Best way to install a preconfigured Server OS repeatedly, Remotely.
 

So my manager, always scheming for new ways to make money, has come to me about his latest idea. He wants me to start installing vicidial server software remotely for a fee. For anyone not familiar with vicidial, here are the install instructions... http://wiki.vicidial.org/index.php/VICI:UbuntuInstall

...yeah. So if at all possible, I'd like to be able to simply install a preconfigured Linux OS+vicidial remotely over the internet. I've been investigating iPXE and other options. I need to keep the amount of techincal involvement of the end user to a minimum, since many of our clientele will be in other countries, with poor english and technical comprehension.

So if any of you have any ideas of how I can best go about this, I would deeply appreciate it. I'm just a lowly PC tech, but my boss thinks I'm a pc goddess who can do anything @_@

I would do it this way:
1. Create a default installation, including the server software and anything else that should be in the deployed OS, configured to your needs.
2. Make a tar-ball from that installation, compressed to keep download times as short as possible and put it on a fileserver that is reachable from the Internet.
3. Create a custom minimal Linux system that act as installer for the server system:
-- Configure the client's system: create, format and mount the needed partitions.
-- Configure network access.
-- Download and extract the tar-ball to the system.
-- Chroot into the extracted system for installing a boot loader.

I would use Slitaz for creating the installer system, it is very small and comes with a number of tools for customization, which make that task much easier.

I think I'd use virtual machines. I doubt there is a best way.

Ipxe is pretty neat. I have used it often. See netboot.me for some examples. It would be sort of easy to get a small OS loaded but larger ones on slow connections may be a very time consuming way.

Can you send them USB keys?

use the centOS6.4 "netinstall" for a min. headless install

Alright thank you for you're replies! Regarding the centos netinstall, is it possible to make a install.img that already has the vicidial installation done to it? How would I make that image? I am still kind of a noobie to Linux, I've dabbled with it over the years but now I need to take it more seriously for this job.

As for USB sticks, it is a possibility. It would be nice if I could just ghost a drive image onto it, and let them boot off the USB stick directly. I could make a small disk partition and install linux inside it, then ghost the partition to a usb key, right? or am I dreaming?

Just a few things scanning some of that install:

Ubuntu VICIDIAL Install: Updated 2011-22-04

If you are going to use Ubuntu, you had better be looking at current LTS.

Each version of the OS changes some so you had better test, test and more test.

this install talks about asterisk 1.4 which is pretty dead this year I think. Asterisk 1.8 and 10 are pretty current and 11 should be looked at.

You don't say if this call center setup is for inbound or outbound calls or both.

Quality is very important here.

Quality of service, quality of circuits, quality of service and support (like 24/7 not use email)

What countries are you talking about? Again goes to circuits.

Asterisk has to be scaled according to the number users and calls.

Not trying to pop your bubble here, just that I have been there and done that.

Just my :twocents:

Did you get the solution?
 

Hi Lorelei,

Did you get the solution for vicidial remote installation. I think I am in the similar situation.

If you found the solution and executed it. Please let me know.

ghosting is easy !
simply create a dd image of that OS including vicidial server and all you need ,then clone firsts 512 B onto a separate iso file ( that would be the MBR) dd if=/dev/source_drive bs=512 count=1 MBR.iso
Alter a live OS to autostart a script that simply create a new partition equal as image source , dd back that image onto newly created partition ,and dd MBR.iso onto /dev/sdX to prezerve the boot

clone that newly created live OS onto USB drives and spread them out

Main problem would be that dd is cloning ENTIRE partition including free space , which takes time.