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PXE and Kickstart, Automated Installations for Linu via WDS
with 47 comments
Today I decided to setup automated installations for Linux distros (RHEL, Fedora, CentOS), similar to how we deploy our Windows installations via
PXE. Since we already had WDS running for installing Windows, it was just a matter of reconfiguring WDS, setting up the necessary structure and
kickstart files for our automated Linux installations. While I do not cover the initial WDS installation process, I will attempt to go over the
steps performed after the basic WDS install (native or mixed).
What you will need:
Windows server running WDS (and working via DHCP).
A recent copy of SYSLINUX (extracted to a folder somewhere on the WDS server).
An HTTP or anonymous FTP server to hold your installation media.
Currently when I boot my computer with PXE enabled, I am prompted to hit F12 for network boot. When I press F12, I am prompted by
Windows Boot Manager to select my boot images that I setup in WDS. Since I cant install Linux images directly using the WDS interface, an
alternative boot image is necessary. That is where SYSLINUX/PXELINUX takes over.
Pre-Setup
Create the necessary directory structure inside the WDS RemoteInstall directory (this was specified during the WDS installation).
Inside the x86 folder (RemoteInstall\Boot\x86\), create the following folders (including pxelinux.cfg):
conf
img
knl
pxelinux.cfg
Preparing Installation Media
Setup an FTP server to hold your installation media (HTTP works also): Currently the average size of a Red Hat distribution is about 5GB, so
make sure the server you select will have the necessary disk space. You will need separate installation media for both distribution specific 32bit
and 64bit installs. If you want Fedora 9, CentOS 5.2, and RHEL 5.2 images (both 32bit and 64bit), that will be about 30GB. As long as
youre not archiving old distributions, this should not be an issue.
On my FTP server in the root/path, I created a directory for each of my installation media. Also, creating a standard naming convention
will help with editing the configuration files later and any case sensitivity issues. Example: My directory names are DistroVersion_arc
(Fedora9_32bit), as you will see later on.
Copy the entire installation dvd media to the corresponding directories you created (not the .iso, extract its entire contents).
In the FTP root directory for the media you copied, create a kickstart file (ks.cfg). (Example:
ftp://ftpserver.domain.com/Fedora9_32bit/ks.cfg) I have included example kickstart files at the bottom of this article.
Once you have copied the installation media for a distro to your FTP server, you need to copy 2 files from that specific distro media to your
WDS server.
From the (installation media\images\pxeboot) directory, copy the following:
Copy vmlinuz to the following directory on the WDS server (RemoteInstall\Boot\x86\knl\). Rename the file to an identifying name
such as vmlinuz-fedora9-32bit.
Copy initrd.img to the following directory on the WDS server (RemoteInstall\Boot\x86\img\). Rename the file to an identifying
name such as initrd-fedora9-32bit.
When it comes time to configure your option menus, you will need to specify these files for each version/distro you plan on making available.
Configring WDS
From inside the downloaded SYSLINUX archive, copy the following files:
pxelinux.0 from the (syslinux\core) directory to your (RemoteInstall\Boot\x86\) directory on the WDS server.
menu.c32 and vesamenu.c32 from the (syslinux\com32\menu) directory to your (RemoteInstall\Boot\x86\) directory on the WDS server.
Inside the (RemoteInstall\Boot\x86\) directory, create copies of the following files, rename them accordingly (you can copy paste then rename):
Make a copy of pxeboot.n12, save it as pxeboot.0
Make a copy of abortpxe.com, save it as abortpxe.0
Inside (RemoteInstall\Boot\x86\pxelinux.cfg\), create a file called default. This will be the initial menu you see during PXE boot, edit the file and
give it the following contents:
# File: dspath\RemoteInstall\Boot\86\pelinu.cfg\default
# Default boot option to use
DEFAULT men.c32
TIMEOUT 50
# Prompt user for selection
PROMPT 0
# Menu Configuration
MENU WIDTH 80
MENU MARGIN 10
MENU PASSWORDMARGIN 3
MENU ROWS 12
MENU TABMSGROW 18
MENU CMDLINEROW 18
MENU ENDROW 24
MENU PASSWORDROW 11
MENU TIMEOUTROW 20
MENU TITLE Main Menu

# Menus
# Windos
LABEL Windos
MENU LABEL Windos Installer
KERNEL peboot.0
# 86
LABEL 86
MENU LABEL Linu 32bit Installs (86)
KERNEL menu.c32
APPEND conf86.conf
# 64
LABEL 64
MENU LABEL Linu 64bit Installs (64)
KERNEL menu.c32
APPEND conf64.conf
# Windos
LABEL Eit
MENU LABEL Eit
KERNEL abortpe.0
No o need o ceae he b-men configaion file fo o 32 and 64 bi inall ha o pecified in o defal file
(RemoeInall\Boo\86\conf\86.conf and RemoeInall\Boo\86\conf\64.conf epeciel). Thee file ill li he aailable dio o
inall, and he pah o o copied kenel\image file, inclding o kicka file hich conain he pah fo o FTP o HTTP inallaion
media. Each opion need o poin o he pecific kenel and image ha a ceaed fom he inallaion media ealie.
# File: dspath\RemoteInstall\Boot\86\conf\86.conf
DEFAULT menu.c32
PROMPT 0
MENU WIDTH 80
MENU MARGIN 10
MENU ROWS 12
MENU TABMSGROW 18
MENU CMDLINEROW 18
MENU ENDROW 24
MENU PASSWORDROW 11
MENU TIMEOUTROW 20
MENU TITLE Linu32Bit (86) OS Selection
# Return to Main Menu
LABEL MainMenu
MENU DEFAULT
MENU LABEL ^Main Menu
KERNEL menu.c32
#
# Blank boots
#
LABEL Fedora 9 32bit
MENU LABEL Fedora 9 32bit
KERNEL knl/vmlinu-fedora9-86
APPEND initrd=img/initrd-fedora9-86.img ks=fp://ftpserver.mdomain.com/Fedora9_32bit/ks.cfg
# File: dspath\RemoteInstall\Boot\86\conf\64.conf
DEFAULT menu.c32
PROMPT 0
MENU WIDTH 80
MENU MARGIN 10
MENU ROWS 12
MENU TABMSGROW 18
MENU CMDLINEROW 18
MENU ENDROW 24
MENU PASSWORDROW 11
MENU TIMEOUTROW 20
MENU TITLE 64Bit (64) OS Choice
# Return to Main Menu
LABEL MainMenu
MENU DEFAULT
MENU LABEL ^Main Men
KERNEL men.c32
#
# Blank boo
#
LABEL CenOS 5.2 64bi
MENU LABEL CenOS 5.2 64bi
KERNEL knl/mlin-ceno52-64
APPEND inid=img/inid-ceno52-64.img k=fp://fpee.mdomain.com/CenOS52_64bi/k.cfg
LABEL Fedoa 9 64bi
MENU LABEL Fedoa 9 64bi
KERNEL knl/mlin-fedoa9-64
APPEND inid=img/inid-fedoa9-64.img k=fp://fpee.mdomain.com/Fedoa9_64bi/k.cfg
LABEL RHEL 5.2 64bi
MENU LABEL RHEL 5.2 64bi
KERNEL knl/mlin-hel52-64
APPEND inid=img/inid-hel52-64.img k=fp://fpee.mdomain.com/RHEL52_64bi/k.cfg
Lal, e WDS o e he pelin.0 boo image. If o need o ge o he nomal WDS boo image, o can e he Windo Inalle
opion ceaed in o defal men.
Open Windo Deplomen Seice on o WDS ee. Righ click o ee -> Popeie. Unde he Boo ab, e he Defal
boo pogam fo 86 achiece (Boo\86\pelin.0), o boe o he pelin.0 file e ceaed ealie. Yo ma leae he ohe
achiece alone o change a o ee fi.
**Fo Windos 2008 R2 inallaion o m e he booimage ia command-line a folloed:
dil /e-ee /boopogam:boo\86\pelin.0 /Achiece:86
dil /e-ee /boopogam:boo\86\pelin.0 /Achiece:64
dil /e-ee /N12boopogam:boo\86\pelin.0 /Achiece:86
dil /e-ee /N12boopogam:boo\86\pelin.0 /Achiece:64
Finished Result
Eample Kickstart File
Here is an eample kickstart file for Fedora 9. For each ne distro I normall perform a cd install ith m desired options, then use the
resulting /root/anaconda-cfg.ks for assistance. Note that the kickstart file specifies the FTP path of our installation media that ou created in the
beginning of this article.
#Veion=F9
#32bi
inall
e
-- fp://fee.dai.c/Feda9_32bi
ag e_US.UTF-8
ebad
e --deice eh0 --b dhc
--iced $1$X.PQYd$L.YRbORBd30
fiea --diabed
ahcfig --eabehad --eabed5 --aag=ha512
ei --diabed
iee Aeica/Chicag
bade --cai=b --diede=da --aed="hgb ie"
ceaa --a --die=da
a /b --fe e3 --ie=1000
a a --ie=2048
a / --fe e3 --ie=1 --g
%acage
edi
deee-
e-iee
ce
bae
hadae-
adi-
gb
eda
eda-dee
eda-cie
e-*
Written by jro
September 24th, 2008 at 8:18 pm
Posted in Computers
Tagged with kickstart, Linux, pxe, wds
Linux SSH + PAM + LDAP + 2003 R2 AD Deployment
Organization Continued..
47 Responses to 'PXE and Kickstart, Automated Installations for Linu via WDS'
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1. Did you do this on Win 2008 SVR with WDS?
Chadle
21 Oct 08 at 5:18 am
2. By the way thanks a million for this this it works briliantly, and I have learnt a whole lot from you.
I really appreciate the effort you have put in this how-to.
Chadle
21 Oct 08 at 7:42 am
3. This was on 2003 Server with WDS, though I would assume 2008 would be no different. I will probably end up trying it on 2008 in the future
when it comes time to migrate to 2008 Server.
As for adjusting the background, they have some examples on the PXELINUX site, located at:
http://syslinux.zytor.com/wiki/index.php/PXELINUX
jro
3 Nov 08 at 3:47 pm
4. save to my Bookmarks
ale
9 Dec 08 at 10:05 pm
5. This works fantastic on Server 2008/WDS. Thanks for the walkthroughwas going to make one myself but found his on Google first!
Now we can boot our HP firmware maintenance CDs via PXE. Woohoo
(for anyone interested in that, you need to use the script found here http://forums11.itrc.hp.com/service/forums/questionanswer.do?
admit=109447626+1234547654850+28353475&threadId=1007139)
Preston Gallas
13 Feb 09 at 2:52 pm
6. Good find, thanks for the info
jro
16 Feb 09 at 9:01 am
7. Unbelievable! It works and straight away too!
Very detailed instructions with the logic. Awesome!
10 out of 10.
Thanks a lot.
Jiljith C.P
19 Mar 09 at 8:28 am
8. This is exactly what I was trying to dothank you! However, I followed the instructions exactly (WDS is on WS2008 64-bit, so I copied all of
the above files into the x64 directory as well as x86, and adjusted the boot menu in the last step for that as well) and yet its behaving exactly as
before going straight into Windows install. If you have any thoughts, Id greatly appreciate it. Otherwise, thanks again for the walkthrough,
and hopefully I can figure out what I need to do to get it to work!
elee
3 Sep 09 at 11:02 am
9. Did you try the setup just using the x86 directory/paths as I described? Or did you have an issue with that first and that is why you tried the x64
dir?
jro
3 Sep 09 at 11:19 am
10. I did just the x86 first, then added the x64 when that didnt work (and the ia64 when *that* didnt work).
elee
3 Sep 09 at 11:56 am
11. When you say going straightinto Windows install, youre saying its going straight into RIS?
jro
3 Sep 09 at 12:10 pm
12. Yes. I tell the machine Im trying to install to to PXE boot. It waits about 5 seconds, then does exactly what it did before shows Windows is
loading files and the IP of the WDS server. And then it starts the Windows installation procedure. (Its not RIS anymore in 2008, IIRC)
elee
3 Sep 09 at 12:23 pm
13. Hmmm, I could see this happening if you were pointing the default boot program to pxeboot.0 instead of pxelinux.0, or if it was somehow
replaced during the process. Try re-copying pxelinux.0 from the syslinux download and verify you are pointing to it in the WDS configuration:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2086/2888619618_5404f127bc.jpg
jro
3 Sep 09 at 12:28 pm
14. HmmmI did have that, but I wiped it out and tried again, and restarted. Now I get the error Windows failed to start. A recent hardware or
software change might be the cause etc
File: \windows\system32\winload.efi
Status: 0xc0000225
Info: The selected entry could not be loaded because the application is missing or corrupt.
elee
3 Sep 09 at 3:08 pm
15. Well*sigh* I tested this just now when trying to deploy to a non-EFI machine and its fine (well, havent tweaked all the options, but the
general framework is good). Most of the machines I have to deploy to are EFI, though. EFIs caused me a bunch of issues in other areas,
too
Im really grateful for your help to this point, and this great walkthrough. If you have any thoughts on the EFI issue thatd be amazing, but I
dont expect a thing.
elee
3 Sep 09 at 3:31 pm
16. Are you running your WDS install in native or mixed mode? I know 2008 has some support for EFI though Ive never attempted it myself.
Pretty sure it has to be in native mode though.
jro
3 Sep 09 at 3:37 pm
17. Its native mode.
elee
3 Sep 09 at 3:39 pm
18. Oh, and the Windows deployment from this server to the EFI machines worked fine before trying to add the Linux stuff. So its probably the
linux boot loader conflicting somehow, Id think
elee
3 Sep 09 at 3:40 pm
19. Are you trying to boot Itanium/Macs or? Unfortunately I have no EFI systems to try this with 8(
jro
3 Sep 09 at 4:47 pm
20. Its a Bladecentre HS22. Also, I rebooted and tried again, and now its back to just booting straight into the WDS and ignoring the existence of
Linux altogether. *sigh* These Blades are a nightmare with Linux
elee
3 Sep 09 at 4:51 pm
21. I wish I had one to play with but unfortunately weve gone more of the Virtualization route Ill keep poking around, let me know if you figure
it out!
jro
3 Sep 09 at 4:55 pm
22. Will do! Thanks so much.
One more quick question, if youre not sick of me;-) And this one might actually be helpful to other future readers. Can the paths to the
image, kickstart file, etc be paths local to the WDS machine, rather than ftp?
elee
3 Sep 09 at 5:04 pm
23. nm on the path issue, btw. Still hacking away at getting the EFI machines on board. I think the error message was a red herring every other
time its booted straight into WDS. So for some reason its just not seeing the Linux stuff at all. Anyway, Ill let you know if I find anything more
out.
elee
3 Sep 09 at 6:06 pm
24. Yea, pxelinux wont work for efi images. Everything Ive read seems to recommend elilo.efi for the boot image. Might want to give that a try.
These links might be helpful:
http://syslinux.zytor.com/archives/2003-September/002468.html
http://listman.redhat.com/archives/kickstart-list/2003-July/msg00115.html
http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/QA:Testcase_UEFI_pxeboot
http://www.klabs.be/~fpiat/linux/debian/di-netboot-assistant/
http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/engine?do=post_view_printable;post=9223;list=syslinux
Guess Ill have to add a elilo section once I pickup a efi machine.
jro
4 Sep 09 at 1:18 pm
25. Sweetthank you so much! I wasnt searching for IA64 because technically these arent IA machines, but hopefully the same thing will work
for them. With any luck Ill get around to trying this today, and Ill let you know.
elee
8 Sep 09 at 9:54 am
26. Im not sure if I can describe this right, but Ill try. I dont think the Blade is even looking for a boot image at all. I put the elilo.efi image as the
setting for ia64 machines, and still the Blade went straight to Windows. Then put it for all of them, and the Blade went straight to Windows. A
non-Blade went to elilo.efi, so its definitely in there and being read in general. In fact, if I put in a non-existent path, the other machines all show
that theyre trying to read garbage.com or whatever Ive put in there, and they hang. The Blade just goes to Windows every single time. Im
writing IBM today, but Im not holding my breath on them supporting this*sigh*
elee
9 Sep 09 at 11:22 am
27. Well, youll be happy to know Ive given up on EFI. Theres a slightly buried option when you set the boot order called legacy only. I say
buried because it didnt actually appear I had to go into Add Boot Option and scroll through a tonne of stuff to see it. Anyway, put that first
and then everything works fine, and thats how Im leaving it. Thanks for all your help!
elee
15 Sep 09 at 6:21 pm
28. The Above steps I have tried on Microsoft WDS 2008 and its works!!!!, but I have small issue when I select EXIT menu to abortpxe.0 it wont
go to next boot, it hangs there.. I have copied the abortpxe.com to abortpxe.0
jack
24 Sep 09 at 9:04 am
29. Hello,
First of all, very nice tutorial!
im trying with the debian netinstall(debian-503-i386-netinst.iso), extracted the iso to my apache http server (wich is reachable)
in conf/x86.conf i have:
LABEL Debian Lenny new 2.6.26.2 32bit
MENU LABEL Debian Lenny new 2.6.26.2 32bit
KERNEL knl/vmlinuz
APPEND initrd=img/initrd.img ks=http://10.4.3.72/debian-503-i386-netinst/preseed.cfg
i e he pe boo and i can chooe fo ha eion, i load mlin and inid.img and i a ih he debian ep. B i in going
aomaicall! and i don kno ha im doing ong.. pl hen i go he ep i ddenl ak fo moning cdom, b i a neinall! hoe
2 poblem i hae ich i don kno ho o fi.
hi i he lao of m peeed.cfg (alo ied o name i k.cfg)
#### Conen of he peconfigaion file (fo lenn)
### Localiaion
# Locale e langage and con.
d-i debian-inalle/locale ing en_US
# Keboad elecion.
#d-i conole-ool/ach elec a
d-i conole-kemap-a/kemap elec
# Eample fo a diffeen keboad achiece
#d-i conole-kemap-b/kemap elec mac-b-
### Neok configaion
# necfg ill chooe an ineface ha ha link if poible. Thi make i
# kip diplaing a li if hee i moe han one ineface.
d-i necfg/chooe_ineface elec ao
# To pick a paicla ineface inead:
#d-i necfg/chooe_ineface elec eh1
# If o hae a lo dhcp ee and he inalle ime o aiing fo
# i, hi migh be efl.
d-i necfg/dhcp_imeo ing 60
# If o pefe o confige he neok manall, ncommen hi line and
# he aic neok configaion belo.
#d-i necfg/diable_dhcp boolean e
# If o an he peconfigaion file o ok on em boh ih and
# iho a dhcp ee, ncommen hee line and he aic neok
# configaion belo.
#d-i necfg/dhcp_failed noe
#d-i netcfg/dhcp_options select Configure network manuall
# Static network configuration.
#d-i netcfg/get_nameservers string 192.168.1.1
#d-i netcfg/get_ipaddress string 192.168.1.42
#d-i netcfg/get_netmask string 255.255.255.0
#d-i netcfg/get_gatewa string 192.168.1.1
#d-i netcfg/confirm_static boolean true
# An hostname and domain names assigned from dhcp take precedence over
# values set here. However, setting the values still prevents the questions
# from being shown, even if values come from dhcp.
d-i netcfg/get_hostname string unassigned-hostname
d-i netcfg/get_domain string unassigned-domain
# Disable that annoing WEP ke dialog.
d-i netcfg/wireless_wep string
# The wack dhcp hostname that some ISPs use as a password of sorts.
#d-i netcfg/dhcp_hostname string radish
# If non-free firmware is needed for the network or other hardware, ou can
# configure the installer to alwas tr to load it, without prompting. Or
# change to false to disable asking.
#d-i hw-detect/load_firmware boolean true
### Network console
# Use the following settings if ou wish to make use of the network-console
# component for remote installation over SSH. This onl makes sense if ou
# intend to perform the remainder of the installation manuall.
#d-i anna/choose_modules string network-console
#d-i network-console/password password r00tme
#d-i network-console/password-again password r00tme
### Mirror settings
# If ou select ftp, the mirror/countr string does not need to be set.
d-i mirror/protocol string ftp
# d-i mirror/country string manual
d-i mirror/http/hostname string http.us.debian.org
etc
Anyone who can help me? (i followed the tuturial three times, just to be sure!)
Niels
11 Dec 09 at 11:58 am
30. Right, followed all the steps and fell at the last hurdle.. canot change the boot option on wds to use the pxelinux.0 boot image. Can change the
default boot image, when I click select there are none listed. Under Boot images folder I can only add the wim type.
Does this work on 2008 R2? Fresh install in its own domain, PXE boot works fine but only windows.
Help!
Cheers, Jim
Jimbo
27 Jan 10 at 11:05 am
31. I have windows 2008 R2 (wds native mode) but cant get this work on it. Any idea?
Siby
Sib
9 Feb 10 at 1:04 pm
32. In Windows 2008 R2 there is a small change(Im sure they call it a fix) that makes it a bit harder to change the Default Boot Program.
Luckily you can still edit the Boot Programs via Command Prompt w/ Admin Privileges.
Check current WDS config for Boot Program Policy with: wdsutil /Get-Server /show:config
Setting x86 Default Boot Program:
wdsutil /set-server /bootprogram:boot\x86\pxelinux.0 /Architecture:x86
Setting x64 Default Boot Program:
Enjoy!
Simon
29 Mar 10 at 3:49 pm
33. [...] a follow-up to my previous post regarding pxe with wds, I recently came across a new issue which Ive not seen [...]
Ineeing.. a Ohjeah!
29 Apr 10 at 8:55 am
34. Thanks for the 2008 R2 info!
One of these days Ill get around to updating this.
jo
13 May 10 at 1:16 pm
35. running win 2008 R2 wds, everything works great for windows installs but after i make the changes in this walk through it still boots right to the
\x86\images\boot.wim and i cant get the new menu to come up.
this is the /show:config
Windows Deployment Services Management Utility [Version 6.1.7600.16385]
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
SETUP INFORMATION FOR SERVER
[-----------------------------------------------------------------------------]
Server State:
OS version: 6.1
WDS operational mode: Native
Installation State:
RemoteInstall location: G:\RemoteInstall
RemoteInstall share up-to-date: Yes
Boot files installed:
x86 Yes
x64 Yes
ia64 No
[-----------------------------------------------------------------------------]
CONFIGURATION INFORMATION FOR SERVER
[-----------------------------------------------------------------------------]
Server Authorization:
Authorization state: Not Authorized
Answer Policy:
Answer clients: Yes
Answer only known clients: No
Response delay: 2 seconds
Active Directory Use Policy:
Preferred DC:
Preferred GC:
Prestage devices using MAC: No
New computer naming policy: %61Username%#
Domain search order: Global Catalog Only
New computers join domain: Yes
New Computer OU:
OU type: Server Domain
OU: CN=Computers,DC=research,DC=att,DC=com
DHCP Configuration:
DHCP service status: Not Installed
DHCP option 60 configured:
PXE Bind Policy:
Use DHCP ports: Yes
Rogue detection: Disabled
RPC port: 5040
Interface Bind Policy:
Policy: Exclude Registered
Registered interfaces:
Boot Program Policy:
Known client PXE prompt policy: OptOut
New client PXE prompt policy: OptOut
Allow N12 for new clients:
Architecture discovery: Enabled
Reset boot program: No
Default boot programs:
x86 boot\x86\pxelinux.0
x64 boot\x64\pxeboot.com
ia64 boot\ia64\bootmgfw.efi
Default N12 boot programs:
x86 boot\x86\pxeboot.n12
x64 boot\x64\pxeboot.n12
Banned GUIDs list:
Boot Image Policy:
Default image type for x64 clients: Both
Default boot images:
x86
x64
ia64
WDS Client Policy:
Logging policy:
Enabled: No
Logging level: Info
Unattend policy:
Enabled: No
Command-line precedence: No
WDS unattend files:
x86
x64
ia64
OSChooser Policy:
Menu name:
Server Automatic Refresh Policy:
Refresh period: 900 seconds
BCD Refresh Policy:
Enabled: No
Refresh period: 60 minutes
Auto-Add Polic:
Polic: Disabled
Poll interval: 10 seconds
Ma retr count: 2160 times
Message to pending clients:
Retention period:
Approved devices: 30 das
Other devices: 1 das
Defaults for 86:
Referral server:
Boot program path:
WDS client unattend file path:
Boot image path:
User: Domain Admins
Join rights: Full
Join domain: Yes
Defaults for 64:
Referral server:
Boot program path:
Boot image path:
User: Domain Admins
Join rights: Full
Join domain: Yes
Defaults for ia64:
Referral server:
Boot program path:
Boot image path:
User: Domain Admins
Join rights: Full
Join domain: Yes
WDS PXE Providers:
Name: BINLSVC
Path: C:\Windows\sstem32\binlsvc.dll
Order: 1
Critical: Yes
WDS Transport Server Polic:
IPv4 source: Range
Start address: 239.0.0.1
End address: 239.0.0.254
IPv6 source: Range
Start address: FF15::1
End address: FF15::FF
Start port: 64001
End port: 65000
Network profile:
Multicast session polic:
Slow client handling polic: None
AutoDisconnect threshold: 256 KBps
Multistream stream count: 2
Slow client fallback: Yes
[-----------------------------------------------------------------------------]
The command completed successfull.
an help would be appreciated
om
9 Jun 10 at 2:02 pm
36. What are you using for dhcp?
In dhcp you should have boot option 66 pointing to your WDS server, and boot option 67 pointing to the image, say boot\x86\pxelinux.0
jro
9 Jun 10 at 2:04 pm
37. Simon also posted a comment above that might help you, about setting the default boot image.
jro
9 Jun 10 at 2:10 pm
38. we are using windows DHCP with 66 and 67 and 67 is pointing to boot\x86\pxelinux.0
I saw Simons post and that helped with setting the default boot image. This was done prior to the previous post.
om
9 Jun 10 at 2:25 pm
39. Guess its time to make a 2008 R2 guide
Going to try and do this right now, hopefully wont take too long.
jro
9 Jun 10 at 2:28 pm
40. thanks, im not too sure what i missed, i have a colleague going over your walk through right now to see if i misses something
om
9 Jun 10 at 2:36 pm
41. Pretty easy fix, in addition to what Simon mentioned earlier you need to set the N12bootimage as well.
wdsutil /set-server /N12bootprogram:boot\x86\pxelinux.0 /Architecture:x86
wdsutil /set-server /N12bootprogram:boot\x86\pxelinux.0 /Architecture:x64
Updated the post as well, thanks. Its up to you if you want to duplicate the entire setup with the boot\x64 directory so that your x86 and x64
architectures dont share the same structure, but I dont think it will cause any issues (maybe for win7 deployments).
jro
9 Jun 10 at 3:53 pm
42. works great now and both win 7 32 and 64 bit work fine
thanks
om
10 Jun 10 at 7:36 am
43. I dont know what went wrong but I get:
Trying to load: pxelinux.cfg/default
Unable to locate configuration file
I have the default file saved in the pxelinux.cfg directory. Any help to shed some light on this would be grateful!
DHCP Configuration:
DHCP service status: Running
DHCP option 60 configured: Yes
PXE Bind Policy:
Use DHCP ports: No
RPC port: 5040
Known client PXE prompt policy: OptIn
New client PXE prompt policy: OptIn
Banned GUIDs list:
Boot Image Policy:
Default image tpe for 64 clients: Both
86 -
64 -
ia64 -
WDS Client Polic:
Logging polic:
Enabled: No
Logging level: Info
Unattend polic:
Enabled: No
WDS unattend files:
86 -
64 -
ia64 -
OSChooser Polic:
Menu name:
Server Automatic Refresh Polic:
BCD Refresh Polic:
Enabled: No
Auto-Add Polic:
Polic: Disabled
Retention period:
Appoed deice: 30 da
Ohe deice: 1 da
Defal fo 86:
Refeal ee:
Boo pogam pah:
WDS clien naend file pah:
Boo image pah:
Ue: Domain Admin
Join igh: Fll
Join domain: Ye
Defal fo 64:
Refeal ee:
Boo pogam pah:
Boo image pah:
Ue: Domain Admin
Join igh: Fll
Join domain: Ye
Defal fo ia64:
Refeal ee:
Boo pogam pah:
Boo image pah:
Ue: Domain Admin
Join igh: Fll
Join domain: Ye
WDS PXE Poide:
Name: BINLSVC
Pah: C:\Windo\em32\binlc.dll
Ode: 1
Ciical: Ye
WDS Tanpo See Polic:
IP4 oce: Range
IPv6 source: Range
Start port: 64001
End port: 65000
Network profile:
Multicast session policy:
Slow client handling policy: None
[
The command completed successfully.
C:\Users\dcadmin>wdsutil /Get-Server /show:config
Windows Deployment Services Management Utility [Version 6.1.7600
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
SETUP INFORMATION FOR SERVER
[
Server State:
OS version: 6.1
WDS operational mode: Native
Installation State:
RemoteInstall location: C:\RemoteInstall
RemoteInstall share up-to-date: Yes
Boot files installed:
x86 Yes
x64 Yes
ia64 No
[
CONFIGURATION INFORMATION FOR SERVER
[
Server Authorization:
Authorization state: Not Authorized
Answer Policy:
Answer clients: No
Answer only known clients: No
Response delay: 0 seconds
Active Directory Use Policy:
Preferred DC:
Preferred GC:
Prestage devices using MAC: No
New computer naming policy: %61Username%#
Domain search order: Global Catalog Only
New computers join domain: Yes
New Computer OU:
OU type: Server Domain
OU: CN=Computers,DC=corp,DC=dchoc,DC=com
DHCP Configuration:
DHCP service status: Running
DHCP option 60 configured: Yes
PXE Bind Policy:
Use DHCP ports: No
RPC port: 5040
Known client PXE prompt policy: OptIn
New client PXE prompt policy: OptIn
Banned GUIDs list:
Boot Image Policy:
Default image type for x64 clients: Both
x86 -
x64 -
ia64 -
WDS Client Policy:
Logging policy:
Enabled: No
Logging level: Info
Unattend policy:
Enabled: No
WDS unattend files:
86 -
64 -
ia64 -
OSChooser Polic:
Menu name:
Server Automatic Refresh Polic:
BCD Refresh Polic:
Enabled: No
Auto-Add Polic:
Polic: Disabled
Retention period:
Approved devices: 30 das
Other devices: 1 das
Defaults for 86:
Referral server:
Boot program path:
Boot image path:
User: Domain Admins
Join rights: Full
Join domain: Yes
Defaults for 64:
Referral server:
Boot program path:
Boot image path:
User: Domain Admins
Join rights: Full
Join domain: Yes
Defaults for ia64:
Referral server:
Boot program path:
Boot image path:
User: Domain Admins
Join rights: Full
Join domain: Yes
WDS PXE Providers:
Name: BINLSVC
Path: C:\Windows\sstem32\binlsvc.dll
Order: 1
Critical: Yes
WDS Transport Server Polic:
IPv4 source: Range
IPv6 source: Range
Start port: 64001
End port: 65000
Network profile:
Multicast session polic:
Slow client handling polic: None
[
The command completed successfully.
Robert T
16 Jul 10 at 7:16 pm
44. Awsome guide, i am just trying this out now myself.
i am lost though, i am doing centos 5.5, and in the x86.conf file, in your example you have this line:
APPEND initrd=img/initrd-fedora9-x86.img ks=ftp://10.0.1.171//CentOS/86/ks.cfg
i am confused with the initrd-fedora9-x86.img part since i dont recall such a file for CentOS or being asked to make one.
What am i overlooking?
Matthe
21 Jul 10 at 12:15 pm
45. okay blonde moment i guess, i assume you are refering to the initrd.img file found in the pxeboot folder
Matthe
21 Jul 10 at 12:17 pm
46. Perhaps that isnt it, i get as far as
Tryng to load: pxelinux.cfg/default ok
but then i get Boot failed: press a key to retry or wait for reboot
this is on the server i am trying to boot over the network.
Using server 2008 r2 x64 in Vm, windows booting works fine, but i need centos for an older server that only boots from floppies.
Matthe
21 Jul 10 at 1:06 pm
47. hello friendsthanx for the tutorial ..its awesome
my Rhel5.3 boot properly but after some time installation stopped..error is ftp cant retrieve the image2.img..plz help
iqbal
11 Aug 10 at 11:17 am
48. i have problem with f12.unable to read package metadata..can u give me solution?pleasehelp me for my final project
nebies
25 Jan 11 at 9:57 pm
49. I was wondering if you know how I can add an option in the WDS Boot Manager that will default to the Hard drive OS? Currently when I
enable the WDS the only options I have are for the images. I would like to see and entry in the Boot Manager that says Boot to OS and it be
the default. If a selection for an image isnt made then it loads from the Harddrive. I am migrating from a FOG based imaging system (Which
works AWESOME!) to the WDS system.
Vipe753
25 Mar 11 at 12:23 pm
50. Just a note for those that may now be trying this with RHEL 6 (and possibly Fedora? Not sure if they made the same changes). Theyve
changed things in their install so that instead of each piece of software having a Packages directory, everythings in one big Packages directory
and the individual software symlinks to it. This makes sense, since the other way there was quite a bit of duplication. However, that means if you
were using the above instructions and were keeping everything on Windows, including your FTP, this no longer works. The PXE booting can all
still be through Windows, but the actual ISO (or extracted ISO) has to be on Linux for that symlinking to function.
elee
3 May 11 at 3:12 pm
51. i am trying to acheive PXE boot for XenServer, anyone got this working. i dont seem to be able to get it working
ohan
12 May 11 at 1:40 am
52. We have configured kickstart in WDS. It boots proprly in pxe but during installation again it asks for ip configuration. Also not taking ks.cfg file.
Al
2 Jun 11 at 9:43 pm
53. Excellent guide! It works and straight away too!
Very detailed instructions with the logic.
Thanks a lot.
Kumar
8 Jul 11 at 2:38 am
54. Very sweet, thanks.
If you plan to use HTTP with IIS to provide your packages, youll need to enable Directory Browsing.
bene
19 Jul 11 at 5:29 am
55. I have WDS on Windows 2003 server. When I network boot a device I am not presented with an F12 option (Using pxelinux.0) and boots
stratght into the menu
Rakesh
22 Mar 12 at 9:33 am
56. Excellent guide I got the PXE boot working. I have some issues with the ubuntu installation though.
I am using a kickstart file to install Ubuntu 12.04 but The step Select Software and Install it keep failing.
Did anyone get a fully automated install to work?
Staun
27 Nov 12 at 6:09 am
57. hello sir,
i tried configuring your document.
but i got the following error
loading knl/vmlinuz
..
boot failed.press any key to try again or wait to reset
kindly help me
p suresh kumar
5 Mar 13 at 4:00 am
58. First of all thanks for wonderful tutorial, it helps me a lot.
I am using WDS with Windows server 2008 R2 and configured the PXE Linux for the Linux OS Installation. Also I have automate the Linux
OS installation process using kickstart file. Currently I have to select the RedHat6 OS from the PXE menu manually at boot time. I want to
automate this step also, is there any way to achieve this?
For windows OS there is a way like we can set the default client unattended file for the prestaged machine using below command:
WDSUTIL /Set-Device /Device:Computer1 /WDSClientUnattend:WDSClientUnattend\Unattend.xml
Thanks in advance, any help on this would really be very helpful.
Kumesh
7 Mar 13 at 9:30 am
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