I'm testing doing kickstart installations on Xen VMs. This is the first time I'm trying out kickstart at all, so I rather think I'm doing something wrong in the kickstart configuration than it is a Xen issue.
I use a modified kickstart file from an earlier manual installation with a very basic filesystem setup. It fails with "SystemError: vgcreate failed for VolGroup00". The Xen VM file is allowed to grow up to 2GB. The kickstart commands for partioning are:
clearpart --all --initlabel --drives=xvda part /boot --fstype ext3 --size=100 --ondisk=xvda part pv.2 --size=0 --grow --ondisk=xvda volgroup VolGroup00 pv.2 --pesize=32768 pv.2 logvol / --fstype ext3 --name=LogVol00 --vgname=VolGroup00 --size=1024 --grow logvol swap --fstype swap --name=LogVol01 --vgname=VolGroup00 --size=416 --grow --maxsize=832
This is taken exactly from the "template" kickstart file, I just added the --initlabel after reading the kickstart tips on the wiki. I read the kickstart part of the RH Installation and Deployment Guide, but it didn't help in this respect. Apparently --pesize=32768 is a maximum for volgroup extent sizes and is harmless.
When I change to creating a partition for / it works just fine.
Can someone help?
Kai
Kai Schaetzl wrote:
I'm testing doing kickstart installations on Xen VMs. This is the first time I'm trying out kickstart at all, so I rather think I'm doing something wrong in the kickstart configuration than it is a Xen issue.
I use a modified kickstart file from an earlier manual installation with a very basic filesystem setup. It fails with "SystemError: vgcreate failed for VolGroup00". The Xen VM file is allowed to grow up to 2GB. The kickstart commands for partioning are:
clearpart --all --initlabel --drives=xvda part /boot --fstype ext3 --size=100 --ondisk=xvda part pv.2 --size=0 --grow --ondisk=xvda volgroup VolGroup00 pv.2 --pesize=32768 pv.2
^^^^^^^ Everything looks OK except you list the PV twice here, maybe that's the problem? Just remove the first pv.2 and see if that does it.
logvol / --fstype ext3 --name=LogVol00 --vgname=VolGroup00 --size=1024 --grow logvol swap --fstype swap --name=LogVol01 --vgname=VolGroup00 --size=416 --grow --maxsize=832
This is taken exactly from the "template" kickstart file, I just added the --initlabel after reading the kickstart tips on the wiki. I read the kickstart part of the RH Installation and Deployment Guide, but it didn't help in this respect. Apparently --pesize=32768 is a maximum for volgroup extent sizes and is harmless.
When I change to creating a partition for / it works just fine.
Can someone help?
Here is the typical desktop kickstart partitioning I use:
clearpart --linux --initlabel --drives=sda part /boot --fstype ext3 --size=100 --ondisk=sda --asprimary part pv.0 --size=0 --grow --ondisk=sda volgroup CentOS --pesize=32768 pv.0 logvol / --fstype ext3 --name=root --vgname=CentOS --size=4096 --grow logvol swap --fstype swap --name=swap --vgname=CentOS --size=1024
I typically switch to a swap file after install because it's easier to customize, and with today's kernels and file systems it has been shown that performance is equivalent between swap files and swap partitions. Too bad kickstart doesn't have a option to create a swap file...
-Ross
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Ross S. W. Walker wrote on Sat, 13 Oct 2007 19:49:37 -0400:
Everything looks OK except you list the PV twice here, maybe that's the problem? Just remove the first pv.2 and see if that does it.
Oh, well, yeah, one of those errors you don't see even after looking ten times at it. I actually had this line originally volgroup VolGroup00 --noformat --pesize=32768 pv.2 and removed the --nofomrat after reading the documentation and added the pv.2 without noticing it was already at the end. This gotta work now, thanks!
Here is the typical desktop kickstart partitioning I use:
clearpart --linux --initlabel --drives=sda part /boot --fstype ext3 --size=100 --ondisk=sda --asprimary part pv.0 --size=0 --grow --ondisk=sda volgroup CentOS --pesize=32768 pv.0 logvol / --fstype ext3 --name=root --vgname=CentOS --size=4096 --grow logvol swap --fstype swap --name=swap --vgname=CentOS --size=1024
Using names instead of the default numbering makes sense, at the moment I'm still playing with LVM as I used to use physical partitions in the past. I have a question in this context: uUsing kickstart for physical machines is the next step I want to try. I need a tftp server for this. Which one do you use? I see atftp recommended everywhere and all tutorials are based on it, but CentOS 5 comes with tftpd and there's no atftp package for CentOS 5 on rpmforge.
I typically switch to a swap file after install because it's easier to customize, and with today's kernels and file systems it has been shown that performance is equivalent between swap files and swap partitions. Too bad kickstart doesn't have a option to create a swap file...
I wasn't aware you can use a swap file. Thanks for the information, just looked it up in the documentation.
Kai
Kai Schaetzl wrote on Sun, 14 Oct 2007 17:05:37 +0200:
I see atftp recommended everywhere and all tutorials are based on it, but CentOS 5 comes with tftpd and there's no atftp package for CentOS 5 on rpmforge.
Well, it seems tftpd works just fine :-)
Kai
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Kai Schaetzl -
Ross S. W. Walker