved by proper configuration of the two NICs prior to installing LinMin BMP and selecting the desired NIC/eth# during the LinMin install. When two NIC connections are not viable, the recommended option is to dedicate a subnet for LinMin Bare Metal processing. See example B below. Note 1: All DHCP syntax examples are in Red Hat/CentOS Linux DHCP syntax as located in /etc/dhcpd.conf Note 2: The LinMin BMP server is assumed to be on the subnet at with the default IP range of to Note 3: All involved DHCP instances must have PXE requests forwarded to the LinMin BMP IP Note 4: With multiple (V)LANs, the PXE request forward must be configured included in each subnet's DHCP. This allows PXE boot and forwards PXE requests to the LinMin BMP IP. The booting client system will become a temporary member of the LinMin subnet (assigned an IP address in the LinMin default IP range). Qualified MAC-Specific or MAC-Independent (menu-selected) events will be performed using a temporary IP assigned by the LinMin server. The post-event reboot will return the server to its originating or role designated subnet configuration. If there are firewall issues between the (V)LANs you may need to make adjustments to allow access (described in the LinMin Installation Guide.) E.2 Example A: Single (V)LAN subnet with no dynamic DHCP IP support This example shows LinMin's default installed configuration. When LinMin BMP subnet DHCP is the only DHCP service on the subnet. No additional DHCP configuration is required. The LinMin BMP DHCP is installed configured to service a designated range of IPs. DHCP syntax: Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 87

88 # Configuration for LinMin BMP subnet and IP range subnet netmask { range ; option domain-name-servers ; option domain-name linmin-pxe; option routers ; option broadcast-address ; default-lease-time 600; max-lease-time 7200; } Note A1: Changing the LinMin BMP DHCP IP range also requires changing the application configuration via setup.pl option 3 Note A2: It is common for this setup to be used for trial of the LinMin BMP application. Note A3: It is an acceptable configuration for a production subnet when all IPs are static and outside the LinMin service range of IPs. Note A4: This setup is not recommended for production use when dynamic DHCP IP assignment is required. The leases are short lived and the dynamic IPs assigned will be within the LinMin BMP service IP range. Over time this can cause conflicts and confusion. It is acceptable for temporary trial of the LinMin MAC-Independent method. E.3 Example B: Two (V)LAN subnets, One Dedicated to LinMin BMP The non-linmin DHCP service must be configured to allow PXE booting with a forward to LinMin BMP s IP address. DHCP syntax: # Allow PXE boot with forward to LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning server IP allow booting; allow bootp; class "pxeclients" { match if substring(option vendor-class-identifier, 0, 9) = "PXEClient"; next-server ; } The LinMin BMP DHCP is installed configured to service its designated range of IPs. DHCP syntax: # Configuration for LinMin BMP subnet and IP range subnet netmask { range ; option domain-name-servers ; option domain-name linmin-pxe; option routers ; option broadcast-address ; default-lease-time 600; max-lease-time 7200; } Note B1: Changing the LinMin BMP DHCP IP range also requires changing the application configuration via setup.pl option 3 Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 88

89 E.4 Example C: Single (V)LAN Subnet with Other Servers Running on the Same Subnet Dependent on DHCP service For proper dynamic IP DHCP service on the same subnet as the LinMin server, there must be authoritative DHCP service on another server in the subnet to service the range of IPs outside the LinMin range. The non-linmin DHCP is designated authoritative servicing IPs not in the LinMin DHCP IP range. DHCP syntax: # Other DHCP instances in the LinMin server subnet should be designated as authoritative. authoritative; # Other DHCP instances in the LinMin server subnet must exclude the LinMin range. # This accomplished by including subnet netmask { range ; range ; } The LinMin BMP DHCP is installed configured to allow PXE boot with forward to LinMin. DHCP syntax: # Allow PXE boot with forward to LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning server IP allow booting; allow bootp; class "pxeclients" { match if substring(option vendor-class-identifier, 0, 9) = "PXEClient"; next-server ; } The LinMin BMP DHCP is installed configured to service its designated range of IPs. DHCP syntax: # Configuration for LinMin BMP subnet and IP range subnet netmask { range ; option domain-name-servers ; option domain-name linmin-pxe; option routers ; option broadcast-address ; default-lease-time 600; max-lease-time 7200; } Note C1: Changing the LinMin BMP DHCP IP range also requires changing the application configuration via setup.pl option 3 E.5 Example D: Multiple (V)LAN Subnet Configuration Overview Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 89

90 (V)LAN 1: The subnet with LinMin BMP is configured as above in Example A or B. (V)LAN 2: Is configured to allow PXE boot with forward to LinMin. DHCP syntax: # Allow PXE boot with forward to LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning server IP allow booting; allow bootp; class "pxeclients" { match if substring(option vendor-class-identifier, 0, 9) = "PXEClient"; next-server ; } (V)LAN 3 is configured to allow PXE boot with forward to LinMin. DHCP syntax: # Allow PXE boot with forward to LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning server IP allow booting; allow bootp; class "pxeclients" { match if substring(option vendor-class-identifier, 0, 9) = "PXEClient"; next-server ; } E.6 Example E: Multiple (V)LAN Subnet Configuration Specifics For this example -- * lanlbmp = LinMin Bare Metal server subnet * LinMin Bare Metal server IP = * LinMin Bare Metal service IP range = * lan2 = non-linmin subnet * lan3 = non-linmin subnet The lanlbmp DHCP is configured via the install process. Review the configurations in /etc/dhcpd.conf The DHCP for both lan2 and lan3 have PXE forwarding added -- DHCP syntax: # Allow PXE boot with forward to LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning server IP allow booting; allow bootp; class "pxeclients" { match if substring(option vendor-class-identifier, 0, 9) = "PXEClient"; next-server ; } Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 90

91 Review the User's Guide MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles. Using the LinMin GUI, MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles are established individual MAC addresses, e.g. MAC AA IP on the subnet with Next Boot action MAC BB IP on the subnet with Next Boot action When MAC AA PXE boots, it is forwarded to the LinMin server where it is assigned a temporary IP in the LinMin subnet lanlbmp (e.g ). The Next Boot action is changed to Ignore and it is provisioned per the associated role template. Upon the post-provision non-pxe boot, a static IP on lan2 is established. When MAC BB PXE boots it is forwarded to the LinMin server where it is assigned a temporary IP in the LinMin subnet lanlbmp (e.g ). The Next Boot action is changed to Ignore and it is provisioned per the associated role template. Upon the post-provision non-pxe boot, a static IP on lan2 is established. When using the LinMin MAC-Specific method, network switch assignments and firewall settings can be preconfigured using the IP address designated in the MAC Specific role profile. Review the User's Guide MAC-Independent method. For MAC-Independent provisioning, lan2 and lan3 PXE boot requests are forwarded to LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning server IP. They are assigned a temporary IP in the LinMin subnet lanlbmp (e.g ) A menu is presented and selection is made for provisioning. Upon the post-provision non-pxe boot, a network IP is established via the originating lan2 or lan3 DHCP service. It is assumed that proper access is allowed between lanlbmp, lan2 and lan3. See the Installation Guide for firewall ports used by LinMin BMP. Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 91

92 Appendix F: Application Program Interface (API) The LinMin Application Programming Interface enables external applications (asset management, load balancing, capacity planning, systems management, cloud computing resource management, system monitoring, SaaS deployment, hosting customer signup/billing, etc.) to interface directly with the LinMin data structures, eliminating the need for an IT user to use the graphical user interface for MAC-Specific Provisioning. The API allows pre-existing Provisioning Role Templates to be assigned (add/update/delete/read) to unique systems based on MAC address, and dynamic, real-time business needs. In this fashion, external applications can prepare systems to be provisioned from a pool of spare or under-utilized systems to maximize system capacity and minimize power consumption. The next time a given system boots to the network, it will be provisioned as specified by the external application, without human intervention. The API can be used by either incorporating a GUI page into an existing application, or by issuing HTTP commands from an external program to LinMin. LBMP PROFILES DB table API Specifications Module name: lbmp-dbapi-profiles.php This PHP based API will get linminbmp database "profiles" table records by key and provide basic functions equivalent to the GUI actions -- MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles --> Add MAC-Specific Role --> MAC-Specific Provisioning Role {fill in form fields} --> OK MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles --> Edit {selected} --> MAC-Specific Provisioning Role {change form fields} --> OK MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles --> Delete {selected} --> OK The actions supported are: read add delete update No support for record locking with update will be provided, no insurance of not stepping on interim GUI changes (there is a very low probability of this happening). The key accesses supported are: by user supplied nick name by MAC address Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 92

93 key access will be: If mac_address is not present or is null user_supplied_id must be present. If both are present the user_supplied_id is used as the access key an error thrown if the passed in MAC is not equal to the DB MAC of the user_supplied_id record The "profiles" database fields supported are: For field details refer to the documentation fore the GUI field names. user_supplied_id o key field o GUI: Nick Name) mac_address o key field o format ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff o GUI: MAC Address node_name o GUI: Host Name node_domain o GUI: Domain Name Server node_password o GUI: Root Password node_ip_address o format ###.###.###.### o GUI: IP Address node_subnet_mask o format ###.###.###.### o GUI: Net Mask node_nameserver o format ###.###.###.### o GUI: Domain Name Server node_default_gateway o format ###.###.###.### o GUI: Gateway node_time_zone o values GMT{+1 to +12 or -1 to -12} o GUI: Time Zone control_file_template o valid existing template Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 93

94 o GUI: Provisioning Role Template enable_provisioning_flag o values: 'ignore', 'always', or 'nextbootonly' o GUI: Enable Provisioning upon Network Boot? values Ignore (boot from local disk), Always Provision, or Provision on next boot only, then set to Ignore Table fields not shown will be set to system defaults the same as with the GUI actions The protocol supported will be standard HTTP get/post -- Input interfaces supported: o URL with parameter string url/lbmp-dbapi-profiles.php?name1=value1&name2=value2... o HTML form, POST or GET o CGI HTTP values must be url encoded o PHP CLI with a single quoted parameter string equivalent to a URL GET string of name value pairs Output interface will be HTTP URL with GET format name value parameter string. o Values will be encoded Fields passed as input are -- Required for all actions: o action={read, add, update, delete} o an access key user_supplied_id or mac_address={valid mac in correct format} Additionally for "update" actions o Any remaining supported fields with new values Other "update" action fields supported changes to key fields o new_mac_address format ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff GUI: MAC Address o new_user_supplied_id GUI: Unique System Nickname Additionally for "add" actions o All remaining supported fields are required with values Optionally this field may be passed: o returnurl={urlencoded URL} The default is to return to the referring URL if returnurl is not present or is null Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 94

95 Return parameters are: action={same as input} actionresults={ok or FAILED} actionresultsmsg={text, success message or error message} mac_address={from DB or same as input on failure} user_supplied_id={from DB or same as input on failure} For action "read" with actionresults "OK" -- o all other supported fields are returned with values from the DB For actions other than "read" with all actionresults values -- o all input fields are returned with values passed in Example actionresults and actionresultsmsg: actionresults=ok with actionresultsmsg=successful:update actionresults=ok with actionresultsmsg=successful:delete actionresults=ok with actionresultsmsg=successful:add actionresults=failed with actionresultsmsg=add: record already exists for user_supplied_id: centos51-1 actionresults=ok with actionresultsmsg=successful:delete actionresults=failed with actionresultsmsg=delete: delete failed, no record found for: WHERE user_supplied_id = 'centos51-1' Logging actions: A log file of the result status of each API call is maintained at the default location /usr/local/linmin/lbmp-dbapi-profiles.log This location may be changed in the file /usr/local/linmin/lbmp-dbapi-profiles_log_location.cfg if this cfg file does not exist creating it with a valid path/name will establish the log To turn off logging enter '/dev/null/' in /usr/local/linmin/lbmp-dbapi-profiles_log_location.cfg Example log entries: _23:24:55_PDT MAC:ff:00:00:00:00:01 Nickname:centos51-1 Status:OK Successful:update _23:31:22_PDT Nickname:centos51-1 Status:OK Successful:delete _23:31:41_PDT MAC:ff:00:00:00:00:01 Nickname:centos51-1 Status:OK Successful:add _23:31:43_PDT MAC:ff:00:00:00:00:01 Nickname:centos51-1 Status:FAILED add: record already exists for user_supplied_id: centos _23:32:52_PDT Nickname:centos51-1 Status:OK Successful:delete _23:32:55_PDT Nickname:centos51-1 Status:FAILED delete: delete failed, no record found for: WHERE user_supplied_id = 'centos51-1' Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 95

96 Interactive use learning via example GUI (lbmp-dbapi-profiles_form.php) form: LinMin provides a PHP example API interface form module. This is to be used to explore and learn about the API actions and requirements. If familiar with the LBMP GUI for MAC-Specific Provisioning Role this form will intuitive. It mostly mirrors the fields and actions of MAC-Specific Provisioning Role GUI as described in the users guide. Module name: lbmp-dbapi-profiles_form.php Invoke via browser Read the notes at the bottom of the form for an understanding of the differences from actual MAC- Specific Provisioning Role GUI. The differences to note are in these form rows: Results of previous action shows the results of the previous action New System Nickname allows for changing this key field New MAC Address allows for changing this key field Provisioning Role Template a drop-down selection in the LBMP GUI, this must be known and keyed in this form Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 96

97 Action provides for the basic actions, Read, Update, Add, and Delete Debug No call to API with direct return the submit form displaying returned values Show call to API showing detail information about the construction of the URL return string provides a clickable link to continue to the submit form displaying returned values GET call to the API showing the input and output HTTP GET format parameter strings provides a clickable link to continue to the submit form displaying returned values GET example Invoked with HTTP GET string: returnurl=http%3a%2f%2f %2ftftpboot%2fwww%2flbmp-dbapiprofiles_form.php&user_supplied_id=&mac_address=&new_user_supplied_id=&new_mac_address=&control_fil e_template=&node_name=&node_domain=&node_ip_address=&node_subnet_mask=&node_nameserver=&no de_default_gateway=&node_password=&node_time_zone=&action=read Returns with HTTP GET string: returnurl=http%3a%2f%2f %2ftftpboot%2fwww%2flbmp-dbapiprofiles_form.php&user_supplied_id=&mac_address=&new_user_supplied_id=&new_mac_address=&control_fil e_template=&node_name=&node_domain=&node_ip_address=&node_subnet_mask=&node_nameserver=&no de_default_gateway=&node_password=&node_time_zone=&action=read&actionresults=failed&actionresult smsg=update%253a%2bno%2bkey%2bprovided%252c%2buser_supplied_id%2bor%2bmac_address%2breq uired Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 97

98 Appendix G: Provisioning Unsupported Distros/OSs Customers may add their own templates for distros/oss that LinMin doesn t support. These templates will enable the new distros/oss to appear in the dynamically-generated GUI drop-down selection for distros/oss and their variants that are not presently supported by LinMin. For MAC-Independent templates, this requires creating a /home/tftpboot/pub/<distro-type> directory and populating it with cloned template from an existing like-kind distro-type directory (see the section Uploading Media from the Command Line to upload your DVD media to the pub/directory you have created). The cloned entries are then modified to represent the new distro-type. For MAC-Specific this requires creating a /home/tftpboot/templates/<distro-type>.tmpl file. This file is usually cloned from a "like-kind".tmpl of another distro.tmpl file. The clone is then modified to service the new distrotype, the.tmpl internal parameter values are set to function with the media and paths of the new distro-type. Appendix H: License Keys and Licensing - A license key file tied to the MAC address of the system on which LinMin is installed is required in order to provision or image systems. - The license key file will control how long the key may be used (e.g., for an evaluation period, or perpetually if licensed) as well as the number of unique MAC addresses of client systems being imaged or provisioned. - The license key file must have been created after the version of LinMin being installed was built. However, upgrades of LinMin will not impact the proper functioning of the license key. If you install a previously used key on a new installation of LinMin, the key will say that it has expired (install the original key as ed to you with the version of LinMin it was intended for, or request a replacement key from LinMin.) - The first time a client system is provisioned or imaged, the new MAC address gets recorded, and can subsequently be provisioned or imaged an infinite number of times. - LinMin is licensed on a per-client system basis, in increments of 10, 100, 250, 500 and 1000 client systems (each with a unique MAC address.) Current pricing can be found at - The license fee includes the first 12 months of support and product updates (for a given integer release). support and updates for subsequent years cost 20% of the initial license fee list price per year. Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 98

99 Appendix I: Useful Links LinMin s Home Page: Features: Frequently Asked Questions: Screenshots: News Releases: Media Coverage of LinMin: Download: Pricing: Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 99

100 Addendum 1: Option for Provisioning Solaris x86 A1.1 Introduction to Provisioning Solaris x86 Support for the provisioning of Solaris 10 (u6 and later) on x86-based architectures is provided as an optional, additional charge component to LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning. While provisioning of Solaris is very similar to provisioning Linux, there are several differences that will be outlined in this Addendum. It is assumed that the reader is familiar with the general concepts of operation of LinMin and has read the User s Guide sections pertaining to provisioning Linux systems. It is also assumed that the base LinMin product has already been installed on an x86-based system running either Red Hat Enterprise Linux or CentOS 5.3 (or higher), and that the user executing scripts or commands is logged in as root. This Addendum will walk the reader through: Installing the Solaris x86 option for LinMin Uploading the Solaris OS media to the LinMin server Preparing the Solaris OS media for provisioning MAC-Independent provisioning of Solaris onto x86-based systems MAC-Specific provisioning of Solaris onto x86-based systems Please note that LinMin s imaging function will not work with Solaris x86 or SPARC. Please note that the Solaris Provisioning Options are a joint development product with Tapasol Ltd. A1.2 Installing and Uninstalling the Solaris x86 Option Once you have installed LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning and installed the LinMin-issued license key file, copy the Solaris optional component to the installation directory /usr/local/linmin/ and: cd /usr/local/linmin sh lbmp-install-solaris-x86_base{version}.exp --run After executing the script, you will see a message stating that the extraction completed successfully and you will see the NFS services being automatically stopped and re-started. To remove the Solaris x86 optional component: cd /usr/local/linmin sh linmin-bmp-uninstall-solaris.sh x86 Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 100

101 A1.3 Upload the Solaris OS Media A1.3.1 Upload the Solaris ISO Image to the LinMin Server The Solaris 10 x86 DVD.iso file can be downloaded from the web site at no charge after one registers, or the DVD can be mailed for a nominal charge. Note: there is a single Solaris ISO for both i386 and x86_64/amd64 architectures (unlike Linux or Windows ISOs where there are distinct ISOs for each architecture.) Copy the OS media in.iso format to the LinMin Server. # The recommended location for your.iso files is this pre-existing directory: /home/tftpboot/isos/unix If you already have the Solaris OS media in.iso format on your LinMin server, simply copy the.iso file to the /home/tftpboot/isos/unix/ directory: cd /name_of_directory_where_the_.iso_file_is_located ls *.iso solaris-10-u6-gal-x86-dvd.iso cp p solaris-10-u6-gal-x86-dvd.iso /home/tftpboot/isos/unix/solaris-10-u6-gal-x86- dvd.iso If you have the Solaris DVD on your LinMin Server, place the DVD in the DVD reader and: Change to proper directory with the command: cd /home/tftpboot/bin Execute the loaddvd.pl script by executing the following command: perl loaddvd.pl The script will ask you to confirm that you wish to upload the.iso file: Enter u for UNIX as the OS type, provide the name of the ISO as you wish to have it named. This operation will take several minutes to complete. If you have the Solaris DVD on another system, insert the DVD in the DVD reader and type on a single line: dd if=/dev/cdrom of=/home/tmp/solaris-10-u6-gal-x86-dvd.iso Then copy the file from this system to /home/tftpboot/isos/unix/ on your LinMin Server. Ensure the DVD medium is free of dust, fingerprints and scratches. Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 101

102 A1.3.2 Extract the Solaris ISO with the script loadlinux.pl Go to the directory where the script is located: cd /home/tftpboot/bin Execute the script perl loadlinux.pl Select the s option for Solaris x86 Enter the number for the Solaris 10 x86 option as prompted Enter the name of the ISO in /home/tftpboot/isos/unix/ (you will see it listed above: just cut and paste) Allow the ISO extraction operation to complete The loadlinux.pl script provides visual feedback, and the operation will take several minutes (for a DVD ISO with 2 to 3 GB). Attempting to abort the extraction operation can corrupt files. When done, enter x to exit. Your Solaris OS media is now ready to provision systems using LinMin. A1.4 MAC-Independent Provisioning MAC-Independent Provisioning -- an interactive mode in which the user selects the Provisioning Role (OS plus applications) to be installed from the client system s user interface at Network Boot (PXE Boot) time. A1.4.1 Configure the MAC-Independent Provisioning Roles Menu Click on MAC-Independent Provisioning and you will first be presented with the following screen (which has no roles on it because you just installed LinMin and haven t yet added any MAC-Independent Provisioning Roles): Note that until you create a MAC-Independent Provisioning Role, the default for client systems that boot from the network is to be redirected to boot from their local hard disk. Click the Windows or Other button After you have created MAC-Independent Provisioning Roles (explained below), you be presented with the list of Provisioning Roles (operating system, applications, post-installation scripts) that you (the LinMin Administrator) Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 102

103 have prepared and that will be selected from by the person on the client system from the PXE (Pre-boot execution Environment) screen when a system boots to the network. The MAC-Independent Provisioning Roles GUI screen above will be rendered as a text screen on the client being provisioned. Note that all Solaris options are grouped together under SU. When the client system boots from the network, the user will select an item from a list (or if a default was set by the LinMin Administrator, it will be installed starting in 60 seconds if no selection is made) as shown above. Enter SU for Sun Solaris options and the following submenu will appear: Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 103

104 Toggle to the desired item and hit Enter. After you have made the selection or after the Default starts automatically, you will observe the provisioning process begin with output similar to the following: If Solaris Desktop was selected, you will see the graphical JumpStart screen as shown below: Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 104

105 Notes regarding MAC-Independent Provisioning If no action is taken within 60 seconds: o If no Default was selected in the LinMin GUI, the system will boot from the Hard Drive o If a non-solaris MAC-Independent Provisioning Role was selected as the Default in the LinMin GUI, that selection will be provisioned o If a Solaris MAC-Independent Provisioning Role was selected as the Default in the LinMin GUI, that selection will be provisioned, the GNU GRUB submenu will appear automatically within 3 seconds and will stay active for 60 seconds, after which the Solaris option set as Default will begin provisioning. SU: Sun Solaris x86 Unix will appear in the menu only if a Solaris MAC-Independent Provisioning Role exists A The 2 Methods for Creating MAC-Independent Provisioning Roles Method 1: LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning offers the single-click selection feature for provisioning roles. Template files provide the required information to dynamically build a GUI drop-down selection list. MAC- Independent Provisioning Roles can be automatically created by simply selecting the desired OS from the dropdown menu. The various fields are auto-filled with the proper files and optional kernel parameters. An asterisk (*) following a drop-down list entry indicates that the media is loaded and ready for use. Notations and warnings exist to indicate if the selected distro/os media is loaded and ready for use. Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 105

106 If you have customized and renamed your control/configuration file(s), you may use the browse button to point to the desired file and replace the default file that was auto-selected. Method 2: You may also use the built-in file browser to point to the proper files and manually enter the appropriate kernel parameters. We recommend that you use Method 1, as it is far quicker, easier, and less error-prone. A1.4.2 Create MAC-Independent Provisioning Roles for Solaris 10 x86 Using Role Creation Method 1, select the Solaris configuration you want to provision (remember, if there s an asterisk next to a dropdown selection, it means that the distro/os media is loaded and ready for use): After you have selected the desired item, e.g., Sun Solaris 10 U6 GA1 x86 Server, the form s fields will be automatically populated: Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 106

107 If you decide to use Method 2 using the file browser to manually select the files, please note the paths and file names for the kernel ( multiboot ) and ramdisk ( miniroot ), as well as the kernel parameters ( config.tar ) in the image above. A1.5 Configure MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles To automatically provision clients based on MAC addresses, first create Role Templates, then create MAC- Specific Provisioning Roles for each system to which you assign a specific Role Template, MAC address, IP address, Host Name and provisioning rules. A1.5.1 Create MAC-Specific Provisioning Role Templates LinMin uses Role Templates to define a system personality (e.g., Solaris 10 x86 Server or Solaris 10 x86 Desktop) that then gets applied to one or more systems based on their MAC address. A The 2 Methods for Creating MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles Method 1: LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning offers a single-click selection feature for creating provisioning role templates. MAC-Specific Provisioning Role templates can be automatically filled out by simply selecting the desired Solaris version from the dropdown menu. The various fields are auto-filled with the proper kernel, RAM disk, configuration/control files and optional kernel parameters. An asterisk (*) following a drop-down list entry indicates that the media is loaded and ready for use. If you have customized and renamed your control/configuration file(s), you may use the browse button to point to the desired file and replace the default file that was auto-selected. Method 2: You may also use the built-in file browser to point to the proper kernel, RAM disk and.tmpl configuration/control file in /home/tftpboot/templates/, and manually enter the appropriate kernel parameters. We recommend that you use Method 1, as it is far quicker, easier, and less error-prone. A Create MAC-Specific Provisioning Role Templates for Solaris To access the list of Role Templates (or to create your first one), select either the Provisioning Role Templates link on LinMin's Main Menu page or the navigation bar's MAC-Specific Provisioning link and choose Provisioning Role Templates from the drop down box. LinMin opens the Provisioning Role Templates List, which is shown below. MAC-Specific Provisioning Role Templates List Create a new Role Template by clicking Create a Provisioning Role Template or edit an existing one by Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 107

108 clicking on the Edit button next to the desired Role Template. LinMin opens the Provisioning Roles Template page, as shown below. Select the Solaris configuration you want to provision (remember, if there s an asterisk next to a dropdown selection, it means that the distro/os media is loaded and ready for use): After you have selected the item Sun Solaris 10 U6 GA1 x86 Server, the form s fields will be automatically populated: If you decide to use Method 2 (using the file browser to manually select the files, please note the paths and file names for the kernel ( multiboot ) and ramdisk (x86.miniroot), as well as the kernel parameters ( config.tar ) in the image above. Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 108

109 A1.5.2 Create MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles LinMin uses MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles to assign network and unique information to each client during provisioning. Before you create a provision profile, you will need to know the client machine's MAC address. Instructions for determining a MAC address are in this document's Appendix B. Create the provision profile by the following steps: Step 1 Select MAC-Specific Provision Roles Select either the MAC-Specific Provisioning link on LinMin's Main Menu page or the navigation bar's MAC- Specific Provisioning link and choose MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles from the drop down box. LinMin opens the MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles page, shown below, where several profiles have been created. MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles Page Step 2 Create a MAC-Specific provisioning role On MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles page, click the Add MAC-Specific button. Step 3 Enter the profile Information LinMin opens the Profile Edit page shown below: Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 109

110 MAC- Specific Provisioning Role for Solaris 10 x86 Server You have now created a MAC-Specific Provisioning Role for Solaris 10 x86. If you have enabled provisioning, then next time the client system boots to the network, it will be provisioned with Solaris 10 x86. A1.6 General Notes on Provisioning Solaris x86 A1.6.1 The file config.tar Whereas Linux distributions use a control or configuration file (.cfg,.xml) to instruct the client being provisioned what software to install, Solaris uses a file called config.tar. LinMin dynamically generates this file each time the user clicks the OK button when creating a MAC- Independent or MAC-Specific role. For MAC-Specific provisioning, you may edit the contents that appear in the Provisioning Role Template text box (for example, to change the default keyboard type). For MAC-Independent provisioning, there are 2 files that can be edited. For example, for Solaris desktop: o /home/tftpboot/pub/solaris10_6_1_x86-desktop/configmacindy/any_machine is where you can change certain global defaults that are not generated when you run setup.pl (such as keyboard type) o /home/tftpboot/pub/solaris10_6_1_x86-desktop/configmacindy/sysidcfg is where you may change the list of packages/clusters that get installed If you elect to modify these files and need assistance, we offer technical assistance on a paid-for consulting basis. Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 110

111 Addendum 2: Option for Provisioning Solaris SPARC A2.1 Introduction to Provisioning Solaris SPARC Support for the provisioning of Solaris 10 (u6 and later) on SPARC-based architectures is provided as an optional, additional charge component to LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning. The provisioning of Solaris SPARC differs from our usual process. For SPARC, the LinMin server is configured to support the Solaris Jumpstart method. The SPARC environment does not support PXE boot so the SPARC provisioning initiation is done via DHCP entries for specific MAC addresses. Due to this SPARC architectural constraint, LinMin does not support MAC Independent provisioning or Imaging for backup and restore. GUI MAC-Specific provisioning setup is the same for SPARC as for other distributions. It is assumed that the reader is familiar with the general concepts of operation of LinMin and has read the User s Guide sections pertaining to provisioning Linux systems. It is also assumed that the base LinMin product (Release or higher) has already been installed on an x86-based system running either Red Hat Enterprise Linux or CentOS 5.3 (or higher), and that the user executing scripts or commands is logged in as root. This Addendum will walk the reader through: Installing the Solaris SPARC option for LinMin Uploading the Solaris SPARC OS media to the LinMin server Preparing the Solaris SPARC OS media for provisioning MAC-Specific provisioning of Solaris onto SPARC-based systems IMPORTANT: older versions of SPARC firmware do not support DHCP. LinMin BMP requires network booting via DHCP. OBP firmware version 3.25 or greater is required to for network booting via DHCP. To check the OBP firmware version on a SPARC box issue the command ".version" at the OK prompt (Stop+A for the prompt). Firmware upgrades are downloadable and available from Sun Microsystems. A2.2 Installing & Uninstalling the Solaris SPARC Option Once you have installed LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning (Release or higher) and installed the LinMinissued license key file, copy the Solaris SPARC optional component to the installation directory /usr/local/linmin/ and: cd /usr/local/linmin sh linmin-bmp-addon-solaris-sparc{base_release}.exp --run The add-on install package contains template driven support for Solaris SPARC U6 and U7 updates. After executing the script, you will see a message stating that the extraction completed successfully and you will see the NFS services being automatically stopped and re-started. To remove the Solaris SPARC optional component: Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 111

112 cd /usr/local/linmin sh linmin-bmp-uninstall-solaris.sh sparc A2.3 Upload the Solaris OS Media A2.3.1 Upload the Solaris SPARC ISO Image to the LinMin Server The Solaris 10 SPARC DVD.iso file can be downloaded from the web site at no charge after one registers, or the DVD can be mailed for a nominal charge. Copy the OS media in.iso format to the LinMin Server. # The recommended location for your.iso files is this pre-existing directory: /home/tftpboot/isos/unix If you already have the Solaris SPARC OS media in.iso format on your LinMin server, simply copy the.iso file to the /home/tftpboot/isos/unix/ directory: cd /name_of_directory_where_the_.iso_file_is_located ls *.iso solaris-10-u6-gal-sparc-dvd.iso cp p solaris-10-u6-gal-sparc-dvd.iso /home/tftpboot/isos/unix/solaris-10-u6-galsparc-dvd.iso If you have the Solaris DVD on your LinMin Server, place the DVD in the DVD reader and: Change to proper directory with the command: cd /home/tftpboot/bin Execute the loaddvd.pl script by executing the following command: perl loaddvd.pl The script will ask you to confirm that you wish to upload the.iso file: Enter u for UNIX as the OS type, provide the name of the ISO as you wish to have it named. This operation will take several minutes to complete. If you have the Solaris DVD on another system, insert the DVD in the DVD reader and type on a single line: dd if=/dev/cdrom of=/home/tmp/solaris-10-u6-gal-sparc-dvd.iso Then copy the file from this system to /home/tftpboot/isos/unix/ on your LinMin Server. Ensure the DVD medium is free of dust, fingerprints and scratches. Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 112

113 A2.3.2 Extract the Solaris ISO with the script loadlinux.pl Go to the directory where the script is located: cd /home/tftpboot/bin Execute the script perl loadlinux.pl Select the s option for Solaris (x86 and SPARC) Enter the number for the Solaris 10 SPARC option as prompted Enter the name of the ISO in /home/tftpboot/isos/unix/ (you will see it listed above: just cut and paste) Allow the ISO extraction operation to complete The loadlinux.pl script provides visual feedback, and the operation will take several minutes (for a DVD ISO with 2 to 3 GB). Attempting to abort the extraction operation can corrupt files. When done, enter x to exit. Your Solaris OS media is now ready for use in provisioning systems. A2.4 Configure MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles To automatically provision clients based on MAC addresses, first create Role Templates, then create MAC- Specific Provisioning Roles for each system to which you assign a specific Role Template, MAC address, IP address, Host Name and provisioning rules. A2.4.1 Create MAC-Specific Provisioning Role Templates LinMin uses Role Templates to define a system personality (e.g., Solaris 10 SPARC Server) that then gets applied to one or more systems based on their MAC address. To access the list of Role Templates (or to create your first one), select either the Provisioning Role Templates link on LinMin's Main Menu page or the navigation bar's MAC-Specific Provisioning link and choose Provisioning Role Templates from the drop down box. LinMin opens the Provisioning Role Templates List, which is shown below. MAC-Specific Provisioning Role Templates List Create a new Role Template by clicking Create a Provisioning Role Template or edit an existing one by clicking on the Edit button next to the desired Role Template. LinMin opens the Provisioning Roles Template page, as shown below: Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 113

114 A Create MAC-Specific Provisioning Role Templates for Solaris SPARC Select the Solaris configuration you want to provision (remember, if there s an asterisk next to a dropdown selection, it means that the distro/os media is loaded and ready for use): After you have selected the item Sun SPARC Solaris 10 U7, the form s fields will be automatically populated. The Jumpstart configuration files sysidcfg and any_machine can be customized in the Provisioning Role Template s Template Data section as shown below: A2.4.2 Create MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles LinMin uses MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles to assign network and unique information to each client during provisioning. Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 114

115 Before you create a provision profile, you will need to know the client machine's MAC address. Instructions for determining a MAC address are in this document's Appendix B. Create the provision profile by the following steps: Step 1 Select MAC-Specific Provision Roles Select either the MAC-Specific Provisioning link on LinMin's Main Menu page or the navigation bar's MAC- Specific Provisioning link and choose MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles from the drop down box. LinMin opens the MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles page, shown below, where several profiles have been created. MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles Page Step 2 Create a MAC-Specific provisioning role On MAC-Specific Provisioning Roles page, click the Add MAC-Specific button. Step 3 Enter the profile Information LinMin opens the Profile Edit page shown below: Copyright LinMin Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 115