Adding an operating system installation

By building on the previous example of creating a local USB deployment of the default RAID configuration, the example in this topic adds the installation of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3 x64 to a deployment that is performed over a network.

This task requires you to have created an operating system repository and unattended answer file for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3 x64, as described in the sections Creating operating system repositories and Operating system answer files. This example uses the name rhel_53_x64 and the default answer file for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3 x64 provided by Linux Scripting Toolkit.
Because operating system installation files are not bundled on the bootable media, this example requires connectivity with a network share to place the PXE boot image on the network share as well. This process allows you to boot multiple servers from the same network share, making it easier to perform deployments for geographically distributed systems.
  1. Create a workflow that uses the default RAID configuration task and an operating system repository and answer file for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3 x64:
    1. From the main menu, select Workflows.
    2. From the Workflows menu, select Create.
    3. In the What's the name of the new workflow? field, enter default_raid_rhel5.
    4. In the pre-installation section of the workflow, select the RAID check box, and select the Default task from the list.
    5. Click Next to proceed to the OS install section.
    6. Select the operating system repository for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3 x64 from the Operating System repositories list.
    7. Select rhel5 from the OS unattended files list, and click Next
    8. Select the Skip this step check box for the Post-install section.
    9. Review your selections, and click Finish.
    The workflow is created and available in the Workflows list.
  2. Create a bootable media profile to deploy the new workflow:
    1. From the main menu, select Bootable Media Profile.
    2. From the Bootable Media Profile menu, select Create.
    3. In the What's the name of the new Boot Media Profile? enter network_default_raid_rhel53x64.
    4. From the Boot method list, select PXE.
    5. Click Next.
    6. From the Target system IP settings menu, select Configure network using a DHCP server, and click Next.
    7. From the Select the machine models panel, select the system models for deployment, and select the check box to check the updates repository for the UXSPs for the selected servers.
    8. Click Next to view the repository for the necessary UXSPs. If any are missing, acquire them.
    9. Review your selections, and if you are satisfied with them, click Create Boot Media.
    10. When prompted, enter the path to place the generated files to be used to boot from PXE.
    The boot media is created and ready for deployment.
  3. To complete the deployment, start the target system using the bootable media.
When the target system boots from the media:
  1. The RAID configuration runs:
    • If RAID is not already configured, a new RAID array is created and the system is rebooted. When the reboot occurs, ensure that the system returns to the boot media, either by specifying it in the boot order or by using F12 to set it in the boot menu.
    • If RAID is already configured, the RAID configuration task is skipped.
  2. The operating system installation task runs.