adding commands to installer image

[Michael DeHaan]

On 08/04/2009 01:00 PM, Larry Brigman wrote:
> I have a need to run some standard commands during the kickstart
> install some during
> the pre script some after.
> These programs are not in the current installer images.  Is there a
> way to add custom
> programs or applications to the installer image?
>    

Are you doing network installs?

In which case, with EL 5 and later you can just add "repo" lines to 
attach yum repositories (you can also put these on the CD)
and then install that software in %packages, and then call it in %post.

Also the old "wget the RPM" trick can also work depending on the 
environment.

> Reasoning behind the request (so maybe someone can come up with a
> better method).
>
> 1) The systems that are being installed arrive with the time set to
> some local time that is unknown but we want it set
>     to UTC.  This needs to be set prior to installing any RPM packages
> as some of the post install creates files that
>     are timestamped in the future.
>    

Hmm, I see.   So you want to run ntp in %pre basically.

> 2) We have a vendor supplied tool that runs under Linux that allows us
> to set the BIOS and ipmi settings from a script.
>      We use bootloader settings that if the BIOS settings don't match
> it hangs in the Grub loader.
>
>    

A simple alternative might be to do a two-pass install.

You have one cobbler profile for the "setup" setups that installs ntp 
and the bios scripts and runs them in %post.

In %post, you run koan --replace-self to launch into the "second stage" 
install, run through Anaconda a seperate time, this time for the OS that 
you actually
are installing.

This could be done via cobbler system records to make sure each system 
got the right profile, even though they were installed off of a "stock" 
preparation
profile.

If you're not using Cobbler, yes, you'd want to crack open the initrd, I 
believe, and add things.  Perhaps someone else can offer a better 
suggestion.  However
the double-install thing would most defintely work with the stock initrd 
set.

> Both of the above happen enough that with our manufacturing process I
> would like to get these automated.
>
>
> Thanks for your time.
>
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