koan stands for ``kickstart-over-a-network'' and allows for both network provisioning of new virtualized guests and destructive provisioning of any existing system. For use with a boot-server configured with 'cobbler'.
koan --server=<host> --list-profiles
koan --server=<host> --list-systems
koan --virt --server=<host> --profile=<name>
koan --virt --server=<host> --system=<name>
koan --replace-self --server=<host> --profile=<name>
koan --replace-self --server=<host> --system=<name>
When invoked, koan requests profile information from a remote boot server that has been configured with cobbler. What koan does with the profile data depends on whether it was invoked with --virt or --replace-self.
For --virt, cobbler will create new virtualized guests on a machine in accordance to the orders from cobbler. You can then, once finished, use ``virsh'' and ``xm'' commands on the guest. Cobbler automatically names domains based on their mac addresses.
For re-kickstarting ('--replace-self'), cobbler will reprovisioning the system, blowing away any current data and replacing it with the results of a network install.
Cobbler contains an advanced templating feature that allows a single kickstart file to be customized on a per-system basis. See the cobbler manpage for more details.
If you have system specific customizations in your kickstarts and have cobbler system definitions defined server side for those systems, use --system and not --profile.
Consult the man page for cobbler for more information.
Michael DeHaan <mdehaan@redhat.com>