Newbie boot-disk/install question

["Micheal Kelly" <michealk@newlix.com>]

Hi all,

I apologize if I'm asking a FAQ here, but I've done a lot of searching on
the Debian website, the Debian documentation project and the Internet in
general, and couldn't find the answer.  I even hung around #debian on
irc.debian.org for awhile, but no one could answer me.  So, I'm posting this
question in what I hope to be the right mailing list / forum...

My question has to do with customizing a Debian install.  I need to install
Debian on multiple machines, with a custom mix of the .deb packages found on
the Debian CD.  I'd like to automate this (and perhaps more) of the install
as much as possible.

Is there any facility in Debian similar to RedHats "KickStart" capability?
That is, to create a scripted install that specifies things such as a
default set of packages, drive configuration, ethernet settings, etc?

Most of all, I'm interested in configuring a default set of packages - the
other items would be nice to script, but not necessary.  If this is
documented somewhere, could someone point me in the right direction?

Thanks much,
- Mike Kelly
  michealk@newlix.com