7.4. Automated Installation of the Hypervisor (Advanced)

adminpw

Allows you to log in with administrative privileges to configure Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Hypervisor.

management_server

Specifies the Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Manager to be used.

rhevm_admin_password

Specifies the password to be used during the process of adding a host in Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Manager.

storage_init

The storage_init parameter is required for an automated installation; it initializes a local storage device.

Hypervisors use one storage device for local installation. There are several methods for defining which disk to initialize and install on.

• For USB storage devices, use the usb parameter to select the disk type. For example:

  storage_init=usb

• For SCSI hard drives, use the scsi parameter to select the disk type. For example:

  storage_init=scsi

• For hard drives on the ATA bus, including SATA hard drives that may also appear on the SCSI bus, use the ata parameter to select the disk type. For example:

  storage_init=ata

• Alternatively, the storage device can be specified by using the Linux device name as the storage_init parameter. Using device names in the format /dev/disk/by-id is not supported. storage_init must use the format /dev/mapper/disk or /dev/disk. In this example the /dev/sda device is specified:

  storage_init=/dev/sda

When specifying a storage_init value of usb, scsi, or ata you can also append a serial number to explicitly set which device to use. Determine the serial numbers for all disks attached to the system by running the command in the example below:

Example 7.15. Finding udev Serial Numbers

$ for d in /dev/sd?; do echo $d `udevadm info -q env -n $d | egrep 'ID_BUS=|ID_SERIAL='`; done
      /dev/sda ID_SERIAL=ST9500325AS_6VE867X1

When providing both a storage type and the serial number, ensure that the two values are separated by a colon (:). For example:

storage_init=ata:3600508b100104a3953545233304c0003

Important

If reinstalling Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Hypervisor over an existing instance on a multipathed iSCSI machine, specify the storage type and serial number to avoid installation errors.

Note

Consistency of devices names following a system restart is not guaranteed. Device names are liable to change.

storage_vol

The storage_vol parameter is used to partition the storage device set by the storage_init parameter. After storage_vol=, you can specify the size in megabytes of the following partitions: Boot, Swap, Root, Config, Logging, and Data.

The Boot partition is always 50 MB and cannot be reconfigured. The Root partition for Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Hypervisor 7 is always 8600 MB and cannot be reconfigured. The remaining partitions are described in more detail below:

Partitions defined by the storage_vol parameter

Swap

The swap partition is used for swapping pages of memory that are not frequently accessed to the hard drive. This frees pages of memory in RAM that are in turn used for pages which are accessed more frequently, increasing performance. The default size of the swap partition is calculated based on the amount of RAM installed in the system and over-commit ratio (default is 0.5). Hypervisors must have a swap partition and the swap partition cannot be disabled by setting its size to 0. The minimum size for the swap partition is 8 MB.

To determine the size of the swap partition, see https://access.redhat.com/knowledge/solutions/15244.

Use the formula from the Red Hat Knowledgebase solution above and add storage for the over-commit ratio (RAM multiplied by the over-commit ratio).

Recommended swap + (RAM * over-commit) = swap partition size

Leaving the value empty allows the system to sets the recommended value for the swap partition.

Config

The config partition stores configuration files for the Hypervisor. The default and minimum size for the configuration partition is 8 MB.

Logging

The logging partition stores all logs for the Hypervisor. The logging partition requires a minimum of 2048 MB storage. However, it is recommended to allocate more storage to the logging partition if resources permit.

Data

The data partition must be large enough to hold core files for KVM. Core files depend on the RAM size for the guests. The data partition must also be large enough to store kernel dump files, also known as kdumps. A kdump file is usually the same size as the host's system RAM. The data partition also stores the Hypervisor ISO file for Hypervisor upgrades.

The data partition requires a minimum of 512 MB storage. The recommended size is at least 1.5 times as large as the RAM on the host system plus an additional 512 MB. It can be configured to take up all remaining space by giving it a size value of -1, or disabled by giving it a size value of 0.

Partitions can be specified in any order. The syntax for specifying each partition is size,type. Each partition specified is separated by a colon (:). To specify a 256MB Swap partition, and a 4096MB Logging partition, the whole parameter is storage_vol=256,Swap:4096,Logging.

Note

The old method of specifying partition sizes is still valid. In the old method, the partition sizes must be given in a particular order, as shown here:

storage_vol=BOOT:SWAP:ROOT:CONFIG:LOGGING:DATA

However, since the Boot and Root partitions cannot be reconfigured, sizes for these partitions can be omitted, like so:

storage_vol=:SWAP::CONFIG:LOGGING:DATA

If you fail to specify a size, the partition will be created at its default size. To specify a 256MB Swap partition, and a 4096MB Logging partition, the correct syntax is:

storage_vol=:256:::4096:

The following is the standard format of the storage_vol parameter:

storage_vol=256,EFI:256,Root:4096,Swap

iscsi_name

The iscsi_name parameter is used to set the iSCSI Initiator Name. The iSCSI Initiator name is expected to take the form of an iSCSI Qualified Name (IQN). This format is defined by RFC 3720, which is available at http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc3720.

The IQN is made up of the following elements, separated by the . character:

• The literal string iqn
• The date that the naming authority took control of the domain in yyyy-mm format
• The reversed domain name - demo.redhat.com becomes com.redhat.demo
• Optionally, a storage target name as specified by the naming authority - preceded by a colon

Example 7.16. iscsi_name

The following illustrates the IQN for an iSCSI initiator attached to the demo.redhat.com domain where the domain was established in July 2011.

iscsi_name=iqn.2011-07.com.redhat.demo

Networking Parameters

BOOTIF

The BOOTIF parameter is required for an automated installation.

The BOOTIF parameter specifies the network interface which the Hypervisor uses to connect to the Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Manager.

Important

When using PXE to boot Hypervisors for installation using the IPAPPEND 2 directive causes BOOTIF=<MAC> to be automatically appended to the kernel arguments. If the IPAPPEND 2 directive is used it is not necessary to use the BOOTIF parameter.

The BOOTIF parameter takes arguments in one of three forms:

link

Indicates to use the first interface (as enumerated by the kernel) with an active link. This is useful for systems with multiple network interface controllers but only one plugged in.

eth#

Indicates to use the NIC as determined by the kernel driver initialization order (where # is the number of the NIC). To determine the number boot the Hypervisor and select Shell from the Hypervisor Configuration Menu. Use ifconfig | grep eth* to list the network interfaces attached to the system. There is no guarantee that on the next reboot the network interface controller will have the same eth# mapping.

BOOTIF=eth0

<MAC>

Indicates to use the MAC address explicitly defined inside the brackets.

ip

The ip parameter sets the IP address for the network interface controller defined by the BOOTIF parameter. The ip parameter accepts either an IP address (in the form 0.0.0.0) or dhcp.

ip=192.168.1.1

ip=dhcp

ipv6

The ipv6 parameter is an alias for the ip parameter. It accepts either dhcp or auto.

netmask

The netmask parameter sets the subnet mask for the IP address defined with the ip parameter.

netmask=255.255.255.0

gateway

The gateway parameter sets the Internet gateway.

gateway=192.168.1.246

dns

The dns parameter sets the address of up to two DNS servers. Each DNS server address must be separated by a comma.

dns=192.168.1.243,192.168.1.244

hostname

The hostname parameter sets the hostname. The hostname must be a fully-qualified and resolvable domain name.

hostname=rhev1.example.com

ntp

The ntp parameter sets the address of one or more Network Time Protocol servers. Each NTP server address must be separated by a comma.

ntp=192.168.2.253,192.168.2.254

vlan

The vlan parameter sets the VLAN identifier for the network connected to the Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Manager. This parameter should be set where VLANs are in use.

vlan=vlan-id:

For example:

vlan=36:

bond

The bond parameter configures a bond. Each interface name must be separated by a comma.

BOOTIF=bond01 bond=bond01:nic1,nic2

rhn_type

Sets the RHN entitlement method for this machine. sam sets the entitlement method to Certificate-based RHN, which integrates the Customer Portal, content delivery network, and subscription service (subscription management). classic sets the entitlement method to RHN Classic, which uses the traditional channel entitlement model (channel access) to provides a global view of content access but does not provide insight into system-level subscription uses. The default value is sam.

rhn_username

The rhn_username parameter sets the username used to connect to RHN.

rhn_username=testuser

rhn_password

The rhn_password parameter sets the password used to connect to RHN.

rhn_password=testpassword

rhn_activationkey

The rhn_activationkey parameter sets the activation key used to connect to RHN. Activation keys are used to register systems, entitle them to an RHN service level, and subscribe them to specific channels and system groups, all in one action. If both rhn_activationkey and rhn_username are provided, the rhn_activationkey value will be used.

rhn_activationkey=7202f3b7d218cf59b764f9f6e9fa281b

rhn_org

This parameter is used only with SAM. Registers the system to SAM in the same way as --org org_name --activationkey key_value when combined with the rhn_activationkey parameter on the kernel command line.

rhn_org=org_name

rhn_url

The rhn_url parameter sets the URL of the satellite server used to register the host.

rhn_url=https://satellite.example.com

rhn_ca_cert

The rhn_ca_cert parameter sets the URL of the CA certificate used to connect to the satellite server. If it is not provided, the default value is rhn_url/pub/RHN-ORG-TRUSTED-SSL-CERT.

rhn_ca_cert=https://satellite.example.com/pub/RHN-ORG-TRUSTED-SSL-CERT

rhn_profile

The rhn_profile parameter sets the name of the profile to be registered with RHN for this host. The default value is the system hostname.

rhn_profile=testhost

adminpw

The adminpw parameter is used to set the password for the admin user. The value provided must already be hashed. All hashing schemes supported by the shadow password mechanism are supported. The recommended way to hash a password for use with this parameter is to run the following command:

# openssl passwd -1

The openssl command will prompt for the password to use. A hashed representation of the password will be returned which can be used as the adminpw value.

rootpw

The rootpw parameter is used to set a temporary root password. A password change is forced the first time root logs on to the system. The value provided must already be hashed. All hashing schemes supported by the shadow password mechanism are supported. The recommended way to hash a password for use with this parameter is to run the following command:

# openssl passwd -1

The openssl command will prompt for the password to use. A hashed representation of the password will be returned which can be used as the rootpw value.

Important

The root password is not set by default and is not supported unless enabled at the request of Red Hat support.

rhevm_admin_password

The rhevm_admin_password parameter sets a root password and enables SSH password authentication. The value provided must already be hashed. All hashing schemes supported by the shadow password mechanism are supported. The recommended way to hash a password for use with this parameter is to run the following command:

# openssl passwd -1

The openssl command will prompt for the password to use. A hashed representation of the password will be returned which can be used as the rhevm_admin_password value.

Important

Setting this parameter has the side-effect of enabling SSH password authentication, which is unsupported unless enabled at the request of Red Hat support. We recommend disabling SSH password authentication after initial configuration is complete.

ssh_pwauth

The ssh_pwauth parameter is used to select whether or not password authentication is enabled for SSH connections. Possible values are 0 (disabled) and 1 (enabled). The default value is 0.

ssh_pwauth=1

Important

SSH password authentication is disabled by default and is not supported unless enabled at the request of Red Hat support.

firstboot

The firstboot parameter indicates that the system should be treated as if there is no existing installation.

The reinstall parameter is a direct alias of the firstboot parameter, and can be used interchangeably with firstboot.

Warning

Using the firstboot parameter erases existing data if a disk on the system has a Volume Group named HostVG. Combining the firstboot parameter with the storage_init parameter also erases data on any disks specified with storage_init.

install

The install parameter indicates that the system should be treated as if there is no existing installation. The install parameter is intended to be used when booting from CD-ROM, DVD, USB, or PXE media.

cim_enabled

Enables the use of Common Information Model (CIM) management infrastructure.

cim_passwd

Configures a password for your Common Information Model (CIM) management infrastructure.

disable_aes_ni

Disables the AES-NI encryption instruction set. Possible values are y or n.

kdump_nfs

This parameter configures an NFS server for kdump. The syntax for this parameter is kdump_nfs=hostname:nfs_share_path, for example, kdump_nfs=nfshost.redhat.com:/path/to/nfs/share.

local_boot

The local_boot parameter is an alias for the upgrade parameter.

local_boot_trigger

Sets a target URL to check and disables PXE when installation completes successfully, so that the system boots from disk on subsequent boots.

netconsole

The netconsole parameter sets the address of a server to which kernel messages should be logged. The netconsole parameter takes an IP address or fully qualified domain name and, optionally, a port (the default port is 6666).

netconsole=rhev.example.com:6666

nfsv4_domain

The nfsv4_domain parameter specifies a domain to use for NFSv4.

nocheck

The nocheck parameter will skip the MD5 check of the installation ISO, which might be time consuming if the media is remote or slow.

management_server

The management_server parameter sets the address of the Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Manager. The management_server parameter takes an IP address or fully qualified domain name and, optionally, a port (the default port is 443).

management_server=rhev.example.com:443

mem_overcommit

The mem_overcommit parameter specifies the multiplier to use for adding extra swap to support memory over-commit. The default over-commit value is 0.5.

mem_overcommit=0.7

qemu_pxe

The qemu_pxe parameter is used to select which network boot loader is used in virtual machines. Possible values are gpxe and etherboot. .

qemu_pxe=gpxe

reinstall

The reinstall parameter indicates that the system should be treated as if there is no existing installation.

The firstboot parameter is a direct alias of the reinstall parameter, and can be used interchangeably with reinstall.

Warning

Using the reinstall parameter erases existing data if a disk on the system has a Volume Group named HostVG. Combining the reinstall parameter with the storage_init parameter also erases data on any disks specified with storage_init.

snmp_password

Enables and configures a password for the Simple Network Management Protocol.

syslog

Configures an rsyslog server at the address specified. You can also specify a port. The syntax is syslog=hostname[:port].

upgrade

The upgrade parameter will upgrade the existing hypervisor image to the version provided by the boot media. The hypervisor will be automatically upgraded and rebooted once complete. If a hypervisor image is not yet installed, the image will be installed to the device selected with the storage_init parameter. When performing an upgrade, the previous boot entry is saved as BACKUP in grub.conf. If the reboot following the upgrade procedure fails, the BACKUP boot entry will be automatically selected as the new default.

uninstall

The uninstall parameter removes an existing Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization installation. The host volume group will be removed and the system rebooted.