Building a Jumpstart server
There may be little that's new about using Jumpstart to install Sun servers, but setting up a new jumpstart server is something that I do rarely enough that I want to make the process simpler and more reliable. So, on building a jumpstart server for Solaris 10 05/08, I decided to augment the customary procedure with a few helpful scripts and to document the steps precisely and simply so that I have a reference for next time.
I use a set of Solaris 10 CDs which I burned myself from files downloaded from Sun in this column as many of the systems that I administer and/or can commandeer into service for such things as jumpstart are older systems that don't have the newer CD/DVD drives.
The first stage in setting up a jumpstart server is loading the software on the server. You can call your jumpstart directory anything you want, but /jumpstart or /install will make the point of the directory more obvious. Whatever you call the directory, you will need to refer to it in commands that you will use to load the software ...
1) creating a jumpstart directory
I generally call my jumpstart directories /jumpstart. Some people prefer /install. It doesn't matter as long as you refer to the correct directory in the additional commands you will need to run.
# mkdir /jumpstart
2) load the software
There are two commands for loading the software from the installation media to your jumpstart server. One is for the initial CD. The other is for all subsequent CDs. They both are run from the CDs themselves, so you don't have to go looking for them. The setup_install_server command will initiate the process of setting up your jumpstart server and loading the contents of the first CD. The add_to_install_server command, as the name implies, is used to unload the contents of the remainder of the CD set. Since I am both lazy and distractable, I like to toss little scripts together to help me keep track of where I am in building the server and make sure I issue the commands correctly.
I used the following script to facilitate CD unloading. It keeps a running count of how many CDs have been processed and it returns to / before attempting to eject each CD -- something I often forget to do.
#!/bin/bash
JSDIR="/jumpstart"
if [ ! -f /tmp/CD ]; then
echo 1 > /tmp/CD
fi
ls /cdrom/cdrom0 > /dev/null
if [ $? != 0 ]; then
echo -n "Please insert CD # $CD and press enter> "
read ans
fi
cd /cdrom/cdrom0/Solaris_10/Tools
case $CD in
1) ./setup_install_server /$JSDIR;;
*) ./add_to_install_server /$JSDIR;;
esac
cd /
eject
CD=`expr $CD + 1`
if [ $CD == 5 ]; then
echo "Done!"
exit
fi
echo $CD > /tmp/CD
I might call the script "unload" or "next" or "doit", but I archive it in a directory with other jumpstart notes so that I'll easily find it when I set up another jumpstart server maybe next year.
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Will this process apply to
Will this process apply to jumpstart Linux? If not what are the necessary step to start a Linux as jumpstart server?Let me know!
Try the Sun jumpstyart
Try the Sun jumpstyart toolkit: http://www.sun.com/bigadmin/content/jet/Makes life much easier. And there is updated docuemntation being written http://www.c0t0d0s0.org/archives/4440-Really-early-preview-of-the-JET-tutorial..html