How to update anaconda?

Tue Jan 4 21:24:51 UTC 2005

The problem I'm trying to solve is this. I am attempting a
kickstart-directed network installation with RHEL 3 EL update 3 on a Dell
2650 server. At the point when anaconda tries to get files from the server
by nfs, I get a dialog box with this message: "That directory could not be
mounted from the server." I click OK. Anaconda gives me another dialog to
set the server and path. I leave that just as it is and click OK. This
process happens anywhere from 2 to 10 times, but eventually anaconda finds
the directory and the installation continues. 

This, however, is not the problem I'm asking about. I think I know the
answer to this. What I don't know is how to implement the answer.

I believe the problem is related to this bug on bugzilla: <a
href="https://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=110036">
kickstart fails to get kickstartfile when using e1000 network driver </a>.
The reporter found a problem in the interaction between the e1000 driver and
anaconda. The final solution given in this bugzilla was a reference to this
web page: <a href="http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHEA-2004-518.html
<http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHEA-2004-518.html> "> Updated anaconda and
pump packages </a>.  The instructions were to download and install the
updated anaconda and pump packages.

My first question is what do I do next? Looking at
/usr/share/doc/anaconda-9.1.4.1/anaconda-release-notes.txt, it appears that
I need to put some updated files in a directory named RHupdates on my
repository. That leads to a whole host of new questions, that I'll enumerate
for my own thought process:

1.       What files go into RHupdates? How do I know which of the anaconda
files were updated? Can I just put all the files there that were installed
by the anaconda rpms?
2.       What is the structure of RHupdates? Do I put all the files directly
under RHupdates or do I maintain the same directory structure they enjoy
outside of RHupdates?
3.       Where do I put RHupdates? I tried putting it parallel to the RedHat
directory in my repository and I tried putting it directly under the RedHat
directory. I never got my installation to acknowledge the presence of the
RHupdates directory despite an afternoon of experimenting. 
4.       How do I tell anaconda to look for RHupdates? I tried the "updates"
directive listed in the command-line.txt file. Anaconda would ask if I
wanted to use fd0 or hda as the source of the updates. Again, I never got it
to acknowledge the presence of the RHupdates directory.
5.       When anaconda did ask me what source I wanted to use for updates,
it did so only after the round of questions and answers about the nfs
server. Will attempting to update anaconda this way even help? Do I need to
use a floppy disk to provide the updates? If so, I suppose I really will
need to know which files to use because of the space limitations of a
floppy. 
6.       Finally, does someone know of a source that would answer these
questions for me? I spent a couple of hours with Google but didn't come up
with anything definitive.

Thanks!

Andrew Robinson

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