Kernel Panics Caused by Something in my Kickstart File

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dkbyvfx
Posts: 1
Joined: 2017/03/24 19:08:01

Kernel Panics Caused by Something in my Kickstart File

Post by dkbyvfx » 2017/03/24 19:18:13

Hello,

I have multiple new workstations. I am installing CentOS 7.2 (build 1511) with a kickstart file from Autodesk which is necessary for the software we use. Something being installed by the kickstart file is causing the machines to kernel panic. If I install 7.2 without the kickstart file then the systems do not kernel panic. The panics are intermittent and happen at seemingly random intervals, difficult to reproduce. I know this is a long shot but I'm hoping someone can take a look at the contents of the ks.cfg file and see if anything in there may cause a kernel panic. It does seem to be specific to our hardware because I know this kickstart install works fine in mostly all other situations. Hardware info and kickstart file below:

asus z10pe-d8 ws
Dual 12-core Intel Xeon E5-2687W
NVIDIA P6000

ks.cfg:

Code: Select all

########################################################################
# Type: Installation kickstart for CentOS 7
# ----------------------------------------------------------------------
# Summary: Kickstart file customized for Autodesk system.
# ----------------------------------------------------------------------
# Warning: This kickstart reformats the entire system drive.
# ----------------------------------------------------------------------
# Description:
#    This kickstart is only the first part in the installation procedure
#    for Autodesk system, and as such it only sets up very generic
#    settings. More precise settings will be configured by the DKU
# ----------------------------------------------------------------------
# changelist:
#    2016/02/07: 1st version
########################################################################

# X Window System configuration information
xconfig  --startxonboot

# DISABLE SELINUX
selinux --disabled

# FIREWALL
firewall --disabled

# License agreement
eula --agreed

# System authorization information
auth --enableshadow --passalgo=sha512

# Use CDROM installation media
cdrom

# Disable the Setup Agent on first boot
#firstboot --enable
firstboot --disable 

# Keyboard layouts
keyboard --vckeymap=us --xlayouts='us'

# System language
lang en_U --addsupport=ne_NP,nl_AW,nl_BE,nl_NL,nn_NO,th_TH,zu_ZA

ignoredisk --only-use=sda

# Network information
network --device eth0 --bootproto static --noipv6 --ip 192.168.0.100 --netmask 255.255.255.0 --gateway 192.168.0.1 --hostname vxfhost

# Root password
rootpw --iscrypted $6$f1B3AzkWAU62GzWc$hL8/WWHiyde6uyuF6FTNYXtPi6vsxyuatX40JLABd2BarCbJRaV8KvZ7TjAq0KwfN/Xs.Te82J8OcihavRD/h1

# System timezone
#timezone America/New_York --isUtc --nontp
timezone America/New_York 

# System bootloader configuration
bootloader --location=mbr --boot-drive=sda --append="crashkernel=auto powernow-k8.disable=1 intel_pstate=disable selinux=0"

# Partition clearing information
clearpart --all --initlabel --drives=sda
# Disk partitioning information
part /boot --fstype="xfs" --ondisk=sda --size=1000
part swap --fstype="swap" --ondisk=sda --size=32000
part / --fstype="xfs" --ondisk=sda --grow


%packages --multilib
-subscription-manager-*
-initial-setup
-gnome-initial-setup
@additional-devel
@backup-client
@base
@compat-libraries
@core
@debugging
@desktop-debugging
@development
@dial-up
@directory-client
@emacs
@file-server
@fonts
@ftp-server
@gnome-apps
@gnome-desktop
@graphics
@guest-agents
@guest-desktop-agents
@hardware-monitoring
#@infiniband
@input-methods
@internet-applications
@internet-browser
@java-platform
@kde-desktop
@kde-apps
@kde-media
@large-systems
@legacy-x
@load-balancer
@mainframe-access
@mariadb
@multimedia
@network-file-system-client
#@office-suite
@performance
@perl-runtime
@perl-web
@php
@platform-devel
@postgresql
@print-client
@python-web
@remote-desktop-clients
@ruby-runtime
#@technical-writing
@virtualization-client
@virtualization-hypervisor
@virtualization-tools
@web-server
@web-servlet
@x11

ant
atk-*
autofs
blas
chrpath
crypto-utils
ctags-etags
dcraw
dhcp
dos2unix
dropwatch
dump
emacs-gnuplot
expect
finger
fontconfig-*
ftp
genisoimage
glib2-*
gnome-devel-docs
gnuplot
gtk2-* 
gtk3-* 
hardlink
ImageMagick

ksh
lapack
lftp
libdrm-devel
libgcrypt-devel
libglade2
libgnomeui
libstdc++*
libuuid*
libX11-*
libXau-* 
libXaw-*
libXi-*
libXinerama-*
libXmu-*
libXp-*
libXpm-*
libXrandr-*
libxslt-*
libXt-*
lm_sensors
logwatch
lsscsi
memtest86+
mesa-libGL-*
mesa-libGLU-*
mesa-libGLw-*
migrationtools
mkbootdisk
mksh
mt-st
mtools
motif
mutt
netpbm-progs
nmap
numactl-devel-*
numpy
pango-devel-*
pax
perftest
perl-CGI
perl-Date-Calc
perl-Date-Manip
perl-DateTime-*
perl-DBD-MySQL
perl-DBD-SQLite
perl-DBD-MySQL
perl-DBD-SQLite
pexpect
php-mysql
php-odbc
php-pgsql
popt-*
postgresql-plperl
postgresql-plpython
python-dmidecode
python-docs
PyQt4-*
qt3-MySQL
qt3-ODBC
qt3-PostgreSQL
qt-mysql
qt-odbc
qt-postgresql
rdist
rpm-build
rpmdevtools
rpmlint
rsh
rsh-server
ruby-irb
rusers
rwho
samba
scipy
screen
scrub
sendmail
startup-notification-devel
stunnel
symlinks
system-config-kdump
system-config-kickstart
system-config-users
talk
talk-server
tcl-devel
tcp_wrappers
telnet
telnet-server
tigervnc
tigervnc-server
tree
tuned-*
unix2dos
units
vim-X11
wodim
whois
x86info
xferstats
xmltoman
xorg-x11-proto-devel
xrestop
xterm
xinetd
ypbind
yp-tools
ypserv

hdparm
sdparm

#Infiniband
#mstflint
#opensm
#infiniband-diags
#qperf
#libibcommon


# install all fonts
*-font*.noarch

%end


##############################################################################################
# Post installation script
##############################################################################################
%post --nochroot
#!/bin/sh

cp /mnt/sysimage/boot/grub2/grub.cfg /mnt/sysimage/etc/grub2.cfg.ADSKsaved
sed -e "s/quiet//" < /mnt/sysimage/etc/grub2.cfg.ADSKsaved > /mnt/sysimage/etc/grub2.cfg.tmp
sed -e "s/rhgb//" < /mnt/sysimage/etc/grub2.cfg.tmp > /mnt/sysimage/boot/grub2/grub.cfg
rm /mnt/sysimage/etc/grub2.cfg.tmp


echo "# KEEP THIS LINE FOR CDROM -- from ADSK Redhat DVD" >> /mnt/sysimage/etc/fstab
#echo "/dev/cdrom               /mnt/cdrom              auto    pamconsole,exec,noauto,managed 0 0" >> /mnt/sysimage/etc/fstab
echo "/dev/cdrom      /mnt/cdrom        auto    exec,noauto,nouser,unhide 0 0" >> /mnt/sysimage/etc/fstab
mkdir -p /mnt/sysimage/mnt/cdrom

echo "CF workstation" > /mnt/sysimage/etc/AMEDversion

#/sbin/chkconfig dhcp off
/usr/bin/systemctl disable dhcpd.service
/usr/bin/systemctl disable dhcpd6.service

# add comment to /etc/motd
echo "Full CentOS 7.2 installation: `/mnt/sysimage/bin/date`" > /mnt/sysimage/etc/motd

umount /mnt/source
eject

%end

User avatar
TrevorH
Site Admin
Posts: 33202
Joined: 2009/09/24 10:40:56
Location: Brighton, UK

Re: Kernel Panics Caused by Something in my Kickstart File

Post by TrevorH » 2017/03/24 21:57:42

Apart from that fact that it installs the kitchen sink plus a few more packages for luck, then disables one of the integral security features of the operating system (selinux) then turns off your firewall and leaves your system wide open, I don't see anything much wrong with that ks.

I think you'd need to post details of the crash for anything useful to show.
The future appears to be RHEL or Debian. I think I'm going Debian.
Info for USB installs on http://wiki.centos.org/HowTos/InstallFromUSBkey
CentOS 5 and 6 are deadest, do not use them.
Use the FAQ Luke

desertcat
Posts: 843
Joined: 2014/08/07 02:17:29
Location: Tucson, AZ

Re: Kernel Panics Caused by Something in my Kickstart File

Post by desertcat » 2017/04/02 04:58:15

dkbyvfx wrote:Hello,

I have multiple new workstations. I am installing CentOS 7.2 (build 1511) with a kickstart file from Autodesk which is necessary for the software we use. Something being installed by the kickstart file is causing the machines to kernel panic. If I install 7.2 without the kickstart file then the systems do not kernel panic. The panics are intermittent and happen at seemingly random intervals, difficult to reproduce. I know this is a long shot but I'm hoping someone can take a look at the contents of the ks.cfg file and see if anything in there may cause a kernel panic. It does seem to be specific to our hardware because I know this kickstart install works fine in mostly all other situations. Hardware info and kickstart file below:

asus z10pe-d8 ws
Dual 12-core Intel Xeon E5-2687W
NVIDIA P6000

ks.cfg:

Code: Select all

########################################################################
# Type: Installation kickstart for CentOS 7
# ----------------------------------------------------------------------
# Summary: Kickstart file customized for Autodesk system.
# ----------------------------------------------------------------------
# Warning: This kickstart reformats the entire system drive.
# ----------------------------------------------------------------------
# Description:
#    This kickstart is only the first part in the installation procedure
#    for Autodesk system, and as such it only sets up very generic
#    settings. More precise settings will be configured by the DKU
# ----------------------------------------------------------------------
# changelist:
#    2016/02/07: 1st version
########################################################################

# X Window System configuration information
xconfig  --startxonboot

# DISABLE SELINUX
selinux --disabled

# FIREWALL
firewall --disabled

# License agreement
eula --agreed

# System authorization information
auth --enableshadow --passalgo=sha512

# Use CDROM installation media
cdrom

# Disable the Setup Agent on first boot
#firstboot --enable
firstboot --disable 

# Keyboard layouts
keyboard --vckeymap=us --xlayouts='us'

# System language
lang en_U --addsupport=ne_NP,nl_AW,nl_BE,nl_NL,nn_NO,th_TH,zu_ZA

ignoredisk --only-use=sda

# Network information
network --device eth0 --bootproto static --noipv6 --ip 192.168.0.100 --netmask 255.255.255.0 --gateway 192.168.0.1 --hostname vxfhost

# Root password
rootpw --iscrypted $6$f1B3AzkWAU62GzWc$hL8/WWHiyde6uyuF6FTNYXtPi6vsxyuatX40JLABd2BarCbJRaV8KvZ7TjAq0KwfN/Xs.Te82J8OcihavRD/h1

# System timezone
#timezone America/New_York --isUtc --nontp
timezone America/New_York 

# System bootloader configuration
bootloader --location=mbr --boot-drive=sda --append="crashkernel=auto powernow-k8.disable=1 intel_pstate=disable selinux=0"

# Partition clearing information
clearpart --all --initlabel --drives=sda
# Disk partitioning information
part /boot --fstype="xfs" --ondisk=sda --size=1000
part swap --fstype="swap" --ondisk=sda --size=32000
part / --fstype="xfs" --ondisk=sda --grow


%packages --multilib
-subscription-manager-*
-initial-setup
-gnome-initial-setup
@additional-devel
@backup-client
@base
@compat-libraries
@core
@debugging
@desktop-debugging
@development
@dial-up
@directory-client
@emacs
@file-server
@fonts
@ftp-server
@gnome-apps
@gnome-desktop
@graphics
@guest-agents
@guest-desktop-agents
@hardware-monitoring
#@infiniband
@input-methods
@internet-applications
@internet-browser
@java-platform
@kde-desktop
@kde-apps
@kde-media
@large-systems
@legacy-x
@load-balancer
@mainframe-access
@mariadb
@multimedia
@network-file-system-client
#@office-suite
@performance
@perl-runtime
@perl-web
@php
@platform-devel
@postgresql
@print-client
@python-web
@remote-desktop-clients
@ruby-runtime
#@technical-writing
@virtualization-client
@virtualization-hypervisor
@virtualization-tools
@web-server
@web-servlet
@x11

ant
atk-*
autofs
blas
chrpath
crypto-utils
ctags-etags
dcraw
dhcp
dos2unix
dropwatch
dump
emacs-gnuplot
expect
finger
fontconfig-*
ftp
genisoimage
glib2-*
gnome-devel-docs
gnuplot
gtk2-* 
gtk3-* 
hardlink
ImageMagick

ksh
lapack
lftp
libdrm-devel
libgcrypt-devel
libglade2
libgnomeui
libstdc++*
libuuid*
libX11-*
libXau-* 
libXaw-*
libXi-*
libXinerama-*
libXmu-*
libXp-*
libXpm-*
libXrandr-*
libxslt-*
libXt-*
lm_sensors
logwatch
lsscsi
memtest86+
mesa-libGL-*
mesa-libGLU-*
mesa-libGLw-*
migrationtools
mkbootdisk
mksh
mt-st
mtools
motif
mutt
netpbm-progs
nmap
numactl-devel-*
numpy
pango-devel-*
pax
perftest
perl-CGI
perl-Date-Calc
perl-Date-Manip
perl-DateTime-*
perl-DBD-MySQL
perl-DBD-SQLite
perl-DBD-MySQL
perl-DBD-SQLite
pexpect
php-mysql
php-odbc
php-pgsql
popt-*
postgresql-plperl
postgresql-plpython
python-dmidecode
python-docs
PyQt4-*
qt3-MySQL
qt3-ODBC
qt3-PostgreSQL
qt-mysql
qt-odbc
qt-postgresql
rdist
rpm-build
rpmdevtools
rpmlint
rsh
rsh-server
ruby-irb
rusers
rwho
samba
scipy
screen
scrub
sendmail
startup-notification-devel
stunnel
symlinks
system-config-kdump
system-config-kickstart
system-config-users
talk
talk-server
tcl-devel
tcp_wrappers
telnet
telnet-server
tigervnc
tigervnc-server
tree
tuned-*
unix2dos
units
vim-X11
wodim
whois
x86info
xferstats
xmltoman
xorg-x11-proto-devel
xrestop
xterm
xinetd
ypbind
yp-tools
ypserv

hdparm
sdparm

#Infiniband
#mstflint
#opensm
#infiniband-diags
#qperf
#libibcommon


# install all fonts
*-font*.noarch

%end


##############################################################################################
# Post installation script
##############################################################################################
%post --nochroot
#!/bin/sh

cp /mnt/sysimage/boot/grub2/grub.cfg /mnt/sysimage/etc/grub2.cfg.ADSKsaved
sed -e "s/quiet//" < /mnt/sysimage/etc/grub2.cfg.ADSKsaved > /mnt/sysimage/etc/grub2.cfg.tmp
sed -e "s/rhgb//" < /mnt/sysimage/etc/grub2.cfg.tmp > /mnt/sysimage/boot/grub2/grub.cfg
rm /mnt/sysimage/etc/grub2.cfg.tmp


echo "# KEEP THIS LINE FOR CDROM -- from ADSK Redhat DVD" >> /mnt/sysimage/etc/fstab
#echo "/dev/cdrom               /mnt/cdrom              auto    pamconsole,exec,noauto,managed 0 0" >> /mnt/sysimage/etc/fstab
echo "/dev/cdrom      /mnt/cdrom        auto    exec,noauto,nouser,unhide 0 0" >> /mnt/sysimage/etc/fstab
mkdir -p /mnt/sysimage/mnt/cdrom

echo "CF workstation" > /mnt/sysimage/etc/AMEDversion

#/sbin/chkconfig dhcp off
/usr/bin/systemctl disable dhcpd.service
/usr/bin/systemctl disable dhcpd6.service

# add comment to /etc/motd
echo "Full CentOS 7.2 installation: `/mnt/sysimage/bin/date`" > /mnt/sysimage/etc/motd

umount /mnt/source
eject

%end
Holy Molly a 12 core Intel Xeon processor?!? But I agree with Trevor: "...disables one of the integral security features of the operating system (selinux) then turns off your firewall and leaves your system wide open..." This is just asking for trouble. You may not like this suggestion, but why not simply download the DVD Install program and do the default install and see if you still have the same problem. It is possible the kickstarter program is the problem and configured wrong, doing a manual install and accepting the defaults may or may not solve your problem. Truthfully I have never seen a 12 core processor though I know they do exist. 8 core processors are common (OK not that common until you start talking about high end workstations and servers.) It is *possible* that your processor is not found in the kernel code and you might need to compile a custom kernel that includes your particular kernel. I simple don't know what is included in the kernel. But a starting off place is to simply download a DVD install disk and then do a manual install, and see if that solves your kernal panic problems, if it does not I suspect that your processor *may NOT* be in the kernel and you might have to compile a custom kernel.

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