I am teaching a Linux class in my College degree program and would like to be able to have the students install Fedora Core 1 from the classroom server, which is also running Fedora Core 1 BTW. I have downloaded all the files from the Fedora Core project, turned on the pxe, tftp and dhcp servers and all are working fine. What other steps do I need to complete to make it possible to boot to the server and then do a network install. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

Scott Adams
Computer Network Instructor
SEARK College
Piune Bluff, Arkansas

hi,

for network installation check the following links:
http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/l...stall-net.html
http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/l...stall-nfs.html
http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/l...stall-ftp.html
http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/l...tall-http.html

This may sound weird, and my apologies if im wrong.. you must get this alot..

But is this the same "Scott Adams" i'm thinking of? =))

Beyond what kostason posted, is your hardware all identical? Then the easiest way to do a network install is to use nfs and kickstart. If your hardware is indetical, do a manual install from CD on a reference machine. You could even make this the nfs server. At the end of the install, there will be an "anaconda-ks.cfg" file in root's home folder that you can edit. Edit the first two lines to something like:

install
nfs --server=IPADDR --dir=/location/of/disk/space

The "dir" should point to where you copied the redhat (or fedora!) cdrom files per the instructions in

http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/l...stall-net.html

This needs to be exported via nfs. The IPADDR is the address of the nfs server hosting the exported directory.

To make this completely automatic, add the --resolvedeps switch to the %packages line in your kickstart file:

%packages --resolve deps

Copy the edited anaconda-ks.cfg file to /location/of/disk/space/ks.cfg

To do the network installation -- btw, pxe, tftp, and dhcp are all irrelevant here -- burn the boot.iso that you can find in the images directory of the first cd to create a bootable cd. Use this CD on the machine you want to install to. Boot up, and at the "boot:" prompt, enter:

boot: linux ks=nfs:IPADDR:/location/of/disk/space/ks.cfg

If all goes well, you get a fully unattended installation from the nfs server.

I finally got everything working. Just for anyone else's information this is the setup:

Server running Fedora Core 3
copied the files to a directory with an NFS share
got DHCP up and running
setup PXE so that it has a menu with selections for local boot, linux, and windows
when linux is selected it runs small program that basically acts like it is the cdrom
when asked, in the installation, where to install from we use NFS and point to the server.

Works like a charm and we have done several dozen installs from this method, I highly recommend this method for those that have to do a lot of installs/reinstalls of linux, such as a school lab, meeting area, library, etc.

Hope this helps.


P.S. I used a program called Unattended to do the same thing with Windows XP (YUCH, YUCH, YUCH, must go home and wash my mouth out with beer), have to have both in my environment.

Oh, and for the person that asked I am probably not the Scott Adams you are thinking of, I did not create Dilbert nor did I write any of the AdventureLand games back in the 80's (I did write other software back then just not games)

hello i lost you in "copied the files to a directory with an NFS share" i really don't know if i'm doing that rigth. i get a ip addres but rigth after that (PXE-E53 "No boot filename received")