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, or Windows.

  • 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 Software in the OES 2018 SP2: 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 Open Enterprise Server 2018 SP2 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 Installation or Upgrading to OES 2018 SP2.

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 12 SP5.

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 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 12 SP5 Deployment Guide.