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Cobbler Quickstart GuideWell-nighDownloads 2.8.x 2.6.x 2.4.x Blog Posts Manuals Quickstart Guide UserTransmission2.8.x UserTransmission2.6.x UserTransmission2.4.x Developer Guide Community How to Get Help Supporters Who's Using Cobbler Github Main Repo Issue Tracker Wiki manuals /quickstart /Cobbler Quickstart Guide Cobbler Quickstart Guide Cobbler can be a somewhat ramified system to get started with, due to the wide variety of technologies it is designed to manage, but it does support a unconfined deal of functionality immediately without installation with little to no customization needed. Before getting started with cobbler, you should have a good working knowledge of PXE as well as the streamlined installation methodology of your chosen distribution. This quickstart guide will focus on the Red Hat kickstart process, which is very mature and well-tested. In the future, we will be subtracting quickstart guides for other distributions, such as Ubuntu and SuSE. The steps unelevated will be focused on Fedora, however they should work for any Red Hat-based distribution, such as RHEL, CentOS, or Scientific Linux. Please see the Installing Cobbler section for details on installation and prerequisites for your specific OS version. Finally, this guide will focus only on the CLI application. For increasingly details regarding cobbler's web UI, go here: Cobbler Web User Interface Disable SELinux (optional) Before getting started with cobbler, it may be a good idea to either disable SELinux or set it to "permissive" mode, expressly if you are unfamiliar with SELinux troubleshooting or modifying SELinux policy. Cobbler constantly evolves to squire in managing new system technologies, and the policy that ships with your OS can sometimes lag overdue the feature-set we provide, resulting in AVC denials that unravel cobbler's functionality. If you would like to protract using SELinux on the system running cobblerd, be sure to read the SELinux With Cobbler section in this manual. Installing Cobbler Installation is washed-up simply through yum: $ yum install cobbler This will pull in all of the requirements you need for a vital setup. Changing Settings Before starting the cobblerd service, there are a few things you should modify. Settings for cobbler/cobblerd are stored in /etc/cobbler/settings. This file is a YAML formatted data file, so be sure to take superintendency when editing this file as an incorrectly formatted file will prevent cobbler/cobblerd from running. Default Encrypted Password This setting controls the root password that is set for new systems during the kickstart. default_password_crypted: "$1$bfI7WLZz$PxXetL97LkScqJFxnW7KS1" You should modify this by running the pursuit writ and inserting the output into the whilom string (be sure to save the quote marks): $ openssl passwd -1 Server and Next_Server The server option sets the IP that will be used for the write of the cobbler server. DO NOT use 0.0.0.0, as it is not the listening address. This should be set to the IP you want hosts that are stuff built to contact the cobbler server on for such protocols as HTTP and TFTP. # default, localhost server: 127.0.0.1 The next_server option is used for DHCP/PXE as the IP of the TFTP server from which network marching files are downloaded. Usually, this will be the same IP as the server setting. # default, localhost next_server: 127.0.0.1 DHCP Management and DHCP Server Template In order to PXE boot, you need a DHCP server to hand out addresses and uncontrived the booting system to the TFTP server where it can download the network marching files. Cobbler can manage this for you, via the manage_dhcp setting: # default, don't manage manage_dhcp: 0 Change that setting to 1 so cobbler will generate the dhcpd.conf file based on the dhcp.template that is included with cobbler. This template will most likely need to be modified as well, based on your network settings: $ vi /etc/cobbler/dhcp.template For most uses, you'll only need to modify this block: subnet 192.168.1.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 { option routers 192.168.1.1; option domain-name-servers 192.168.1.210,192.168.1.211; option subnet-mask 255.255.255.0; filename "/pxelinux.0"; default-lease-time 2.8.0; max-lease-time 43200; next-server $next_server; } No matter what, make sure you do not modify the "next-server $next_server;" line, as that is how the next_server setting is pulled into the configuration. This file is a cheetah template, so be sure not to modify anything starting without this line: #for dhcp_tag in $dhcp_tags.keys(): Completely going through the dhcpd.conf configuration syntax is vastitude the telescopic of this document, but for increasingly information see the man page for increasingly details: $ man dhcpd.conf Files and Directory Notes Cobbler makes heavy use of the /var directory. The /var/www/cobbler/ks_mirror directory is where all of the distribution and repository files are copied, so you will need 5-10GB of self-ruling space per distribution you wish to import. If you have installed cobbler onto a system that has very little self-ruling space in the partition containing /var, please read the Relocating Your Installation section of the transmission to learn how you can relocate your installation properly. Starting and Enabling the Cobbler Service Once you have updated your settings, you're ready to start the service. Fedora now uses systemctl to manage services, but you can still use the regular init script: $ systemctl start cobblerd.service $ systemctl enable cobblerd.service $ systemctl status cobblerd.service or $ service cobblerd start $ chkconfig cobblerd on $ service cobblerd status If everything has gone well, you should see output from the status writ like this: cobblerd.service - Cobbler Helper Daemon Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/cobblerd.service; enabled) Active: zippy (running) since Sun, 17 Jun 2012 13:01:28 -0500; 1min 44s ago Main PID: 1234 (cobblerd) CGroup: name=systemd:/system/cobblerd.service └ 1234 /usr/bin/python /usr/bin/cobblerd -F Checking for Problems and Your First Sync Now that the cobblerd service is up and running, it's time to trammels for problems. Cobbler's trammels writ will make some suggestions, but it is important to remember that these are mainly only suggestions and probably aren't hair-trigger for vital functionality. If you are running iptables or SELinux, it is important to review any messages concerning those that trammels may report. $ cobbler trammels The pursuit are potential configuration items that you may want to fix: .... .... Restart cobblerd and then run 'cobbler sync' to wield changes. If you decide to follow any of the suggestions, such as installing uneaten packages, making configuration changes, etc., be sure to restart the cobblerd service as it suggests so the changes are applied. Once you are washed-up reviewing the output of "cobbler check", it is time to synchronize things for the first time. This is not critical, but a failure to properly sync at this point can reveal a configuration problem. $ cobbler sync task started: 2012-06-24_224243_sync task started (id=Sync, time=Sun Jun 24 22:42:43 2012) running pre-sync triggers ... rendering DHCP files generating /etc/dhcp/dhcpd.conf rendering TFTPD files generating /etc/xinetd.d/tftp cleaning link caches running: find /var/lib/tftpboot/images/.link_cache -maxdepth 1 -type f -links 1 -exec rm -f '{}' ';' received on stdout: received on stderr: running post-sync triggers running python triggers from /var/lib/cobbler/triggers/sync/post/ running python trigger cobbler.modules.sync_post_restart_services running: dhcpd -t -q received on stdout: received on stderr: running: service dhcpd restart received on stdout: received on stderr: running shell triggers from /var/lib/cobbler/triggers/sync/post/ running python triggers from /var/lib/cobbler/triggers/change/ running python trigger cobbler.modules.scm_track running shell triggers from /var/lib/cobbler/triggers/change/ TASK COMPLETE Assuming all went well and no errors were reported, you are ready to move on to the next step. Importing Your First Distribution Cobbler automates subtracting distributions and profiles via the "cobbler import" command. This writ can (usually) automatically snift the type and version of the distribution your importing and create (one or more) profiles with the correct settings for you. Download an ISO Image In order to import a distribution, you will need a DVD ISO for your distribution. NOTE: You must use a full DVD, and not a "Live CD" ISO. For this example, we'll be using the Fedora 28 x86_64 ISO, misogynist for download here. Once this file is downloaded, mount it somewhere: $ mount -t iso9660 -o loop,ro /path/to/isos/Fedora-Server-dvd-x86_64-28-1.1.iso /mnt Run the Import You are now ready to import the distribution. The name and path arguments are the only required options for import: $ cobbler import --name=fedora28 --arch=x86_64 --path=/mnt The --arch option need not be specified, as it will normally be auto-detected. We're doing so in this example in order to prevent multiple architectures from stuff found (Fedora ships i386 packages on the full DVD, and cobbler will create both x86_64 and i386 distros by default). Listing Objects If no errors were reported during the import, you can view details well-nigh the distros and profiles that were created during the import. $ cobbler distro list $ cobbler profile list The import writ will typically create at least one distro/profile pair, which will have the same name as shown above. In some cases (for instance when a xen-based kernel is found), increasingly than one distro/profile pair will be created. Object Details The report writ shows the details of objects in cobbler: $ cobbler distro report --name=fedora28-x86_64 Name : fedora28-x86_64 Architecture : x86_64 TFTPMarchingFiles : {}Successors: redhat Comment : Fetchable Files : {} Initrd : /var/www/cobbler/ks_mirror/fedora28-x86_64/images/pxeboot/initrd.img Kernel : /var/www/cobbler/ks_mirror/fedora28-x86_64/images/pxeboot/vmlinuz Kernel Options : {} Kernel Options (Post Install) : {} Kickstart Metadata : {'tree': 'http://@@http_server@@/cblr/links/fedora28-x86_64'} Management Classes : [] OS Version : fedora28 Owners : ['admin'] Red Hat Management Key : <<inherit>> Red Hat Management Server : <<inherit>> Template Files : {} As you can see above, the import writ filled out quite a few fields automatically, such as the breed, OS version, and initrd/kernel file locations. The "Kickstart Metadata" field (--ksmeta internally) is used for miscellaneous variables, and contains the hair-trigger "tree" variable. This is used in the kickstart templates to specify the URL where the installation files can be found. Something else to note: some fields are set to "<<inherit>>". This ways they will use either the default setting (found in the settings file), or (in the specimen of profiles, sub-profiles, and systems) will use whatever is set in the parent object. Creating a System Now that you have a distro and profile, you can create a system. Profiles can be used to PXE boot, but most of the features in cobbler revolve virtually system objects. The increasingly information you requite well-nigh a system, the increasingly cobbler will do automatically for you. First, we'll create a system object based on the profile that was created during the import. When creating a system, the name and profile are the only two required fields: $ cobbler system add --name=test --profile=fedora28-x86_64 $ cobbler system list test $ cobbler system report --name=test Name : test TFTPMarchingFiles : {} Comment : Enable gPXE? : 0 Fetchable Files : {} Gateway : Hostname : Image : IPv6 Autoconfiguration : False IPv6 Default Device : Kernel Options : {} Kernel Options (Post Install) : {} Kickstart : <<inherit>> Kickstart Metadata : {} LDAP Enabled : False LDAP Management Type : authconfig Management Classes : [] Management Parameters : <<inherit>> Monit Enabled : False Name Servers : [] Name Servers Search Path : [] Netboot Enabled : True Owners : ['admin'] Power ManagementWrite: Power Management ID : Power Management Password : Power Management Type : ipmitool Power Management Username : Profile : fedora28-x86_64 Proxy : <<inherit>> Red Hat Management Key : <<inherit>> Red Hat Management Server : <<inherit>> Repos Enabled : False Server Override : <<inherit>> Status : production Template Files : {} Virt AutoMarching: <<inherit>> Virt CPUs : <<inherit>> Virt Disk Driver Type : <<inherit>> Virt File Size(GB) : <<inherit>> Virt Path : <<inherit>> Virt RAM (MB) : <<inherit>> Virt Type : <<inherit>> The primary reason for creating a system object is network configuration. When using profiles, you're limited to DHCP interfaces, but with systems you can specify many increasingly network configuration options. So now we'll setup a single, simple interface in the 192.168.1/24 network: $ cobbler system edit --name=test --interface=eth0 --mac=00:11:22:AA:BB:CC --ip-address=192.168.1.100 --netmask=255.255.255.0 --static=1 --dns-name=test.mydomain.com The default gateway isn't specified per-NIC, so just add that separately (along with the hostname): $ cobbler system edit --name=test --gateway=192.168.1.1 --hostname=test.mydomain.com The --hostname field corresponds to the local system name and is returned by the "hostname" command. The --dns-name (which can be set per-NIC) should correspond to a DNS A-record tied to the IP of that interface. Neither are required, but it is a good practice to specify both. Some wide features (like configuration management) rely on the --dns-name field for system record look-ups. Whenever a system is edited, cobbler executes what is known as a "lite sync", which regenerates hair-trigger files like the PXE marching file in the TFTP root directory. One thing it will NOT do is execute service management actions, like regenerating the dhcpd.conf and restarting the DHCP service.Withoutadding a system with a static interface it is a good idea to execute a full "cobbler sync" to ensure the dhcpd.conf file is rewritten with the correct static lease and the service is bounced. Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. comments powered by Disqus Pages Home Blog PostsWell-nighCobbler Manuals Quickstart 2.8.x 2.6.x Developer Community How to Get Help Supporters Who's Using Cobbler Github Code Repository Issue Tracker Wiki Best viewed in anything but Internet Explorer™ Seriously, please consider switching. Recent Posts: Cobbler 2.8.3 Released Posted by Jörgen on Friday, May 04, 2018 Cobbler 2.8.2 Released Posted by Jörgen on Saturday, September 16, 2017 Cobbler 2.8.1 Released Posted by Jörgen on Wednesday, May 24, 2017 Cobbler 2.8.0 Released Posted by Jörgen on Wednesday, November 16, 2016 Follow @cobblerproject Attributions: "Lens Flare", by "Gears", by Ralph Bijker All other content, © by James Cammarata