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CSAIL Linux Installation

CSAIL Operating System Network Installation

We offer automated installation of CSAIL operating systems, using iPXE and Electrum, an in-house installation tool.

Boot your computer from the network. (The process will vary by machine, Google is your friend here. Usually F11 or F12 during the boot sequence.)
You’ll be supplied a MAC address and network to register on.
Go to WebDNS

Choose a hostname for your machine (for example, my-cool-server.csail.mit.edu).
Enter the full name, including .csail.mit.edu, in the Hostname box, and click ‘Add’. You’ll receive an error if the name is in use, and will need to choose a new one.
In the ‘Choose the subnet on which this host will reside:’ dropdown, select the network you were given above, then click ‘Submit’.
Make note of the IP address listed under ‘Network addresses:'.
Click ‘Commit changes’.

Click ‘Register for DHCP service’.
Enter the hostname you chose above, and the IP address you noted from WebDNS.
Enter the MAC address displayed on the computer.
In the ‘Operating system’ dropdown, choose either ‘Ubuntu Desktop (amd64 only)’ for a desktop machine or ‘Ubuntu Server (amd64 only)’ for a server machine. You can ignore the other two options (they have no effect). Note that if you intend to install CSAIL Debian, you still need to select ‘Ubuntu’ here.
In the ‘Role’ dropdown, select ‘wkst (Workstation)’ if you’re setting up a desktop machine, or ‘groupserver (Group server)’ for a server machine.
In the ‘Group’ dropdown, if your group is listed, select it, otherwise choose ‘Not specified’.
Click ‘Register host’.

Back up any data you don’t want to lose on the machine. By default, the first disk in the system is wiped completely. Dual-booting is not supported. Please contact TIG if you need to install to a specific disk in a multi-disk system; this functionality will be user-visible soon.
Boot the CSAIL Electrum installer.
- If your machine is still in the iPXE boot menu, press ‘Enter’ to retry DNS detection. If this fails, wait 5-10 minutes, then try again. If you’re unable to proceed more than 60 minutes after registering your machine, contact TIG at help@csail.mit.edu with your hostname, IP address, and MAC address.
- If your machine is not at the iPXE menu, boot it from the network by following the first step in the new host instructions above.
At the iPXE menu, use the arrow keys and enter to navigate. You can choose which CSAIL operating system to install, or use the ‘Advanced options’ menus for each operating system to select additional options.
- If you need sudo access on your newly-installed machine, you can add your user at the iPXE boot menu before installing. If you need sudo post-install, please contact TIG at help@csail.mit.edu.
Once that’s complete, you’ll find yourself at the login manager, and should be able to log in with your CSAIL username and Kerberos password. Your home directory will be your AFS home directory.

If you wish to be able to log in remotely via SSH without using a password, you’ll need to ask somebody with Kerberos administrator privileges (TIG sysadmins) to create a keytab for your host. (See Setting Up SSH for details.)
By default, all CSAIL users are allowed to log into your host, both on the console and once enabled, via ssh. You can restrict access by following the Instructions on the Linux Admin page.