Automating Linux Installations
Requirements
An automated installation procedure should fulfil several conditions, namely:
- unattended run: Installations should be run without (or minimal) human interaction.
- concurrent installations: Multiple systems can be installed in parallel.
- scalable: New clients (and OS releases) can be integrated easily.
- flexible: A feature-rich configuration should be offered.
- customisable: It should be possible to adapt the system to a specific environment and settings.
Tools for Debian
Fully Automatic Installation can install and configure Debian and RPM based distributions
Kickstart
Kickstart is the automated installation method for Redhat and Fedora Linux distributions. A system administrator creates a file (called a Kickstart file) which describes the configuration and the required setup.
Kickstart is not available for Debian. There is some Kickstart compatibility available in Ubuntu.
Cobbler
Cobbler is a Python Framework to manage unattended Linux installs (PXE, DHCP, kickstart, etc) mostly aimed at RPM based distributions.
See also
There are a variety of system build tools available.