User-interactivity in %pre

[Greg Morgan]

Martin Høy wrote:
> Hello,
> 
> I'm adapting FC3 to a rather large install-session at the
> Norwegian Meteorological Institute 
 >>>>>
(around 200 machines).
<<<<<<
> 
> I'm trying to create a %pre-script that does:
<snip>
> Any hints on how to read input (y/n) from the user and either
> proceed or abort the installation, are very much appreciated.

Do you have groups of computers that are the same?  For example we 
purchased 100 this year from same vendor at same time and same 
configuration; 50 next year and then 50 from another vendor.  As much as 
I like anaconda, you may be a candidate for new Stateless Linux 
configuration system.  I believe it was developed in the FC3 test 
releases so that it would be ready for FC3.  The idea is that you setup 
one server--the Stateless Linux server.  It will have a snapshot for 
each of your configuration groups--the Stateless Linux clients.  There 
would be three in my fictions example above.  Your machines would be 
"caching clients". There are options for creating knoppix style CDs or 
PXE boot diskless clients.  In the future you update the configuration 
of each of your client groups on the server.  When you are ready you 
give the go ahead and the clients update themselves.  As usual in a 
production setting, you may not have time to set this up now but it is 
worth a look during "free time".  The documentation is located here 
http://fedora.redhat.com/docs/stateless/.  I'd guess you would join the 
http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/ for now.  Here's a 
thread in that list 
http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2004-November/msg00233.html
and the original announcement 
http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2004-September/msg00575.html.

Greg Morgan