Recent changes to Custom_Node_Installation

Custom_Node_Installation modified by Lissa Valletta

Lissa Valletta — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 12:53:46 -0000

--- v21
+++ v22
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@

 The xCAT node installation process is best illustrated by the diagram in Figure 1.

- [[img src=xCAT_install_process.gif]] 
+[[img src=xCAT_install_process.gif]] 

 ### Network Boot

Custom_Node_Installation modified by Lissa Valletta

Lissa Valletta — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 12:52:06 -0000

--- v20
+++ v21
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{{:Howto Warning}} **Please note that this document was valid for xCAT 1 and is not completely correct for xCAT 2. It is posted here so that it can be updated and corrected, since this information is not otherwise available on the Wiki.**
+[[include ref=Howto_Warning]]
+
+
+ **Please note that this document was valid for xCAT 1 and is not completely correct for xCAT 2. It is posted here so that it can be updated and corrected, since this information is not otherwise available on the Wiki.**

 The purpose of this document is to describe the various methods to remotely install an OS with xCAT. This document assumes that xCAT 1.2.0 or later is installed and that your management server is configured. As noted above, many details may be incorrect for xCAT 2. 

@@ -20,7 +23,9 @@

 ## xCAT Installation Process

-The xCAT node installation process is best illustrated by the diagram in Figure 1. [[img src=xCAT_install_process.gif ]] 
+The xCAT node installation process is best illustrated by the diagram in Figure 1.
+
+ [[img src=xCAT_install_process.gif]] 

 ### Network Boot

Custom_Node_Installation modified by Craig Finch

Craig Finch — Mon, 23 Jun 2014 15:49:06 -0000

--- v19
+++ v20
@@ -323,9 +323,9 @@

 ### Kickstart and Autoyast Templates

-Define a template (.tmpl file) in $XCATROOT/share/xcat/install/OSVER/ARCH. The name of the template file will be the image type in the **nodetype** table. Sample files are located in $XCATROOT/share/xcat/install. 
-
-.tmpl files are standard [Kickstart](https://access.redhat.com/knowledge/docs/en-US/Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux/5/html/Installation_Guide/ch-kickstart2.html) and [Autoyast](http://doc.opensuse.org/projects/autoyast/) files. Please read [Kickstart](https://access.redhat.com/knowledge/docs/en-US/Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux/5/html/Installation_Guide/ch-kickstart2.html) and [Autoyast](http://doc.opensuse.org/projects/autoyast/) documentation for details. There are a few exceptions. 
+Define a custom template (.tmpl file) in INSTALLDIR/custom/install/OSVER. The name of the template file should be the same as the node profile in the **nodetype** table. Sample files are located in $XCATROOT/share/xcat/install. 
+
+Template files are standard [Kickstart](https://access.redhat.com/knowledge/docs/en-US/Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux/5/html/Installation_Guide/ch-kickstart2.html) and [Autoyast](http://doc.opensuse.org/projects/autoyast/) files. Please read [Kickstart](https://access.redhat.com/knowledge/docs/en-US/Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux/5/html/Installation_Guide/ch-kickstart2.html) and [Autoyast](http://doc.opensuse.org/projects/autoyast/) documentation for details. There are a few exceptions: 

   1. xCAT installation processing scripts can perform variable substitution replacing #VAR# tags in your .tmpl files with xCAT variables in $XCATROOT/etc/*.tab files. 
   2. xCAT post installation support is a very flexible unified system for node customization. The most important post installation script is updating the management servers boot flag for that node to prevent the node from installing over and over again. Use the post installation code included in the base templates.

Custom_Node_Installation modified by Craig Finch

Craig Finch — Mon, 23 Jun 2014 15:49:06 -0000

--- v18
+++ v19
@@ -154,13 +154,23 @@

 ### Post Install

-At the end of each installation method post installation scripts are run to customize the installation, then the node contacts the management node to change the bootloader configuration file to boot the local HD (nodeset noderange boot). 
-
-Post install in xCAT 1.2.0 has been completely rewritten. Gone is the very long unmanageable monolithic post install script. The new script is very small, it simply mounts xCAT from the management server and runs a single master script (postage) that uses a rules-based system to determine what collection of smaller manageable reusable scripts to run to customize the installation. 
-
-All of the post scripts are located in $XCATROOT/install/postscripts. Modifications to the core scripts or custom scripts should be placed in $XCATROOT/install/postscritps/custom. 
-
-The files $XCATROOT/etc/postscripts.tab and $XCATROOT/etc/postdeps.tab determine what scripts and in what order they get run. Rules and actions are formatted: 
+At the end of each installation method, post installation scripts are run to customize the installation. Then the node contacts the management node to change the bootloader configuration file to boot the local HD (nodeset noderange boot). 
+
+The post-install script simply mounts xCAT from the management server and runs a single master script (postage) that uses a rules-based system to determine what collection of smaller manageable reusable scripts to run to customize the installation. 
+
+All of the post scripts are located in 
+    
+    INSTALLDIR/postscripts
+
+. Modifications to the core scripts or custom scripts should be placed in 
+    
+    INSTALLDIR/postscripts/custom
+
+. The table **postsripts** determines what scripts are run and in what order they get run. Postscript rules and actions are defined in the file 
+    
+    /etc/xcat/postscripts.rules
+
+and are formatted: 

        RULE {
            script [args]
@@ -170,7 +180,7 @@
        }

-Rules are defined as VAR=REGEX. Where VAR may be any exported environmental variable, ALL, or NODERANGE (special, see below). 
+Rules are defined as VAR=REGEX where VAR may be any exported environmental variable, ALL, or NODERANGE (special, see below). 

 Regular expressions (REGEX or regex) are a powerful way to define a match. The Perl regex engine is used to parse the rules. Please do not confuse regex with shell expansion characters. E.g. compute* does NOT match anything starting with 'compute' as bash would. compute.* is the correct regex for a that match. man perlre for regex docs. (BTW, regex compute* matches 'comput' with 0 or more 'e's at the end.) 

@@ -182,7 +192,7 @@

 Scripts are run top-down multiples rules can match. 

-Nesting with () and operators and, or, and not are supported. 
+Nesting with () and operators _and_, _or_, and _not_ are supported. 

 The following VARs are exported by xCAT: 

@@ -279,7 +289,7 @@
     }

-The $XCATROOT/etc/postdeps.tab file is a little easier to understand. For each script you can define a list of scripts that must run first. It is not necessary to define all or any scripts. Post script dependencies are rarely used. Most users prefer to place them in the correct order in postscripts.tab for readability. 
+Most place postscripts in the correct order in postscripts.tab for readability. 

 ### Reboot

Custom_Node_Installation modified by Craig Finch

Craig Finch — Mon, 23 Jun 2014 15:49:05 -0000

--- v17
+++ v18
@@ -144,7 +144,7 @@

     INSTALLDIR/autoinst

-where INSTALLDIR is the **installdir** field in the **site** table, OSVER is the OS to be installed, and ARCH is the hardware architecture type. The name of the installation configuration is based on the resource group and node type defined in the **noderes** and **nodetype** tables. 
+where INSTALLDIR is the **installdir** field in the **site** table, OSVER is the OS to be installed, and ARCH is the hardware architecture type. The name of the installation configuration is based on the resource group and node type defined in the **noderes** and **nodetype** tables. These files are auto-generated from template files [ (described below)](#Kickstart_and_Autoyast_Templates_) when the **nodeset** command is run. 

 After the installation configuration file is parsed, installation begins installing from the installation sources:

Custom_Node_Installation modified by Craig Finch

Craig Finch — Mon, 23 Jun 2014 15:49:05 -0000

--- v16
+++ v17
@@ -313,7 +313,7 @@

 ### Kickstart and Autoyast Templates

-Define a template (.tmpl file) in $XCATROOT/install/OSVER/ARCH. The name of the template file will be the image type in $XCATROOT/etc/nodetype.tab. Sample files are located in $XCATROOT/install/OSVER/ARCH/base. When xCAT is looking for .tmpl files it will look in $XCATROOT/install/OSVER/ARCH before $XCATROOT/install/OSVER/ARCH/base. So feel free to use the base files as-is. WARNING: Do NOT modify the base files. xCAT updates will replace them. Files in $XCATROOT/install/OSVER/ARCH will be safe. 
+Define a template (.tmpl file) in $XCATROOT/share/xcat/install/OSVER/ARCH. The name of the template file will be the image type in the **nodetype** table. Sample files are located in $XCATROOT/share/xcat/install. 

 .tmpl files are standard [Kickstart](https://access.redhat.com/knowledge/docs/en-US/Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux/5/html/Installation_Guide/ch-kickstart2.html) and [Autoyast](http://doc.opensuse.org/projects/autoyast/) files. Please read [Kickstart](https://access.redhat.com/knowledge/docs/en-US/Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux/5/html/Installation_Guide/ch-kickstart2.html) and [Autoyast](http://doc.opensuse.org/projects/autoyast/) documentation for details. There are a few exceptions.

Custom_Node_Installation modified by Craig Finch

Craig Finch — Mon, 23 Jun 2014 15:49:03 -0000

--- v15
+++ v16
@@ -291,27 +291,25 @@

 ### Determining what to install on each node

-How does xCAT know what to put on each node? That is entirely up to you. All the files in $XCATROOT/etc play a part in the characteristics of the node namely noderes.tab, nodehm.tab, nodetype.tab. noderes.tab contains most of the information on where to install from and other common characteristics of each node. nodehm.tab also plays a role in how to install and other hardware related setup. nodetype.tab directly relates to the installation type and template that will be used for each node. 
-
-Use the command nodels to display what will be installed on each node. 
+How does xCAT know what to put on each node? That is entirely up to you. All the xCAT tables play a part in the characteristics of the node, namely **noderes**, **nodehm**, **nodetype**. **noderes** contains most of the information on where to install from and other common characteristics of each node. **nodehm** also plays a role in how to install and other hardware related setup. **nodetype** directly relates to the installation type and template that will be used for each node. 
+
+Use the command **lsdef** to display what will be installed on each node. 

 E.g. 

-    nodels node[1-4] install
+    lsdef node1

 Output: 

-    node1: suse81-x86-compute-s0
-    node2: sles8-x86_64-dev-opteron
-    node3: rhas21-ia64-compute-tiger
-    node4: sles8-ia64-compute-tiger2
-    
-
-In other words: 
-    
-    nodename: OS Version-Architecture-Template name (nodetype.tab)-Resource group (noderes.tab).
-    
+    arch=x86_64
+    currchain=boot
+    currstate=install centos54-x86_64-compute
+    groups=compute,all
+    ...
+    
+
+**currstate** shows that CentoOS 5.4 will be installed on an x86_64 architecture with profile _compute_. 

 ### Kickstart and Autoyast Templates

Custom_Node_Installation modified by Craig Finch

Craig Finch — Mon, 23 Jun 2014 15:49:03 -0000

--- v14
+++ v15
@@ -68,17 +68,13 @@

 ### Bootloader

-After the correct bootloader has been TFTP downloaded and executed the bootloader requests a node specific configuration file to tell the bootloader what to do. Usually it is to request a kernel and initrd image and boot or to exit the bootloader and boot the HD. 
-
-**Bootloader files assuming 
-    
-    $XCATROOT/etc/site.tab tftpdir
-
-field is 
+After the correct bootloader has been downloaded via TFTP and executed, the bootloader requests a node-specific configuration file to tell it what to do. Usually, the file tells the bootloader to request a kernel and initrd image and boot, or to exit the bootloader and boot from the HD. 
+
+The following are the bootloader files assuming the **tftpdir** field in the **site** table is 

     /tftpboot

-:**
+: 

 #### PXE

@@ -88,7 +84,7 @@

     /tftpboot/grub/nbgrub.nic

-where nic is defined in $XCATROOT/etc/nodehm.tab as eth0 
+where nic is defined in the **nodehm** table as **eth0**

 #### PXE64

@@ -104,7 +100,7 @@

     /tftpboot/filename

-(as defined in $XCATROOT/etc/nodehm.tab as file:filename) 
+(as defined in the **nodehm** table as **file:filename**) 

 **Bootloader configuration file locations:**

Custom_Node_Installation modified by Craig Finch

Craig Finch — Mon, 23 Jun 2014 15:49:02 -0000

--- v13
+++ v14
@@ -109,8 +109,10 @@
 **Bootloader configuration file locations:**

 #### PXE
-
-/tftpboot/pxelinux.cfg/filename. Where filename is the hex equivalent of the IP address of the node (e.g. 199.88.179.201 would be C758B3C9). If the node specific configuration file is missing then the file default is used to boot the local HD. 
+    
+    /tftpboot/pxelinux.cfg/FILENAME
+
+where FILENAME is the node name. A symbolic link is also created, the name of which is the hex equivalent of the IP address of the node (e.g. 199.88.179.201 would be C758B3C9). If the node specific configuration file is missing then the file default is used to boot the local HD. 

 #### Etherboot/GRUB

Custom_Node_Installation modified by Craig Finch

Craig Finch — Mon, 23 Jun 2014 15:49:02 -0000

--- v12
+++ v13
@@ -128,31 +128,27 @@

 ### Installer

-The bootloader configuration file for all installation methods defines the necessary kernel, kernel options, and initrd image for installation. After the kernel and initrd images are TFTP downloaded, the bootloader then boot Linux and installation starts. 
-
-Kernel, initrd images, and uncooked bootloader configurations files (kernel options) are located in (assuming $XCATROOT/etc/site.tab tftpdir field is /tftpboot and tftpxcatroot is xcat): 
+The bootloader configuration file for all installation methods defines the necessary kernel, kernel options, and initrd image for installation. After the kernel and initrd images are downloaded via TFTP, the bootloader then boots Linux and installation starts. 
+
+Kernel, initrd images, and uncooked bootloader configurations files (kernel options) are located in the **site** table. The default value of **tftpdir** is 
+    
+    /tftpboot
+
+: 

     /tftpboot/xcat/OSVER/ARCH

-Where OSVER is the xCAT short OS version name (e.g. rh72) and ARCH is the hardware architecture type (x86, x86_64, or ia64). The bootloader configuration files, kernels, and initrd images are placed in the appropriate TFTP directory automatically when rinstall, winstall, or nodeset is run. 
+where OSVER is the xCAT short OS version name (e.g. rh72) and ARCH is the hardware architecture type (x86, x86_64, or ia64). The bootloader configuration files, kernels, and initrd images are placed in the appropriate TFTP directory automatically when rinstall, winstall, or nodeset is run. 

 NOTE: Previous versions of xCAT required that a script (mkks, mkimage, mk*, etc...) was run to create the files. This version of xCAT detects changes in template files and xCAT .tab files and creates the necessary files on demand. 

-After the installer starts it NFS downloads the installation configuration file. INSTALLDIR is the installdir field in $XCATROOT/site.tab, OSVER is the OS to be installed, and ARCH is the hardware architecture type. Installation configuration are located in 
-    
-    INSTALLDIR/scripts/OSVER/ARCH
-
-The name of the installation configuration is based on the resource group and node type defined in 
-    
-    $XCATROOT/etc/noderes.tab
-
-and 
-    
-    $XCATROOT/etc/nodetype.tab
-
-. 
-
-After the installation configuration file is parsed installation begins installing from the installation sources: 
+After the installer starts it gets the installation configuration file via NFS. Installation configuration files (such as Kickstart scripts) are located in 
+    
+    INSTALLDIR/autoinst
+
+where INSTALLDIR is the **installdir** field in the **site** table, OSVER is the OS to be installed, and ARCH is the hardware architecture type. The name of the installation configuration is based on the resource group and node type defined in the **noderes** and **nodetype** tables. 
+
+After the installation configuration file is parsed, installation begins installing from the installation sources: 

     INSTALLDIR/OSVER/ARCH