Is 802.1q tagged VLAN support available in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8/7/6/5 anaconda?

Solution Verified - Updated -

Environment

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5

Issue

  • Does Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8/7/6/5 anaconda support 802.1q tagged vlan during installation?
  • Can one setup 802.1q tagged vlan IP for an interface on anaconda command line?
  • What is the syntax of declaring vlan on anaconda command line and inside kickstart file?

Resolution

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 fully supports 802.1q tagged vlan configuration on anaconda command line as well as inside kickstart.
  • The anaconda command line syntax can be as follows for 802.1q tagged vlan information along with kickstart path
inst.ks=<network path for kickstart> bootdev=<device>.<vlanID> ifname=<device>:<MAC> vlan=<device>.<vlanID>:<device> ip=<client-IP>::<gateway-IP>:<netmask>:[<hostname>]:<device>.<vlanID>:none
  • The anaconda command line example can be setup as follows. Replace all fields wherever necessary.
inst.ks=http://192.168.0.1/ks.cfg bootdev=ens3.100 ifname=ens3:7c:d3:0a:xx:yy:zz vlan=ens3.100:ens3 ip=192.168.0.100::192.168.0.1:255.255.255.0:testhostname:ens3.100:none
  • Inside kickstart file, the network line can be as follows.
network  --bootproto=static --device=ens3 --gateway=192.168.0.1 --ip=192.168.0.100 --netmask=255.255.255.0 --noipv6 --vlanid 100
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 now doesn't support traditional ip=<IP> gateway=<GW> netmask=<NM> now, so use only above format. See this Solution for details.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 too supports 802.1q tagged vlan configuration like above.
  • Syntax and examples can be exactly same as mentioned for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, whereas Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 still supports traditional ip=<IP> gateway=<GW> netmask=<NM> format on anaconda command line as follows.
inst.ks=<network path for kickstart> bootdev=<device>.<vlanID> ifname=<device>:<MAC> vlan=<device>.<vlanID>:<device> ip=<client-IP> gateway=<gateway-IP> netmask=<netmask> hostname=<hostname>
  • Kickstart network command is same too.
network  --bootproto=static --device=ens3 --gateway=192.168.0.1 --ip=192.168.0.100 --netmask=255.255.255.0 --noipv6 --vlanid 100

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.9 fully supports 802.1q tagged vlan during deployment.
  • In Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.4, the vlanid= boot option and the --vlanid= kickstart option allows to set a virtual LAN ID (802.1q tag) for a specified network device.
  • By specifying either one of these options, installation of the system can be done over a VLAN.
  • This was achieved through an Errata RHBA-2013-0373.
  • Unfortunately, the kickstart option may not work even in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.4. There was a bug in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.4 which is fixed in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.5. For more details, Refer Solution #331563.
  • The following anaconda command line options can be used post Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.5
ks=<network path for kickstart> ksdevice=<device>.<vlanID> vlanid=<vlanID> ip=<client-IP> gateway=<gateway-IP> netmask=<netmask> hostname=<hostname>
  • The kickstart network line will be as follows.
network  --bootproto=static --device=eth0 --gateway=192.168.0.1 --ip=192.168.0.100 --netmask=255.255.255.0 --noipv6 --vlanid 100

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 does not support 802.1q tagged VLANs in kickstart.

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2 Comments

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sm Newbie 5 points
14 October 2011 6:50 PM

Some of our non-virtualized machines require several ethernet connections going over the same high end switches which use vlan taging to separate the network traffic further up the chain.  In our environment we are having to contact the network admins and have them change swith ports for 802.1q trunking temporarly to an "access port" configuration for the installs then back to 802.1q trunking afterwards.  We are not allowed to use native vlans for "security reasons", so a days worth of work can turn into a month or so in a large organization when dealing with the network department to get a simple network install completed. Having the ability to specify a vlan for the installation portion in anaconda would be a great option that would save both time and money.

mb Community Member 57 points
28 June 2012 11:04 AM

Second. We also have a similar environment, and by the sounds of it, a similar networking dept. Adding vlan=xxx for kickstart would be most welcomed. If the .1q module is already available in the ram disk along with the ethernet modules I would have thought that using vlans for the OS installation would be possible?