Re: [Xen-API] How to create Templates for Network Installs that need additional Kernel-parameters ?? eliloader.py - patch suggestion

["Andreas Balg" <a.balg@xxxxxxxx>]

Hi Grant,

It's just counter inutive and unreasonable for me to have a "template" that I have to clone and THEN set kickstart options and stuff before the first start for each and every VM - I want TEMPLATES that already include every information needed that work after just doublecklicking them in XenCenter!.

It does not seem logical to me to have a template - but to have to set installation specific data(ks= ksdevice=)  for each and every VM *AFTER* creating it from the template everytime but before starting it - This is not good usability in my eyes and also much too complicated to be used for every average user.

When you populate other-config:install-repository only the mirror is known to the installer but nothing of the above - no ksdevice, ks=URL, ... The same - if not even worse applies to debian-preseed installations.

xe vm-param-set uuid=$VMUUID PV-args="ks= ...."
But for PV-args to work you have to use the commandline AFTER starting a VM created from Template - this does not semm to be an intelligent nor usable approach to me - using my approach you create a template supply the information there and just double-click it in XenCenter check "start automatically" and you're done .. This way I'dont have to tell regular users to fiddle with a quite complicated commandline - in order to setup a kickstarted VM!

Anyway - Thanks a lot for sharing your fine tutorial
Cheers

Andreas

On Monday, 05. Nov. 2012 19h:18m CET, Grant McWilliams <grantmasterflash@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On Mon, Nov 5, 2012 at 8:38 AM, Andreas Balg <a.balg@xxxxxxxx> wrote:

Hello everybody,

I just tried to get a hands off auto-installation-template up and running on XCP 1.6(still beta1)  - But I'm wondering how I might pass those basic extra arguments to the installer-image using eliloader

e.g. in pxeconf I'd say something like:

        KERNEL installer/centos/6/i386/vmlinuz
        APPEND initrd=installer/centos/6/i386/initrd.img ip=dhcp ksdevice=eth0 noipv6 ks=http://mirror.ournet.com/clavis/kickstart/centos/6./i386/basesystem.cfg

I tried to stuff the Kickstart-parameters "ip=dhcp ksdevice=eth0 noipv6 ks=http://mirror.ournet.com/kickstart/centos/6.3/i386/basesystem.cfg" in PV-args of the Template - but as expected, for the first time the installer runs eliloader.py It does not seem to take those into account but replace it with it's autogenerated stuff.

Is there another way I do not understand how I am supposed to do this in XCP 1.6 or would I have to make something like the patch for eliloader.py below
introducing yet another "other-config" as I did in the experimenetal patch below (which works for me - but I'd rather prefer not to patch the hypervisor-scripts for my needs ...)
 

 

Why aren't you just putting the network information in the kickstart file?  I have several automated install tutorials for XCP http://grantmcwilliams.com/tech/virtualization/xcp-howtos

 

Grant McWilliams
http://grantmcwilliams.com/

Some people, when confronted with a problem, think "I know, I'll use Windows." 
Now they have two problems.

 

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