Installation guide

Chapter 34. 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. Alternatively, 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.
34 .1. Set t ing up t he Net work 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 Network
Installation in the Red Hat Enterprise Linux Installation Guide for detailed instructions.
34 .2. PXE Boot Configurat ion
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 Net wo rk Bo o t in g To ol on the NFS, FTP, or HTTP server. A separate
PXE server is not necessary.
34 .2.1. Command Line Configurat ion
If the network server is not running X, the pxeos command line utility, which is part of the system-
config-netboot-cmd package, can be used to configure the tftp server files as described in
Section 34.4, “ TFTPD ” :
pxeos -a -i "<description>" -p <NFS|HTTP|FTP> -D 0 -s installer.example.com \
-L <location> -k <kernel> -K <kickstart> <os-identifer>
The following list explains the options:
⁠Chapt er 34 . PXE Net work Inst allat ions
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