Kickstart problem - can't find .../images/stage2.img

[unclestoner666]

I've used Kickstart with FC6 with no problems. However when I try to use it with Fedora 7, I get an error.
- I boot to the Fedora 7 DVD or boot.iso
- At the Anaconda command prompt I type in "linux ks=http://myserver/Fedora8/myksfile.cfg"
- Anaconda _is_ able to find the kickstart .cfg file, because it knows the install location to use (next)
- In the kickstart config file (complete file below) I have "url --url=http://myserver/Fedora7"
- I get an error message saying "Unable to retrieve http://myserver/Fedora7/images/stage2.img"


I get the same message when I use a well-known (and verified to be working) public mirror of Fedora 7 rather than http://myserver/Fedora7.

I am not mis-specifying the install URL...the same web site works fine when installing FC6 with kickstart, and the same exact URL works fine installing Fedora 7 without kickstart (just doing an HTTP install not driven by kickstart). Furthermore, when this error happens the logs on my web server show the kickstart file itself being successfully retrieved but nothing else. So, Anaconda/kickstart is not even sending an HTTP GET for .../images/stage2.img.


Any ideas on the problem or how to further troubleshoot it? I know there is a "logging" directive in kickstart but they problem is accessing the network, so log messages aren't sent to another server's syslogd!

Thanks,
Dave


Here's the the kicstart.cfg file I'm using:

install
#url --url=http://myserver/Fedora7
url --url=http://mirrors.cat.pdx.edu/fedora/linux/releases/7/Fedora/i386/os/
lang en_US.UTF-8
keyboard us
graphical
xconfig --driver "nv" --resolution 1280x1024 --depth 24 --startxonboot
network --device eth0 --bootproto dhcp
#network --bootproto=static --ip=10.9.11.15 --netmask=255.255.255.0 --gateway=10.9.11.1 --nameserver=10.8.248.7\
logging --host=10.9.11.137
rootpw --iscrypted <Snipped>
firewall --disabled
authconfig --enableshadow --enablemd5
selinux --disabled
timezone --utc America/New_York
bootloader --location=mbr --driveorder=sda --append="rhgb quiet"
reboot

clearpart --all --drives=sda
part /boot --fstype ext3 --size=500 --ondisk=sda
part / --fstype ext3 --size=70000
part swap --size=100 --grow

%packages
<Snipped>

[r_vigneswaran]

Hi,
I am also facing the same problem. It seems, after receiving the kickstart configuration file, the installer sends a dhcp request again since we are going to use network installation. This dhcp fails in my case and so the url is not retreivable :-(.
My friend told me that if we send the host name to the dhcp server, then we will get the dhcp lease and the problem will be solved. But I don't know how to do that. Anyway, I am trying. Let us see.

Vignesh

[unclestoner666]

Interesting...I was thinking it might be something with not getting a network identity via DHCP in order to start retrieving the installation. It would be nice if the system just re-used the identity it used to retrieve the kickstart file itself.

To that end, I tried specifying static IP information in the kickstart file (you can see it commented out in my kickstart file above), but that didn't work

Please let me know if you figure it out! BTW do you know what you are using as a DHCP server (ie is it another Fedora box, Windows, etc)? The infrastructure I'm in is such that the DHCP server is Windows...so maybe that's why not everyone is seeing this same problem?

Thanks,
Dave

[r_vigneswaran]

Originally Posted by unclestoner666

Interesting...I was thinking it might be something with not getting a network identity via DHCP in order to start retrieving the installation. It would be nice if the system just re-used the identity it used to retrieve the kickstart file itself.

True. But, it seems there is no way to stop configuring network.

Originally Posted by unclestoner666

To that end, I tried specifying static IP information in the kickstart file (you can see it commented out in my kickstart file above), but that didn't work

Static ip is working fine for me. I used the following line
network --bootproto=static --ip=172.19.58.60 --netmask=255.255.255.0 --gateway=172.19.58.1
I am in the 172.19.58.0/24 subnet. My http server is also in the same network.

Originally Posted by unclestoner666

Please let me know if you figure it out! BTW do you know what you are using as a DHCP server (ie is it another Fedora box, Windows, etc)? The infrastructure I'm in is such that the DHCP server is Windows...so maybe that's why not everyone is seeing this same problem?

I don't know exactly, but I think our DHCP server is a windows machine.

[unclestoner666]

Thanks for your reply...the fact that you got it working with a static IP inspired me to try again.

I had an extra backslash in the "network" line of my kickstart file which I guess was causing it not to be parsed and reverting back to DHCP, which doesn't work. I fixed it and now I'm installing away!