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My use case is to use CentOS7 in the most minimal sense possible yet be able to use it as a server to host some stuff. I'm already using the CentOS minimal iso(and a kickstart to install/uninstall some packages), but I want to deep dive if I can make it even more bare metal.

For this I need to be able to compile a bare metal CentOS and convert it into a iso and boot it up and do some tests. Can someone help with the steps for compiling and building a bare metal CentOS iso? Based on these tests, I will verify whether this approach or using minimal CentOS will be better for me.

Amit
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I think you are asking for an even-more-minimal installation than the CentOS Minimal option. Bare-metal means something else and doesn't agree with the context.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bare-metal_server

Since you are familiar with Kickstart already, I can point you to the somewhat undocumented core package group and some additional options for the %packages section.

%packages --nobase --excludedocs
@core --nodefaults

You can further refine your package list based on what you need/don't need. There are some helpful suggestions in the forums.centos.org link below to get you thinking.

Source(s):

After you fine tune your Kickstart to produce the results you want, you can create your own ISO which includes it for reuse. See this popular Server Fault Q&A here:

Aaron Copley
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When using a kickstart, the size of the installed system will be the same whether using the CD sized NetInstall iso or the full DVD. Maybe there is a difference in transfer time if you are copying an image to each host.

I don't think NetInstall can be made much smaller and keep the same features. Without a need to change the content on the official releases, I would not recommend making the effort to spin your own.

Instead, consider PXE network booting. Use syslinux to boot the installer. Point it at your local (HTTP or FTP) mirror of the release. Choose how you want to implement this, directly configuring tftp-server, or use a host provisioning tool like Foreman, Red Hat Satellite, or Canonical MAAS.

John Mahowald
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