Ansible ISO factory

Making a custom ISO image for Enterprise Linux distributions.

• Ansible ISO factory
  • License
  • Author Information
  • Requirements
  • Dependencies
  • Compatibility
  • Role Variables
  • Example Playbook
  • Build files
  • Task tags
  • Useful shell commands
  • Additional documentation resources
  • Testing the role and the ISO
    • Linting
  • Useful links

License

MIT / BSD

Author Information

• Made and maintained by: Kasra Amirsarvari
• Ansible Galaxy community author: https://galaxy.ansible.com/caseraw

Requirements

• Run on a properly configured and up-to-date Linux distribution.
• Ensure proper user permissions to mount ISO files and to edit their contents.
• Ensure sufficient storage space on the machine to work with multiple ISO files including their extracts.
• Ensure a "files" directory exists within the Ansible project directory as it serves as the default location where several folders and files will me made.
• Have at least 1 ISO file ready, preferably from the original vendor.

Dependencies

• Ensure installed packaged:
  • Command: mkisofs - Package: genisoimage
  • Command: isohybrid - Package: syslinux
  • Command: implantisomd5 - Package: isomd5sum
  • Command: rsync - Package: rsync

Compatibility

Compatible with the following list of operating systems:

• CentOS 7
• CentOS 8
• RHEL 7.x
• RHEL 8.x

Role Variables

Variable name	Description
role_isofactory_arena_persistent_build_directory	Optional absolute path to persistent storage location for extracting ISO files.
role_isofactory_arena_persistent_iso_files_directory	Optional absolute path to persistent storage location for storing ISO files.
role_isofactory_arena_persistent_iso_mount_directory	Optional absolute path to persistent storage location for mounting an ISO.
role_isofactory_arena_persistent_build_files_directory	Optional absolute path to persistent storage location for storing build files.
role_isofactory_iso_file_input	Name of an existing/original ISO file.
role_isofactory_iso_file_output	Name of the to be created new ISO file
role_isofactory_iso_file_output_checksum	Name of the file that will contain the checksum of the to be created new ISO file.
role_isofactory_iso_volume_label	The label for the ISO. This should strictly be the same as shown in the GRUB menu configuration file.
role_isofactory_cleanup_unmount_iso	Wether to unmount the ISO after the creation of a new ISO is done.
role_isofactory_cleanup_arena_build_directory	Wether to remove the extracted ISO files after the creation of a new ISO is done.
role_isofactory_build_file_list	A list of files to put in or to remove from the contents of an ISO file.

Example Playbook

---
- name: Create a custom bootable ISO based on an original ISO
  hosts: localhost
  become: false
  gather_facts: false
  tasks:
    - import_role:
        name: ansible_role_isofactory
      vars:
        role_isofactory_iso_file_input: rhel-server-7.7-x86_64-dvd.iso
        role_isofactory_iso_file_output: rhel-server-7.7-x86_64-dvd-custom_base01.iso
        role_isofactory_iso_file_output_checksum: rhel-server-7.7-x86_64-dvd-custom_base01.txt
        role_isofactory_iso_volume_label: RHEL-7.7 Server.x86_64
        role_isofactory_cleanup_unmount_iso: True
        role_isofactory_cleanup_arena_build_directory: True
        role_isofactory_build_file_list:
          - src: RHEL/RHEL7x_ks_legacy_boot.cfg
            dest: isolinux/ks.cfg
            state: present
            action: copy
            owner: root
            group: root
            mode: 0444
          - src: RHEL/RHEL7x_ks_uefi_boot.cfg
            dest: EFI/BOOT/ks.cfg
            state: present
            action: copy
            owner: root
            group: root
            mode: 0444
          - src: RHEL/RHEL77_isolinux.cfg
            dest: isolinux/isolinux.cfg
            state: present
            action: copy
            owner: root
            group: root
            mode: 0444
          - src: RHEL/RHEL77_grub.cfg
            dest: EFI/BOOT/grub.cfg
            state: present
            action: copy
            owner: root
            group: root
            mode: 0444

...

Build files

Build files are specified files used to place within or remove from the ISO.
These files can be almost everything such as:

• Kickstart configuration files
• GRUB bootmenu
• RPM packages

Examples are made available at: docs/example_build_files

Task tags

Tag name	Description
role_isofactory_tag_verify	Check if required variables are filled.
role_isofactory_tag_setup_working_dir	Setting up the working area.
role_isofactory_tag_mount_iso	Mounting the original ISO.
role_isofactory_tag_copy_iso_contents	Extracting the contents of the original ISO.
role_isofactory_tag_manage_build_files	Add or remove files into or from the extracted contents of the original ISO.
role_isofactory_tag_build_iso	Create a new ISO.
role_isofactory_tag_cleanup	Cleanup the working area.

Useful shell commands

N/A

Additional documentation resources

N/A

Testing the role and the ISO

At the moment the role is tested by generating a new ISO and using to install a new VM from scratch.
The generation of the ISO file has been done manually on:

• Ubuntu 18.04.x workstation
• Fedora 30 workstation
• Fedora 31 workstation
• RHEL7 server

Installing a new VM from scratch using the ISO file has been tested on:

• Libvirt
• Red Hat Virtualization
• VMware

Linting

This role is linted with:

• yamllint . -c yamllint.yml -f auto -s
• ansible-lint

The following ansible-lint warnings are expected as there is no idempotency on these tasks:

[301] Commands should not change things if nothing needs doing
tasks/build_iso.yml:2
Task/Handler: Build ISO file

[301] Commands should not change things if nothing needs doing
tasks/build_iso.yml:22
Task/Handler: Make ISO bootable

[301] Commands should not change things if nothing needs doing
tasks/build_iso.yml:29
Task/Handler: Implant checksum

Useful links

• GitHub repository: https://github.com/Caseraw/ansible_role_isofactory
• Ansible Galaxy role: https://galaxy.ansible.com/caseraw/ansible_role_isofactory