2.9 Setting Up a Network Installation Source

The YaST install lets you use installation sources files that are hosted on the network to install a new server or upgrade an existing server. The following sections describe how to set up a network installation source server on the following platforms:

2.9.1 SUSE Linux as a Network Installation Source Server

To prepare a network installation source on a SUSE Linux server, see:

Requirements

To set up a network installation source, you need the following:

  • A YaST Network Installation source server

    This source server can be SLES 9 or later, OES 2 or later, Windows, or NetWare 6.5.

  • An active network connection between the installation source server and the OES server you are installing or upgrading

Procedure

  1. Download or copy the ISO image files to a directory of your choice. See Getting and Preparing OES 2015 SP1 Software in the OES 2015 SP1: Planning and Implementation Guide.

  2. Configure your Linux server to be a YaST installation server and select the location for the root of the network installation.

    The three protocol options to choose from for configuring the YaST installation server are NFS, FTP, and HTTP. For the protocol configuration procedures, see the following:

    FTP and HTTP do not allow you to serve the files without possible modifications to .conf files. NFS is the simplest protocol to configure and is recommended.

  3. Create a boot DVD using the .iso image file for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP4 DVD and label it with that name.

    For information on creating this DVD, see Preparing Physical Media for a New Server Installation or an Upgrade.

    This DVD will be the network installation boot DVD.

With these steps completed, you are ready to perform a new installation or upgrade using a network installation source. See Starting the OES 2015 SP1 Installation or Upgrading to OES 2015 SP1.

NFS Protocol Configuration

An NFS share can be shared easily from almost any location on your file system. Use the following procedure if you choose to use this protocol:

  1. At your network installation server, launch YaST.

  2. Select Network Services, then click NFS Server.

    You might be prompted to install the NFS server.

  3. On the NFS Server configuration screen, select Start in the NFS Server section, select Open Port in Firewall in the Firewall section, then click Next.

  4. In the Directories section, click Add Directory and specify or browse to the directory where you have created the install root (source directory), then click OK.

  5. Accept the defaults in the pop-up window for adding a Host.

    If you are experienced with NFS configurations, you can customize the configuration.

  6. Click Finish.

FTP Protocol Configuration

These instructions use Pure-FTPd and can be implemented through YaST. Depending on the FTP server you use, the configuration might be different.

If you have created your install root (source directory) within your FTP root, you can forego the following procedure and simply start Pure-FTPd.

The default configuration of Pure-FTPd runs in chroot jail, so symlinks cannot be followed. In order to allow FTP access to the install root created outside of the FTP root, you must mount the install root directory inside of the FTP root.

Complete the following if you have not created your install root within your FTP root and you choose to use this protocol:

  1. Create a directory inside of your FTP root.

  2. Run the following command:

    mount --bind /path_to_install_root /path_to_directory_in_ftp_root

    For example,

    mount --bind /tmp/OES /srv/ftp/OES

  3. (Optional) If you want to make this install root permanent, add this command to the /etc/fstab file.

  4. Start Pure-FTPd.

HTTP Protocol Configuration

These instructions use Apache2 as provided by SLES 11 SP4.

If you choose to use this protocol:

  1. Modify the default-server.conf file of your HTTP server to allow it to follow symlinks and create directory indexes.

    The default-server.conf file is located in the /etc/apache2 directory. In the Directory tag of the default-server.conf file, remove None if it is there, add FollowSymLinks and Indexes to the Options directive, then save the changes.

  2. (Conditional) If the install root is outside of the HTTP root, create a symbolic link to the install root with the following command:

    ln -s /path_to_install_root /path_to_link

    For example,

    ln -s /tmp/OES /srv/www/htdocs/OES

  3. Restart Apache.

2.9.2 NetWare as a Network Installation Source Server

Complete the instructions in this section to set up an Open Enterprise Server (OES) 2015 SP1 installation source on an existing NetWare 6.5 SP8 server.

Prerequisites

You need the following:

  • A NetWare 6.5 SP8 server accessible on the network where you plan to install the OES 2015 SP1 servers with the following:

    • 6 GB free disk space on the server

    • The Apache Web Server for NetWare installed and running

  • The following ISO image files from Novell:

    Image File

    Purpose

    SLES-11-SP4-DVD-x86_64-GM-DVD1.iso

    Boot DVD for x86_64 (64-bit) SLES 11 SP4 installations

    OES2015-SP1-addon-x86_64-DVD1.iso

    Install source for x86_64 (64-bit) OES 2015 SP1 services

    OES2015-SP1-addon_with_SLES11-SP4-x86_64-DVD.iso

    Integrated ISO has the install source for x86_64 (64-bit) SLES 11 SP4 and OES 2015 SP1. It is also acts as the boot DVD using SLES 11 SP4.

    For information on downloading these image files, see the Open Enterprise Server 2015 SP1 Download Instructions.

Copy the Files and Mount Them as NSS Volumes

The following instructions create unrestricted access to OES 2015 SP1 installation files on a NetWare server on your network. Restricting access to the installation files requires additional configuration through Apache Manager or requires manual editing of the Apache configuration files.

For more information on restricting access, see information about the Options, Order, Deny, Allow, and other directives on the Apache.org Web Site.

To provide unrestricted access to the OES 2015 SP1 image files:

  1. Create a directory at the root of a server volume with at least 6 GB of free disk space.

    For example, you might create a directory named OES11_INSTALL in a volume named TOOLS.

  2. Restrict access to the directory to only those administrators who copy image files to the directory.

    This is important because if someone attempts to access these files after they are mounted as NSS volumes, the volumes are immediately dismounted and are no longer available.

  3. Copy the DVD image files listed in Prerequisites to the directory you just created.

  4. At the server console, mount each image file as an NSS volume:

    1. Enter the following command:

      nss /MountImageVolume=volume:directory/filename.iso

      Replace volume with the NSS volume name, directory with the directory you created in Step 1, and filename with the name of the ISO file.

      For example:

      nss /MountImageVolume=TOOLS:OES11_INSTALL/SLES-11-SP4-DVD-x86_64-GM-DVD1.iso

    2. Note the assigned volume name.

      For the first SLES DVD you mount, the name is SLES11SP_3, which is the actual volume name in the image file. For the second image you mount, the assigned name is DVD_ followed by a four-digit number, starting with 0000.

      The same principle applies to the OES 2015 SP1 image files. The first file mounted is the actual OES 2015 volume name, but the second image is assigned a DVD_xxxx name.

      Knowing which volume is for which platform is critical as you create an access URL to the volume in Apache Manager.

  5. In a supported browser, start Apache Manager by entering the following URL:

    https://server_ip_address:2200/apacheadmin/login.jsp

    Replace server_ip_address with the IP address of the NetWare server.

  6. Log in as the Admin user or a user with administrative rights to the Apache server.

  7. Click the Content Manager icon .

  8. Click Additional Document Directories.

  9. In the URL Prefix field, specify an alias name you want people to use to access one of the mounted volumes.

  10. Click the Search icon next to the File Path field.

  11. Click the volume name that matches the alias name you specified in Step 9, then click Finish.

  12. Click Save > Save and Apply > OK.

    The path to the volume is added as an additional document.

  13. Repeat from Step 9 for the other three volumes.

All of the ISO files are now available for access through the Apache Web Server running on the NetWare server.

2.9.3 Windows as a Network Installation Source Server

To prepare a network installation source on a Windows server, see Using a Microsoft Windows Workstationin the SLES 11 SP 4 Deployment Guide.