Kickstart install failes reporting an incorrect timezone specified

Solution Verified - Updated -

Environment

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.3

Issue

  • During installation of a system via a kickstart script, the process stops and returns an error regarding an incorrect timezone specified. If I remove the entry in regards the timezone entirely it still reports the error.

Resolution

  • Reordered the Kickstart script to the following:
# Kickstart file automatically generated by anaconda.

#version=DEVEL
install
cdrom
lang en_US.UTF-8
keyboard be-latin1
network --onboot yes --device eth0 --bootproto dhcp --noipv6
network --onboot yes --device eth1 --bootproto dhcp --noipv6
network --onboot yes --device eth2 --bootproto dhcp --noipv6
network --onboot yes --device eth3 --bootproto dhcp --noipv6
network --onboot no --device eth4 --bootproto dhcp --noipv6
network --onboot no --device eth5 --bootproto dhcp --noipv6
timezone --utc Europe/Brussels
rootpw  --iscrypted <Omitted>
firewall --disabled
authconfig --enableshadow --passalgo=sha512

text
selinux --permissive
skipx
logging --level=info

clearpart --all  --initlabel --drives=sda
bootloader --location=mbr --driveorder=sda --append="crashkernel=auto rhgb quiet"
zerombr
part /boot --fstype=ext4 --size=500
part / --fstype=ext4 --size=70000
part swap --size=12288
part /tmp --fstype=ext4 --size=10240
part /storage --fstype=ext4 --grow --size=1

%packages
@base
@core
@large-systems
@perl-runtime
@server-platform

%end
reboot

Root Cause

  • The timezone entry was being invoked after a reboot flag. Reordering the kickstart file so that the reboot option is in the %end section and the timezone immediately followed the network configuration resolved the issue.

Diagnostic Steps

  • Verify the kickstart file that is being deployed. The following was the script that was returning the reported error.
# Kickstart file automatically generated by anaconda.

#version=DEVEL

install
cdrom
lang en_US.UTF-8
keyboard be-latin1
network --onboot yes --device eth0 --bootproto dhcp --noipv6
network --onboot yes --device eth1 --bootproto dhcp --noipv6
network --onboot yes --device eth2 --bootproto dhcp --noipv6
network --onboot yes --device eth3 --bootproto dhcp --noipv6
network --onboot no --device eth4 --bootproto dhcp --noipv6
network --onboot no --device eth5 --bootproto dhcp --noipv6
rootpw  --iscrypted <Omitted>
firewall --disabled
authconfig --enableshadow --passalgo=sha512
text
selinux --permissive
skipx
logging --level=info
reboot
timezone --utc Europe/Brussels
zerombr
bootloader --location=mbr --driveorder=sda --append="crashkernel=auto rhgb quiet"
clearpart --all  --initlabel --drives=sda
part /boot --fstype=ext4 --size=500
part / --fstype=ext4 --size=70000
part swap --size=12288
part /tmp --fstype=ext4 --size=10240
part /storage --fstype=ext4 --grow --size=1

%packages
@base
@core
@large-systems
@perl-runtime
@server-platform



%end
  • Verify that the timezone option is being set following the network configuration section.

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