[cobbler] Can deploy Ubuntu using a kickstart file rather than a preseed?

alastair at alastair-munro.com alastair at alastair-munro.com
Thu Sep 25 18:56:43 UTC 2014


Debian/ubuntu uses debian installer. All lines start d-i. See this that 
I wrote:

https://github.com/cobbler/cobbler/wiki/Using%20template%20scripts%20for%20Debian%20and%20Ubuntu%20seeds

Use the cobbler sample.seed and then replace the pre and post seed files 
with your own, with embedded snippets.

I have not played round with lvm or partitioning on ubuntu/debian, but I 
was able to use all the snippets I wrote for centos with ubuntu (with 
some slight tweaks). These snippets are now multi platform!

The ubuntu guides tell you about debian installer and what the various 
lines do. I didn't have to tweak the sample.seed much.

Alastair

On 2014-09-25 16:39, Will Dennis wrote:
> Hi all,
> 
> Went looking for an automated way to install a bunch of Ubuntu (14.04)
> nodes I had to bring up, and happily found that Ubuntu now supports
> Kickstart (albeit in a non-complete way...)
> 
> https://help.ubuntu.com/14.04/installation-guide/amd64/ch04s06.html#kickstart
> [1]
> 
> https://help.ubuntu.com/community/KickstartCompatibility [2]
> 
> I created a USB installer, and authored a kickstart file (via the
> Ubuntu app "system-config-kickstart"), placed it in the root of the
> USB key, and then in /syslinux/txt.cfg I added "ks=cdrom:/ks.cfg" to
> the end of the "append" line for the default install. Booted my test
> node from the USB key, and the kickstart worked like a champ.
> 
> Now, since I've been using Cobbler to install RedHat-family nodes, I
> thought I'd try to add a Ubuntu OS choice. So I added the install ISO
> to Cobbler via the 'cobbler import' command, and also did a 'cobbler
> reposync' to add the local repo. Tried PXE-booting my test node, my
> Ubuntu 14.04 OS choice shows up in the menu, and can be installed (but
> for some reason stops at the "Partition disks" setup screen...)
> 
> When I checked out the "kickstart" file for the profile, I was
> surprised to find that it was actually a Debian preseed file instead
> of a kickstart... Since I don't understand preseed files, and wanted
> to use my (working) kickstart file, I imported my kickstart file into
> /var/lib/cobbler/kickstarts and then made a copy of the Ubuntu 14.04
> profile, and changed the kickstart file to be mine instead of
> "sample.seed". Upon PXE booting the test node and selecting my new
> profile, it errored out with the following message:
> 
> "The installer failed to process the preconfiguration file from
> http://<cobbler-svr-ip>/cblr/svc/op/ks/profile/<profile_name [3]>. The
> file may be corrupt."
> 
> So, is there a way to support using kickstart files against Ubuntu
> nodes, instead of preseed files? If so, any docs anywhere?
> 
> Also, is there a way to search the list archives (such as Gmane, etc.)
> for keywords such as "Ubuntu kickstart" - I'm sure this has been
> discussed before on the list, but couldn't (quickly) find anything...
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Will
> 
> 
> 
> Links:
> ------
> [1]
> https://help.ubuntu.com/14.04/installation-guide/amd64/ch04s06.html#kickstart
> [2] https://help.ubuntu.com/community/KickstartCompatibility
> [3] http://%3ccobbler-svr-ip%3e/cblr/svc/op/ks/profile/%3cprofile_name
> 
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