SUSE Linux Enterprise
Desktop
www.novell.com11
March17,2009 Deployment Guide
Deployment Guide
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Contents
About This Guide vii
1 Planning for SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 1
1.1 Hardware Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.2 Reasons to Use SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Part I Manual Deployment 5
2 Deployment Strategies 7
2.1 Deploying up to 10 Workstations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.2 Deploying up to 100 Workstations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.3 Deploying More than 100 Workstations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
3 Installation with YaST 17
3.1 Choosing the Installation Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3.2 The Installation Workow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
3.3 System Start-Up for Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
3.4 The Boot Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
3.5 Welcome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
3.6 Installation Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
3.7 Clock and Time Zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
3.8 Create New User . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
3.9 Installation Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
3.10 Performing the Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
3.11 Conguration of the Installed System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
3.12 Graphical Login . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
4 Updating SUSE Linux Enterprise 47
4.1 Updating SUSE Linux Enterprise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
4.2 Installing Service Packs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
4.3 Software Changes from Version 10 to Version 11 . . . . . . . . . . . 50
5 Setting Up Hardware Components with YaST 51
5.1 Probing Your Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
5.2 Setting Up Graphics Card and Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
5.3 Setting Up Keyboard and Mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
5.4 Setting Up Sound Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
5.5 Setting Up a Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
5.6 Setting Up a Scanner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
6 Installing or Removing Software 65
6.1 Denition of Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
6.2 Using the Qt Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
6.3 Using the GTK+ Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
6.4 Managing Software Repositories and Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
6.5 Keeping the System Up-to-date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
7 Installing Add-On Products 85
7.1 Add-Ons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
7.2 Binary Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
7.3 SUSE Software Development Kit (SDK) 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
8 Accessing the Internet 87
8.1 Direct Internet Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
8.2 Internet Connection Via Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
9 Managing Users with YaST 91
9.1 User and Group Administration Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
9.2 Managing User Accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
9.3 Additional Options for User Accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
9.4 Changing Default Settings for Local Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
9.5 Assigning Users to Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
9.6 Managing Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
9.7 Changing the User Authentication Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
10 Changing Language and Country Settings with YaST 109
10.1 Changing the System Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
10.2 Changing the Country and Time Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
11 Remote Installation 117
11.1 Installation Scenarios for Remote Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
11.2 Setting Up the Server Holding the Installation Sources . . . . . . . . . 126
11.3 Preparing the Boot of the Target System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
11.4 Booting the Target System for Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
11.5 Monitoring the Installation Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
12 Advanced Disk Setup 155
12.1 Using the YaST Partitioner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
12.2 LVM Conguration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
12.3 Soft RAID Conguration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
13 Subscription Management 173
13.1 Using Kernel Parameters to Access an SMT Server . . . . . . . . . . . 174
13.2 Conguring Clients Using AutoYaST Prole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
13.3 Conguring Clients Using the clientSetup4SMT.sh Script . . . . . . . . 177
13.4 Registering Clients Against SMT Test Environment . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Part II Imaging and Creating Products 179
14 KIWI 181
14.1 Prerequisites for KIWI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
14.2 Knowing KIWI’s Build Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
14.3 Image Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
14.4 Creating Appliances with KIWI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
14.5 For More Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
15 Creating Add-On Products With Add-on Creator 189
15.1 Creating Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
15.2 Add-On Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
15.3 For More Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
16 Creating Images with YaST Product Creator 193
16.1 Prerequisites for Product Creator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
16.2 Creating Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
16.3 For More Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
17 Deploying Customized Preinstallations 197
17.1 Preparing the Master Machine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
17.2 Customizing the Firstboot Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
17.3 Cloning the Master Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
17.4 Personalizing the Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Part III Automated Installations 209
18 Automated Installation 211
18.1 Simple Mass Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
18.2 Rule-Based Autoinstallation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
18.3 For More Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
19 Automated Deployment of Preload Images 229
19.1 Deploying system manually from rescue image . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
19.2 Automated Deployment with PXE Boot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
About This Guide
Installations of SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop are possible in many different ways.
It is impossible to cover all combinations of boot, or installation server, automated installations or deploying images. This manual should help with selecting the appropriate
method of deployment for your installation.
Part I, “Manual Deployment” (page 5)
Most tasks that are needed during installations are described here. This includes
the manual setup of your computer as well as additional software and remote installations.
Part II, “Imaging and Creating Products” (page 179)
Mass installations often require to prepare images or products furnished with the
features that are needed in this special case. Several options are described that allow
the administrator to prepare this deployment methods.
Part III, “Automated Installations” (page 209)
To do unattended installations, either use the installation with AutoYaST or prepare
an image with kiwi or rstboot. This part describes methods to deploy these installations with a minimum of user interaction.
Many chapters in this manual contain links to additional documentation resources. This
includes additional documentation that is available on the system as well as documentation available on the Internet.
For an overview of the documentation available for your product and the latest documentation updates, refer to http://www.novell.com/documentation or to
the following section.
1 Available Documentation
We provide HTML and PDF versions of our books in different languages. The following
manuals for users and administrators are available on this product:
GNOME User Guide (↑GNOME User Guide)
Introduces the GNOME desktop of SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop. It guides you
through using and conguring the desktop and helps you perform key tasks. It is
intended mainly for end users who want to make efcient use of GNOME desktop
as their default desktop.
Application Guide (↑Application Guide)
Learn how to use and congure key desktop applications on SUSE Linux Enterprise
Desktop. This guide introduces browsers and e-mail clients as well as ofce applications and collaboration tools. It also covers graphics and multimedia applications.
Deployment Guide (page 1)
Shows how to install single or multiple systems and how to exploit the product
inherent capabilities for a deployment infrastructure. Choose from various approaches, ranging from a local installation or a network installation server to a mass deployment using a remote-controlled, highly-customized, and automated installation
technique.
Administration Guide (↑Administration Guide)
Covers system administration tasks like maintaining, monitoring and customizing
an initially installed system.
Security Guide (↑Security Guide)
Introduces basic concepts of system security, covering both local and network security aspects. Shows how to make use of the product inherent security software
like Novell AppArmor (which lets you specify per program which les the program
may read, write, and execute) or the auditing system that reliably collects information about any security-relevant events.
Virtualization with Xen (↑Virtualization with Xen)
Offers an introduction to virtualization technology of your product. It features an
overview of the various elds of application and installation types of each of the
platforms supported by SUSE Linux Enterprise Server as well as a short description
of the installation procedure.
In addition to the comprehensive manuals, several quick start guides are available:
viii Deployment Guide
Installation Quick Start (↑Installation Quick Start)
Lists the system requirements and guides you step-by-step through the installation
of SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop from DVD, or from an ISO image.
Linux Audit Quick Start
Gives a short overview how to enable and congure the auditing system and how
to execute key tasks such as setting up audit rules, generating reports, and analyzing
the log les.
Novell AppArmor Quick Start
Helps you understand the main concepts behind Novell® AppArmor.
Find HTML versions of most SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop manuals in your installed
system under /usr/share/doc/manual or in the help centers of your desktop.
Find the latest documentation updates at http://www.novell.com/
documentation where you can download PDF or HTML versions of the manuals
for your product.
2 Feedback
Several feedback channels are available:
• To report bugs for a product component or to submit enhancements requests, please
use https://bugzilla.novell.com/. If you are new to Bugzilla, you
might nd the Bug Writing FAQs helpful, available from the Novell Bugzilla home
page.
• We want to hear your comments and suggestions about this manual and the other
documentation included with this product. Please use the User Comments feature
at the bottom of each page of the online documentation and enter your comments
there.
3 Documentation Conventions
The following typographical conventions are used in this manual:
•
/etc/passwd: directory names and lenames
About This Guide ix
•
placeholder: replace placeholder with the actual value
•
PATH: the environment variable PATH
•
ls, --help: commands, options, and parameters
•
user: users or groups
•
Alt, Alt + F1: a key to press or a key combination; keys are shown in uppercase as
on a keyboard
•
File, File > Save As: menu items, buttons
•
Dancing Penguins (Chapter Penguins, ↑Another Manual): This is a reference to a
chapter in another manual.
x Deployment Guide
1
Planning for SUSE Linux
Enterprise Desktop
This chapter is addressed mainly to corporate system administrators who face the task
of having to deploy SUSE® Linux Enterprise Desktop at their site. Rolling out SUSE
Linux Enterprise Desktop to an entire site should involve careful planning and consideration of the following questions:
For which purpose will the SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop workstations be used?
Determine the purpose for which SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop should be used
and make sure that hardware and software able to match these requirements are
used. Consider testing your setup on a single machine before rolling it out to the
entire site.
How many workstations should be installed?
Determine the scope of your deployment of SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop. Depending on the number of installation planned, consider different approaches to
the installation or even a mass installation using SUSE Linux Enterprises unique
AutoYaST or KIWI technology. For more information about this subject, refer to
Chapter 2, Deployment Strategies (page 7).
How do you get software updates for your deployment?
All patches provided by Novell for your product are available for download to
registered users. Register and nd the patch support database at http://www
.novell.com/linux/suse/portal/index.html.
Do you need help for your local deployment?
Novell provides training, support, and consulting for all topics around SUSE Linux
Enterprise Desktop. Find more information about this at http://www.novell
.com/products/desktop/.
Planning for SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 1
1.1 Hardware Requirements
For a standard installation of SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop including the desktop
environment and a wealth of applications, the following conguration is recommended:
• Intel Pentium IV, 2.4 GHz or higher or any AMD64 or Intel 64 processor
• 1–2 physical CPUs
• 512 MB physical RAM or higher
• 3 GB of available disk space or more
• 1024 x 768 display resolution (or higher)
1.2 Reasons to Use SUSE Linux
Enterprise Desktop
Let the following items guide you in your selection of SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop
and while determining the purpose of the installed systems:
Wealth of Applications
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop's broad offer of software makes it appeal to both
professional users in a corporate environment and to home users or users in smaller
networks.
Ease of Use
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop comes with two enterprise-ready desktop environments, GNOME and KDE. Both enable users to comfortably adjust to a Linux
system while maintaining their efciency and productivity. To explore the desktops
in detail, refer to the KDE User Guide (↑KDE User Guide) and the GNOME User
Guide (↑GNOME User Guide).
Support for Mobile Users
With the NetworkManager technology fully integrated into SUSE Linux Enterprise
Desktop and its two desktop environments, mobile users will enjoy the freedom
of easily joining and switching wired and wireless networks.
2 Deployment Guide
Seamless Integration into Existing Networks
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop was designed to be a versatile network citizen. It
cooperates with various different network types:
Pure Linux Networks SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop is a complete Linux
client and supports all the protocols used in traditional Linux and Unix* environments. It integrates well with networks consisting of other SUSE Linux or SUSE
Linux Enterprise machines. LDAP, NIS, and local authentication are supported.
Windows Networks SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop supports Active Directory
as an authentication source. It offers you all the advantages of a secure and stable
Linux operating system plus convenient interaction with other Windows clients
and means to manipulate your Windows user data from a Linux client. Explore
this feature in detail in Chapter 5, Active Directory Support (↑Security Guide).
Windows and Novell Networks Being backed by Novell and their networking
expertise, SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop naturally offers you support for Novell
technologies, like GroupWise, Novell Client for Linux, and iPrint, and it also offers
authentication support for Novell eDirectory services.
Application Security with Novell AppArmor
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop enables you to secure your applications by enforcing security proles tailor-made for your applications. To learn more about Novell
AppArmor, refer to http://www.novell.com/documentation/
apparmor/.
Planning for SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 3
Part I. Manual Deployment
2
Deployment Strategies
There are several different ways to deploy SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop. Choose
from various approaches ranging from a local installation using physical media or a
network installation server to a mass deployment using a remote-controlled, highlycustomized, and automated installation technique. Select the method that best matches
your requirements.
TIP: Using Xen Virtualization with SLED
You may use the Xen virtualization technology to test virtual instances of SUSE
Linux Enterprise Desktop prior to rolling it out to real hardware. You could also
experiment with basic Windows*-in-SLED setups. For more information about
the virtualization technology available with SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop, refer
to http://www.novell.com/documentation/sles10/xen_admin/
data/bookinfo.html.
2.1 Deploying up to 10 Workstations
If your deployment of SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop only involves 1 to 10 workstations, the easiest and least complex way of deploying SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop
is a plain manual installation as featured in Chapter 3, Installation with YaST (page 17).
Manual installation can be done in several different ways depending on your requirements:
Installing from the SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop Media (page 8)
Consider this approach if you want to install a single, disconnected workstation.
Deployment Strategies 7
Installing from a Network Server Using SLP (page 8)
Consider this approach if you have a single workstation or a small number of
workstations and if a network installation server announced via SLP is available.
Installing from a Network Server (page 9)
Consider this approach if you have a single workstation or a small number of
workstations and if a network installation server is available.
Table 2.1
Installing from the SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop Media
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop media kitInstallation Source
Tasks Requiring Manual Interaction
• Inserting the installation media
• Booting the installation target
• Changing media
• Determining the YaST installation scope
• Conguring the system with YaST system
NoneRemotely Controlled Tasks
Installing from the SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop
Media (page 17)
Details
Table 2.2
Installing from a Network Server Using SLP
Network installation server holding the SUSE Linux
Enterprise Desktop installation media
Installation Source
Tasks Requiring Manual
Interaction
• Inserting the boot disk
• Booting installation target
• Determining the YaST installation scope
• Conguring the system with YaST
8 Deployment Guide
None, but this method can be combined with VNCRemotely Controlled Tasks
Section 3.1.1, “Installing from a Network Server Using
SLP” (page 19)
Details
Table 2.3
Installing from a Network Server
Network installation server holding the SUSE Linux
Enterprise Desktop installation media
Installation Source
Tasks Requiring Manual
Interaction
• Inserting the boot disk
• Providing boot options
• Booting the installation target
• Determining the YaST installation scope
• Conguring the system with YaST
None, but method can be combined with VNCRemotely Controlled Tasks
Section 3.1.2, “Installing from a Network Source without SLP” (page 20)
Details
2.2 Deploying up to 100 Workstations
With a growing numbers of workstations to install, you certainly do not want to install
and congure each one of them manually. There are many automated or semiautomated
approaches as well as several options to perform an installation with minimal to no
physical user interaction.
Before considering a fully-automated approach, take into account that the more complex
the scenario gets the longer it takes to set up. If a time limit is associated with your deployment, it might be a good idea to select a less complex approach that can be carried
out much more quickly. Automation makes sense for huge deployments and those that
need to be carried out remotely.
Deployment Strategies 9
Choose from the following options:
Simple Remote Installation via VNC—Static Network Conguration (page 11)
Consider this approach in a small to medium scenario with a static network setup.
A network, network installation server, and VNC viewer application are required.
Simple Remote Installation via VNC—Dynamic Network Conguration (page 11)
Consider this approach in a small to medium scenario with dynamic network setup
through DHCP. A network, network installation server, and VNC viewer application
are required.
Remote Installation via VNC—PXE Boot and Wake on LAN (page 12)
Consider this approach in a small to medium scenario that should be installed via
network and without physical interaction with the installation targets. A network,
a network installation server, network boot images, network bootable target hardware, and a VNC viewer application are required.
Simple Remote Installation via SSH—Static Network Conguration (page 12)
Consider this approach in a small to medium scenario with static network setup.
A network, network installation server, and SSH client application are required.
Remote Installation via SSH—Dynamic Network Conguration (page 13)
Consider this approach in a small to medium scenario with dynamic network setup
through DHCP. A network, network installation server, and SSH client application
are required.
Remote Installation via SSH—PXE Boot and Wake on LAN (page 14)
Consider this approach in a small to medium scenario that should be installed via
network and without physical interaction with the installation targets. A network,
a network installation server, network boot images, network bootable target hardware, and an SSH client application are required.
Simple Mass Installation (page 14)
Consider this approach for large deployments to identical machines. If congured
to use network booting, physical interaction with the target systems is not needed
at all. A network, a network installation server, a remote controlling application
such as a VNC viewer or an SSH client, and an AutoYaST conguration prole
are required. If using network boot, a network boot image and network bootable
hardware are required as well.
10 Deployment Guide
Rule-Based Autoinstallation (page 15)
Consider this approach for large deployments to various types of hardware. If
congured to use network booting, physical interaction with the target systems is
not needed at all. A network, a network installation server, a remote controlling
application such as a VNC viewer or an SSH client, and several AutoYaST conguration proles as well as a rule setup for AutoYaST are required. If using network
boot, a network boot image and network bootable hardware are required as well.
Table 2.4
Simple Remote Installation via VNC—Static Network Conguration
NetworkInstallation Source
Preparations • Setting up an installation source
• Booting from the installation media
Remote: VNCControl and Monitoring
small to medium scenarios with varying hardwareBest Suited For
Drawbacks • Each machine must be set up individually
• Physical access is needed for booting
Section 11.1.1, “Simple Remote Installation via
VNC—Static Network Conguration” (page 118)
Details
Table 2.5
Simple Remote Installation via VNC—Dynamic Network Conguration
NetworkInstallation Source
Preparations • Setting up the installation source
• Booting from the installation media
Remote: VNCControl and Monitoring
Deployment Strategies 11
Small to medium scenarios with varying hardwareBest Suited For
Drawbacks • Each machine must be set up individually
• Physical access is needed for booting
Section 11.1.2, “Simple Remote Installation via
VNC—Dynamic Network Conguration” (page 119)
Details
Table 2.6
Remote Installation via VNC—PXE Boot and Wake on LAN
NetworkInstallation Source
Preparations • Setting up the installation source
• Conguring DHCP, TFTP, PXE boot, and WOL
• Booting from the network
Remote: VNCControl and Monitoring
Best Suited For • Small to medium scenarios with varying hardware
• Completely remote installs; cross-site deployment
Each machine must be set up manuallyDrawbacks
Section 11.1.3, “Remote Installation via VNC—PXE
Boot and Wake on LAN” (page 121)
Details
Table 2.7
Simple Remote Installation via SSH—Static Network Conguration
NetworkInstallation Source
Preparations • Setting up the installation source
12 Deployment Guide
• Booting from the installation media
Remote: SSHControl and Monitoring
Best Suited For • Small to medium scenarios with varying hardware
• Low bandwidth connections to target
Drawbacks • Each machine must be set up individually
• Physical access is needed for booting
Section 11.1.4, “Simple Remote Installation via
SSH—Static Network Conguration” (page 122)
Details
Table 2.8
Remote Installation via SSH—Dynamic Network Conguration
NetworkInstallation Source
Preparations • Setting up the installation source
• Booting from installation media
Remote: SSHControl and Monitoring
Best Suited For • Small to medium scenarios with varying hardware
• Low bandwidth connections to target
Drawbacks • Each machine must be set up individually
• Physical access is needed for booting
Deployment Strategies 13
Section 11.1.5, “Simple Remote Installation via
SSH—Dynamic Network Conguration” (page 123)
Details
Table 2.9
Remote Installation via SSH—PXE Boot and Wake on LAN
NetworkInstallation Source
Preparations • Setting up the installation source
• Conguring DHCP, TFTP, PXE boot, and WOL
• Booting from the network
Remote: SSHControl and Monitoring
Best Suited For • Small to medium scenarios with varying hardware
• Completely remote installs; cross-site deployment
• Low bandwidth connections to target
Each machine must be set up individuallyDrawbacks
Section 11.1.6, “Remote Installation via SSH—PXE
Boot and Wake on LAN” (page 125)
Details
Table 2.10
Simple Mass Installation
Preferably networkInstallation Source
Preparations • Gathering hardware information
• Creating AutoYaST prole
• Setting up the installation server
• Distributing the prole
14 Deployment Guide
• Setting up network boot (DHCP, TFTP, PXE, WOL)
or
Booting the target from installation media
Local or remote through VNC or SSHControl and Monitoring
Best Suited For • Large scenarios
• Identical hardware
• No access to system (network boot)
Applies only to machines with identical hardwareDrawbacks
Section 18.1, “Simple Mass Installation” (page 211)Details
Table 2.11
Rule-Based Autoinstallation
Preferably networkInstallation Source
Preparations • Gathering hardware information
• Creating AutoYaST proles
• Creating AutoYaST rules
• Setting up the installation server
• Distributing the prole
• Setting up network boot (DHCP, TFTP, PXE, WOL)
or
Booting the target from installation media
Deployment Strategies 15
Local or remote through SSH or VNCControl and Monitoring
Best Suited For • Varying hardware
• Cross-site deployments
Complex rule setupDrawbacks
Section 18.2, “Rule-Based Autoinstallation” (page 223)Details
2.3 Deploying More than 100
Workstations
Most of the considerations brought up for medium installation scenarios in Section 2.1,
“Deploying up to 10 Workstations” (page 7) still hold true for large scale deployments.
However, with a growing number of installation targets, the benets of a fully automated
installation method outweigh its disadvantages.
It pays off to invest a considerable amount of time to create a sophisticated rule and
class framework in AutoYaST to match the requirements of a huge deployment site.
Not having to touch each target separately can save you a tremendous amount of time
depending on the scope of your installation project.
As an alternative, and if user settings should be done during the rst bootup, create
preload images with kiwi and rstboot. Deploying such images could even be done by
a PXE boot server specialized for this task. For more details, see Chapter 14, KIWI
(page 181), Chapter 18, Automated Installation (page 211), and Chapter 17, Deploying
Customized Preinstallations (page 197).
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3
Installation with YaST
Install your SUSE® Linux Enterprise Desktop system with YaST, the central tool for
installation and conguration of your system. YaST guides you through the installation
process and the basic conguration of your system. During the installation and conguration process, YaST analyzes both your current system settings and your hardware
components and proposes installation settings based on this analysis. By default, YaST
displays an overview of all installation steps on the left hand side of the window and
provides online help texts for each step. Click Help to view the help text.
If you are a rst-time user of SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop, you might want to follow
the default YaST proposals in most parts, but you can also adjust the settings as described
here to ne-tune your system according to your needs and wishes. Many parts of the
basic system conguration, such as user accounts or system language, can also be
modied after the installation process.
3.1 Choosing the Installation Method
After having selected the installation medium, determine a suitable installation method
and boot option that best match your needs:
Installing from the SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop Media
Choose this option, if you want to perform a stand-alone installation and do not
want to rely on a network providing the installation data or the boot infrastructure.
The installation proceeds exactly as outlined in Section 3.2, “The Installation
Workow” (page 20).
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Installing from the LiveDVD
In order to install from a LiveCD, boot the live system from DVD. In the running
system, launch the installation routine by clicking on the Install icon on the desktop.
Phase one of the installation will be carried out in a window on the desktop. It is
not possible to update or repair an existing system with a LiveDVD, you can only
perform a new installation with automatic conguration.
Installing from a Network Server
Choose this option, if you have an installation server available in your network or
want to use an external server as the source of your installation data. This setup
can be congured to use from physical media (Floppy, CD/DVD, or hard disk) for
booting or congured to boot via network using PXE/BOOTP. Refer to Sec-
tion 3.1.1, “Installing from a Network Server Using SLP” (page 19), Section 3.1.2,
“Installing from a Network Source without SLP” (page 20), or Chapter 11, Remote
Installation (page 117) for details.
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop supports several different boot options from which
you can choose depending on the hardware available and on the installation scenario
you prefer. Booting from the SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop media is the most
straightforward option, but special requirements might call for special setups:
Table 3.1
Boot Options
DescriptionBoot Option
This is the easiest boot option. This option can be used if the system
has a local DVD-ROM drive that is supported by Linux.
DVD
The data for generating boot oppies are located on DVD 1 in the
/boot/architecture/ directory. A README with instructions
on how to create the boot oppies is available in the same directory.
Floppy
Booting over the network must be supported by the system's BIOS
or rmware and a boot server must be available in the network.
PXE or
BOOTP
This task can also be handled by another SUSE Linux Enterprise
Desktop system. Refer to Chapter 11, Remote Installation (page 117)
for more information.
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DescriptionBoot Option
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop installation can also be booted
from the hard disk. To do this, copy the kernel (linux) and the
Hard Disk
installation system (initrd) from the directory
/boot/architecture/ on the installation media to the hard
disk and add an appropriate entry to the existing boot loader of a
previous SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop installation.
TIP: Booting from DVD on UEFI machines
►amd64 em64t: DVD1 can be used as a boot medium for machines equipped
with UEFI (Unied Extensible Firmware Interface). Refer to your vendor's documentation for specic information. If booting fails, try to enable CSM (Compatibility Support Module) in your rmware. ◄
3.1.1 Installing from a Network Server Using
SLP
If your network setup supports OpenSLP and your network installation source has been
congured to announce itself via SLP (described in Section 11.2, “Setting Up the
Server Holding the Installation Sources” (page 126)), boot the system, press F4 in the
boot screen and select SLP from the menu.
The installation program congures the network connection with DHCP and retrieves
the location of the network installation source from the OpenSLP server. If the automatic
DHCP network conguration fails, you are prompted to enter the appropriate parameters
manually. The installation then proceeds as described below with the exception of the
network conguration step needed prior to adding additional repositories. This step is
not needed as the network is already congured and active at this point.
Installation with YaST 19
3.1.2 Installing from a Network Source
without SLP
If your network setup does not support OpenSLP for the retrieval of network installation
sources, boot the system and press F4 in the boot screen to select the desired network
protocol (NFS, HTTP, FTP, or SMB/CIFS). Provide the server's address and the path
to the installation media.
The installation program automatically congures the network connection with DHCP.
If this conguration fails, you are prompted to enter the appropriate parameters manually. The installation retrieves the installation data from the source specied. The installation then proceeds as described below with the exception of the network conguration
step needed prior to adding additional repositories. This step is not needed as the network
is already congured and active at this point.
3.2 The Installation Workow
The SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop installation is split into three main parts: preparation, installation, conguration. During the preparation phase you congure some basic
parameters such as language, time, desktop type, users, passwords, hard disk setup and
installation scope. In the non-interactive installation phase the software is installed and
the system is prepared for the rst boot. Upon nishing the installation the machine
reboots into the newly installed system and starts the nal system conguration. You
can choose whether to do a fully automatic or a manual conguration. In this stage,
network and Internet access, as well as hardware components such as printers, are set
up.
3.3 System Start-Up for Installation
You can install SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop from local installation sources, such
as the SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop CDs or DVD, or from network source of an
FTP, HTTP, NFS, or SMB server. Any of these approaches requires physical access to
the system to install and user interaction during the installation. The installation procedure is basically the same regardless of the installation source. Any exceptions are
sufciently highlighted in the following workow description. For a description on
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