FAI multi-distribution

Status

FAI can install different Linux distributions like Redhat (especially RHEL5), Fedora, CentOS, openSUSE, SuSE, Ubuntu and of course Debian.

Since FAI 3.1.8 already has the most important things integrated:

• unpacking a base.tgz named CLASS.tar.gz from the configspace directory "basefiles"
  • Alternative to this, via hook: http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=494386
• using other package managers (see install_packages or it's doc)

Installing other distributions

A Quick overview:

• build a minimal base image (see basefiles/mk-basefiles which uses rinse) and put it into MY-DISTRIBUTION-NAME.tar.gz in the configspace/basefiles
• add the install host to the class MY-DISTRIBUTION-NAME
• write a hook prepareapt.MY-DISTRIBUTION-NAME to replace the stuff specific for the distribtuion of the fai server with something suitable to get your specific distribution ready to install packages. The actual prepareapt task must be skipped
• check that the package lists of the classes of that host are compatible for your distribution. See install-packages -H
• install as usual

Distribution specific stuff

CentOS

FAI 3.4.8 and the config space examples from 4.0 can install CentOS 5. Works with CentOS 5.6 and rinse 1.8. More documentation will apear on the mailing list. Ready-made basefiles are available at http://fai-project.org/download/basefiles/.

Scientific Linux Cern

FAI 3.4.8 and the config space examples from 4.0 can install SCL 5 and 6. Ready-made basefiles are available at http://fai-project.org/download/basefiles/.

RHEL5

Redhat Enterprise Linux 5

This should work in the same way as CentOS 5 and SLC 5 and 6.

SuSE

A more verbose description on how to do this with SLES9 is available here

Bootstrapping the base images for other distributions

Have a look at examples/simple/basefiles/mk-basefile. Works for Ubuntu, CentOS, SLC. For RPM based distributions it uses rinse, which also support some old versions of OpenSUSE.