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>] [-bFVhuz]
17 *******************************************************************************
18 Important: squashfs-tools in Debian (version 1:3.3-6 for example) currently
19 don't work as expected for grml-live. Please install grml's version 1:3.2r2-9exp1 from
20 http://grml.org/squashfs/squashfs-tools_3.2r2-9exp1_i386.deb (for x86) or
21 http://grml.org/squashfs/squashfs-tools_3.2r2-9exp1_amd64.deb (for amd64)
22 on your build-system instead.
23 *******************************************************************************
25 *******************************************************************************
26 Notice! This document is growing as requested. If you have questions which
27 aren't answered by this document yet please let me know: <mika@grml.org>!
28 *******************************************************************************
33 grml-live provides the build system for creating a grml and Debian based Linux
34 Live-CD. The build system is based on
35 link:http://www.informatik.uni-koeln.de/fai/[FAI] (Fully Automatic
36 Installation). grml-live uses the "fai dirinstall" feature to generate a chroot
37 system based on the class concept of FAI (see later sections for further
38 details) and provides the framework to be able to generate a full-featured ISO.
39 It does not use all the FAI features by default though and you don't have to
40 know FAI to be able to use it.
42 The use of FAI gives you the flexibility to choose the packages you would like
43 to include on your very own Linux Live-CD without having to deal with all the
44 details of a build process.
46 CAUTION: grml-live does **not** use /etc/fai for configuration but instead
47 provides and uses /etc/grml/fai. This ensures that it does not clash with
48 default FAI configuration and packages, so you can use grml-live and FAI
49 completely independent at the same time!
53 Please notice that you should have a fast network connection as all the Debian
54 packages will be downloaded and installed via network. If you want to use a
55 local mirror (strongly recommended if you plan to use grml-live more than once)
56 checkout mkdebmirror (see /usr/share/doc/grml-live/examples/mkdebmirror),
57 debmirror(1), reprepro(1) (see /usr/share/doc/grml-live/examples/reprepro/ for a
58 sample configuration), apt-cacher(1) and approx(8). To avoid downloading the
59 base system again and again check out FAI's NFSROOT (see FAQ of this document
67 Use the specified architecture instead of the currently running one. This
68 allows building a 32bit system on a 64bit host (though you can't build a 64bit
69 system on a 32bit system/kernel of course). Please notice that real
70 crosscompiling (like building a ppc system on x86) isn't possible due to the
71 nature and the need of working in a chroot. Currently supported values: i386
76 Build the ISO without updating the chroot via FAI. This option is useful for
77 example when working on stable releases: if you have a working base
78 system/chroot and do not want to execute any further updates (via "-u" option)
79 but intend to only build the ISO.
83 Specify the CLASSES to be used for building the ISO via FAI. By default only
84 the classes GRMLBASE, GRML_SMALL and I386 are assumed, resulting in a small base
85 system (being about ~150MB total ISO size). If using a non-I386 system (like
86 amd64) you should specify the appropriate architecture as well. Additionally you
87 can specify a class providing a grml-kernel (see
88 /etc/grml/fai/config/package_config/ for a full list). So instead of GRML_SMALL
89 you can also use GRML_MEDIUM and GRML_FULL instead.
91 -C **CONFIGURATION_FILE**::
93 The specified file is used as configuration file for grml-live. By default
94 /etc/grml/grml-live.conf is used for main configuration. If a file named
95 /etc/grml/grml-live.local exists it is used as well (sourced after reading
96 /etc/grml/grml-live.conf to allow overriding settings). As a last option the
97 specified configuration file is sourced so it is possible to override settings
98 of /etc/grml/grml-live.conf as well as of /etc/grml/grml-live.local. Please
99 notice that all configuration files have to be adjusted during execution of
100 grml-live, so please make sure you use /etc/grml/grml-live.conf as a base for
101 your own configuration file. Please also notice that the configuration file
102 specified via this option is **not** (yet) supported inside the
103 scripts/hooks/classes at /etc/grml/fai/config. Instead use
104 /etc/grml/grml-live.conf and/or /etc/grml/grml-live.local for configuration
105 stuff used inside /etc/grml/fai/config.
109 Force execution and do not prompt for acknowledgment of configuration.
113 Set the grml flavour name. Common usage examples: grml, grml-small, grml64.
114 Please do NOT use blanks and any special characters like '/', ';' inside
115 GRML_NAME, otherwise you might notice problems with booting.
119 Display short usage information and exit.
123 Specify name of ISO which will be available inside $OUTPUT_DIRECTORY/grml_isos
126 -o **OUTPUT_DIRECTORY**::
128 Main output directory of the build process of FAI. Some directories are created
129 inside this target directory, being: grml_cd (where the files for creating the
130 ISO are located, including the compressed squashfs file), grml_chroot (the
131 chroot system) and grml_isos (where the resulting ISO is stored).
135 Specify name of the release.
139 Specify the Debian suite you want to use for your live-system. Defaults to
140 "etch" (being current Debian/stable). Supported values are: etch, lenny, sid.
142 -t **TEMPLATE_DIRECTORY**::
144 Specify place of the templates used for building the ISO. By default
145 (and if not manually specified) this is /usr/share/grml-live/templates/.
149 Update existing chroot instead of rebuilding it from scratch. This option is
150 based on the softupdate feature of FAI.
152 -v **VERSION_NUMBER**::
154 Specify version number of the release.
158 Increase verbosity in the build process.
162 Use ZLIB instead of LZMA compression in mksquashfs part of the build process.
167 To get a small, Debian-stable and grml-based Live-CD using /grml/grml-live
168 as build and output directory just run:
172 To get a small Debian-unstable and grml-small based Live-CD using
173 /home/mika/grml-live as build and output directory just use:
175 # grml-live -s sid -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386 -o /home/mika/grml-live
177 To get a medium sized, Debian-unstable and grml-based Live-CD for i386
178 architecture using /grml/grml-live as build and output directory just run:
180 # grml-live -s sid -a i386 -c GRMLBASE,GRML_MEDIUM,I386
182 To get a small, Debian-unstable and grml-based Live-CD using /tmp as build and
183 output directory and use grml_0.0-3.iso as ISO name (placed inside
184 /tmp/grml_isos) just invoke:
186 # grml-live -o /tmp -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386 -s sid -i grml_0.0-3.iso
190 If you have about 700MB of free space inside /dev/shm (being a tmpfs, usually
191 you should have >=1GB of RAM) just run "mount -o remount,suid,dev,rw /dev/shm"
192 and use /dev/shm as build and output directory - resulting in very fast build
193 process. But please be aware of the fact that rebooting your system will result
194 in an empty /dev/shm, so please use another directory for $CHROOT_OUTPUT,
195 $BUILD_OUTPUT and $ISO_OUTPUT if you plan to create more persistent output. :)
197 Main features of grml-live
198 --------------------------
200 * create a grml-/Debian-based Linux Live-CD with one single command
202 * class based concept, providing a maximum of flexibility
204 * supports integration of own hooks, scripts and configuration
206 * supports use and integration of own Software and/or Kernels via simple use of
209 * native support of FAI features
211 * multi-arch support (work in progress)
216 grml-live uses FAI and its class based concept for adjusting configuration and
217 setup according to your needs. This gives you flexibility and strength without
218 losing the simplicity in the build process.
220 The main and base class provided by grml-live is named GRMLBASE. It's strongly
221 recommended to **always** use the class GRMLBASE when building an ISO using
222 grml-live, as well as the architecture dependent class which provides the kernel
223 (being 'I386' for x86_32 and 'AMD64' for x86_64) and a GRML_* class (like
224 GRML_SMALL, GRML_MEDIUM or GRML_FULL). The following files and directories are
225 relevant for class GRMLBASE by default:
227 /etc/grml/fai/config/scripts/GRMLBASE/
228 /etc/grml/fai/config/debconf/GRMLBASE
229 /etc/grml/fai/config/class/GRMLBASE.var
230 /etc/grml/fai/config/hooks/instsoft.GRMLBASE
231 /etc/grml/fai/config/package_config/GRMLBASE
233 Take a look at the next section for information about the concept of those
236 If you want to use your own configuration, extend an existing configuration
237 and/or add additional packages to your ISO just invent a new class (or extend an
238 existing one). For example if you want to use your own class named "FOOBAR" just
239 extend CLASSES="GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386" inside /etc/grml/grml-live.conf to
240 CLASSES="GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386,FOOBAR" or invoke grml-live using the classes
241 option: "grml-live -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386,FOOBAR ...".
243 More details regarding the class concept can be found in the documentation of
244 FAI itself (being available at /usr/share/doc/fai-doc/).
249 Documentation to be done...
254 Notice that grml-live ships FAI configuration files that do not use the same
255 namespace as the FAI packages itself. This ensures that grml-live does not clash
256 with your usual FAI configuration, so instead of /etc/fai/fai.conf (package
257 fai-client) grml uses /etc/grml/fai/fai.conf instead. For more details see
258 below. To get an idea how another configuration or example files could look like
259 check out /usr/share/doc/fai-doc/examples/simple/ (provided by Debian package
260 fai-doc). Furthermore /usr/share/doc/fai-doc/fai-guide.html/ch-config.html
261 provides documentation regarding configuration possibilities.
265 Script for the main build process. Requires root permissions for execution.
267 /etc/grml/grml-live.conf
269 Main configuration file for grml-live. All the important steps can be configured
272 /etc/grml/fai/fai.conf
274 Main configuration file for FAI which specifies where all the configuration
275 files and scripts for FAI/grml-live can be found. By default it is set to
276 FAI_CONFIGDIR=/etc/grml/fai/config, a directory shipped by grml-live
277 out-of-the-box so you shouldn't have to configure anything in this file.
279 /etc/grml/fai/make-fai-nfsroot.conf
281 This file is used by make-fai-nfsroot(8) only. Usually you don't have to change
282 anything inside this file. If you want to modify NFSROOT though you can adjust
285 /etc/grml/fai/NFSROOT
287 This file specifies the package list for creating the NFSROOT.
289 /etc/grml/fai/apt/sources.list
291 This file specifies which mirrors should be used for retreiving the Debian
292 packages used for creating the main chroot (including all the software you would
293 like to see included). If you want to use a local mirror you either have to
294 adjust this file or use the GRML_LIVE_SOURCES variable inside
295 /etc/grml/grml-live.conf which modifies /etc/grml/fai/apt/sources.list
298 /etc/grml/fai/config/
300 The main directory for configuration of FAI/grml-live. More details below.
302 /etc/grml/fai/config/class/
304 This directory contains files which specify main configuration variables for the
307 /etc/grml/fai/config/debconf/
309 This directory provides the files for preseeding/configuration of debconf
312 /etc/grml/fai/config/hooks/
314 This directory provides files for customising the build process through hooks.
315 Hooks are user defined programs or scripts, which are called during the
316 installation process.
318 /etc/grml/fai/config/package_config/
320 Directory with lists of software packages to be installed or removed. The
321 different classes describe what should find its way to your ISO. When running
322 "grml-live -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386 ..." only the configuration of GRMLBASE,
323 GRML_SMALL and and I386 will be taken. If you use 'grml-live -c
324 GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386,FOOBAR ...' then the files of GRMLBASE, GRML_SMALL,
325 I386 **plus** the files from FOOBAR will be taken. So just create a new class to
326 adjust the package selection according to your needs. Please notice that the
327 directory GRMLBASE contains a package list defining a minimum but still
328 reasonable package configuration.
330 /etc/grml/fai/config/scripts/
332 Scripts for customising the ISO within the build process.
336 This directory provides files used inside the scripts of
337 /etc/grml/fai/config/scripts/*. For a full documentation what happens with the
338 files please refer to the source of the scripts.
340 /etc/grml/fai/live-initramfs/
342 This directory provides the files used for building the initramfs/initrd via
348 grml-live itself logs to /var/log/grml-live.log. Unless you set ZERO_LOGFILE in
349 /etc/grml/grml-live.conf the output is appended to the file. If you set the
350 ZERO_LOGFILE configuration option the logfile will be truncated on each new
351 invocation of grml-live.
353 The FAI part of grml-live logs to /var/log/fai/$HOSTNAME/ - so the
354 default being /var/log/fai/grml/.
356 If you are using the grml-live buildd you will find the logs of the grml-live
357 run at /var/log/grml-buildd.stdout and /var/log/grml-buildd.stderr.
359 Requirements for the build system
360 ---------------------------------
362 * any Debian based system should be sufficient (if not it's a bug, so please
363 send us a bug report then) [a usual link:http://grml.org/grml2hd/[grml2hd]
364 harddisk installation ships all you need]
366 * enough free disk space; at least 800MB are required for a minimal grml-live
367 run (\~400MB for the chroot [$CHROOT_OUTPUT], \~150MB for the build target
368 [$BUILD_OUTPUT] and \~150MB for the resulting ISO [$ISO_OUTPUT] plus some
369 temporary files), if you plan to use GRML_FULL you should have at least 4GB of
370 total free disk space
372 * fast network access for retreiving the Debian packages used for creating the
373 chroot (check out "local mirror" and "NFSROOT" to workaround this problem as far
379 Help, I'm using Debian etch and I don't have FAI version >3.2
380 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
382 wget http://www.informatik.uni-koeln.de/fai/download/etch/fai-client_3.2.6_all.deb \
383 http://www.informatik.uni-koeln.de/fai/download/etch/fai-server_3.2.6_all.deb \
384 http://www.informatik.uni-koeln.de/fai/download/etch/fai-doc_3.2.6_all.deb
385 dpkg -i fai-client_3.2.6_all.deb fai-server_3.2.6_all.deb fai-doc_3.2.6_all.deb
387 or check out the link:http://www.informatik.uni-koeln.de/fai/[FAI-homepage] for
390 I've problems with the build process. How to start debugging?
391 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
393 Check out the logs inside /var/log/fai/... If you don't have the time to debug
394 the problem in further detail or don't know how to proceed just send a copy of
395 your config, logs and the commandline with a short problem description to
398 # history | grep grml-live > /etc/grml/grml_live.cmdline
399 # tar zcf grml_live_problem.tar.gz /etc/grml/grml-live.conf \
400 /etc/grml/grml-buildd.conf /var/log/fai /etc/grml/fai
402 Can I use my own (local) Debian mirror?
403 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
405 Sure. Just adjust the variables GRML_LIVE_SOURCES and FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP (if not
406 already using NFSROOT's base.tgz) inside /etc/grml/grml-live.conf according to
407 your needs. Please don't forget that you should use the grml servers as well
408 (see default configuration) so all the grml packages can be downloaded as well.
410 If you want to use a local (for example NFS mount) mirror additionally, just
411 adjust MIRROR_DIRECTORY and MIRROR_SOURCES inside /etc/grml/grml-live.conf as
414 Unless you specify GRML_LIVE_SOURCES and/or FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP the default from
415 /etc/grml/fai/apt/sources.list and /etc/grml/fai/make-fai-nfsroot.conf will be
416 taken. If you customise the variables in /etc/grml/grml-live.conf then the two
417 files will be adjusted during runtime automatically.
419 If MIRROR_DIRECTORY and MIRROR_SOURCES are specified the local mirror will be
420 taken as first entry in the generated sources.list so it's prefered over
421 non-local mirrors. Using a fallback mirror (via providing several mirrors in
422 GRML_LIVE_SOURCES as used by default) is a recommended setting.
424 How do I add additional Debian package(s) to my CD/ISO?
425 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
427 Just create a new class (using the package_config directory):
429 # cat > /etc/grml/fai/config/package_config/MIKA << EOF
433 another_name_of_a_debian_package
437 and specify it when invoking grml-live then:
439 # grml-live -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386,MIKA
441 I fscked up my grml-live configuration. How do I reset it to the defaults?
442 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
444 Notice: this deletes all your grml-live configuration files. If that's really
445 what you are searching for just run:
447 rm -rf /etc/grml/fai /etc/grml/grml-live.conf
448 dpkg -i --force-confnew --force-confmiss /path/to/grml-live_..._all.deb
452 If you don't control your /etc using a version control system (VCS) yet it's a
453 good chance to start using it now. Check out
454 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/]
455 for more details how to maintain /etc using the mercurial VCS.
457 How do I create a base.tgz for use as NFSROOT?
458 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
460 First of all build the chroot system:
462 mkdir /tmp/nfsroot && cd /tmp/nfsroot
463 debootstrap etch /tmp/nfsroot/ http://ftp.de.debian.org/debian
466 Then check out where your NFSROOT is located:
468 # grep '^NFSROOT' /etc/grml/fai/make-fai-nfsroot.conf
469 NFSROOT=/grml/fai/nfsroot
471 So as /grml/fai/nfsroot is your NFSROOT place the file under
472 /grml/fai/nfsroot/live/filesystem.dir/var/tmp/:
474 mv base.tgz /grml/fai/nfsroot/live/filesystem.dir/var/tmp/base.tgz
476 or even better use /etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles/$CLASSNAME.tar.gz instead.
477 Use I386 as $CLASSNAME for i386 builds and AMD64 for amd64 builds.
479 Now running "grml-live ..." will use this file as main system instead of
480 executing debootstrap. Check out the output for the following lines if using
484 Calling task_extrbase
485 Unpacking Debian base archive
486 Extracting /grml/fai/nfsroot/live/filesystem.dir/var/tmp/base.tgz
490 or if using /etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles/$CLASSNAME.tar.gz for:
493 ftar: extracting /etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles///AMD64.tar.gz to
494 /grml-live/grml-live_20071029.22138/grml_chroot//
497 Set up apt-cacher for use with grml-live
498 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
500 Make sure /etc/grml/grml-live.conf provides according GRML_LIVE_SOURCES and
503 # cat /etc/grml/grml-live.conf
506 deb http://localhost:3142/deb.grml.org grml-stable main
507 deb http://localhost:3142/deb.grml.org grml-testing main
508 deb http://localhost:3142/ftp.de.debian.org/debian etch main contrib non-free
511 FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP="etch http://localhost:3142/ftp.de.debian.org/debian etch main contrib non-free"
513 Make sure apt-cacher is running (/etc/init.d/apt-cacher restart). That's it.
514 All downloaded files will be cached in /var/cache/apt-cacher/ now.
516 Set up approx for use with grml-live
517 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
519 Make sure /etc/grml/grml-live.conf provides according GRML_LIVE_SOURCES and
522 # cat /etc/grml/grml-live.conf
525 deb http://localhost:9999/grml grml-stable main
526 deb http://localhost:9999/grml grml-testing main
527 deb http://localhost:9999/debian etch main contrib non-free
529 FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP="etch http://localhost:9999/debian"
533 # cat /etc/approx/approx.conf
535 debian http://ftp.at.debian.org/debian
536 grml http://deb.grml.org/
538 Don't forget to restart approx (/etc/init.d/approx restart). That's it.
539 All downloaded files will be cached in /var/cache/approx now.
541 I've a question which isn't answered by this document
542 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
544 Don't hesitate to ask on IRC (channel #grml on irc.freenode.org) or just drop me
545 a mail: <mika@grml.org>
547 Download / install grml-live as a Debian package
548 ------------------------------------------------
550 Debian packages are available through the grml-repository at
551 link:http://deb.grml.org/pool/main/g/grml-live/[deb.grml.org]. If you want to
552 build a Debian package on your own (using for example a specific version or the
553 current development tree), just execute:
555 hg clone http://hg.grml.org/grml-live
562 The source of grml-live is available at
563 link:http://hg.grml.org/grml-live/[http://hg.grml.org/grml-live/]
568 Check out link:http://wiki.grml.org/doku.php?id=grml-live[grml-live@grml-wiki]
574 Please report feedback, link:http://grml.org/bugs/[bugreports] and wishes
575 link:http://grml.org/contact/[to the grml-team]!
579 Michael Prokop <mika@grml.org>.
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