7 grml-live - build framework based on FAI for generating a grml and Debian based
8 Linux Live system (CD/ISO)
13 grml-live [-c <classe[s]>] [-g <grml_name>] [-i <iso_name> ] [-r <release_name>]
14 [-s <suite>] [-t <target_directory>] [-v <version_number>] [-FVh]
16 *******************************************************************************
17 Important! This document is growing as requested. If you have questions which
18 aren't answered by this document yet please let me know: <mika@grml.org>!
19 *******************************************************************************
24 grml-live provides the build system for creating a grml and Debian based Linux
25 Live-CD. The build system is based on
26 link:http://www.informatik.uni-koeln.de/fai/[FAI] (Fully Automatic
27 Installation). grml-live uses the "fai dirinstall" feature to generate a chroot
28 system based on the class concept of FAI (see later sections for further
29 details) and provides the framework to be able to generate a full-featured ISO.
30 It does not use all the FAI features by default though and you don't have to
31 know FAI to be able to use it.
33 The use of FAI gives you the flexibility to choose the packages you would like
34 to include on your very own Linux Live-CD without having to deal with all the
35 details of a build process.
37 CAUTION: grml-live does **not** use /etc/fai for configuration but instead
38 provides and uses /etc/grml/fai. This ensures that it does not clash with
39 default FAI configuration and packages, so you can use grml-live and FAI
40 completely independent at the same time!
44 Please notice that you should have a fast network connection as all the Debian
45 packages will be downloaded and installed via network. If you want to use a
46 local mirror (strongly recommended if you plan to use grml-live more than once)
47 checkout mkdebmirror (see /usr/share/doc/grml-live/examples/mkdebmirror),
48 debmirror(1), reprepro(1) (see /usr/share/doc/grml-live/examples/reprepro/ for a
49 sample configuration) and approx(8). To avoid downloading the base system again
50 and again check out FAI's NFSROOT (see FAQ of this document for details).
57 Specify the CLASSES to be used for building the ISO via FAI. By default only
58 the classes GRMLBASE and I386 are assumed, resulting in a small base system
59 (being about ~150MB total ISO size) for x86 (32bit).
63 Force execution and do not prompt for acknowledgment of configuration.
67 Set the grml flavour name. Common usage examples: grml, grml-small, grml64.
71 Display short usage information and exit.
75 Specify name of ISO which will be available inside $TARGET_DIRECTORY/grml_isos
80 Specify name of the release.
84 Specify the Debian suite you want to use for your live-system. Defaults to
85 "etch" (being current Debian/stable). Supported values are: etch, lenny, sid,
86 stable, testing, unstable.
88 -t **TARGET_DIRECTORY**::
90 Main output directory of the build process of FAI. Some directories are created
91 inside this target directory, being: grml_cd (where the files for creating the
92 ISO are located, including the compressed squashfs file), grml_chroot (the
93 chroot system) and grml_isos (where the resulting ISO is stored).
95 -v **VERSION_NUMBER**::
97 Specify version number of the release.
101 Increase verbosity in the build process.
106 To get a small, Debian-stable and grml-based Live-CD using /grml/grml-live
107 as build and output directory just run:
111 To get a small Debian-unstable and grml-small based Live-CD using
112 /home/mika/grml-live as build and output directory just use:
114 # grml-live -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386 -t /home/mika/grml-live
116 To get a small, Debian-unstable and grml-based Live-CD using /tmp as build and
117 output directory and use grml_0.0-3.iso as ISO name (placed inside
118 /tmp/grml_isos) just invoke:
120 # grml-live -t /tmp -c GRMLBASE,I386 -s sid -i grml_0.0-3.iso
124 If you have about 700MB of free space inside /dev/shm (being a tmpfs, usually
125 you should have >=1GB of RAM) just run "mount -o remount,suid,dev,rw /dev/shm"
126 and use /dev/shm as build and output directory - resulting in very fast build
127 process. But please be aware of the fact that rebooting your system will result
128 in an empty /dev/shm, so please another directory for $CHROOT_TARGET,
129 $BUILD_TARGET and $ISO_TARGET if you plan to create more persistent output. :)
131 Main features of grml-live
132 --------------------------
134 * create a grml-/Debian-based Linux Live-CD with one single command
136 * class based concept, providing a maximum of flexibility
138 * supports integration of own hooks, scripts and configuration
140 * supports use and integration of own Software and/or Kernels via simple use of
143 * native support of FAI features
145 * multi-arch support (work in progress)
150 grml-live uses FAI and its class based concept for adjusting configuration and
151 setup according to your needs. This gives you flexibility and strength without
152 losing the simplicity in the build process.
154 The main and base class provided by grml-live is named GRMLBASE. It's strongly
155 recommended to **always** use the class GRMLBASE when building an ISO using
156 grml-live, as well as the architecture dependend class which provides the kernel
157 (being 'I386' for x86_32 currently only). The following files and directories
158 are relevant for class GRMLBASE by default:
160 /etc/grml/fai/config/scripts/GRMLBASE/
161 /etc/grml/fai/config/debconf/GRMLBASE
162 /etc/grml/fai/config/class/GRMLBASE.var
163 /etc/grml/fai/config/hooks/instsoft.GRMLBASE
164 /etc/grml/fai/config/package_config/GRMLBASE
166 Take a look at the next section for information about the concept of those
169 If you want to use your own configuration, extend an existing configuration
170 and/or add additional packages to your ISO just invent a new class (or extend an
171 existing one). For example if you want to use your own class named "FOOBAR" just
172 extend CLASSES="GRMLBASE,I386" inside /etc/grml/grml-live.conf to
173 CLASSES="GRMLBASE,I386,FOOBAR" or invoke grml-live using the classes option:
174 "grml-live -c GRMLBASE,I386,FOOBAR ...".
176 More details regarding the class concept can be found in the documentation of
177 FAI itself (being available at /usr/share/doc/fai-doc/).
182 Notice that grml-live ships FAI configuration files that do not use the same
183 namespace as the FAI packages itself. This ensures that grml-live does not clash
184 with your usual FAI configuration, so instead of /etc/fai/fai.conf (package
185 fai-client) grml uses /etc/grml/fai/fai.conf instead. For more details see
186 below. To get an idea how another configuration or example files could look like
187 check out /usr/share/doc/fai-doc/examples/simple/ (provided by Debian package
188 fai-doc). Furthermore /usr/share/doc/fai-doc/fai-guide.html/ch-config.html
189 provides documentation regarding configuration possibilities.
193 Script for the main build process. Requires root permissions for execution.
195 /etc/grml/grml-live.conf
197 Main configuration file for grml-live. All the important steps can be configured
200 /etc/grml/fai/fai.conf
202 Main configuration file for FAI which specifies where all the configuration
203 files and scripts for FAI/grml-live can be found. By default it is set to
204 FAI_CONFIGDIR=/etc/grml/fai/config, a directory shipped by grml-live
205 out-of-the-box so you shouldn't have to configure anything in this file.
207 /etc/grml/fai/make-fai-nfsroot.conf
209 This file is used by make-fai-nfsroot(8) only. Usually you don't have to change
210 anything inside this file. If you want to modify NFSROOT though you can adjust
213 /etc/grml/fai/NFSROOT
215 This file specifies the package list for creating the NFSROOT.
217 /etc/grml/fai/apt/sources.list
219 This file specifies which mirrors should be used for retreiving the Debian
220 packages used for creating the main chroot (including all the software you would
221 like to see included). If you want to use a local mirror you either have to
222 adjust this file or use the GRML_LIVE_SOURCES variable inside
223 /etc/grml/grml-live.conf which modifies /etc/grml/fai/apt/sources.list
226 /etc/grml/fai/config/
228 The main directory for configuration of FAI/grml-live. More details below.
230 /etc/grml/fai/config/class/
232 This directory contains files which specify main configuration variables for the
235 /etc/grml/fai/config/debconf/
237 This directory provides the files for preseeding/configuration of debconf
240 /etc/grml/fai/config/hooks/
242 This directory provides files for customising the build process through hooks.
243 Hooks are user defined programs or scripts, which are called during the
244 installation process.
246 /etc/grml/fai/config/package_config/
248 Directory with lists of software packages to be installed or removed. The
249 different classes describe what should find its way to your ISO. When running
250 "grml-live -c GRMLBASE,I386 ..." only the files from the directories GRMLBASE
251 and I386 will be taken, if you use 'grml-live -c GRMLBASE,I386,FOOBAR ...' then
252 the files of GRMLBASE, I386 **plus** the files from FOOBAR will be taken. So
253 just create a new class to adjust the package selection according to your needs.
254 Please notice that the directory GRMLBASE contains a package list defining a
255 minimum but still reasonable package configuration.
257 /etc/grml/fai/config/scripts/
259 Scripts for customising the ISO within the build process.
263 This directory provides files used inside the scripts of
264 /etc/grml/fai/config/scripts/*. For a full documentation what happens with the
265 files please refer to the source of the scripts.
267 /etc/grml/fai/live-initramfs/
269 This directory provides the files used for building the initramfs/initrd via
272 Requirements for the build system
273 ---------------------------------
275 * any Debian based system should be sufficient (if not it's a bug, so please
276 send us a bug report then) [a usual link:http://grml.org/grml2hd/[grml2hd]
277 harddisk installation ships all you need]
279 * enough free disk space; at least 800MB are required for a minimal grml-live
280 run (\~400MB for the chroot [$CHROOT_TARGET], \~150MB for the build target
281 [$BUILD_TARGET] and \~150MB for the resulting ISO [$ISO_TARGET] plus some
282 temporary files), if you plan to use GRML_FULL you should have at least 4GB of
283 total free disk space
285 * fast network access for retreiving the Debian packages used for creating the
286 chroot (check out "local mirror" and "NFSROOT" to workaround this problem as far
292 Help, I'm using Debian etch and I don't have FAI version >3.2
293 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
295 wget http://www.informatik.uni-koeln.de/fai/download/etch/fai-client_3.2.1_all.deb \
296 http://www.informatik.uni-koeln.de/fai/download/etch/fai-server_3.2.1_all.deb
297 dpkg -i fai-client_3.2.1_all.deb fai-server_3.2.1_all.deb
299 or check out the link:http://www.informatik.uni-koeln.de/fai/[FAI-homepage] for
302 I've problems with the build process. How to start debugging?
303 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
305 Check out the logs inside /var/log/fai/dirinstall/... If you don't have the time
306 to debug the problem in further detail or don't know how to proceed just send a
307 copy of your config, logs and the commandline with a short problem description
310 # history | grep grml-live > /etc/grml/grml_live.cmdline
311 # tar zcf grml_live_problem.tar.gz /etc/grml/grml-live.conf \
312 /var/log/fai/dirinstall /etc/grml/fai
314 Can I use my own (local) Debian mirror?
315 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
317 Sure. Just adjust the variables GRML_LIVE_SOURCES and FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP (if not
318 already using NFSROOT's base.tgz) inside /etc/grml/grml-live.conf according to
319 your needs. Please don't forget that you should use the grml servers as well
320 (see default configuration) so all the grml packages can be downloaded as well.
322 If you want to use a local (for example NFS mount) mirror additionally, just
323 adjust MIRROR_DIRECTORY and MIRROR_SOURCES insede /etc/grml/grml-live.conf as
326 Unless you specify GRML_LIVE_SOURCES and/or FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP the default from
327 /etc/grml/fai/apt/sources.list and /etc/grml/fai/make-fai-nfsroot.conf will be
328 taken. If you customise the variables in /etc/grml/grml-live.conf then the two
329 files will be adjusted during runtime automatically.
331 If MIRROR_DIRECTORY and MIRROR_SOURCES are specified the local mirror will be
332 taken as first entry in the generated sources.list so it's prefered over
333 non-local mirrors. Using a fallback mirror (via providing several mirrors in
334 GRML_LIVE_SOURCES as used by default) is a recommended setting.
336 How do I add additional Debian package(s) to my CD/ISO?
337 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
339 Just create a new class (using the package_config directory):
341 # cat > /etc/grml/fai/config/package_config/MIKA << EOF
345 another_name_of_a_debian_package
349 and specify it when invoking grml-live then:
351 # grml-live -c GRMLBASE,I386,MIKA
353 I fscked up my grml-live configuration. How do I reset it to the defaults?
354 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
356 Notice: this deletes all your grml-live configuration files. If that's really
357 what you are searching for just run:
359 rm -rf /etc/grml/fai /etc/grml/grml-live.conf
360 dpkg -i --force-confnew --force-confmiss /path/to/grml-live_..._all.deb
364 If you don't control your /etc using a version control system (VCS) yet it's a
365 good chance to start using it now. Check out
366 link:http://michael-prokop.at/blog/2007/03/14/maintain-etc-with-mercurial-on-debian/[http://michael-prokop.at/blog/2007/03/14/maintain-etc-with-mercurial-on-debian/]
367 for more details how to maintain /etc using the mercurial VCS.
369 How do I create a base.tgz for use as NFSROOT?
370 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
372 First of all build the chroot system:
374 mkdir /tmp/nfsroot && cd /tmp/nfsroot
375 debootstrap etch /tmp/nfsroot/ http://ftp.de.debian.org/debian
378 Then check out where your NFSROOT is located:
380 # grep '^NFSROOT' /etc/grml/fai/make-fai-nfsroot.conf
381 NFSROOT=/grml/fai/nfsroot
383 So as /grml/fai/nfsroot is your NFSROOT place the file under
384 /grml/fai/nfsroot/live/filesystem.dir/var/tmp/:
386 mv base.tgz /grml/fai/nfsroot/live/filesystem.dir/var/tmp/base.tgz
388 Now running "grml-live ..." will use this file as main system instead of
389 executing debootstrap. Check out the output for the following lines:
392 Calling task_extrbase
393 Unpacking Debian base archive
394 Extracting /grml/fai/nfsroot/live/filesystem.dir/var/tmp/base.tgz
398 Set up approx for use with grml-live
399 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
401 Make sure /etc/grml/grml-live.conf provides according GRML_LIVE_SOURCES and
404 # cat /etc/grml/grml-live.conf
407 deb http://localhost:9999/grml grml-stable main
408 deb http://localhost:9999/grml grml-testing main
409 deb http://localhost:9999/debian etch main contrib non-free
411 FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP="etch http://localhost:9999/debian"
415 # cat /etc/approx/approx.conf
417 debian http://ftp.at.debian.org/debian
418 grml http://deb.grml.org/
420 Don't forget to restart approx (/etc/init.d/approx restart). That's it.
421 All downloaded files will be cached in /var/cache/approx now.
423 I've a question which isn't answered by this document
424 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
426 Don't hesitate to ask on IRC (channel #grml on irc.freenode.org) or just drop me
427 a mail: <mika@grml.org>
429 Download / install grml-live as a Debian package
430 ------------------------------------------------
432 Debian packages are available through the grml-repository at
433 link:http://deb.grml.org/pool/main/g/grml-live/[deb.grml.org]. If you want to
434 build a Debian package on your own (using for example a specific version or the
435 current development tree), just execute:
437 hg clone http://hg.grml.org/grml-live
444 The source of grml-live is available at
445 link:http://hg.grml.org/grml-live/[http://hg.grml.org/grml-live/]
450 Check out link:http://wiki.grml.org/doku.php?id=grml-live[grml-live@grml-wiki]
456 Please report feedback, link:http://grml.org/bugs/[bugreports] and wishes
457 link:http://grml.org/contact/[to the grml-team]!
461 Michael Prokop <mika@grml.org>.
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