[et-mgmt-tools] Cobbler + %pre and %post in kickstart

[Jim Wildman]

On Thu, 2 Aug 2007, Michael DeHaan wrote:

>>  http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/format.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=gen&deviceid=4450&libid=36&releaseid=R158116&vercnt=4&formatcnt=0&SystemID=PWE_2950&servicetag=&os=LIN4&osl=en&catid=-1&impid=-1
>>
>>  I haven't tried using the RAID tools just yet, but it does seem
>>  feasible to shim it into kickstart.  I assume other hardware vendors
>>  have similar tools.
>> 
>
> Ironically, I used to write hardware RAID configuration software in a 
> previous life :)
>
> In theory, it should be possible to (a) retrieve the OEM command line tool in 
> %pre (wget?) and configure hardware RAID with it there (in %pre), so you 
> wouldn't have to rebuild the initrd just to add the raid tools.  Either way, 
> after running the RAID tool in %pre you will probably have to do something 
> like scsi-add-single to get Anaconda to see the new drives prior to 
> partitioning setup.   Linux does not generally discover new logical drives 
> without being told to look.   Your driver/RAID tool might vary though.
>
> I haven't really tried this to see if it would work, but I don't see why it 
> wouldn't.
>
> Obviously you are also going to need your drivers for the particular hardware 
> installed first, so you'll probably want to look into the "driverdisk" option 
> in kickstart if they
> are not enabled by default.   Using the shell (Control-Alt-F2?) is probably a 
> good idea to do this all manually the first time, to see what problems you 
> might encounter.  Possibly put a sleep in pre to give you some time to test 
> your commands within the boot environment and then write down what you need 
> to do.
>
> http://www.red-hat.com/docs/manuals/enterprise/RHEL-4-Manual/sysadmin-guide/s1-kickstart2-options.html
>

I can confirm it is possible to completely configure an HP Proliant (DL)
server including the RAID during a kickstart.  I've seen it configured 
and working, but for various reasons (politics, bah) we did not
implement it.  As I recall, it took 2 boot cycles, one for the box
config, then reboot and do the install, so that would get around the
drive detection issue.

Much like Dell there is a Proliant Deployment pack with all kinds of
goodies in it.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jim Wildman, CISSP, RHCE       jim at rossberry.com http://www.rossberry.com
"Society in every state is a blessing, but Government, even in its best
state, is a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one."
Thomas Paine