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<h2>About Cobbler</h2>
<p>Cobbler is a Linux provisioning server that allows for rapid setup of network installation environments. With a simple series of commands, network installs can be configured for PXE, reinstallations, and virtualized installs using Xen or KVM. Cobbler uses a helper program called 'Koan' (which interacts with Cobbler) for reinstallation and virtualization support.</p>
<p>Setting up a new Cobbler server is trivial as Cobbler eliminates much of the complexity of configuring the underlying install components. Simply install cobbler via yum, import media you may already have from mirrors or DVD ISOs, and start adding new records into cobbler using the command line or web interface. Extensive documentation is provided on the <A HREF="https://fedorahosted.org/cobbler">Cobbler Wiki</A>.</p>
<p>When creating deployment infrastructure, many components must be dealt with. Cobbler glues together all of these diverse components and makes them easy to manage. As low-level bringup often involves adding records to DHCP and DNS, cobbler "system add" commands can (optionally) be configured to help manage DHCP and DNS using templates. For static IP networks, cobbler still provides solid deployment solutions, including the ability to build DVD network install CDs and reinstall existing Linux systems via the koan command line.</p>
<p>Cobbler also contains a very powerful kickstart templating system that can help you manage all of the differences in the answer files that drive your automated deployments. Additionally, Cobbler can help mirror packages via yum and rsync, and associate those local mirrors with profiles in cobbler, so they are available to all installed systems. </p>
<p>In short, Cobbler helps build and maintain network installation infrastructure really easily. It's highly customizable to your particular methods of operation through a wide variety of options, a powerful command line, a Web interface, a pluggable extension mechanism, and (for developers) its own Python API. Cobbler lets administrators forget <i>how</i> software gets installed and delivered and lets them concentrate instead on what they want to install where.</p>
<p>Whether you run a large datacenter, a campus lab, or just have a handfull of machines on a home network, cobbler can help you perform installations and updates faster.</p>
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