Procedure

1. Extract the downloaded image tar file:

   # tar xvf <UUID>-commit.tar

   The extracted file contains a json file and a repository directory.

   • The json contains the metadata about the commit, with information such as the "Ref" (reference ) and the commit id (ostree-commit).
   • The repository folder is a OSTree repository that contains the commit.
2. Navigate to the folder where you have extracted the .tar file
3. Open the UUID-commit.tar folder.

4. Open the compose.json file.

   From the compose.json file, note the commit ID number. You need this number handy when you proceed to set up a web server.

5. List the rpm packages in the commit.

   # rpm-ostree db list rhel/8/x86_64/edge --repo=repo

   You can review the Kickstart file that is available to run the RHEL installer. The Kickstart file provides details about how to provision the file system, create a user, and how to fetch and deploy the RHEL for Edge image. The RHEL installer uses this information during the installation process.

   Note

   Ensure that the last line of the Kickstart file provides the commit number and details about the HTTP endpoint from where the RHEL installer must fetch the commit.

Procedure

1. Create a dockerfile.

   On the command prompt, run the following commands:

   FROM registry.access.redhat.com/ubi8/ubi
   RUN yum -y install httpd && yum clean all
   ADD kickstart.ks/var/www/html/
   ARG commit=commit.tar
   ADD $commit /var/www/html/
   EXPOSE 80
   CMD ["/usr/sbin/httpd", "-D", "FOREGROUND"]

   Where,

   • kickstart.ks is the name of the Kickstart file from the RHEL for Edge image. The kickstart file includes directive information. To help you manage the images later, it is advisable to include the checks and settings for Greenboot checks. To do so, you can update the Kickstart file to include the following settings:

     /etc/greenboot/check/required.d/check-dns.sh
     
     #!/bin/bash
     
     DNS_SERVER=$(grep nameserver /etc/resolv.conf | cut -f2 -d" ")
     COUNT=0
     
     # check DNS server is available
     ping -c1 $DNS_SERVER
     while [ $? != '0' ] && [ $COUNT -lt 10 ]; do
     ((COUNT++))
     echo "Checking for DNS: Attempt $COUNT ."
     sleep 10
     ping -c 1 $DNS_SERVER
     done

   • Commit.tar is the image commit number

   • `/var/www/html` is the location where the commit is saved. You can choose a different location to save the commit.

     The docker file performs the following tasks:

     1. Uses the latest Universal Base Image (ubi)
     2. Installs the web server (httpd)
     3. Adds the kickstart file to the server

     4. Adds the RHEL for Edge image commit to the server

        The line ARG commit=commit.tar allows you to specify future commits using the command-line.

2. Build a docker container

   #  podman build -t <name-of-server> --build-arg commit=<uuid>-commit.tar .

3. Run the container

   #  podman run --rm -p <Port>:80 <_name-of-server_>

   As a result, the server is set up and ready to launch the RHEL installer using the commit.tar repository and the kickstart file.

Procedure

1. Open a browser an access https://access.redhat.com/downloads.
2. Click the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.
3. CLick the button Download Now for the option "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.2 Boot ISO"

Procedure

1. Run the Anaconda Installer using the libvirt virt-install:

   virt-install --name rhel-edge-test-1 --memory 2048 --vcpus 2 --disk size=8 --os-variant rhel8.0 --cdrom /home/username/Downloads/rhel8-edge.iso

2. On the installation screen, press TAB to specify an additional kernel parameter:

   inst.ks=http://edge_device_ip:port/kickstart.ks

   The kernel parameter specifies that you want to install RHEL using the Kickstart file and not the RHEL image contained in the RHEL Installer.

   The RHEL Installer starts, fetches the Kickstart file from the server (HTTP) endpoint and executes the commands, including the command to install the RHEL for Edge image commit from the HTTP endpoint. Once the installation is complete, the installer prompts for login details.

3. On the Login screen, specify your user account credentials and click Enter.

4. Verify whether the RHEL for Edge image is successfully installed.

   $ rpm-ostree status

   The command output provides the image commit ID and shows that the installation is successful.

   Following is a sample output:

   State: idle
   Deployments:
   * ostree://edge:rhel/8/x86_64/edge
   		  Timestamp: 2020-09-18T20:06:54Z
   			Commit: 836e637095554e0b634a0a48ea05c75280519dd6576a392635e6fa7d4d5e96