Anaconda Standard

Anaconda Standard
Name	Anaconda Standard
Developer	Red Hat
Released	1998
Latest release	2025
Operating system	Linux
Programming language	Python, C
License	GPL

Anaconda Standard is an installer and system deployment utility widely used in Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Fedora, CentOS and related distributions. It provides a graphical and text-mode interface for partitioning, package selection, and initial system configuration, integrating with installer technologies used by Kickstart, MAAS, Foreman, and Cobbler deployments. Anaconda Standard serves both desktop and server environments and interacts with tools from systemd, NetworkManager, SELinux, and RPM Package Manager ecosystems.

Overview

Anaconda Standard orchestrates disk setup, package installation, and runtime configuration across distributions such as Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Fedora, CentOS Stream, AlmaLinux, and Rocky Linux, while interoperating with provisioning platforms like Cobbler, Foreman, Landscape and cloud services including Amazon EC2, Google Compute Engine, Microsoft Azure and OpenStack. Through integration with package systems like RPM Package Manager and repository managers such as Pulp and Katello, it facilitates unattended installations using Kickstart files or network boot workflows orchestrated by PXE boot and iPXE. Anaconda Standard exposes both graphical installers using GTK and text-mode interfaces compatible with VNC and SSH-based installations.

History

Development of the Anaconda installer began in the late 1990s within projects associated with Red Hat, following earlier installers used in Red Hat Linux and influenced by installer design from distributions like Debian and SUSE Linux Enterprise. Over successive releases tied to Fedora Project and Red Hat Enterprise Linux cycles, Anaconda Standard incorporated features from systemd migration, UDisks, Dracut initramfs tooling and integrated with configuration management approaches promoted by Puppet, Ansible, Chef and SaltStack. Key milestones include support for EFI, GPT partitioning, LVM, dm-crypt and network-based automated installs via Kickstart and PXE infrastructure.

Design and Components

Anaconda Standard is composed of modular components including a user interface, backend installation engine, storage management layer, network setup module and package transaction system. The UI implementations use GTK and a fallback text UI compatible with systemd-logind sessions and vncserver-based remote setup. Storage management relies on libraries interacting with LVM, mdadm, device-mapper and parted, while encryption uses LUKS and cryptsetup. Package transaction handling is performed through RPM Package Manager libraries and the libdnf stack, integrating with repository metadata formats used by YUM and DNF clients. Anaconda Standard also integrates with provisioning systems such as Kickstart, Cobbler, Foreman and cloud-init workflows from cloud-init and NoCloud.

Technical Specifications

Anaconda Standard supports BIOS and UEFI boot platforms, MBR and GPT partitioning schemes, and disk encryption via LUKS2 and dm-crypt. Storage configurations include native LVM volume groups, thin provisioning with LVM Thin, RAID arrays using mdadm, and Btrfs subvolume creation. Networking supports IPv4, IPv6, NetworkManager profiles, bonded interfaces using Teamd and bonding, and can retrieve configurations via DHCP or static provisioning referencing Netplan-adjacent formats. Package transaction capabilities depend on libdnf and RPM transaction APIs, handling signature verification with GPG keys and metadata served from Pulp or Koji build systems. Installer automation is driven by Kickstart directives and can source content from HTTP, FTP, NFS, CIFS or iSCSI targets.

Installation and Configuration

Anaconda Standard supports interactive installs via local media (DVD/ISO), network boot using PXE and iPXE, and cloud-init assisted provisioning for images on platforms like Amazon EC2, Google Compute Engine and Microsoft Azure. Administrators can create reproducible installations with Kickstart files referencing package groups, post-install scripts invoking Ansible playbooks or Puppet manifests, and perform remote installations through VNC, SSH and the cockpit web console. Image building workflows using Packer, ImageBuilder and koji integrate with Anaconda Standard for producing bootable images for virtualization platforms such as KVM, Xen and VMware ESXi.

Package Management and Repositories

During installation, Anaconda Standard resolves dependencies and installs RPM packages sourced from repositories compatible with YUM and DNF metadata formats. Repository hosting solutions often used with Anaconda Standard include Pulp, Katello, Nexus Repository Manager and JFrog Artifactory, while build pipelines supply artifacts from Koji or Brew build systems. Package signing and verification are performed with GPG keys and RPM signature checks. Offline or air-gapped deployments use reposync mirrors, local HTTP caches via squid or containerized registries orchestrated by Podman and Docker for image-based delivery.

Security and Licensing

Security features in Anaconda Standard include disk encryption with LUKS, secure boot interactions with shim and GRUB2, SELinux contexts applied post-install via SELinux policy tooling, and package integrity checks using RPM GPG signatures. Automated installs can incorporate security hardening scripts that utilize tools like OpenSCAP, SCAP Workbench and compliance profiles from CIS. Licensing for the Anaconda codebase follows free software norms with components under the GNU General Public License and related open-source licenses; distribution-specific packaging and support are provided by vendors such as Red Hat, CentOS Project and communities like Fedora Project.

Category:Linux installation software