Build a PXE Boot Server with Kickstart for Automated Linux Installation

PXE (Preboot eXecution Environment) allows a client to download a system image from a server over the network and install it, while a Kickstart configuration file enables unattended installation and OS customization.

PXE server components:

DHCP – assigns IP addresses and points clients to the boot file.

syslinux – pre‑boot loader.

TFTP – client fetches the boot file.

FTP – client downloads the full system image.

Initialize the server

Configure a static IP address for the PXE server and disable the firewall.

[it@pxesvr ~]$ sudo vim /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-ens192
[sudo] password for it:
[it@pxesvr ~]$ cat /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-ens192
TYPE=Ethernet
PROXY_METHOD=none
BROWSER_ONLY=no
BOOTPROTO=static
DEFROUTE=yes
IPV4_FAILURE_FATAL=no
IPV6INIT=yes
IPV6_AUTOCONF=yes
IPV6_DEFROUTE=yes
IPV6_FAILURE_FATAL=no
IPV6_ADDR_GEN_MODE=stable-privacy
NAME=ens192
UUID=6346f97a-42c5-4fff-ad62-93bdfd90f417
DEVICE=ens192
ONBOOT=yes
IPADDR=10.10.10.53
PREFIX=24
GATEWAY=10.10.10.1
DNS1=10.10.10.1
IPV6_PRIVACY=no

[it@pxesvr ~]$ sudo systemctl stop firewalld.service
[it@pxesvr ~]$ sudo systemctl disable firewalld.service
Removed /etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/firewalld.service.
Removed /etc/systemd/system/dbus-org.fedoraproject.FirewallD1.service.

DHCP

Install and configure the DHCP server.

[it@pxesvr ~]$ sudo yum install dhcp-server -y
... (installation output omitted) ...

[it@pxesvr ~]$ sudo vim /etc/dhcp/dhcpd.conf
... (edit file) ...
allow bootp;
allow booting;

default-lease-time 600;
max-lease-time 7200;

option space pxelinux;
option pxelinux.magic code 208 = string;
option pxelinux.configfile code 209 = text;
option pxelinux.pathprefix code 210 = text;
option pxelinux.reboottime code 211 = unsigned integer 32;
option architecture-type code 93 = unsigned integer 16;

subnet 10.10.10.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 {
  option routers 10.10.10.1;
  range 10.10.10.100 10.10.10.199;

  class "pxeclients" {
    match if substring (option vendor-class-identifier, 0, 9) = "PXEClient";
    next-server 10.10.10.53; # pxe server IP
    if option architecture-type = 00:07 {
      filename "uefi/BOOTX64.EFI"; # UEFI boot
    } else {
      filename "/pxelinux.0"; # BIOS boot
    }
  }
}

[it@pxesvr ~]$ sudo systemctl enable --now dhcpd.service
Created symlink /etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/dhcpd.service → /usr/lib/systemd/system/dhcpd.service.

syslinux

Install syslinux‑tftpboot and set up the boot menu.

[it@pxesvr ~]$ sudo yum install syslinux-tftpboot -y
... (installation output omitted) ...

Create the configuration directory and copy the default menu.

[it@pxesvr ~]$ sudo mkdir /tftpboot/pxelinux.cfg
[it@pxesvr ~]$ sudo cp /os/isolinux/isolinux.cfg /tftpboot/pxelinux.cfg/default
[it@pxesvr ~]$ sudo vim /tftpboot/pxelinux.cfg/default
... (example content) ...
default vesamenu.c32
timeout 600
menu title Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.0
label linux
  menu label ^Install Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.0
  kernel vmlinuz
  append initrd=initrd.img inst.stage2=ftp://10.10.10.53/dvd quiet
label local
  menu label ^Boot from local drive
  menu default
  localboot 0xffff

Copy boot files to the TFTP root.

[it@pxesvr ~]$ sudo cp /os/isolinux/{boot.msg,vesamenu.c32} /tftpboot/
[it@pxesvr ~]$ sudo cp /os/images/pxeboot/{vmlinuz,initrd.img} /tftpboot/

TFTP

Install and configure the TFTP server.

[it@pxesvr ~]$ sudo yum install tftp-server -y
... (installation output omitted) ...

[it@pxesvr ~]$ sudo vim /usr/lib/systemd/system/tftp.service
[Unit]
Description=Tftp Server
Requires=tftp.socket
Documentation=man:in.tftpd

[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/sbin/in.tftpd -s /tftpboot
StandardInput=socket

[Install]
Also=tftp.socket

[it@pxesvr ~]$ sudo systemctl enable --now tftp
Created symlink /etc/systemd/system/sockets.target.wants/tftp.socket → /usr/lib/systemd/system/tftp.socket.

FTP

Install vsftpd, enable anonymous access, and point it to the OS image directory.

[it@pxesvr ~]$ sudo yum install vsftpd -y
... (installation output omitted) ...

[it@pxesvr ~]$ sudo vim /etc/vsftpd/vsftpd.conf
anonymous_enable=YES
anon_root=/var/ftp

[it@pxesvr ~]$ sudo systemctl enable --now vsftpd.service
Created symlink /etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/vsftpd.service → /usr/lib/systemd/system/vsftpd.service.

Create the FTP directory and copy the installation media.

[it@pxesvr ~]$ sudo mkdir /var/ftp/dvd
[it@pxesvr ~]$ sudo cp -r /run/media/it/RHEL-8-0-0-BaseOS-x86_64/* /var/ftp/dvd/

Test boot via BIOS

Boot a client machine in Legacy BIOS mode to verify network installation.

Configure UEFI boot

Create the UEFI directory, copy EFI files, and set up a GRUB configuration.

[it@pxesvr ~]$ sudo mkdir /tftpboot/uefi
[it@pxesvr ~]$ sudo cp -r /os/EFI/BOOT/* /tftpboot/uefi/
[it@pxesvr ~]$ sudo vim /tftpboot/uefi/grub.cfg
set default="1"
set gfxpayload=keep
insmod gzio
insmod part_gpt
insmod ext2
set timeout=60
search --no-floppy --set=root -l 'RHEL-8-0-0-BaseOS-x86_64'
menuentry 'Install Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.0' --class fedora --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
  linuxefi vmlinuz inst.stage2=ftp://10.10.10.53/dvd quiet
  initrdefi initrd.img
}
menuentry 'Test this media & install Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.0' --class fedora --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
  linuxefi vmlinuz inst.stage2=ftp://10.10.10.53/dvd quiet
  initrdefi initrd.img
}

Restart services and test UEFI boot.

[it@pxesvr ~]$ sudo systemctl restart dhcpd.service
[it@pxesvr ~]$ sudo systemctl restart tftp.socket