Steps¶

1. Set SELinux to “permissive” mode (Doc)

2. EPEL repo configuration:

   sudo rpm -Uvh http://mir01.syntis.net/epel//7/x86_64/e/epel-release-7-5.noarch.rpm
   

3. Installation

   yum install pykickstart cobbler cobbler-web
   

4. Activate TFTP

   vim /etc/xinetd.d/tftp
   #   disable = yes                    <- Change this line to "no"
   chkconfig tftp on
   

   Note

   Configuration may be different according to Linux breed

5. Configure the firewall:

   # For TFTP:
   firewall-cmd --direct --permanent --add-rule ipv4 filter INPUT 0 -p tcp --dport 69 -j ACCEPT
   firewall-cmd --direct --permanent --add-rule ipv4 filter INPUT 0 -p udp --dport 69 -j ACCEPT
   # For HTTP
   firewall-cmd --direct --permanent --add-rule ipv4 filter INPUT 0 -p tcp --dport 80 -j ACCEPT
   firewall-cmd --direct --permanent --add-rule ipv4 filter INPUT 0 -p tcp --dport 443 -j ACCEPT
   # For Cobbler XML-RPC
   firewall-cmd --direct --permanent --add-rule ipv4 filter INPUT 0 -p tcp --dport 25150 -j ACCEPT
   firewall-cmd --direct --permanent --add-rule ipv4 filter INPUT 0 -p tcp --dport 25151 -j ACCEPT
   
   firewall-cmd --reload
   

   Note

   If you want to check these rules are correctly saved:

   firewall-cmd --permanent --direct --get-rules ipv4 filter INPUT
   

6. (optional) If you want to use command “cobbler replicate”, you have to configure rsync

   $ vi /etc/xinetd.d/rsync
   
   # default: off
   # description: The rsync server is a good addition to an ftp server, as it \
   #      allows crc checksumming etc.
   service rsync
   {
      disable= no # change
      flags= IPv6
      socket_type= stream
      wait= no
      user= root
      server= /usr/bin/rsync
      server_args= --daemon
      log_on_failure+= USERID
   }
   
   $ chkconfig rsync on
   

   Note

   Help here: http://www.server-world.info/en/note?os=CentOS_6&p=rsync

7. Cobbler configuration:

   vim /etc/cobbler/settings
   

   Change following lines:

   # manage_rsync: 0   <---- set to 1 to enable Cobbler's RSYNC management features.
   # server: 127.0.0.1 <---- set to the real Cobbler ip address.
   # anamon_enabled: 0 <---- set to 1 to enable Anamon log.
   # next_server: 127.0.0.1 <---- set to the real Cobbler ip address.
   

8. Start Cobbler service:

   service cobblerd start
   chkconfig cobblerd on
   
   service httpd start
   chkconfig httpd on
   

9. Download loaders:

   cobbler get-loaders
   

10. (optional) If you want to change the WEB interface password (cobbler/cobbler):

    openssl passwd -1 -salt 'random-phrase-here' 'your-password-here'
    

    And put the key in /etc/cobbler/settings:

    # default_password_crypted: "$1$company$prqgnhJ6izx5.S9FVItCB/"
    

    Then change the web user interface setting:

    htdigest /etc/cobbler/users.digest "Cobbler" cobbler
    

11. Sync all:

    cobbler sync
    

cobbler check

General usage¶

When you create a new “system”, Cobbler makes the following operations:

• Reads the profile used by the system to create the installation ISO. The distribution (distro) is defined in the profile.
• Generates the kickstart. The kickstart template is defined in the profile. The template is instantiate with the “profile” and the “system” informations.
• The kickstart template may refer to several snippets.

How to view/modify a profile?¶

1. Go to Cobbler

2. Open the “profiles” view:

   

3. Choose a profile:

4. Edit the profile:

The “virtualization” tab allows to set hardware resources:

It may be used with Koan <http://cobbler.github.io/manuals/2.6.0/6/3_-_Installing-virtual-guests.html>_ to deploy virtual machine.

How to view/modify the kickstart?¶

1. Go to Cobbler

2. Open the “Kickstart Templates” view:

   

3. Choose the kickstart

4. Edit the kickstart:

   

How to view/modify a snippet?¶

1. Go to Cobbler

2. Open the “Snippets” view:

   

3. Choose a snippet partitioning.conf

4. Edit the snippet:

   

Glossary¶

distro

According to the Cobbler terminology, a “distro” is the configuration of an operating system. Ex: RHEL 6.5, Centos 7.2

kickstart

A file containing the answers to all the questions that would normally be asked during a typical OS installation (RHEL Linux type). Kickstart provides a way for users to automate any OS installation.

profile

A profile contains all configurations of the infrastructure and the platform (distro, CPU, RAM, Disk...). It’s like a model/template that can be refered by a system.

snippet

Snippets are a way of reusing common blocks of code between kickstarts. Its may be seen as function/macro. A snippet is saved in a separate file.

system

According the Cobbler terminology, a “system” contains the configuration of a particular machine. In other terms, it is an instance of a profile. For example, it contains specific network informations of a machine (IP, gateway, hostname...)

Installation/Configuration¶

• Installation on Redhat : https://access.redhat.com/documentation/en-US/Red_Hat_Network_Satellite/5.3/html/Reference_Guide/ch-cobbler.html#s2-cobbler-reqs-check

• Update Cobbler : http://sappyit.blogspot.fr/2015/03/update-cobbler-server.html

• Managing DHCP: http://cobbler.github.io/manuals/2.6.0/3/4/1_-_Managing_DHCP.html

• Importing a distribution: http://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/Fedora/13/html/Installation_Guide/sn-cobbler-import.html

• Usage with Subversion:

  • http://consultancy.edvoncken.net/index.php/HOWTO_Set_up_a_Subversion_repository_for_provisioning

  • Keyring:

    • http://technicalprose.blogspot.fr/2011/06/using-subversion-with-gnome-keyring.html
    • http://kenneho.net/2011/01/30/using-svn-client-and-gnome-keyring-in-ssh-sessions/
    • http://blog.purplecarrot.co.uk/2013/10/subversion-and-gnome-keyring-daemon.html
    • http://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/89550/subversion-svn-doesnt-store-passwords-in-gnome-keyring
    • http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3824513/svn-encrypted-password-store

Usage¶

• Kickstart:

  • Doc: http://cobbler.github.io/manuals/2.6.0/3/5_-_Kickstart_Templating.html
  • Making the kickstart file available: https://access.redhat.com/documentation/en-US/Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux/5/html/Installation_Guide/s1-kickstart2-putkickstarthere.html
  • Tips and tricks for anaconda and kickstart: http://wiki.centos.org/fr/TipsAndTricks/KickStart

• Trigger:

  • Doc: http://cobbler.github.io/manuals/2.6.0/4/4/1_-_Triggers.html
  • Writing a trigger: http://www.ithiriel.com/content/2010/03/29/writing-install-triggers-cobbler

• API:

  • API XMLRPC: https://fedorahosted.org/cobbler/wiki/CobblerXmlrpc
  • API Python: https://fedorahosted.org/cobbler/wiki/CobblerApi