Install over ssh?

[mart_man00]

I have a new server off eBay but unfortunatly no monitor for it and no cash to get another or a kvm.

Is there any distro out there that will do a install over ssh completely?

How about some kind of bootable disk that will start sshd on startup(so i can stick in a Deb cd or something and run the installer there)?

Technical, i can PXE this thing, but Ive never done that before.

Thanks

[mio_carpe]

what you can do is: try a distro like gentoo. Insert the cd--->wait some time until gentoo finish the hardware detection process--->give root a password---->trigger the ssh deamon---> connect from the other computer.

If you can test all this in a first place with a monitor. (Times to load, etc) then when you have all clear do it, typing everything very carefully!!!

good luck

[Parcival]

Here's the link that's explaining what mio_carpe was refering to:

http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/handbook/handbook-x86.xml?part=1&chap=2#doc_chap4

[retsaw]

Why don't you just borrow a monitor for the install? Just do a minimal install, set up the network and set sshd to start at boot, then you can shutdown and remove the monitor. It'd probably be quicker doing that, than working out how to get an install started purely using ssh, which I doubt any distro would enable by default as it'd be highly insecure.

[Parcival]

With Gentoo it is possible. Gentoo boots up, logs in as root featuring a random root passwort. So all you gotta do is blindly do passwd and start ssh, after that you can remotely log in and start the installation. For further information, check out the link above. :)

[retsaw]

Ok, I've had a look at the link above, and it seems fairly simple, and I didn't actually say it wasn't possible. However, I still wouldn't try it personally, it's just too easy to make a typing error or mistime when to type and end up with it not working and then have to keep restarting.