7 grml-live - build framework based on FAI for generating a grml and Debian based
8 Linux Live system (CD/ISO)
13 grml-live [-a <architecture>] [-c <classe[s]>] [-g <grml_name>] [-i <iso_name> ]
14 [-o <output_directory>] [-r <release_name>] [-s <suite>] [-t
15 <template_directory>] [-v <version_number>] [-FVhuz]
17 *******************************************************************************
18 Important! This document is growing as requested. If you have questions which
19 aren't answered by this document yet please let me know: <mika@grml.org>!
20 This document currently applies to grml-live version 0.0.11.
21 *******************************************************************************
26 grml-live provides the build system for creating a grml and Debian based Linux
27 Live-CD. The build system is based on
28 link:http://www.informatik.uni-koeln.de/fai/[FAI] (Fully Automatic
29 Installation). grml-live uses the "fai dirinstall" feature to generate a chroot
30 system based on the class concept of FAI (see later sections for further
31 details) and provides the framework to be able to generate a full-featured ISO.
32 It does not use all the FAI features by default though and you don't have to
33 know FAI to be able to use it.
35 The use of FAI gives you the flexibility to choose the packages you would like
36 to include on your very own Linux Live-CD without having to deal with all the
37 details of a build process.
39 CAUTION: grml-live does **not** use /etc/fai for configuration but instead
40 provides and uses /etc/grml/fai. This ensures that it does not clash with
41 default FAI configuration and packages, so you can use grml-live and FAI
42 completely independent at the same time!
46 Please notice that you should have a fast network connection as all the Debian
47 packages will be downloaded and installed via network. If you want to use a
48 local mirror (strongly recommended if you plan to use grml-live more than once)
49 checkout mkdebmirror (see /usr/share/doc/grml-live/examples/mkdebmirror),
50 debmirror(1), reprepro(1) (see /usr/share/doc/grml-live/examples/reprepro/ for a
51 sample configuration), apt-cacher(1) and approx(8). To avoid downloading the
52 base system again and again check out FAI's NFSROOT (see FAQ of this document
60 Use the specified architecture instead of the currently running one. This
61 allows building a 32bit system on a 64bit host. Please notice that real
62 crosscompiling (like building a ppc system on x86) isn't possible due to the
63 nature and the need of working in a chroot.
67 Specify the CLASSES to be used for building the ISO via FAI. By default only
68 the classes GRMLBASE, GRML_SMALL and I386 are assumed, resulting in a small base
69 system (being about ~150MB total ISO size). If using a non-I386 system (like
70 amd64) you should specify the appropriate architecture as well. Additionally you
71 can specify a class providing a grml-kernel (see
72 /etc/grml/fai/config/package_config/ for a full list). So instead of GRML_SMALL
73 you can also use GRML_MEDIUM and GRML_FULL instead.
75 -C **CONFIGURATION_FILE**::
77 The specified file is used as configuration file for grml-live. By default
78 /etc/grml/grml-live.conf is used for main configuration. If a file named
79 /etc/grml/grml-live.local exists it is used as well (sourced after reading
80 /etc/grml/grml-live.conf to allow overriding settings). As a last option the
81 specified configuration file is sourced so it is possible to override settings
82 of /etc/grml/grml-live.conf as well as of /etc/grml/grml-live.local. Please
83 notice that all configuration files have to be adjusted during execution of
84 grml-live, so please make sure you use /etc/grml/grml-live.conf as a base for
85 your own configuration file. Please also notice that the configuration file
86 specified via this option is **not** (yet) supported inside the
87 scripts/hooks/classes at /etc/grml/fai/config. Instead use
88 /etc/grml/grml-live.conf and/or /etc/grml/grml-live.local for configuration
89 stuff used inside /etc/grml/fai/config.
93 Force execution and do not prompt for acknowledgment of configuration.
97 Set the grml flavour name. Common usage examples: grml, grml-small, grml64.
101 Display short usage information and exit.
105 Specify name of ISO which will be available inside $OUTPUT_DIRECTORY/grml_isos
108 -o **OUTPUT_DIRECTORY**::
110 Main output directory of the build process of FAI. Some directories are created
111 inside this target directory, being: grml_cd (where the files for creating the
112 ISO are located, including the compressed squashfs file), grml_chroot (the
113 chroot system) and grml_isos (where the resulting ISO is stored).
117 Specify name of the release.
121 Specify the Debian suite you want to use for your live-system. Defaults to
122 "etch" (being current Debian/stable). Supported values are: etch, lenny, sid.
124 -t **TEMPLATE_DIRECTORY**::
126 Specify place of the templates used for building the ISO. By default
127 (and if not manually specified) this is /usr/share/grml-live/templates/.
131 Update existing chroot instead of rebuilding it from scratch. This option is
132 based on the softupdate feature of FAI.
134 -v **VERSION_NUMBER**::
136 Specify version number of the release.
140 Increase verbosity in the build process.
144 Use ZLIB instead of LZMA compression in mksquashfs part of the build process.
149 To get a small, Debian-stable and grml-based Live-CD using /grml/grml-live
150 as build and output directory just run:
154 To get a small Debian-unstable and grml-small based Live-CD using
155 /home/mika/grml-live as build and output directory just use:
157 # grml-live -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386 -o /home/mika/grml-live
159 To get a small, Debian-unstable and grml-based Live-CD using /tmp as build and
160 output directory and use grml_0.0-3.iso as ISO name (placed inside
161 /tmp/grml_isos) just invoke:
163 # grml-live -o /tmp -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386 -s sid -i grml_0.0-3.iso
167 If you have about 700MB of free space inside /dev/shm (being a tmpfs, usually
168 you should have >=1GB of RAM) just run "mount -o remount,suid,dev,rw /dev/shm"
169 and use /dev/shm as build and output directory - resulting in very fast build
170 process. But please be aware of the fact that rebooting your system will result
171 in an empty /dev/shm, so please another directory for $CHROOT_OUTPUT,
172 $BUILD_OUTPUT and $ISO_OUTPUT if you plan to create more persistent output. :)
174 Main features of grml-live
175 --------------------------
177 * create a grml-/Debian-based Linux Live-CD with one single command
179 * class based concept, providing a maximum of flexibility
181 * supports integration of own hooks, scripts and configuration
183 * supports use and integration of own Software and/or Kernels via simple use of
186 * native support of FAI features
188 * multi-arch support (work in progress)
193 grml-live uses FAI and its class based concept for adjusting configuration and
194 setup according to your needs. This gives you flexibility and strength without
195 losing the simplicity in the build process.
197 The main and base class provided by grml-live is named GRMLBASE. It's strongly
198 recommended to **always** use the class GRMLBASE when building an ISO using
199 grml-live, as well as the architecture dependent class which provides the kernel
200 (being 'I386' for x86_32 and 'AMD64' for x86_64) and a GRML_* class (like
201 GRML_SMALL, GRML_MEDIUM or GRML_FULL). The following files and directories are
202 relevant for class GRMLBASE by default:
204 /etc/grml/fai/config/scripts/GRMLBASE/
205 /etc/grml/fai/config/debconf/GRMLBASE
206 /etc/grml/fai/config/class/GRMLBASE.var
207 /etc/grml/fai/config/hooks/instsoft.GRMLBASE
208 /etc/grml/fai/config/package_config/GRMLBASE
210 Take a look at the next section for information about the concept of those
213 If you want to use your own configuration, extend an existing configuration
214 and/or add additional packages to your ISO just invent a new class (or extend an
215 existing one). For example if you want to use your own class named "FOOBAR" just
216 extend CLASSES="GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386" inside /etc/grml/grml-live.conf to
217 CLASSES="GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386,FOOBAR" or invoke grml-live using the classes
218 option: "grml-live -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386,FOOBAR ...".
220 More details regarding the class concept can be found in the documentation of
221 FAI itself (being available at /usr/share/doc/fai-doc/).
226 Documentation to be done...
231 Notice that grml-live ships FAI configuration files that do not use the same
232 namespace as the FAI packages itself. This ensures that grml-live does not clash
233 with your usual FAI configuration, so instead of /etc/fai/fai.conf (package
234 fai-client) grml uses /etc/grml/fai/fai.conf instead. For more details see
235 below. To get an idea how another configuration or example files could look like
236 check out /usr/share/doc/fai-doc/examples/simple/ (provided by Debian package
237 fai-doc). Furthermore /usr/share/doc/fai-doc/fai-guide.html/ch-config.html
238 provides documentation regarding configuration possibilities.
242 Script for the main build process. Requires root permissions for execution.
244 /etc/grml/grml-live.conf
246 Main configuration file for grml-live. All the important steps can be configured
249 /etc/grml/fai/fai.conf
251 Main configuration file for FAI which specifies where all the configuration
252 files and scripts for FAI/grml-live can be found. By default it is set to
253 FAI_CONFIGDIR=/etc/grml/fai/config, a directory shipped by grml-live
254 out-of-the-box so you shouldn't have to configure anything in this file.
256 /etc/grml/fai/make-fai-nfsroot.conf
258 This file is used by make-fai-nfsroot(8) only. Usually you don't have to change
259 anything inside this file. If you want to modify NFSROOT though you can adjust
262 /etc/grml/fai/NFSROOT
264 This file specifies the package list for creating the NFSROOT.
266 /etc/grml/fai/apt/sources.list
268 This file specifies which mirrors should be used for retreiving the Debian
269 packages used for creating the main chroot (including all the software you would
270 like to see included). If you want to use a local mirror you either have to
271 adjust this file or use the GRML_LIVE_SOURCES variable inside
272 /etc/grml/grml-live.conf which modifies /etc/grml/fai/apt/sources.list
275 /etc/grml/fai/config/
277 The main directory for configuration of FAI/grml-live. More details below.
279 /etc/grml/fai/config/class/
281 This directory contains files which specify main configuration variables for the
284 /etc/grml/fai/config/debconf/
286 This directory provides the files for preseeding/configuration of debconf
289 /etc/grml/fai/config/hooks/
291 This directory provides files for customising the build process through hooks.
292 Hooks are user defined programs or scripts, which are called during the
293 installation process.
295 /etc/grml/fai/config/package_config/
297 Directory with lists of software packages to be installed or removed. The
298 different classes describe what should find its way to your ISO. When running
299 "grml-live -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386 ..." only the configuration of GRMLBASE,
300 GRML_SMALL and and I386 will be taken. If you use 'grml-live -c
301 GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386,FOOBAR ...' then the files of GRMLBASE, GRML_SMALL,
302 I386 **plus** the files from FOOBAR will be taken. So just create a new class to
303 adjust the package selection according to your needs. Please notice that the
304 directory GRMLBASE contains a package list defining a minimum but still
305 reasonable package configuration.
307 /etc/grml/fai/config/scripts/
309 Scripts for customising the ISO within the build process.
313 This directory provides files used inside the scripts of
314 /etc/grml/fai/config/scripts/*. For a full documentation what happens with the
315 files please refer to the source of the scripts.
317 /etc/grml/fai/live-initramfs/
319 This directory provides the files used for building the initramfs/initrd via
325 grml-live itself logs to /var/log/grml-live.log. Unless you set ZERO_LOGFILE in
326 /etc/grml/grml-live.conf the output is appended to the file. If you set the
327 ZERO_LOGFILE configuration option the logfile will be truncated on each new
328 invocation of grml-live.
330 The FAI part of grml-live logs to /var/log/fai/$HOSTNAME/ - so the
331 default being /var/log/fai/grml/.
333 If you are using the grml-live buildd you will find the logs of the grml-live
334 run at /var/log/grml-buildd.stdout and /var/log/grml-buildd.stderr.
336 Requirements for the build system
337 ---------------------------------
339 * any Debian based system should be sufficient (if not it's a bug, so please
340 send us a bug report then) [a usual link:http://grml.org/grml2hd/[grml2hd]
341 harddisk installation ships all you need]
343 * enough free disk space; at least 800MB are required for a minimal grml-live
344 run (\~400MB for the chroot [$CHROOT_OUTPUT], \~150MB for the build target
345 [$BUILD_OUTPUT] and \~150MB for the resulting ISO [$ISO_OUTPUT] plus some
346 temporary files), if you plan to use GRML_FULL you should have at least 4GB of
347 total free disk space
349 * fast network access for retreiving the Debian packages used for creating the
350 chroot (check out "local mirror" and "NFSROOT" to workaround this problem as far
356 Help, I'm using Debian etch and I don't have FAI version >3.2
357 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
359 wget http://www.informatik.uni-koeln.de/fai/download/etch/fai-client_3.2.3_all.deb \
360 http://www.informatik.uni-koeln.de/fai/download/etch/fai-server_3.2.3_all.deb \
361 http://www.informatik.uni-koeln.de/fai/download/etch/fai-doc_3.2.3_all.deb
362 dpkg -i fai-client_3.2.3_all.deb fai-server_3.2.3_all.deb fai-doc_3.2.3_all.deb
364 or check out the link:http://www.informatik.uni-koeln.de/fai/[FAI-homepage] for
367 I've problems with the build process. How to start debugging?
368 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
370 Check out the logs inside /var/log/fai/... If you don't have the time to debug
371 the problem in further detail or don't know how to proceed just send a copy of
372 your config, logs and the commandline with a short problem description to
375 # history | grep grml-live > /etc/grml/grml_live.cmdline
376 # tar zcf grml_live_problem.tar.gz /etc/grml/grml-live.conf \
377 /etc/grml/grml-buildd.conf /var/log/fai /etc/grml/fai
379 Can I use my own (local) Debian mirror?
380 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
382 Sure. Just adjust the variables GRML_LIVE_SOURCES and FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP (if not
383 already using NFSROOT's base.tgz) inside /etc/grml/grml-live.conf according to
384 your needs. Please don't forget that you should use the grml servers as well
385 (see default configuration) so all the grml packages can be downloaded as well.
387 If you want to use a local (for example NFS mount) mirror additionally, just
388 adjust MIRROR_DIRECTORY and MIRROR_SOURCES inside /etc/grml/grml-live.conf as
391 Unless you specify GRML_LIVE_SOURCES and/or FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP the default from
392 /etc/grml/fai/apt/sources.list and /etc/grml/fai/make-fai-nfsroot.conf will be
393 taken. If you customise the variables in /etc/grml/grml-live.conf then the two
394 files will be adjusted during runtime automatically.
396 If MIRROR_DIRECTORY and MIRROR_SOURCES are specified the local mirror will be
397 taken as first entry in the generated sources.list so it's prefered over
398 non-local mirrors. Using a fallback mirror (via providing several mirrors in
399 GRML_LIVE_SOURCES as used by default) is a recommended setting.
401 How do I add additional Debian package(s) to my CD/ISO?
402 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
404 Just create a new class (using the package_config directory):
406 # cat > /etc/grml/fai/config/package_config/MIKA << EOF
410 another_name_of_a_debian_package
414 and specify it when invoking grml-live then:
416 # grml-live -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386,MIKA
418 I fscked up my grml-live configuration. How do I reset it to the defaults?
419 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
421 Notice: this deletes all your grml-live configuration files. If that's really
422 what you are searching for just run:
424 rm -rf /etc/grml/fai /etc/grml/grml-live.conf
425 dpkg -i --force-confnew --force-confmiss /path/to/grml-live_..._all.deb
429 If you don't control your /etc using a version control system (VCS) yet it's a
430 good chance to start using it now. Check out
431 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/]
432 for more details how to maintain /etc using the mercurial VCS.
434 How do I create a base.tgz for use as NFSROOT?
435 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
437 First of all build the chroot system:
439 mkdir /tmp/nfsroot && cd /tmp/nfsroot
440 debootstrap etch /tmp/nfsroot/ http://ftp.de.debian.org/debian
443 Then check out where your NFSROOT is located:
445 # grep '^NFSROOT' /etc/grml/fai/make-fai-nfsroot.conf
446 NFSROOT=/grml/fai/nfsroot
448 So as /grml/fai/nfsroot is your NFSROOT place the file under
449 /grml/fai/nfsroot/live/filesystem.dir/var/tmp/:
451 mv base.tgz /grml/fai/nfsroot/live/filesystem.dir/var/tmp/base.tgz
453 or even better use /etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles/$CLASSNAME.tar.gz instead.
454 Use I386 as $CLASSNAME for i386 builds and AMD64 for amd64 builds.
456 Now running "grml-live ..." will use this file as main system instead of
457 executing debootstrap. Check out the output for the following lines if using
461 Calling task_extrbase
462 Unpacking Debian base archive
463 Extracting /grml/fai/nfsroot/live/filesystem.dir/var/tmp/base.tgz
467 or if using /etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles/$CLASSNAME.tar.gz for:
470 ftar: extracting /etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles///AMD64.tar.gz to
471 /grml-live/grml-live_20071029.22138/grml_chroot//
474 Set up apt-cacher for use with grml-live
475 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
477 Make sure /etc/grml/grml-live.conf provides according GRML_LIVE_SOURCES and
480 # cat /etc/grml/grml-live.conf
483 deb http://localhost:3142/deb.grml.org grml-stable main
484 deb http://localhost:3142/deb.grml.org grml-testing main
485 deb http://localhost:3142/ftp.de.debian.org/debian etch main contrib non-free
488 FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP="etch http://localhost:3142/ftp.de.debian.org/debian etch main contrib non-free"
490 Make sure apt-cacher is running (/etc/init.d/apt-cacher restart). That's it.
491 All downloaded files will be cached in /var/cache/apt-cacher/ now.
493 Set up approx for use with grml-live
494 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
496 Make sure /etc/grml/grml-live.conf provides according GRML_LIVE_SOURCES and
499 # cat /etc/grml/grml-live.conf
502 deb http://localhost:9999/grml grml-stable main
503 deb http://localhost:9999/grml grml-testing main
504 deb http://localhost:9999/debian etch main contrib non-free
506 FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP="etch http://localhost:9999/debian"
510 # cat /etc/approx/approx.conf
512 debian http://ftp.at.debian.org/debian
513 grml http://deb.grml.org/
515 Don't forget to restart approx (/etc/init.d/approx restart). That's it.
516 All downloaded files will be cached in /var/cache/approx now.
518 I've a question which isn't answered by this document
519 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
521 Don't hesitate to ask on IRC (channel #grml on irc.freenode.org) or just drop me
522 a mail: <mika@grml.org>
524 Download / install grml-live as a Debian package
525 ------------------------------------------------
527 Debian packages are available through the grml-repository at
528 link:http://deb.grml.org/pool/main/g/grml-live/[deb.grml.org]. If you want to
529 build a Debian package on your own (using for example a specific version or the
530 current development tree), just execute:
532 hg clone http://hg.grml.org/grml-live
539 The source of grml-live is available at
540 link:http://hg.grml.org/grml-live/[http://hg.grml.org/grml-live/]
545 Check out link:http://wiki.grml.org/doku.php?id=grml-live[grml-live@grml-wiki]
551 Please report feedback, link:http://grml.org/bugs/[bugreports] and wishes
552 link:http://grml.org/contact/[to the grml-team]!
556 Michael Prokop <mika@grml.org>.
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