Step 2: Prep chroot for yum Usage

Installing the release package (e.g., centos-release, redhat-release) into the chroot will let yum work:

# rpm -Uvh --nodeps --root=/chroot/ centos-release-5-1.0.el5.centos.1.x86_64.rpm

Step 3: Install into the chroot

The RPM also installs the software into the chroot, but yum will handle dependencies and make things much simpler:

# yum --installroot=/chroot/install bash yum vim-minimal

At a minimum, I recommend a shell (bash), yum to install software, and the vim editor to modify files in the chroot.

Step 4: Network Configuration Files

If you want to access the network from within the chroot, you need a resolv.conf file (lets applications know where your DNS servers are to be found) and:

# mkdir /chroot/etc/
# mkdir /chroot/etc/sysconfig
# cp /etc/resolv.conf /chroot/etc/
# cp /etc/sysconfig/network /chroot/etc/sysconfig/