> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.platform9.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.platform9.com/private-cloud-director/getting-started/platform9-os/unattended-install-kickstart.md). # Unattended Installation (Kickstart) ## Overview This guide explains how to install a Platform9 OS host with no interactive prompts and with fully custom network and system configuration, by supplying your own kickstart file. It is intended for administrators who provision many hosts at scale. By default, the ISO boots into an interactive setup wizard that asks for the keyboard layout, root password, target disk, and hostname. This guide replaces that wizard with a standard Anaconda kickstart, so the install runs hands-off. The shared Platform9 OS setup (`pcdctl`, the Host Boot Console, Host Management Console, the Platform9 package repository, and CIS hardening) is reused verbatim from the ISO, so an unattended host is configured identically to an interactively installed one. This guide is a companion to [Network Boot (PXE)](/private-cloud-director/getting-started/platform9-os/network-boot-pxe.md). You set up PXE exactly as described there, and then use the kickstart below in place of the interactive wizard. It does not cover connecting the installed host to your management plane. For that, see [Platform9 OS](/private-cloud-director/getting-started/platform9-os.md). In this guide, you will populate a kickstart template with your own network, disk, and password settings, serve it over HTTP, and boot a host that installs with no prompts. ## Prerequisites * A working network-boot environment for the Platform9 OS ISO, set up as described in [Network Boot (PXE)](/private-cloud-director/getting-started/platform9-os/network-boot-pxe.md). This covers DHCP, TFTP, and the full ISO tree served over HTTP. * An HTTP location from which to serve your populated kickstart file. * The root password hash, and the network, disk, and hostname settings for your hosts. ## How an Unattended Install Works 1. You boot the installer over the network as described in [Network Boot (PXE)](/private-cloud-director/getting-started/platform9-os/network-boot-pxe.md), but point `inst.ks=` at your own kickstart instead of the one built into the ISO. 2. The `%pre` section of your kickstart fetches the Platform9 OS payload (`pcd-payload.tar.gz`) from the served tree, so the installer has everything it needs with no local media. 3. Anaconda partitions the disk and configures the network from the directives in your kickstart, with no wizard. 4. The shared Platform9 OS setup runs by way of `%include /tmp/pcd-post.cfg`, reused from the ISO, and the host reboots into the Host Boot Console. You edit only the front matter of the template: the root password, network, disk, and hostname. {% hint style="warning" %} The `%pre` section and the `%include` directive are fixed. Do not change them. The `%pre` section is what stages `pcd-post.cfg` for the `%include` to find. {% endhint %} ## The Kickstart Template Save the following as `pcd-unattended.cfg` and edit only the block marked **EDIT BELOW**. ``` #version=RHEL10 cmdline %pre # Stage the PCD payload (pcd-iso-ui, kickstart_components/, and everything %post # installs). Media: it lives at the install-source root. Network/PXE: fetch the # payload tarball from the install tree URL. Writes /tmp/pcd-src for %post. SRC="" for d in /run/install/repo /mnt/install/repo; do [ -e "$d/pcd-iso-ui" ] && { SRC="$d"; break; } done if [ -z "$SRC" ]; then url="" for kv in $(cat /proc/cmdline); do case "$kv" in inst.stage2=http://*|inst.stage2=https://*|inst.stage2=ftp://*) url=${kv#inst.stage2=} ;; inst.repo=http://*|inst.repo=https://*|inst.repo=ftp://*) [ -z "$url" ] && url=${kv#inst.repo=} ;; esac done url=${url%/} mkdir -p /tmp/pcdsrc curl -fsS "$url/pcd-payload.tar.gz" -o /tmp/pcd-payload.tar.gz && tar xzf /tmp/pcd-payload.tar.gz -C /tmp/pcdsrc && SRC=/tmp/pcdsrc fi echo "$SRC" > /tmp/pcd-src cp "$SRC"/kickstart_components/pcd-post.cfg /tmp/ %end # ============================ EDIT BELOW ============================ lang en_US.UTF-8 keyboard --vckeymap=us timezone Etc/UTC --utc # Root password. Generate a hash with: openssl passwd -6 rootpw --iscrypted $6$REPLACE_WITH_YOUR_HASH # --- Network --- # Static: network --bootproto=static --device=ens3 --ip=10.0.0.50 --netmask=255.255.255.0 \ --gateway=10.0.0.1 --nameserver=10.0.0.2 --hostname=pcd-host-01 --onboot=on # Bond: network --device=bond0 --bootproto=static --ip=... --bondslaves=ens3,ens4 --bondopts=mode=802.3ad --hostname=... --onboot=on # VLAN: network --device=bond0.100 --vlanid=100 --bootproto=static --ip=... --hostname=... --onboot=on # DHCP: network --bootproto=dhcp --device=link --hostname=pcd-host-01 --onboot=on firewall --disabled # --- Disk: single GPT disk, LVM VG "pcd", grow-to-fill root --- ignoredisk --only-use=sda zerombr clearpart --all --initlabel --disklabel=gpt --drives=sda part /boot/efi --fstype=efi --size=600 --ondisk=sda part /boot --fstype=xfs --size=1024 --ondisk=sda part pv.01 --grow --ondisk=sda volgroup pcd pv.01 logvol swap --vgname=pcd --name=swap --fstype=swap --size=8192 logvol / --vgname=pcd --name=root --fstype=xfs --size=1024 --grow bootloader --boot-drive=sda # ============================ EDIT ABOVE ============================ %packages @^minimal-environment @core curl python3 nfs-utils device-mapper-multipath iscsi-initiator-utils cockpit %end selinux --permissive skipx # Shared PCD setup: pcdctl, boot console, Host Management Console, private repo, CIS hardening. # Reused verbatim from the ISO. Carries its own reboot. Do not edit. %include /tmp/pcd-post.cfg ``` ## Customize the Front Matter | Setting | What to change | | -------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Root password** | Run `openssl passwd -6` and paste the resulting `$6$...` hash into `rootpw --iscrypted`. | | **Network (static)** | Set `--device`, `--ip`, `--netmask`, `--gateway`, `--nameserver`, and `--hostname`. | | **Network (bond)** | Use `--device=bond0 --bondslaves=, --bondopts=mode=...`, as shown in the commented line. | | **Network (VLAN)** | Use `--device=. --vlanid=`, as shown in the commented line. | | **Network (DHCP)** | Use the `--bootproto=dhcp` line in place of the static one. | | **Disk** | Change `--drives`, `--ondisk`, and `--boot-drive` from `sda` to your target device, and adjust the sizes. The layout (GPT, an LVM volume group named `pcd`, and a grow-to-fill root) mirrors the interactive installer. | | **Hostname** | Set `--hostname=` on the `network` line. | Per-host installs typically template this file, either as one kickstart per host or as a single kickstart parameterized by MAC address through your provisioning framework. ## Serve the Kickstart and Boot 1. Serve your populated `pcd-unattended.cfg` at an HTTP URL reachable from the host, for example alongside the served ISO tree. 2. Network-boot the host with the kernel arguments described in [Network Boot (PXE)](/private-cloud-director/getting-started/platform9-os/network-boot-pxe.md#required-kernel-arguments), but point `inst.ks=` at your kickstart: ``` inst.stage2= inst.repo= inst.ks=pcd-unattended.cfg ip=dhcp enforcing=0 ``` {% hint style="info" %} `ip=dhcp` brings up the installer's own networking so that it can fetch the tree. The `network` directive inside your kickstart configures the **installed** system, and the two are independent. If the install VLAN has no DHCP, use a static `ip=::::::none` kernel argument instead. {% endhint %} The installer then runs with no prompts and reboots into the Host Boot Console. ## Verify the Installed Host From the Host Boot Console, or from the Host Management Console at `https://:9090`, confirm the following: * The host shows the hostname and IP address you supplied. * **PCD Connectivity** reads **Not connected**, because onboarding is a separate step. * The Host Management Console is reachable, and the Platform9 package repository is configured at `/etc/yum.repos.d/platform9.repo`. * CIS hardening has been applied, which you can confirm by checking that the `pcd-hardening-*` services ran on first boot. An unattended host is configuration-identical to an interactively installed one, apart from the values you supplied. ## Troubleshooting | Symptom | Cause | Fix | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | The install starts, but the Host Boot Console, `pcdctl`, or hardening are missing afterward | The `%pre` section could not fetch `pcd-payload.tar.gz` | Confirm that the full ISO tree, including `pcd-payload.tar.gz`, is served and reachable from the client, using `curl -sfI pcd-payload.tar.gz` | | The install fails because `/tmp/pcd-post.cfg` is not found | The `%pre` block was edited or omitted | Keep the `%pre` block exactly as it appears in the template, because it is what stages `pcd-post.cfg` | | The installer stalls, and `systemd` reports `Freezing execution` | `enforcing=0` is missing from the kernel arguments | Add `enforcing=0`, as described in [Network Boot (PXE)](/private-cloud-director/getting-started/platform9-os/network-boot-pxe.md#required-kernel-arguments) | | The installer cannot fetch the tree or the kickstart | `ip=dhcp` is missing, or HTTP is not reachable on the install VLAN | Add `ip=dhcp`, and confirm that the HTTP host is reachable from the client | | `cloud-init`, the OpenStack CLI, or OpenSCAP are missing on the installed host | The host could not reach the Platform9 package repository during the install | Ensure that the install network can reach the Platform9 package repository, because the shared setup installs these packages from it | ## Related Pages * [Platform9 OS](/private-cloud-director/getting-started/platform9-os.md): connect the installed host to your management plane and authorize it. * [Network Boot (PXE)](/private-cloud-director/getting-started/platform9-os/network-boot-pxe.md): the PXE environment this guide builds on. --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. 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