Part I. Installation / Chapter 3. Special Installation Procedures | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 2.10. Online Update from the Command Line | 3.2. linuxrc |  | |
Part I. Installation / Chapter 3. Special Installation Procedures | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.10. Online Update from the Command Line | 3.2. linuxrc | | |
Table of Contents
Abstract
SUSE LINUX can be installed in a number of ways. The possibilities range from a graphical quick installation to a text-based installation allowing numerous manual adaptions. The following sections cover various installation procedures and the use of diverse installation sources, including CD-ROM and NFS. This chapter also features information about resolving problems encountered during the installation and a detailed section about partitioning.
Instead of installing each computer with a set of installation media, provide the installation data on a dedicated installation server in your network and fetch it from there to install the clients. The YaST installation server supports HTTP, FTP, and NFS. With the help of the service location protocols (SLP), this server can be made known to all clients in the network. This means that there is no need to select the installation source manually on the clients.
![[Tip]](admon/tip.png) | Information about SLP |
|---|---|
Detailed information about SLP under SUSE LINUX is available in Chapter 23, SLP Services in the Network. | |
Start +. Then configure the new installation server in four steps:
YaST supports three types of installation servers: HTTP, FTP, and NFS. Select the desired server type. From now on, the selected server service is started automatically every time the system starts. If a service of the selected type is already running on your system and you want to configure it manually for the server, deactivate the automatic configuration of the server service with . In both cases, define the directory in which the installation data should be made available on the server. See Figure 3.1, “YaST Installation Server: Selecting the Server Type”.
This step relates to the automatic configuration of server services.
This dialog is skipped when automatic configuration is
deactivated. Define an alias for the root directory of the FTP
or HTTP
server on which the installation data will be found. The installation
source will later be located under
ftp://<Server-IP>/<Alias>/<Name>
(FTP) or under
http://<Server-IP>/<Alias>/<Name>
(HTTP). Name stands for the name of the
installation source, which is defined in the following step. If you have
selected NFS in the previous step, define wild cards and
exports options. The NFS server will be accessible
under nfs://<Server-IP>/<Name>. Details
of NFS and exports can be found in Section 26.4, “Exporting File Systems Manually”.
Before the installation media are copied to their destination, define the name of the installation source (ideally, an easily remembered abbreviation of the product and version). You can use ISO images of the media instead of copies of the SUSE LINUX CDs. To do this, activate the relevant check box and specify the directory path under which the ISO files can found locally. Depending on which product to distribute using this installation server, it may be that more add-on CDs or service pack CDs are required to install the product completely. If you activate , YaST automatically reminds you to supply these media. To announce your installation server in the network via SLP, activate that option.
The most time-consuiming step when configuring an installation server is copying the actual SUSE LINUX CDs. Insert the media in the sequence requested by YaST and wait for the copying procedure to end. When the sources have been fully copied, return to the overview of existing information sources and close the configuration by selecting .
Your configuration server is now fully configured and ready for service. It is automatically started every time the system is started. No further intervention is required. You only need to configure and start this service correctly by hand if you have deactivated the automatic configuration of the selected network service with YaST as an initial step.
If your installation server should provide the installation data for more than one product of product version, start the YaST installation server module and select in the overview of existing installation sources, shown in Figure 3.2, “YaST Installation Server: Overview of Installation Sources”, to configure the new installation source.
To deactivate an installation source, select in the overview to reach a list of all available installation sources. Choose the entry to remove here and select . This delete procedure only relates to the deactivation of the server service. The installation data itself remains in the directory chosen. However, you can remove it manually.
As soon as the installation server with the required
installation data is available in the network, all computers in
the local network can
access the data. If a client should be installed from scratch, all you need
is a bootable medium to initialize the process. At the boot
prompt, as described in Section 3.2, “linuxrc”, enter the name of the server
from which the installation data should be obtained in the format
install=<URL>.
Afterwards, your network interface is automatically configured, preferably
via DHCP. If this is not possible, perform manual configuration with
linuxrc or specify the HostIP
parameter at the boot prompt. The installation system is then started and
YaST begins installation. Details of linuxrc
can be found in Section 3.2, “linuxrc”.
If your installation server is announced in the network via SLP, this
simplifies the installation procedure. Use F3 and the
arrow keys in the graphical splash screen to select the
SLP option and confirm the selection with
Enter. Alternatively, enter install=slp
at the boot prompt. In both cases, linuxrc
starts an SLP inquiry for an installation server in the network.
Now select in the boot menu and confirm with Enter. The installation kernel boots and YaST starts the installation. If several installation sources can be found with SLP, select the required source in linuxrc before YaST starts.
The rest of the installation procedure continues as described in Chapter 1, Installation with YaST. For detailed information about the SLP protocol and its applications, see Chapter 23, SLP Services in the Network.
