[ale] Server Install

[Brian Pitts]

On 06/30/2010 12:53 AM, George Allen wrote:
>
> 1) Is there a bare-bones version of RHEL/Centos that is the equivalent
> of a 'server' or 'jeos' install? I did a Centos 5.5 install the other
> day, picked only the "server task" (to put it in debian terms) and
> still came out with a 2gig install. I'll try again without selecting
> anything and see what it comes down to.

My advice is just stick with the base system, it will make tfm [0] 
easier to follow.

You can try to build a kickstart file that contains just what you want, 
but it's more time-consuming and less flexible than you'd expect.

> 2) What is the best way to manage application of "configuration
> items." There are the standard version control systems to track
> changes. But I'd like something that can manage OS configuration items
> based on a policy document. Maybe puppet, bastille, or cfengine? I'll
> read up on each of these, but what do you suggest?

I've been using puppet. It has its shortcomings, but the community is 
good and the pace of improvement is decent. Based on what I've seen of 
cfengine, puppet is lightyears ahead. There's a free book [1] you should 
check out in addition to the official documentation. [2]

If you're just running one system, doing it this way will take longer 
than managing it by hand. Of course, I bet you're hoping to end up with 
more than one system to manage.

[0] 
http://www.redhat.com/docs/en-US/Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux/5.5/html/Deployment_Guide/index.html
[1] http://www.kanarip.com/courses/Configuration_Management_Using_Puppet/
[2] http://docs.puppetlabs.com/

-- 
All the best,
Brian Pitts