Manually installing and configuring servers is error-prone and time-consuming, especially when deploying dozens of machines with identical configurations. Combining Red Hat's Kickstart automated installation with post-install shell scripts creates a repeatable provisioning pipeline that delivers consistently configured servers in minutes.
Building an Automated Provisioning Pipeline
Kickstart files define every aspect of the OS installation: disk partitioning, package selection, network configuration, and user accounts. Create a base Kickstart file for each server role and serve it from an HTTP server on your network. Configure PXE boot on your DHCP server so that new machines automatically pull the Kickstart file and begin unattended installation.
The Kickstart %post section executes shell scripts after the OS installation completes, making it ideal for initial server configuration. Use %post scripts to configure yum repositories, install additional packages, deploy SSH keys, configure the firewall, set up monitoring agents, and apply security hardening. Keep these scripts in version control and test them regularly.
For more complex provisioning needs, have the Kickstart %post section bootstrap a configuration management tool like Puppet or Chef, which takes over detailed configuration after the base OS is installed. This two-stage approach provides the speed of Kickstart for OS installation with the flexibility of configuration management for ongoing server maintenance and drift prevention.