Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts General Mailing List

Ted W | 20 Jun 2012 15:05

Need help with an Ubuntu ks.cfg

I'm trying to automate the installation of my Ubuntu workstation images using kickstart but I seem to be missing something because when I boot off of the ISO I've created it only boots to the initramfs prompt and won't go any further. I'm not using PXE boot for this, I simply wanted to automate the process of answering the install questions automagically and using a local mirror for packages instead of having to update manually after installation completes. Any help figuring out where I've gone wrong would be greatly appreciated. This is my first kickstart file under Ubuntu.

My ks.cfg file is below:

install

reboot

text

lang en_US.UTF-8

url --url http://www.gtlib.gatech.edu/pub/ubuntu/

keyboard us

root --disabled

user adminuser --fullname "Admin User" --iscrypted MY3ncryptedP <at> sswordLOLOLOL

authconfig --enabledsahdow --enabledmd5

timezone --utc America/New_York

bootloader --location=mbr --append="quiet" --md5pass MY <at> ws0megrubp <at> 55!

%packages

<at> openssh-server

<at> print-server

<at> ubuntu-desktop

libnss-ldapd

libpam-ldapd

nss-updatedb

libnss-db

libpam-ccreds

nslcd

nscd

%pre

%post

--
Ted W. < Ted-5kh5vjNAXU8nDTDN1yNbJA@public.gmane.org >
Registered GNU/Linux user #413569

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Brian MacLeod | 20 Jun 2012 15:52

Re: Need help with an Ubuntu ks.cfg

On 6/20/12 9:05 AM, Ted W wrote:
> I'm trying to automate the installation of my Ubuntu workstation
> images using kickstart but I seem to be missing something because
> when I boot off of the ISO I've created it only boots to the
> initramfs prompt and won't go any further. I'm not using PXE boot
> for this, I simply wanted to automate the process of answering the
> install questions automagically and using a local mirror for
> packages instead of having to update manually after installation
> completes. Any help figuring out where I've gone wrong would be
> greatly appreciated. This is my first kickstart file under Ubuntu.
> 
> My ks.cfg file is below:

Not that this helps, but thank you for making me aware that this layer
exists in Ubuntu land.  I was originally going to say "wha???" until I
found the KickstartCompatibility page [1].

That looks like a valid kickstart, and what you appear to be
describing is a hang or hidden dialog after initramfs.  If that is the
case, what is the call you are making to invoke the kickstart, because
that seems like it might be more of the problem than the kickstart itself.

Brian

[1] - https://help.ubuntu.com/community/KickstartCompatibility

headers

Ted W | 20 Jun 2012 16:52

Re: Need help with an Ubuntu ks.cfg

On Jun 20, 2012, at 9:52 AM, Brian MacLeod wrote:

On 6/20/12 9:05 AM, Ted W wrote:
I'm trying to automate the installation of my Ubuntu workstation

images using kickstart but I seem to be missing something because

when I boot off of the ISO I've created it only boots to the

initramfs prompt and won't go any further. I'm not using PXE boot

for this, I simply wanted to automate the process of answering the

install questions automagically and using a local mirror for

packages instead of having to update manually after installation

completes. Any help figuring out where I've gone wrong would be

greatly appreciated. This is my first kickstart file under Ubuntu.

My ks.cfg file is below:

Not that this helps, but thank you for making me aware that this layer
exists in Ubuntu land. I was originally going to say "wha???" until I
found the KickstartCompatibility page [1].

That looks like a valid kickstart, and what you appear to be
describing is a hang or hidden dialog after initramfs. If that is the
case, what is the call you are making to invoke the kickstart, because
that seems like it might be more of the problem than the kickstart itself.

Brian

[1] - https://help.ubuntu.com/community/KickstartCompatibility

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By "invoke kickstart" I presume you mean how I'm calling the ks.cfg file? What I've done is changed the "append" line in /isolinux/txt.cfg to the following:

append ks=cdrom:/ks.cfg vga=normal initrd=/casper/initrd.lz install --

However, after examining that line again compared to the other lines I've tried the following as well

append ks=/cdrom/ks.cfg vga=normal initrd=/casper/initrd.lz install --

as well as

append ks=/ks.cfg vga=normal initrd=/casper/initrd.lz install --

None of these seem to help. I've also removed the "vga=normal" segment because it was throwing an error right before the initramfs prompt would come up.

--
Ted W. < Ted-5kh5vjNAXU8nDTDN1yNbJA@public.gmane.org >
Registered GNU/Linux user #413569

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Ted W | 20 Jun 2012 22:34

Re: Need help with an Ubuntu ks.cfg

On Jun 20, 2012, at 10:52 AM, Ted W wrote:

On Jun 20, 2012, at 9:52 AM, Brian MacLeod wrote:

On 6/20/12 9:05 AM, Ted W wrote:

Not that this helps, but thank you for making me aware that this layer
exists in Ubuntu land. I was originally going to say "wha???" until I
found the KickstartCompatibility page [1].

That looks like a valid kickstart, and what you appear to be
describing is a hang or hidden dialog after initramfs. If that is the
case, what is the call you are making to invoke the kickstart, because
that seems like it might be more of the problem than the kickstart itself.

Brian

[1] - https://help.ubuntu.com/community/KickstartCompatibility

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By "invoke kickstart" I presume you mean how I'm calling the ks.cfg file? What I've done is changed the "append" line in /isolinux/txt.cfg to the following:

Ok, so I ended up caving and just went with the "official" unattended method of using a preseed file... I don't understand why everyone can't just use kickstart...

Using the preseed file I was able to get everything working without a hitch and I fear that what was hanging me up on the preseed file may also have been my downfall with the kickstart file. Apparently there is a /.disk file on the iso image and using cp does not pull the hidden files over. After copying over the .disk directory everything worked with preseed. I've not tried again with my ks.cfg file yet, however.

--
Ted W. < Ted-5kh5vjNAXU8nDTDN1yNbJA@public.gmane.org >
Registered GNU/Linux user #413569

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Jim Kinney | 20 Jun 2012 22:47

Re: Need help with an Ubuntu ks.cfg

yes! Bingo!

That .disk is used to identify the install disk to anaconda. It is a crucial chunk. sorry. I didn't realize you had a home-built installation disk.

There's a pattern to the code in that file. If you compact a CD tree int a single DVD, the disk id does not need to change.

HOWEVER! If you add a disk the disk id must be different for disk 2+ and later in sequence that earlier disks.

On Wed, Jun 20, 2012 at 4:34 PM, Ted W <ted-pukp/ifawS0nDTDN1yNbJA@public.gmane.org> wrote:

On Jun 20, 2012, at 10:52 AM, Ted W wrote:

On Jun 20, 2012, at 9:52 AM, Brian MacLeod wrote:

On 6/20/12 9:05 AM, Ted W wrote:

Not that this helps, but thank you for making me aware that this layer
exists in Ubuntu land. I was originally going to say "wha???" until I
found the KickstartCompatibility page [1].

That looks like a valid kickstart, and what you appear to be
describing is a hang or hidden dialog after initramfs. If that is the
case, what is the call you are making to invoke the kickstart, because
that seems like it might be more of the problem than the kickstart itself.

Brian

[1] - https://help.ubuntu.com/community/KickstartCompatibility

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By "invoke kickstart" I presume you mean how I'm calling the ks.cfg file? What I've done is changed the "append" line in /isolinux/txt.cfg to the following:

Ok, so I ended up caving and just went with the "official" unattended method of using a preseed file... I don't understand why everyone can't just use kickstart...

Using the preseed file I was able to get everything working without a hitch and I fear that what was hanging me up on the preseed file may also have been my downfall with the kickstart file. Apparently there is a /.disk file on the iso image and using cp does not pull the hidden files over. After copying over the .disk directory everything worked with preseed. I've not tried again with my ks.cfg file yet, however.

--
Ted W. < Ted-5kh5vjNAXU8nDTDN1yNbJA@public.gmane.org >
Registered GNU/Linux user #413569

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--
--
James P. Kinney III

Every time you stop a school, you will have to build a jail. What you gain at one end you lose at the other. It's like feeding a dog on his own tail. It won't fatten the dog.
- Speech 11/23/1900 Mark Twain

http://electjimkinney.org
http://heretothereideas.blogspot.com/

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Ted W | 22 Jun 2012 14:59

Re: Need help with an Ubuntu ks.cfg

On Jun 20, 2012, at 4:47 PM, Jim Kinney wrote:

yes! Bingo!

That .disk is used to identify the install disk to anaconda. It is a crucial chunk. sorry. I didn't realize you had a home-built installation disk.

There's a pattern to the code in that file. If you compact a CD tree int a single DVD, the disk id does not need to change.

HOWEVER! If you add a disk the disk id must be different for disk 2+ and later in sequence that earlier disks.

On Wed, Jun 20, 2012 at 4:34 PM, Ted W <ted-pukp/ifawS0nDTDN1yNbJA@public.gmane.org> wrote:

On Jun 20, 2012, at 10:52 AM, Ted W wrote:

On Jun 20, 2012, at 9:52 AM, Brian MacLeod wrote:

By "invoke kickstart" I presume you mean how I'm calling the ks.cfg file? What I've done is changed the "append" line in /isolinux/txt.cfg to the following:

Ok, so I ended up caving and just went with the "official" unattended method of using a preseed file... I don't understand why everyone can't just use kickstart...

Using the preseed file I was able to get everything working without a hitch and I fear that what was hanging me up on the preseed file may also have been my downfall with the kickstart file. Apparently there is a /.disk file on the iso image and using cp does not pull the hidden files over. After copying over the .disk directory everything worked with preseed. I've not tried again with my ks.cfg file yet, however.

--
Ted W. < Ted-5kh5vjNAXU8nDTDN1yNbJA@public.gmane.org >
Registered GNU/Linux user #413569

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Yup, once I got the .disk directory copied to the new ISO image both the preseeding method and the ks.cfg method worked. I was having trouble getting the preseed file to actually install the additional packages I specified with the pkgsel lines. They installed just fine when specified from the %packages section of the ks.cfg though.

--
Ted W. < Ted-5kh5vjNAXU8nDTDN1yNbJA@public.gmane.org >
Registered GNU/Linux user #413569

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Sergio Chaves | 20 Jun 2012 19:28

Re: Need help with an Ubuntu ks.cfg

I do not know anything about kickstart or its config file but is the plain "cdrom" the actual device? Not /dev/cdrom or /dev/scd1, etc.?

On Wed, Jun 20, 2012 at 9:05 AM, Ted W <ted-pukp/ifawS0nDTDN1yNbJA@public.gmane.org> wrote:

I'm trying to automate the installation of my Ubuntu workstation images using kickstart but I seem to be missing something because when I boot off of the ISO I've created it only boots to the initramfs prompt and won't go any further. I'm not using PXE boot for this, I simply wanted to automate the process of answering the install questions automagically and using a local mirror for packages instead of having to update manually after installation completes. Any help figuring out where I've gone wrong would be greatly appreciated. This is my first kickstart file under Ubuntu.

My ks.cfg file is below:

install

reboot

text

lang en_US.UTF-8

url --url http://www.gtlib.gatech.edu/pub/ubuntu/

keyboard us

root --disabled

user adminuser --fullname "Admin User" --iscrypted MY3ncryptedP <at> sswordLOLOLOL

authconfig --enabledsahdow --enabledmd5

timezone --utc America/New_York

bootloader --location=mbr --append="quiet" --md5pass MY <at> ws0megrubp <at> 55!

%packages

<at> openssh-server

<at> print-server

<at> ubuntu-desktop

libnss-ldapd

libpam-ldapd

nss-updatedb

libnss-db

libpam-ccreds

nslcd

nscd

%pre

%post

--
Ted W. < Ted-5kh5vjNAXU8nDTDN1yNbJA@public.gmane.org >
Registered GNU/Linux user #413569

_______________________________________________
Ale mailing list
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http://mail.ale.org/mailman/listinfo/ale
See JOBS, ANNOUNCE and SCHOOLS lists at
http://mail.ale.org/mailman/listinfo

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See JOBS, ANNOUNCE and SCHOOLS lists at
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