First Boot Script Environment

The first boot environment is a service that allows for scripts to be executed on a node at startup, occurring only on the first boot after system build.

Creating a First Boot Script

A first boot script is made up of a couple of components:

  • Setup script
  • First run script

Setup Script

This script will run as part of the node build procedure and will be used to put the first run script into the correct location to be executed at boot time.

  • Create a script like the following example (replace myfile.bash with the name of the program and between cat and EOF with the installation commands):

    cat << EOF > /var/lib/firstrun/scripts/myfile.bash
curl http://www.system-driver.com/downloads/installer.sh > /tmp/installer.sh
sh /tmp/installer.sh --quiet
EOF

  • The above script can then be saved somewhere under /opt/alces/install/scripts/ on the deployment VM

  • In /var/lib/metalware/repo/config/domain.yaml (or a group/node specific config file) add the path to the script in the setup: namespace

First Run Script

In the example setup script above it creates a file called /var/lib/firstrun/scripts/myfile.bash which is the first run script. Any files ending with .bash in /var/lib/firstrun/scripts will be executed on the first boot of the node.