CentOS/Redhat 5.x Kickstart Deployment

Not too long ago I was tasked with deploying a decent number of CentOS 5.3 and Redhat servers to BL490 blades and VMs in our datacenter (part of a massive environment deployment with HP C7000 enclosures, virtual connect, and a lot of patience). I hate manual configuration so I figured now is as good of time as any to get on the kickstart bandwagon. Here is how I did it:

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Converting a Physical machine to a vmware file

Just an FYI, don’t try to use the vmware converter program to convert a windows 2000 workstation to a virtual machine. It just doesn’t work. It takes hours and when it is done it tries to setup the disk as a scsi device but doesn’ t install the drivers. Even if you install the drivers ahead of time you may get a BSOD on boot about an inaccessible boot device. Instead use VisionCore’s vConverter. Continue reading