[ Thanks to Thomas
Chung for this link. ]
“Installing Linux is a relatively easy task. However, I was
faced with the task of installing it on multiple machines
repeatedly, which is time consuming and prone to errors. This
problem affected our whole group and other groups that relied on
us. So I started using Red Hat Kickstart to automate the installs.
This helped, but there still was room for improvement. What I
ultimately wanted was an automated installation that would fit on
one CD, dynamically partition the hard drives and contain all of
the updated packages. I wanted to be able to start an installation
then walk away from the machine, returning only when it was done.
To accomplish this, I supplemented Kickstart with a customized
version of the Red Hat installation program, Anaconda.“Although not officially supported, Red Hat has made available
several tools and documentation to assist in customizing an
installation. I describe a few of the possible ways to do this
here, which should give the reader enough information to get
started.“The following topics are covered in this article: replacing
packages with updates, reducing the installation size to fit on one
CD, utilizing Kickstart in the custom installation and creating a
custom message screen…”