Installation guide

Chapter 31. PXE Network
Installations
Red Hat Enterprise Linux allows for installation over a network using the NFS, FTP, or HTTP
protocols. A network installation can be started from a boot CD-ROM, a bootable flash memory
drive, or by using the askmethod boot option with the Red Hat Enterprise Linux CD #1. Alternat-
ively, if the system to be installed contains a network interface card (NIC) with Pre-Execution
Environment (PXE) support, it can be configured to boot from files on another networked system
rather than local media such as a CD-ROM.
For a PXE network installation, the client's NIC with PXE support sends out a broadcast request
for DHCP information. The DHCP server provides the client with an IP address, other network
information such as name server, the IP address or hostname of the tftp server (which
provides the files necessary to start the installation program), and the location of the files on the
tftp server. This is possible because of PXELINUX, which is part of the syslinux package.
The following steps must be performed to prepare for a PXE installation:
1. Configure the network (NFS, FTP, HTTP) server to export the installation tree.
2. Configure the files on the tftp server necessary for PXE booting.
3. Configure which hosts are allowed to boot from the PXE configuration.
4. Start the tftp service.
5. Configure DHCP.
6. Boot the client, and start the installation.
1. Setting up the Network Server
First, configure an NFS, FTP, or HTTP server to export the entire installation tree for the version
and variant of Red Hat Enterprise Linux to be installed. Refer to the section Preparing for a Net-
work Installation in the Red Hat Enterprise Linux Installation Guide for detailed instructions.
2. PXE Boot Configuration
The next step is to copy the files necessary to start the installation to the tftp server so they
can be found when the client requests them. The tftp server is usually the same server as the
network server exporting the installation tree.
To copy these files, run the Network Booting Tool on the NFS, FTP, or HTTP server. A separ-
ate PXE server is not necessary.
2.1. Command Line Configuration
If the network server is not running X, the pxeos command line utility, which is part of the system-
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