cobbler

When I first got started with computers, there really was no choice for how you installed software. Indeed, you tended to do things like boot off a different cassette tape, pluggable cartridge or later, floppies. But then, there was a little bit of evolution, and you would boot the operating system off of one set of media, and insert a new floppy to run the program. There were no hard drives for these computers, those were reserved for the systems which colleges/universities and businesses had, and they cost in some cases, tens of thousands of dollars.

If you look back through my previous entries, you will see several mentions of Cobbler and Koan, which I have used for doing RHEL Kickstart installs. The past several weeks, I have been working towards migrating 70+ host definitions and associated distribution/repository information from an old Cobbler 2.8.3 install to a totally fresh install of Cobbler 3.3.6.

I just posted a video which briefly goes into SELinux, how it relates to cobbler, and how to tell if an error is related to SELinux.

https://youtu.be/8c7MKGNYxqA

A brief update on the ongoing process of getting a new, up-to-date cobbler server running with the associated DNS and DHCP services. We discuss some of the issues encountered so far, including briefly discussing SELinux issues, and touch upon next steps which will hopefully have us successfully complete the installation.

It has been awhile since I have posted anything here, mainly due to work, and more recently the lack of it. One of the things I have been doing while pursuing a new job is upgrading one of my core servers, where my DNS, DHCP and cobbler servers run. It is an older, home-built 4U server with an Athlon 2500 processor, and has functioned remarkably well for more than 15 years (as they say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it).

If you have not figured it out, I am a strong proponent and user of cobbler and kickstart installs. It is rare these days that I build a machine in what one might call a "hands-on" mode, whether using a Live DVD/USB flash drive, network install, or any other media.