Installing Linux Remotely

One of the feature of Linux that I admire most is it’s ability to be installed remotely. Meaning? Yes, we can install it from a different location, either it is from a different floor, different building, different city, or even different country. This is most useful for a corporate with many branches but limited IT staffs.

How?
This article is made based on my experience installing Fedora Core 5 and OpenSuse 10.1 remotely. The only requirement to make it works is a working network/internet connection. I use a 64 kbps wlan to connect to a branch from the HQ. The remote control program I use is TightVNC or Krdc.

The steps are very simple:
1. Prepare the CD of the Linux distro.
2. Send them to the branch.
3. As a branch personnel to boot the computer using the CD.
4. Then when the computer boots, type in this parameter:

For Fedora Core:
linux vnc vncpassword=123456 (minimum 6 characters)

For OpenSuse:
vnc=1 vncpassword=123456

5. Press Enter, then the kernel will be loaded. After that, we will be asked how to setup the network, either using DHCP or manually. Choose Manual if applies.
6. Enter the IP address, subnet mask, gateway, and DNS.
7. Done! We can now connect to that PC from our PC to continue the installation using VNC or a web browser.

This is the message you get:
You can connect to 192.168.1.99, display :1 now with vncviewer
Or use a Java capable browser on http://192.168.1.99:5801

This is some screenshots of it:

Well, that’s it. A very short article. Undoubtedly, there are many variations we can use such as installing from FTP/HTTP. Hopefully this article can give a glimps of how powerful Linux for our corporate uses, where often IT staffs are limited but the users are so many and scattered in different locations.

Merdeka!
v.0.1 by ari_stress a.k.a tiger74 a.k.a Fajar Priyanto Bukit Sentul, 12 July 2006. Email: fajarpri at arinet dot org. He is a Microsoft Certified Professional who falls in love with Linux. Working at an automotive dealer in Jakarta.