[opensuse-factory] Feedback on the Yast installserver module
Stano asked for feedback on the Yast autoinstal module. Her it goes. I don't get it. It sets up a ftp/http/nfs share and that's it. I don't get any documentation except for the help buttons in the module and those does not give out much. In the normal "Help" function on the start menu there is nothing except standard KDE information.( in khelpcenter) Going in to yast i find the two SUSE documentation modules and add those susehelp_en-2007.08.22-80.46 and susehelp-2007.08.22-80.46. Should not those be installed by default? There were no susehelp modules installed. But still no suse help in khelpcenter even after restarting the app. No new items to index. now checking the/usr/share/doc/packages/susehelp/README. Adds Apache and folow "How to start: just point your browser to http://localhost/susehelp/" and gets a 404.... No information on how it's ment to be used on the booting client is given in the yast module. Do I need a boot disk? If so , then there definately should be a wizzard assisting with that. It definately does not set up a network boot as I was expecting. there is no atftp or tftp server set up. I would like to "Press F12 for network boot" and install from there. We use this at work in conjunction with autoyast and it's fabulous. but horribly hard to set up and maintain. I also checked in on the Autoyast yast module. That does still not set up anything but the autoyast file as far as I could find out. It does not have any tftp integration and no integration with the installserver as far as I can see. Sorry that I did not test teis earlier and I do not think it looks usable for anyone but hardcore users. Birger -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-factory+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse-factory+help@opensuse.org
Hi Birger! On Thursday 18 December 2008 21:57:52 Birger Kollstrand wrote:
Stano asked for feedback on the Yast autoinstal module.
Thanks a lot for feedback and sorry for a late reply.
Her it goes.
I don't get it. It sets up a ftp/http/nfs share and that's it. I don't get any documentation except for the help buttons in the module and those does not give out much. In the normal "Help" function on the start menu there is nothing except standard KDE information.( in khelpcenter)
Yes, the documentation about whole 'story' is not available AFAIK.
Going in to yast i find the two SUSE documentation modules and add those susehelp_en-2007.08.22-80.46 and susehelp-2007.08.22-80.46. Should not those be installed by default? There were no susehelp modules installed.
But still no suse help in khelpcenter even after restarting the app. No new items to index.
now checking the/usr/share/doc/packages/susehelp/README. Adds Apache and folow "How to start: just point your browser to http://localhost/susehelp/" and gets a 404....
No information on how it's ment to be used on the booting client is given in the yast module. Do I need a boot disk? If so , then there definately should be a wizzard assisting with that.
Yes. This a problem, as YaST modules are tools to do something. But network installation is not a trivial task - there are several questions you need to ask yourself (netinstall CD vs. PXE?, normal install vs. autoinstall?, ...)
It definately does not set up a network boot as I was expecting. there is no atftp or tftp server set up. I would like to "Press F12 for network boot" and install from there. We use this at work in conjunction with autoyast and it's fabulous. but horribly hard to set up and maintain.
Yes. The module is designed to work with netinstall CDs, not PXE. But it seems you expect PXE setup to be provided as well.
I also checked in on the Autoyast yast module. That does still not set up anything but the autoyast file as far as I could find out. It does not have any tftp integration and no integration with the installserver as far as I can see.
Sorry that I did not test teis earlier and I do not think it looks usable for anyone but hardcore users.
Yes. Deploying a system from an internal server is an admin action that is rather expert in my POV. It requires planning, knowing a bunch of technologies, how the installation works etc. Still, I see your point of no single start point. But I'm afraid the correct one is documentation - something we should improve somehow. Stano -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-factory+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse-factory+help@opensuse.org
2009/1/6, Stanislav Visnovsky <visnov@suse.cz>:
Hi Birger!
On Thursday 18 December 2008 21:57:52 Birger Kollstrand wrote:
Stano asked for feedback on the Yast autoinstal module.
Thanks a lot for feedback and sorry for a late reply.
Her it goes.
I don't get it. It sets up a ftp/http/nfs share and that's it. I don't get any documentation except for the help buttons in the module and those does not give out much. In the normal "Help" function on the start menu there is nothing except standard KDE information.( in khelpcenter)
Yes, the documentation about whole 'story' is not available AFAIK.
Going in to yast i find the two SUSE documentation modules and add those susehelp_en-2007.08.22-80.46 and susehelp-2007.08.22-80.46. Should not those be installed by default? There were no susehelp modules installed.
But still no suse help in khelpcenter even after restarting the app. No new items to index.
now checking the/usr/share/doc/packages/susehelp/README. Adds Apache and folow "How to start: just point your browser to http://localhost/susehelp/" and gets a 404....
No information on how it's ment to be used on the booting client is given in the yast module. Do I need a boot disk? If so , then there definately should be a wizzard assisting with that.
Yes. This a problem, as YaST modules are tools to do something. But network installation is not a trivial task - there are several questions you need to ask yourself (netinstall CD vs. PXE?, normal install vs. autoinstall?, ...)
It definately does not set up a network boot as I was expecting. there is no atftp or tftp server set up. I would like to "Press F12 for network boot" and install from there. We use this at work in conjunction with autoyast and it's fabulous. but horribly hard to set up and maintain.
Yes. The module is designed to work with netinstall CDs, not PXE. But it seems you expect PXE setup to be provided as well.
I also checked in on the Autoyast yast module. That does still not set up anything but the autoyast file as far as I could find out. It does not have any tftp integration and no integration with the installserver as far as I can see.
Sorry that I did not test teis earlier and I do not think it looks usable for anyone but hardcore users.
Yes. Deploying a system from an internal server is an admin action that is rather expert in my POV. It requires planning, knowing a bunch of technologies, how the installation works etc.
Still, I see your point of no single start point. But I'm afraid the correct one is documentation - something we should improve somehow.
Stano
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Oops , Sorry for the previous answer. I messed up. Thanks for answering. Please feel free to use me both as a tester and a consultant for how it might work in my "ideal" world :-) (If Python can be used, then I could try to code also, but... my skills are limited) Is there any possibilities to get som updates to this in to 11.2? Can I write some doc's and if so, where would I start? Regards Birger 2009/1/6, Stanislav Visnovsky <visnov@suse.cz>:
Hi Birger!
On Thursday 18 December 2008 21:57:52 Birger Kollstrand wrote:
Stano asked for feedback on the Yast autoinstal module.
Thanks a lot for feedback and sorry for a late reply.
Her it goes.
I don't get it. It sets up a ftp/http/nfs share and that's it. I don't get any documentation except for the help buttons in the module and those does not give out much. In the normal "Help" function on the start menu there is nothing except standard KDE information.( in khelpcenter)
Yes, the documentation about whole 'story' is not available AFAIK.
Going in to yast i find the two SUSE documentation modules and add those susehelp_en-2007.08.22-80.46 and susehelp-2007.08.22-80.46. Should not those be installed by default? There were no susehelp modules installed.
But still no suse help in khelpcenter even after restarting the app. No new items to index.
now checking the/usr/share/doc/packages/susehelp/README. Adds Apache and folow "How to start: just point your browser to http://localhost/susehelp/" and gets a 404....
No information on how it's ment to be used on the booting client is given in the yast module. Do I need a boot disk? If so , then there definately should be a wizzard assisting with that.
Yes. This a problem, as YaST modules are tools to do something. But network installation is not a trivial task - there are several questions you need to ask yourself (netinstall CD vs. PXE?, normal install vs. autoinstall?, ...)
It definately does not set up a network boot as I was expecting. there is no atftp or tftp server set up. I would like to "Press F12 for network boot" and install from there. We use this at work in conjunction with autoyast and it's fabulous. but horribly hard to set up and maintain.
Yes. The module is designed to work with netinstall CDs, not PXE. But it seems you expect PXE setup to be provided as well.
I also checked in on the Autoyast yast module. That does still not set up anything but the autoyast file as far as I could find out. It does not have any tftp integration and no integration with the installserver as far as I can see.
Sorry that I did not test teis earlier and I do not think it looks usable for anyone but hardcore users.
Yes. Deploying a system from an internal server is an admin action that is rather expert in my POV. It requires planning, knowing a bunch of technologies, how the installation works etc.
Still, I see your point of no single start point. But I'm afraid the correct one is documentation - something we should improve somehow.
Stano
-- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-factory+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse-factory+help@opensuse.org
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Birger Kollstrand wrote:
Oops ,
Sorry for the previous answer. I messed up.
Thanks for answering.
Please feel free to use me both as a tester and a consultant for how it might work in my "ideal" world :-) (If Python can be used, then I could try to code also, but... my skills are limited)
Is there any possibilities to get som updates to this in to 11.2?
Can I write some doc's and if so, where would I start?
Regards Birger
I had to setup a PXE server and planned to blog about the steps. However in the wiki there is already some documentation: http://en.opensuse.org/SDB:Network_Installation_of_SuSE_Linux_via_PXE_Boot http://en.opensuse.org/Pxe-kexec http://en.opensuse.org/PXE_Diskless_Node http://en.opensuse.org/Network_Installation_Source (not PXE specific) Duncan -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-factory+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse-factory+help@opensuse.org
2009/1/7 Duncan Mac-Vicar Prett <dmacvicar@suse.de>:
I had to setup a PXE server and planned to blog about the steps.
However in the wiki there is already some documentation: http://en.opensuse.org/SDB:Network_Installation_of_SuSE_Linux_via_PXE_Boot http://en.opensuse.org/Pxe-kexec http://en.opensuse.org/PXE_Diskless_Node http://en.opensuse.org/Network_Installation_Source (not PXE specific)
Duncan
I'm also in the process of setting up a new configuration and has been using different sources. I also discoverd that some packages in openSUSE was a bit old regarding PXE boot. When I have gotten a better grip of the new menu possibiliities in the pxe boot menu config then I'l see if i manage to update the Network_Installation_of_SuSE_Linux_via_PXE_Boot article that I found quite usefull. I have been trying to set this up on a virtual maschine image and the Idea was that I could share that. But I have been stuck with loads of problems with Xen and have started using the Virtualbox in stead. My ida was to make an autoyast file that could be used to se up a complete virtual boot server :-) Kind of recursive setup :-) I'll se where it leads me. cu / birger.... -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-factory+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse-factory+help@opensuse.org
Hello! Birger Kollstrand wrote:
I don't get it. It sets up a ftp/http/nfs share and that's it.
Yes, the functionality is very basic, it sets up a selected network service and copies CDs/ISOs to the shared directory. A small add-on in SLP service configuration.
No information on how it's ment to be used on the booting client is given in the yast module. Do I need a boot disk? If so , then there definately should be a wizzard assisting with that.
You need to boot the target machines via different mechanism (mini-ISO, USB flash, local HDD, PXE...) and and use the install server as a package source.
It definately does not set up a network boot as I was expecting. there is no atftp or tftp server set up. I would like to "Press F12 for network boot" and install from there. We use this at work in conjunction with autoyast and it's fabulous. but horribly hard to set up and maintain.
That's true :-(
Sorry that I did not test teis earlier and I do not think it looks usable for anyone but hardcore users.
That's because to set up an installation server is complex and the configuration also depends on the target machines (special boot parameters like vga=???). Autoyast installation makes the config even more complicated. We should find a compromise between simple but limited PXE config and generic but hard to use (and implement) approach. Currently there is "Announce as Installation Service with SLP" check box. I could add a new check box "Add to PXE boot config" there. In short, these steps are required to setup the boot server: - install needed packages (tftp, syslinux) - configure tftp service and start it (yast2-tftp-server package can be reused here) - copy PXELINUX to /tftpboot dir - create initial PXELINUX config file (Yast should check if the boot server has been already set up and should not change it in that case.) These steps are needed when a new product is added - copy the kernel and initrd from CD/ISO to /tftpboot (there might be more kernels available, ask user which should be added?) - add a new boot entry to PXELINUX config (with possibility to edit the kernel command line) The PXELINUX config must be updated when - a product is renamed (different path in the installation URL) - the network service is changed (e.g. from NFS to FTP install server) It looks not too hard to implement it yast instserver (I think that the PXELINUX config update will be the most problematic part). Any comments/ideas? -- Best Regards Ladislav Slezák Yast Developer ------------------------------------------------------------------------ SUSE LINUX, s.r.o. e-mail: lslezak@suse.cz Lihovarská 1060/12 tel: +420 284 028 960 190 00 Prague 9 fax: +420 284 028 951 Czech Republic http://www.suse.cz/ -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-factory+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse-factory+help@opensuse.org
2009/1/7 Ladislav Slezak <lslezak@suse.cz>:
Yes, the functionality is very basic, it sets up a selected network service and copies CDs/ISOs to the shared directory. Small and good! I'm using that in my "beta" autoinstall system now.
A small add-on in SLP service configuration. That's because to set up an installation server is complex and the configuration also depends on the target machines (special boot parameters like vga=???). Autoyast installation makes the config even more complicated.
Well yeas and now. It's actually quite easy to make a network boot with autoyast if someone has prepared that autoyast file in advance. What I was thinking of as an idea was to distribute autoyast files that matches a machien config. Ie. an EE901 has a downloaodable autoyast file, a Acer A110 another and so on. Then another medium skilled user can easily install a tested openSUSE config really fast. (and maybe even new users if the install server can be distributed in a image :-) )
We should find a compromise between simple but limited PXE config and generic but hard to use (and implement) approach. Yes! Keep it simple! (as possible...)
Currently there is "Announce as Installation Service with SLP" check box. I could add a new check box "Add to PXE boot config" there. Great!!
In short, these steps are required to setup the boot server: - install needed packages (tftp, syslinux) - configure tftp service and start it (yast2-tftp-server package can be reused here) - copy PXELINUX to /tftpboot dir - create initial PXELINUX config file Yes , that looks good. But should not the tftpboot directory be placed in /srv/tftpboot? I do find it inconsistent to have it on the root. My local config is placed on /srv. Also the DHCP should add the nextserv parameter (if the DHCP is on the same host)
(Yast should check if the boot server has been already set up and should not change it in that case.) Agreed.
These steps are needed when a new product is added - copy the kernel and initrd from CD/ISO to /tftpboot (there might be more kernels available, ask user which should be added?) - add a new boot entry to PXELINUX config (with possibility to edit the kernel command line) each new product should have a separate directory in the tftpboot dir to avoid having to rename the kernels as that is confusing
The PXELINUX config must be updated when - a product is renamed (different path in the installation URL) - the network service is changed (e.g. from NFS to FTP install server) Agreed. And if the autoyast file is updated :-)
It looks not too hard to implement it yast instserver (I think that the PXELINUX config update will be the most problematic part).
Any comments/ideas?
It would be good also to add (or atleast think of ) adding a structured storage for the autoyast files. My current setup places them in /srv/ftp/distros/autoyast This location could then also be set as default storage location in the autoyast editor. cu / birger.... -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-factory+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse-factory+help@opensuse.org
participants (4)
-
Birger Kollstrand -
Duncan Mac-Vicar Prett -
Ladislav Slezak -
Stanislav Visnovsky