6.0 AutoYaST Extended: The Config File Approach

AutoYaST control files created by YaST modules always contain values from the system where the file has been created. As a consequence, every such control file can only be used to install the same server again.

Installation of a different server implies that a new XML file with the specific information for this new server needs to be provided. This could be achieved by copying the control file of an existing server and making the required adjustments. However, this would require a highly skilled administrator and would also result in a lot of additional effort before a new server could be installed. As a result, the advantage of an automated installation would be greatly reduced by such a cumbersome configuration approach.

To overcome this limitation Novell Consulting has developed the Novell Consulting Installation Framework, which almost completely automates the creation of the AutoYaST control file and allows for fast, standardized, unattended installations with minimal administrative intervention.

This approach uses standard AutoYaST processes explained in Section 4.5, AutoYaST Control File, as well as some additional AutoYaST features described in this section.

A set of text files is used to store information about the environment and the specific server and a shell scripting framework connects all these pieces together.