Unattended installation

Airlock Gateway supports unattended installation, enabling fully automated deployment without manual intervention. This method is ideal for large-scale rollouts or environments that demand consistent configuration, operational efficiency, and minimal risk of human error.

There are two variants of the unattended installation:

  • PXE-based – typically used in network-boot environments
  • ISO-based – suited for environments where booting from a customized ISO image is preferred

In both cases, the installation process is controlled entirely through kernel parameters passed at boot time. These parameters define all necessary configuration options, such as network settings, partitioning, and system credentials.

Kernel parameters

The following overview includes both mandatory and optional kernel parameters for the installation boot process. Mandatory parameters must be provided, while optional parameters can be included depending on your specific use case:

Parameter

Purpose

Notes

alinst.interactive=0

Runs the Airlock Installer in fully automated mode with no user interaction (interactive prompts disabled).

Mandatory parameter.

The system will reboot automatically upon completion.

alinst.rootpw=

Sets the root user password.

Mandatory parameter.

If set, the alinst.sshkey= parameter is not required.

If the password contains spaces, it must be enclosed in double quotes (e.g., “<my root pw>”).

alinst.sshkey=

Allows for secure, password-less SSH-based access by defining an SSH public key for root login after installation.

Mandatory parameter.

If set, the alinst.rootpw= parameter is not required.

The public key must be enclosed in double quotes (“<SSH public key>”) because it may contain spaces.

inst.ks=

Standard boot option that specifies the URL pointing to the Kickstart configuration file.

Mandatory only for PXE‑based installation.

Defined in the Anaconda boot options.

inst.repo=

Standard boot option that specifies the URL referencing the extracted ISO image directory.

Mandatory only for PXE‑based installation.

Defined in the Anaconda boot options.

alinst.adminpw=

Sets the password for the admin user of the Configuration Center.

Optional parameter

Can also be set after installation.

alinst.dhcp=1

Configures the management network interface to use DHCP permanently, including after installation. Without this setting, DHCP is only used during installation and a static configuration is applied afterwards.

Optional parameter.

Required syntax: 

ip=<ip>::<gateway>:
<netmask>:<hostname>:
<interface>:non

alinst.ipv6=1

Must be set if IPv6 is to be used.

Optional parameter.

alinst.mgt_https_port=

Specifies the port on which the Configuration Center will be accessible via HTTPS.

Optional parameter.

Default value: 443.

alinst.tz=

Specifies the time zone to be configured on the system during installation.

Optional parameter.

If set, the value must be a valid time zone string (e.g., Europe/Zurich or UTC).

If not set, the system will use the default time zone configured in the installation image.

ip=

Standard boot option that allows precise control over which IP address is configured on which network interface (static IP configuration).

Optional parameter.

Defined in the Dracut boot-time parameter reference.

Configuration examples

  • With interactive prompts disabled, DHCP enabled, and SSH public key used for root access:
  •  
    Example
    alinst.interactive=0 alinst.dhcp=1 alinst.sshkey="ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3NzaC1lZDI1NTE5AAAAIBexampleKey... user@example"
  • With interactive prompts disabled, DHCP used, and root password defined:
  •  
    Example
    alinst.interactive=0 alinst.dhcp=1 alinst.rootpw=root1234
  • With interactive prompts disabled, static IP used, and root password defined:
  •  
    Example
    alinst.interactive=0 ip=10.123.0.55:::255.255.255.0:myairlock:eth0:none alinst.rootpw=root1234