I'm looking for recommendations on tools and strategies for bare metal deployments, specifically for setting up physical Dell servers. My organization primarily uses Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and we've been deploying manually until now. I want to find a modern, well-supported solution that isn't outdated. Ideally, I'm looking for something that can streamline our typical setup process which includes configuring drives (RAID or no RAID), installing the OS with preset network information, and running a post-install script for system registration and network drives. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
6 Answers
Last time I worked with bare metal, we used IPMI and racadm for Dell machines and FAI for netbooting along with Kickstart for RH. Nowadays, I might look towards Ansible or Puppet for configuration management instead.
You don't need much beyond a DHCP server with MAC reservations, a TFTP server, and a file service for your client to boot from the network. Using Anaconda config files allows you to include pre and post-install scripts, making everything easier to manage and document. This keeps your machine state in code, which is super neat!
What a solid point! With UEFI, the need for TFTP is becoming less critical.
For configuration management, I'd recommend using Ansible along with Foreman or Katello for PXE booting and managing subscriptions. Ansible is great for post-deployment configuration because it's really straightforward to automate your tasks.
Totally agree, Ansible is the best for final configuration.
Using a Kickstart file for the initial setup and then following up with Ansible works well. The Kickstart file can set up the basics and allow Ansible to take over for more complex configurations. This way, you can keep management easy without using Satellite for deployment itself.
Exactly! Plus, leveraging iLO or iDRAC APIs can help configure BIOS settings and low-level options.
MAAS is fantastic for imaging. Just keep your images simple and let your configuration management tool take care of the customization. MAAS handles the server integration and OS deployment efficiently!
If your organization sticks to RHEL, Red Hat Satellite is the way to go, though it can be pricey. Alternatively, you might consider Foreman for a supported option that's free. Do you have specific needs aside from wanting vendor support?
Sounds a lot like our setup too!