Abstract

A control file on the boot disk and additional (optional) control files on the install medium specify which settings should be used and which packages should be installed. This includes settings like language, key table, network setup, hard disk partitioning, packages to install, etc.

After giving a quick overview of the syntax and capabilities of this installation method, considerations about how to plan the automated installation at larger sites are presented. This includes questions like the minimum default installation, criteria how to define classes of machines with identical additional setup and security concerns.

Finally, an extension of this methodology that allows system backups and automated restore of such system backups (somewhat similar to the mksysb-feature present in IBM's AIX) is presented.

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