8.2. Advanced Installation

8.2.1. Custom Partitioning

Custom partitioning on Red Hat Virtualization Host (RHVH) is not recommended. Red Hat strongly recommends using the Automatically configure partitioning option in the Installation Destination window.
If your installation requires custom partitioning, select the I will configure partitioning option during the installation, and note that the following restrictions apply:
  • You must select the LVM Thin Provisioning option in the Manual Partitioning window.
  • The following directories are required and must be on thin provisioned logical volumes:
    • root (/)
    • /home
    • /tmp
    • /var
    • /var/log
    • /var/log/audit
    For information about the required storage sizes for each partition, refer to the table below.
  • The /boot directory should be defined as a standard partition.
  • The /var directory must be on a separate volume or disk.
  • Only XFS or Ext4 file systems are supported.

Table 8.1. Red Hat Virtualization Host Minimum Partition Sizes

/ /home /tmp /boot /var /var/log /var/log/audit swap Minimum Total
6 GB 1 GB 1 GB 1 GB 15 GB 8 GB 2 GB 1 GB 32 GB

8.2.2. Automating Red Hat Virtualization Host Deployment

You can install Red Hat Virtualization Host (RHVH) without a physical media device by booting from the network using PXE. You can automate the installation process by using a Kickstart file containing the answers to the installation questions. The Kickstart file can also be accessed over the network, removing the need for physical media.
Instructions for both tasks can be found in the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Installation Guide, as RHVH is installed in much the same way as Red Hat Enterprise Linux. The main differences required for RHVH are included in the following procedure.

Procedure 8.2. Automating Deployment using PXE and Kickstart

  1. Download the RHVH ISO image from the Customer Portal:
    1. Log in to the Customer Portal at https://access.redhat.com.
    2. Click Downloads in the menu bar.
    3. Click Red Hat Virtualization, scroll up, and click Download Latest to access the product download page.
    4. Choose the appropriate hypervisor image and click Download Now.
  2. Make the RHVH ISO image available over the network using the instructions in Installation Source on a Network.
  3. Configure the PXE server using the instructions in Preparing for a Network Installation.
    The following requirements apply in order to boot RHVH from the PXE server:
    • Ensure that you copy the RHVH boot images to the tftp/ root directory. 
      # cp URL/to/RHVH-ISO/images/pxeboot/{vmlinuz,initrd.img} /var/lib/tftpboot/pxelinux/
    • The boot loader configuration file must include a RHVH label that specifies the RHVH boot images. 
      KERNEL URL/to/vmlinuz
APPEND initrd=URL/to/initrd.img inst.stage2=URL/to/RHVH-ISO
  4. Create a Kickstart file and make it available over the network using the instructions in Kickstart Installations.
    The following constraints apply to RHVH Kickstart files:
    • The %packages section is not required for RHVH. Instead, use the liveimg option and specify the squashfs.img file from the RHVH ISO image. 
      liveimg --url=URL/to/squashfs.img
    • The autopart command is highly recommended. Thin provisioning must be used. 
      autopart --type=thinp
      If your installation requires manual partitioning instead, see Section 8.2.1, “Custom Partitioning” for a list of limitations that apply to partitions.
      The following example demonstrates how to configure manual partitioning. 
      clearpart --all
part /boot --fstype xfs --size=1000 --ondisk=sda
part pv.01 --size=42000 --grow
volgroup HostVG pv.01
logvol swap --vgname=HostVG --name=swap --fstype=swap --recommended
logvol none --vgname=HostVG --name=HostPool --thinpool --size=40000 --grow
logvol / --vgname=HostVG --name=root --thin --fstype=ext4 --poolname=HostPool --fsoptions="defaults,discard" --size=6000 --grow
logvol /var --vgname=HostVG --name=var --thin --fstype=ext4 --poolname=HostPool
--fsoptions="defaults,discard" --size=15000
logvol /var/log --vgname=HostVG --name=var_log --thin --fstype=ext4 --poolname=HostPool --fsoptions="defaults,discard" --size=8000
logvol /var/log/audit --vgname=HostVG --name=var_audit --thin --fstype=ext4 --poolname=HostPool --fsoptions="defaults,discard" --size=2000
logvol /home --vgname=HostVG --name=home --thin --fstype=ext4 --poolname=HostPool --fsoptions="defaults,discard" --size=1000
logvol /tmp --vgname=HostVG --name=tmp --thin --fstype=ext4 --poolname=HostPool --fsoptions="defaults,discard" --size=1000
    • A %post section that calls the nodectl init command is required. 
      %post
nodectl init
%end
    To fully automate the installation process, you can add this Kickstart file to the boot loader configuration file on the PXE server. Specify the Kickstart location by adding inst.ks= to the APPEND line: 
    APPEND initrd=URL/to/initrd.img inst.stage2=URL/to/RHVH-ISO inst.ks=URL/to/RHVH-ks.cfg

    Example 8.1. Red Hat Virtualization Host Kickstart File

    The following is an example of a Kickstart file used to deploy Red Hat Virtualization Host. You can include additional commands and options as required. 
    liveimg --url=http://1.2.3.4/path/to/squashfs.img
clearpart --all
autopart --type=thinp
rootpw --plaintext ovirt
timezone --utc America/Phoenix
zerombr
text

reboot

%post --erroronfail
nodectl init
%end
  5. Install RHVH using the instructions in Booting the Installation on AMD64 and Intel 64 Systems from the Network Using PXE.