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>] [-FVh]
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 0.0.6.
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.
77 Force execution and do not prompt for acknowledgment of configuration.
81 Set the grml flavour name. Common usage examples: grml, grml-small, grml64.
85 Display short usage information and exit.
89 Specify name of ISO which will be available inside $OUTPUT_DIRECTORY/grml_isos
92 -o **OUTPUT_DIRECTORY**::
94 Main output directory of the build process of FAI. Some directories are created
95 inside this target directory, being: grml_cd (where the files for creating the
96 ISO are located, including the compressed squashfs file), grml_chroot (the
97 chroot system) and grml_isos (where the resulting ISO is stored).
101 Specify name of the release.
105 Specify the Debian suite you want to use for your live-system. Defaults to
106 "etch" (being current Debian/stable). Supported values are: etch, lenny, sid.
108 -t **TEMPLATE_DIRECTORY**::
110 Specify place of the templates used for building the ISO. By default
111 (and if not manually specified) this is /usr/share/grml-live/templates/.
113 -v **VERSION_NUMBER**::
115 Specify version number of the release.
119 Increase verbosity in the build process.
124 To get a small, Debian-stable and grml-based Live-CD using /grml/grml-live
125 as build and output directory just run:
129 To get a small Debian-unstable and grml-small based Live-CD using
130 /home/mika/grml-live as build and output directory just use:
132 # grml-live -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386 -o /home/mika/grml-live
134 To get a small, Debian-unstable and grml-based Live-CD using /tmp as build and
135 output directory and use grml_0.0-3.iso as ISO name (placed inside
136 /tmp/grml_isos) just invoke:
138 # grml-live -o /tmp -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386 -s sid -i grml_0.0-3.iso
142 If you have about 700MB of free space inside /dev/shm (being a tmpfs, usually
143 you should have >=1GB of RAM) just run "mount -o remount,suid,dev,rw /dev/shm"
144 and use /dev/shm as build and output directory - resulting in very fast build
145 process. But please be aware of the fact that rebooting your system will result
146 in an empty /dev/shm, so please another directory for $CHROOT_OUTPUT,
147 $BUILD_OUTPUT and $ISO_OUTPUT if you plan to create more persistent output. :)
149 Main features of grml-live
150 --------------------------
152 * create a grml-/Debian-based Linux Live-CD with one single command
154 * class based concept, providing a maximum of flexibility
156 * supports integration of own hooks, scripts and configuration
158 * supports use and integration of own Software and/or Kernels via simple use of
161 * native support of FAI features
163 * multi-arch support (work in progress)
168 grml-live uses FAI and its class based concept for adjusting configuration and
169 setup according to your needs. This gives you flexibility and strength without
170 losing the simplicity in the build process.
172 The main and base class provided by grml-live is named GRMLBASE. It's strongly
173 recommended to **always** use the class GRMLBASE when building an ISO using
174 grml-live, as well as the architecture dependent class which provides the kernel
175 (being 'I386' for x86_32 and 'AMD64' for x86_64) and a GRML_* class (like
176 GRML_SMALL, GRML_MEDIUM or GRML_FULL). The following files and directories are
177 relevant for class GRMLBASE by default:
179 /etc/grml/fai/config/scripts/GRMLBASE/
180 /etc/grml/fai/config/debconf/GRMLBASE
181 /etc/grml/fai/config/class/GRMLBASE.var
182 /etc/grml/fai/config/hooks/instsoft.GRMLBASE
183 /etc/grml/fai/config/package_config/GRMLBASE
185 Take a look at the next section for information about the concept of those
188 If you want to use your own configuration, extend an existing configuration
189 and/or add additional packages to your ISO just invent a new class (or extend an
190 existing one). For example if you want to use your own class named "FOOBAR" just
191 extend CLASSES="GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386" inside /etc/grml/grml-live.conf to
192 CLASSES="GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386,FOOBAR" or invoke grml-live using the classes
193 option: "grml-live -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386,FOOBAR ...".
195 More details regarding the class concept can be found in the documentation of
196 FAI itself (being available at /usr/share/doc/fai-doc/).
206 Notice that grml-live ships FAI configuration files that do not use the same
207 namespace as the FAI packages itself. This ensures that grml-live does not clash
208 with your usual FAI configuration, so instead of /etc/fai/fai.conf (package
209 fai-client) grml uses /etc/grml/fai/fai.conf instead. For more details see
210 below. To get an idea how another configuration or example files could look like
211 check out /usr/share/doc/fai-doc/examples/simple/ (provided by Debian package
212 fai-doc). Furthermore /usr/share/doc/fai-doc/fai-guide.html/ch-config.html
213 provides documentation regarding configuration possibilities.
217 Script for the main build process. Requires root permissions for execution.
219 /etc/grml/grml-live.conf
221 Main configuration file for grml-live. All the important steps can be configured
224 /etc/grml/fai/fai.conf
226 Main configuration file for FAI which specifies where all the configuration
227 files and scripts for FAI/grml-live can be found. By default it is set to
228 FAI_CONFIGDIR=/etc/grml/fai/config, a directory shipped by grml-live
229 out-of-the-box so you shouldn't have to configure anything in this file.
231 /etc/grml/fai/make-fai-nfsroot.conf
233 This file is used by make-fai-nfsroot(8) only. Usually you don't have to change
234 anything inside this file. If you want to modify NFSROOT though you can adjust
237 /etc/grml/fai/NFSROOT
239 This file specifies the package list for creating the NFSROOT.
241 /etc/grml/fai/apt/sources.list
243 This file specifies which mirrors should be used for retreiving the Debian
244 packages used for creating the main chroot (including all the software you would
245 like to see included). If you want to use a local mirror you either have to
246 adjust this file or use the GRML_LIVE_SOURCES variable inside
247 /etc/grml/grml-live.conf which modifies /etc/grml/fai/apt/sources.list
250 /etc/grml/fai/config/
252 The main directory for configuration of FAI/grml-live. More details below.
254 /etc/grml/fai/config/class/
256 This directory contains files which specify main configuration variables for the
259 /etc/grml/fai/config/debconf/
261 This directory provides the files for preseeding/configuration of debconf
264 /etc/grml/fai/config/hooks/
266 This directory provides files for customising the build process through hooks.
267 Hooks are user defined programs or scripts, which are called during the
268 installation process.
270 /etc/grml/fai/config/package_config/
272 Directory with lists of software packages to be installed or removed. The
273 different classes describe what should find its way to your ISO. When running
274 "grml-live -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386 ..." only the configuration of GRMLBASE,
275 GRML_SMALL and and I386 will be taken. If you use 'grml-live -c
276 GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386,FOOBAR ...' then the files of GRMLBASE, GRML_SMALL,
277 I386 **plus** the files from FOOBAR will be taken. So just create a new class to
278 adjust the package selection according to your needs. Please notice that the
279 directory GRMLBASE contains a package list defining a minimum but still
280 reasonable package configuration.
282 /etc/grml/fai/config/scripts/
284 Scripts for customising the ISO within the build process.
288 This directory provides files used inside the scripts of
289 /etc/grml/fai/config/scripts/*. For a full documentation what happens with the
290 files please refer to the source of the scripts.
292 /etc/grml/fai/live-initramfs/
294 This directory provides the files used for building the initramfs/initrd via
297 Requirements for the build system
298 ---------------------------------
300 * any Debian based system should be sufficient (if not it's a bug, so please
301 send us a bug report then) [a usual link:http://grml.org/grml2hd/[grml2hd]
302 harddisk installation ships all you need]
304 * enough free disk space; at least 800MB are required for a minimal grml-live
305 run (\~400MB for the chroot [$CHROOT_OUTPUT], \~150MB for the build target
306 [$BUILD_OUTPUT] and \~150MB for the resulting ISO [$ISO_OUTPUT] plus some
307 temporary files), if you plan to use GRML_FULL you should have at least 4GB of
308 total free disk space
310 * fast network access for retreiving the Debian packages used for creating the
311 chroot (check out "local mirror" and "NFSROOT" to workaround this problem as far
317 Help, I'm using Debian etch and I don't have FAI version >3.2
318 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
320 wget http://www.informatik.uni-koeln.de/fai/download/etch/fai-client_3.2.1_all.deb \
321 http://www.informatik.uni-koeln.de/fai/download/etch/fai-server_3.2.1_all.deb
322 dpkg -i fai-client_3.2.1_all.deb fai-server_3.2.1_all.deb
324 or check out the link:http://www.informatik.uni-koeln.de/fai/[FAI-homepage] for
327 I've problems with the build process. How to start debugging?
328 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
330 Check out the logs inside /var/log/fai/dirinstall/... If you don't have the time
331 to debug the problem in further detail or don't know how to proceed just send a
332 copy of your config, logs and the commandline with a short problem description
335 # history | grep grml-live > /etc/grml/grml_live.cmdline
336 # tar zcf grml_live_problem.tar.gz /etc/grml/grml-live.conf \
337 /var/log/fai/dirinstall /etc/grml/fai
339 Can I use my own (local) Debian mirror?
340 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
342 Sure. Just adjust the variables GRML_LIVE_SOURCES and FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP (if not
343 already using NFSROOT's base.tgz) inside /etc/grml/grml-live.conf according to
344 your needs. Please don't forget that you should use the grml servers as well
345 (see default configuration) so all the grml packages can be downloaded as well.
347 If you want to use a local (for example NFS mount) mirror additionally, just
348 adjust MIRROR_DIRECTORY and MIRROR_SOURCES insede /etc/grml/grml-live.conf as
351 Unless you specify GRML_LIVE_SOURCES and/or FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP the default from
352 /etc/grml/fai/apt/sources.list and /etc/grml/fai/make-fai-nfsroot.conf will be
353 taken. If you customise the variables in /etc/grml/grml-live.conf then the two
354 files will be adjusted during runtime automatically.
356 If MIRROR_DIRECTORY and MIRROR_SOURCES are specified the local mirror will be
357 taken as first entry in the generated sources.list so it's prefered over
358 non-local mirrors. Using a fallback mirror (via providing several mirrors in
359 GRML_LIVE_SOURCES as used by default) is a recommended setting.
361 How do I add additional Debian package(s) to my CD/ISO?
362 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
364 Just create a new class (using the package_config directory):
366 # cat > /etc/grml/fai/config/package_config/MIKA << EOF
370 another_name_of_a_debian_package
374 and specify it when invoking grml-live then:
376 # grml-live -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386,MIKA
378 I fscked up my grml-live configuration. How do I reset it to the defaults?
379 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
381 Notice: this deletes all your grml-live configuration files. If that's really
382 what you are searching for just run:
384 rm -rf /etc/grml/fai /etc/grml/grml-live.conf
385 dpkg -i --force-confnew --force-confmiss /path/to/grml-live_..._all.deb
389 If you don't control your /etc using a version control system (VCS) yet it's a
390 good chance to start using it now. Check out
391 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/]
392 for more details how to maintain /etc using the mercurial VCS.
394 How do I create a base.tgz for use as NFSROOT?
395 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
397 First of all build the chroot system:
399 mkdir /tmp/nfsroot && cd /tmp/nfsroot
400 debootstrap etch /tmp/nfsroot/ http://ftp.de.debian.org/debian
403 Then check out where your NFSROOT is located:
405 # grep '^NFSROOT' /etc/grml/fai/make-fai-nfsroot.conf
406 NFSROOT=/grml/fai/nfsroot
408 So as /grml/fai/nfsroot is your NFSROOT place the file under
409 /grml/fai/nfsroot/live/filesystem.dir/var/tmp/:
411 mv base.tgz /grml/fai/nfsroot/live/filesystem.dir/var/tmp/base.tgz
413 Now running "grml-live ..." will use this file as main system instead of
414 executing debootstrap. Check out the output for the following lines:
417 Calling task_extrbase
418 Unpacking Debian base archive
419 Extracting /grml/fai/nfsroot/live/filesystem.dir/var/tmp/base.tgz
425 Notice that you can also use /etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles/$CLASSNAME.tar.gz if
426 you prefer to use /etc as the main configuration directory instead of
427 /path/to/nfsroot/.... (Thanks to Thomas Lange for the tip.)
429 Set up apt-cacher for use with grml-live
430 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
432 Make sure /etc/grml/grml-live.conf provides according GRML_LIVE_SOURCES and
435 # cat /etc/grml/grml-live.conf
438 deb http://localhost:3142/deb.grml.org grml-stable main
439 deb http://localhost:3142/deb.grml.org grml-testing main
440 deb http://localhost:3142/ftp.de.debian.org/debian etch main contrib non-free
443 FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP="etch http://localhost:3142/ftp.de.debian.org/debian etch main contrib non-free"
445 Make sure apt-cacher is running (/etc/init.d/apt-cacher restart). That's it.
446 All downloaded files will be cached in /var/cache/apt-cacher/ now.
448 Set up approx for use with grml-live
449 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
451 Make sure /etc/grml/grml-live.conf provides according GRML_LIVE_SOURCES and
454 # cat /etc/grml/grml-live.conf
457 deb http://localhost:9999/grml grml-stable main
458 deb http://localhost:9999/grml grml-testing main
459 deb http://localhost:9999/debian etch main contrib non-free
461 FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP="etch http://localhost:9999/debian"
465 # cat /etc/approx/approx.conf
467 debian http://ftp.at.debian.org/debian
468 grml http://deb.grml.org/
470 Don't forget to restart approx (/etc/init.d/approx restart). That's it.
471 All downloaded files will be cached in /var/cache/approx now.
473 I've a question which isn't answered by this document
474 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
476 Don't hesitate to ask on IRC (channel #grml on irc.freenode.org) or just drop me
477 a mail: <mika@grml.org>
479 Download / install grml-live as a Debian package
480 ------------------------------------------------
482 Debian packages are available through the grml-repository at
483 link:http://deb.grml.org/pool/main/g/grml-live/[deb.grml.org]. If you want to
484 build a Debian package on your own (using for example a specific version or the
485 current development tree), just execute:
487 hg clone http://hg.grml.org/grml-live
494 The source of grml-live is available at
495 link:http://hg.grml.org/grml-live/[http://hg.grml.org/grml-live/]
500 Check out link:http://wiki.grml.org/doku.php?id=grml-live[grml-live@grml-wiki]
506 Please report feedback, link:http://grml.org/bugs/[bugreports] and wishes
507 link:http://grml.org/contact/[to the grml-team]!
511 Michael Prokop <mika@grml.org>.
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