Keep what you got

Let's say the docs present a simplified view of reality...
Larry Wall

Recently I got a bugreport against SLES11 by a customer who uses an undocumented a secret feature of AutoYaST that is quite fancy. It's hidden in the <networking> section and that option can not be configured with the UI. It's called:

<keep_install_network config:type="boolean">false</keep_install_network>

unfortunately that feature is broken on openSUSE 11.1 and SLES11 (that's why there was a bugreport) but will be fixed for openSUSE 11.2 and maybe on SP1 for SLES11.
What does it do? Well, actually you can take it literally. A networking section like this ...

<networking>
  <keep_install_network config:type="boolean">true</keep_install_network>
</networking>

... will keep the network configuration that was created by linuxrc by doing an installation of the system over a network. linuxrc will raise the network then to connect the installation source and with that boolean set to true in the XML file, AutoYaST will copy that network configuration into the installed system. So if the network configuration during the installation is the same you want in the running system, you don't have to configure it in the XML file. Just set that boolean to true and you'll keep your installation network in the running system.

Thanx to Bubli and Michal for supporting me with that bug.

au revoir - Uwe

A new kind of Script

I love flying. I've been to almost as many places as my luggage.
Bob Hope

Since openSUSE 11.2 (not in SLES11) you can use a new kind of script called "postpartitioning-script". That script runs between the pre-scripts and the chroot-scripts after the partitioning is done by autoyast and the system is mounted to /mnt. The fstab is written too but nothing is installed yet, so the system is quite empty currently (and can not be called "system" actually at that stage).
You can mount something into the system for example that was not specified in the XML file but is required during the installation.
The script definition in the XML file is very similar to the other scripts:

<postpartitioning-scripts config:type="list">
    <script>
        <filename>postpart.sh</filename>
        <interpreter>shell</interpreter>
        <debug config:type="boolean">false</debug>
        <feedback config:type="boolean">true</feedback>
        <source><![CDATA[
touch /mnt/a_test
echo Hi
]]>
        </source>
    </script>
</postpartitioning-scripts>

have a nice weekend, Uwe