Cobbler and yum in RHEL 4.6

https://linux-old.xvx.cz/2009/06/cobbler-and-yum-in-rhel-46/

Look at small how-to install cobbler with yum on RHEL 4.6 from scratch.

Install RHEL 4.6 or CentOS 4.6 with default partitioning and custom installation (unselect all possible packages during installation procedure). Disable firewall and SELinux.

• Enable DVD repository by changing the line in /etc/yum.repos.d/CentOS-Media.repo:

  enabled=1
  

• Install yum:

  mount /media/cdrom
  

• Download packages and install them:

  mkdir /var/tmp/cobbler-4.6
  cd /var/tmp/cobbler-4.6 || exit
  

  rpm -i ./python-elementtree-1.2.6-5.el4.centos.x86_64.rpm \
    ./python-urlgrabber-2.9.8-2.noarch.rpm ./sqlite-3.3.6-2.x86_64.rpm \
    ./python-sqlite-1.1.7-1.2.1.x86_64.rpm \
    ./yum-metadata-parser-1.0-8.el4.centos.x86_64.rpm \
    ./centos-yumconf-4-4.5.noarch.rpm \
    ./yum-2.4.3-4.el4.centos.noarch.rpm \
    ./createrepo-0.4.4-2.noarch.rpm
  

  yum clean all
  mkdir /var/tmp/rhel4_repo/
  ln -s /media/cdrom/RedHat/RPMS/ /var/tmp/rhel4_repo/RPMS
  createrepo /var/tmp/rhel4_repo/
  cat > /etc/yum.repos.d/RHEL-4.6-Media.repo << +
  [rhel4-media]
  name=RHEL4 - Media
  baseurl=file:///var/tmp/rhel4_repo/
  gpgcheck=0
  enabled=1
  +
  
  createrepo /var/tmp/cobbler-4.6/
  cat >> /etc/yum.repos.d/my.repo << +
  [my-repo]
  name=My Repository
  baseurl=file:///var/tmp/cobbler-4.6/
  gpgcheck=0
  enabled=1
  +
  

• Install necessary software from DVD:

  mv /etc/yum.repos.d/CentOS-Base.repo /etc/yum.repos.d/CentOS-Base.repo.orig
  
  yum -y install wget mc
  yum -y install httpd tftp-server mod_python python-devel createrepo rsync mkisofs
  yum -y install perl-Digest-SHA1 perl-Digest-HMAC perl-Socket6 perl-Time-HiRes sysstat perl-libwww-perl
  yum -y install libart_lgpl freetype libpng
  yum -y install logrotate perl-DateManip
  yum -y install cman
  yum -y install dhcp bind
  yum -y install memtest86+
  
  yum -y install cobbler
  yum -y install munin munin-node php-ldap
  chkconfig munin-node on
  yum -y install yum-utils
  yum -y install syslinux
  

• Disable firewall (just for sure):

  chkconfig --level 2345 iptables off
  service iptables stop
  

• Change line in /etc/cobbler/settings to match the IP of the server:

  default_password_crypted: "$1$pH3........0B2HB/"
  default_name_servers: [192.168.0.129]
  manage_dhcp: 1
  manage_dns: 1
  manage_forward_zones: [my.domain.cz]
  manage_reverse_zones: [192.168.0]
  next_server: 192.168.0.129
  pxe_just_once: 1
  server: 192.168.0.129
  register_new_installs: 0
  xmlrpc_rw_enable: 1
  

• Start cobbler and apache daemon:

  /etc/init.d/cobblerd start
  /etc/init.d/httpd start
  chkconfig httpd on
  

• Change ‘disable’ to ‘no’ in /etc/xinetd.d/tftp:

  disable                 = yes
  

Cobbler/DHCPd/bind configuration

• Change listening interface for dhcpd in /etc/sysconfig/dhcpd:

  DHCPDARGS=eth0;
  

• Modify file /etc/cobbler/dhcp.template according your needs:

  subnet 192.168.0.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 {
       option routers             10.226.23.1;
       option domain-name         "my.domain.cz";
       option domain-name-servers 192.168.0.129;
       option subnet-mask         255.255.255.0;
       range dynamic-bootp        192.168.0.200 192.168.0.254;
       filename                   "/pxelinux.0";
       default-lease-time         21600;
       max-lease-time             43200;
       next-server                $next_server;
  }
  

• Modify /etc/cobbler/named.template like:

  options {
  ...
  #          listen-on port 53 { 127.0.0.1; };
  ...
  #          allow-query     { localhost; };
             forwarders { 10.226.32.44; };
  ...
  };
  

  cobbler sync
  service xinetd restart
  chkconfig dhcpd on
  chkconfig named on
  

• Now you should run:

  cobbler check
  

• and see something like that:

  [root@c2virtud tmp]# cobbler check
  No setup problems found
  Manual review and editing of /var/lib/cobbler/settings is recommended to tailor cobbler to your particular configuration.
  

Cobbler repository+ installation

  cobbler import --name=RHEL4.6-x86_64-AS --mirror=/media/cdrom/
  cobbler repo add --mirror=/var/tmp/cobbler-4.6/ --name=my-repo

  cobbler reposync
  cobbler image add --name=Memtest86+-1.26 --file=/tftpboot/memtest86+-1.26 --image-type=direct
  cobbler profile copy --name=RHEL4.6-AS-x86_64 --newname=NGP_RHEL4.6-AS-x86_64
  cobbler profile copy --name=rescue-RHEL4.6-AS-x86_64 --newname=NGP_rescue-RHEL4.6-AS-x86_64
  cobbler profile edit --name=NGP_RHEL4.6-AS-x86_64 --repos="my-repo"
  cobbler profile edit --name=NGP_rescue-RHEL4.6-AS-x86_64 --repos="my-repo"
  cobbler sync

• Edit /etc/yum.repos.d/RHEL-4.6-Media.repo and change one line like:

  baseurl=file:///var/www/cobbler/ks_mirror/RHEL4.6-x86_64-AS/RedHat
  

• Then run:

  yum clean all
  

PXE configuration

• Make this the first line of /etc/cobbler/pxe/pxedefault.template, pxeprofile.template, pxesystem.template to enable serial connection:

  SERIAL 0 115200
  

Cobbler WebUI

• Set root password for web access:

  htdigest /etc/cobbler/users.digest "Cobbler" root
  

• Change line in /etc/cobbler/modules.conf:

  module = authn_configfile
  

  service cobblerd restart
  service httpd restart
  

Cobbler host specification

cobbler system add --comment="c3virt01ce01 machine" --name=c3virt01ce01 --hostname=c3virt01ce01 --netboot-enabled=1 --profile=NGP_RHEL4.6-AS-x86_64 --name-servers=192.168.0.129 --static=0 --kickstart=/var/lib/cobbler/kickstarts/legacy.ks
cobbler system edit --name c3virt01ce01 --interface=eth0 --mac=00:0c:29:68:78:96 --ip=192.168.0.10 --netmask=255.255.255.0 --static=1 --dns-name=c3virt01ce01.my.domain.cz
cobbler system edit --name c3virt01ce01 --interface=eth1 --mac=00:0c:29:68:78:b4 --ip=192.168.1.10 --netmask=255.255.255.0 --static=1
cobbler system edit --name c3virt01ce01 --interface=eth2 --mac=00:0c:29:68:78:aa --ip=192.168.2.10 --netmask=255.255.255.0 --static=1
cobbler system edit --name c3virt01ce01 --interface=eth3 --mac=00:0c:29:68:78:be --static=0

cobbler sync

Hope it will be possible to use PXE boot to install machines.