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Other OSes Installers

OS-Other Repository

This repository contains boot environments and related content for various operating systems that are not part of the main Digital Rebar Platform (DRP) distributions.

Overview

This repository follows the new distributed content model and contains:

  • Boot environments for RHEL, PhotonOS, SLES, and other operating systems
  • Installation templates and configurations
  • OS-specific parameters and profiles

Content Development

Adding New Operating Systems

Boot Environment Structure

Each boot environment should include:

  1. Metadata: Name, description, documentation
  2. OS Definition: Family, version, supported architectures
  3. Installation Sources: ISO files, checksums, kernel/initrd paths
  4. Boot Parameters: Installation configuration
  5. Templates: References to kickstart/installation templates

Example: Adding a New RHEL Version

# Copy existing version and update
cp content/bootenvs/rhel-server-9.5-dvd-install.yaml content/bootenvs/rhel-server-9.6-dvd-install.yaml

# Update the following in the new file:
# - Name and OS.Name
# - Version numbers
# - ISO filenames
# - SHA256 checksums (when available)
# - Documentation URLs

Required Updates for New OS Versions

  1. Version Numbers: Update all version references
  2. ISO Information: Update filenames and checksums
  3. Download URLs: Update documentation links to download locations
  4. Boot Parameters: Verify kernel parameters are appropriate
  5. Templates: Ensure installation templates support the new version

Naming Conventions

  • Boot environments: {os-name}-{version}-{variant}-install.yaml
  • Examples:
  • rhel-server-9.6-dvd-install.yaml
  • rhel-server-9.6-min-install.yaml
  • photon-5-dde71ec57-install.yaml

Supported Operating Systems

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)

  • RHEL 7.x (various point releases)
  • RHEL 8.x (DVD and minimal installer variants)
  • RHEL 9.x (DVD and minimal installer variants)

VMware PhotonOS

  • Photon 3.x
  • Photon 4.x (multiple variants)
  • Photon 5.x (standard, minimal, real-time)

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES)

  • SLES 15 SP5/SP6 (full and quarterly updates)

Microsoft Windows

  • Windows PE boot environment

ISO Management

Obtaining ISOs

Most operating system ISOs require:

  1. Red Hat: Access to Red Hat Customer Portal with valid subscription
  2. SUSE: Access to SUSE Customer Center or evaluation downloads
  3. VMware: VMware Customer Connect account

Checksum Verification

Always verify and include SHA256 checksums for ISO files:

# Generate checksum
sha256sum rhel-9.6-x86_64-dvd.iso

# Update in boot environment YAML
Sha256: "actual-checksum-here"

Additional Information

The OS Other content pack contains examples of Digital Rebar Provision content to install and maintaining other Linux distributions not maintained in the main DRP Community Content.

OS versions include RHEL Server, VMware Photon, SuSe SLES and OpenSuSe Tumbleweed etc.

Common Build and Usage Instructions

For detailed instructions on building, testing, and uploading content, please see the shared documentation:

Common Build Instructions