Deploying a system using PXE

PXE, or Preboot eXecution Environment, allows you to instruct computers to boot using network resources. This allows you to control a single source to install servers without the need to physically insert cumbersome DVDs or USB sticks.

Getting ready

For this recipe, you will need a fully working RHEL 7 repository.

How to do it…

With this recipe, we'll install and configure PXE boots from the RHEL 7 installation media, as follows:

1. Install the necessary packages using the following command:

   ~]# yum install -y dnsmasq syslinux tftp-server
   

2. Configure the DNSMASQ server by editing /etc/dnsmasq.conf, as follows:

   # interfaces to bind to
   interface=eno1,lo
   # the domain for this DNS server
   domain=rhel7.lan
   # DHCP lease range
   dhcp-range= eno1,192.168.0.3,192.168.0.103,255.255.255.0,1h
   # PXE – the address of the PXE server
   dhcp-boot=pxelinux.0,pxeserver,192.168.0.1
   # Gateway
   dhcp-option=3,192.168.0.254
   # DNS servers for DHCP clients(your internal DNS servers...