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Automating Linux Installations at CERN

Automating Linux Installations at CERN. G. Cancio, L. Cons, P. Defert, M. Olive, I. Reguero, C. Rossi IT/PDP, CERN presented by G. Cancio. Agenda. Linux at CERN Automating installations Kickstart usage: Architecture, configuration, problems Work to be done. Linux at CERN.

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Automating Linux Installations at CERN

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  1. Automating Linux Installations at CERN G. Cancio, L. Cons, P. Defert, M. Olive, I. Reguero, C. Rossi IT/PDP, CERN presented by G. Cancio

  2. Agenda • Linux at CERN • Automating installations • Kickstart usage: Architecture, configuration, problems • Work to be done

  3. Linux at CERN • Currently, ~ 1000 PC’s running Linux on the site • most of them farm nodes in the Computer Centre • Now: increase of 50-100 per month • Tomorrow: several thousands PC’s • How to manage their installation / reinstallation/ upgrade? • Manual installation takes ~ 20 minutes per node, requiring human interaction

  4. Automating installations • Requirements for an automated installation procedure: • run unattended • allow parallel installations • scalable to new clients, and new OS releases • flexible configuration • customizable to specific needs • Examples: JumpStart, Ignite-UX, Kickstart • Examples:

  5. Kickstart Overview • Automated installation system provided by RedHat • Configuration file describes system setup for a machine • disk partitions, packages to install, mouse and keyboard setup etc… • May contain a post installation procedure • Configurations may be stored on.. • the installation diskette itself • NFS server using BOOTP

  6. Register machine in LANDB and BOOTP server put KS cfg file on NFS server load installer on target using floppy or ANIS(*) installer contacts BOOTP server and gets network info and KS config file mount install server, start main installation LANDB AFS Architecture update mirror BOOTP server NFS server linuxsoft: /ks/asis-w6 MAC address NFS mount (*)ANIS (=Automated Network Installation System): System for booting over the network an installation client Installation target (asis-w6)

  7. Configuration Example (I) # network setup network --bootproto static ---ip 1.2.3.4 \ --netmask 255.255.255.0 --gateway 1.2.1.1 \ --nameserver 1.2.1.2 # NFS install server to use nfs --server linuxsoft --dir /redhat/cern/6.1 # packages to install %packages @ CERN recommended setup

  8. Configuration Example(II) post installation after first reboot: %post (...) cat >/etc/rc.d/init.d/ks-post <<EOF #!/bin/sh -x (...) # install AFS via SUE /usr/sue/etc/sue.install afs (...) EOF

  9. Problems • Bugs (RH 6.1): • root password encryption not working • incorrect /etc/hosts generation • X config tool buggy • Other problems: • No low-level configuration for partitions (-> run fdisk in postinstall) • Command syntax changing

  10. Current status & limitations • More than 370 systems installed using Kickstart • RedHat releases available: 5.1, 6.0 and 6.1 Limitations: • Kickstart file writing is complex • Kickstart syntax changes • Chaos: how to manage 1000’s of configurations?

  11. Installation Management System We are developing a system for managing the installations Client side:User-friendly GUI front-end for defining setups • Templates for several Hardware configs and usage types • farm node, workstation, laptop.. • Configuration defaults • site defaults, group defaults, cluster defaults

  12. Installation Management System (II) • Configuration database stored centrally • reuse of configurations • same configuration for multiple installation targets • Flexibility • configuration data stored in intermediate format • reuse stored configurations for new Kickstart releases (.. or other installation systems) • Plugins for extending Kickstart functionality • ie. For site-specific installation options • implemented in the post-install section

  13. GUI prototype

  14. Contacts • CERN IT/PDP: http://wwwinfo.cern.ch/pdp • Linux at CERN: http://wwwinfo.cern.ch/dis/linux • Automated Network Installation System (ANIS): Christian.Boissat@cern.ch • Installation Management System: German.Cancio@cern.ch, Mark.Olive@cern.ch

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