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! 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 0.0.13.
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 Build the ISO without updating the chroot via FAI. This option is useful for
68 example when working on stable releases: if you have a working base
69 system/chroot and do not want to execute any further updates (via "-u" option)
70 but intend to only build the ISO.
74 Specify the CLASSES to be used for building the ISO via FAI. By default only
75 the classes GRMLBASE, GRML_SMALL and I386 are assumed, resulting in a small base
76 system (being about ~150MB total ISO size). If using a non-I386 system (like
77 amd64) you should specify the appropriate architecture as well. Additionally you
78 can specify a class providing a grml-kernel (see
79 /etc/grml/fai/config/package_config/ for a full list). So instead of GRML_SMALL
80 you can also use GRML_MEDIUM and GRML_FULL instead.
82 -C **CONFIGURATION_FILE**::
84 The specified file is used as configuration file for grml-live. By default
85 /etc/grml/grml-live.conf is used for main configuration. If a file named
86 /etc/grml/grml-live.local exists it is used as well (sourced after reading
87 /etc/grml/grml-live.conf to allow overriding settings). As a last option the
88 specified configuration file is sourced so it is possible to override settings
89 of /etc/grml/grml-live.conf as well as of /etc/grml/grml-live.local. Please
90 notice that all configuration files have to be adjusted during execution of
91 grml-live, so please make sure you use /etc/grml/grml-live.conf as a base for
92 your own configuration file. Please also notice that the configuration file
93 specified via this option is **not** (yet) supported inside the
94 scripts/hooks/classes at /etc/grml/fai/config. Instead use
95 /etc/grml/grml-live.conf and/or /etc/grml/grml-live.local for configuration
96 stuff used inside /etc/grml/fai/config.
100 Force execution and do not prompt for acknowledgment of configuration.
104 Set the grml flavour name. Common usage examples: grml, grml-small, grml64.
108 Display short usage information and exit.
112 Specify name of ISO which will be available inside $OUTPUT_DIRECTORY/grml_isos
115 -o **OUTPUT_DIRECTORY**::
117 Main output directory of the build process of FAI. Some directories are created
118 inside this target directory, being: grml_cd (where the files for creating the
119 ISO are located, including the compressed squashfs file), grml_chroot (the
120 chroot system) and grml_isos (where the resulting ISO is stored).
124 Specify name of the release.
128 Specify the Debian suite you want to use for your live-system. Defaults to
129 "etch" (being current Debian/stable). Supported values are: etch, lenny, sid.
131 -t **TEMPLATE_DIRECTORY**::
133 Specify place of the templates used for building the ISO. By default
134 (and if not manually specified) this is /usr/share/grml-live/templates/.
138 Update existing chroot instead of rebuilding it from scratch. This option is
139 based on the softupdate feature of FAI.
141 -v **VERSION_NUMBER**::
143 Specify version number of the release.
147 Increase verbosity in the build process.
151 Use ZLIB instead of LZMA compression in mksquashfs part of the build process.
156 To get a small, Debian-stable and grml-based Live-CD using /grml/grml-live
157 as build and output directory just run:
161 To get a small Debian-unstable and grml-small based Live-CD using
162 /home/mika/grml-live as build and output directory just use:
164 # grml-live -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386 -o /home/mika/grml-live
166 To get a small, Debian-unstable and grml-based Live-CD using /tmp as build and
167 output directory and use grml_0.0-3.iso as ISO name (placed inside
168 /tmp/grml_isos) just invoke:
170 # grml-live -o /tmp -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386 -s sid -i grml_0.0-3.iso
174 If you have about 700MB of free space inside /dev/shm (being a tmpfs, usually
175 you should have >=1GB of RAM) just run "mount -o remount,suid,dev,rw /dev/shm"
176 and use /dev/shm as build and output directory - resulting in very fast build
177 process. But please be aware of the fact that rebooting your system will result
178 in an empty /dev/shm, so please another directory for $CHROOT_OUTPUT,
179 $BUILD_OUTPUT and $ISO_OUTPUT if you plan to create more persistent output. :)
181 Main features of grml-live
182 --------------------------
184 * create a grml-/Debian-based Linux Live-CD with one single command
186 * class based concept, providing a maximum of flexibility
188 * supports integration of own hooks, scripts and configuration
190 * supports use and integration of own Software and/or Kernels via simple use of
193 * native support of FAI features
195 * multi-arch support (work in progress)
200 grml-live uses FAI and its class based concept for adjusting configuration and
201 setup according to your needs. This gives you flexibility and strength without
202 losing the simplicity in the build process.
204 The main and base class provided by grml-live is named GRMLBASE. It's strongly
205 recommended to **always** use the class GRMLBASE when building an ISO using
206 grml-live, as well as the architecture dependent class which provides the kernel
207 (being 'I386' for x86_32 and 'AMD64' for x86_64) and a GRML_* class (like
208 GRML_SMALL, GRML_MEDIUM or GRML_FULL). The following files and directories are
209 relevant for class GRMLBASE by default:
211 /etc/grml/fai/config/scripts/GRMLBASE/
212 /etc/grml/fai/config/debconf/GRMLBASE
213 /etc/grml/fai/config/class/GRMLBASE.var
214 /etc/grml/fai/config/hooks/instsoft.GRMLBASE
215 /etc/grml/fai/config/package_config/GRMLBASE
217 Take a look at the next section for information about the concept of those
220 If you want to use your own configuration, extend an existing configuration
221 and/or add additional packages to your ISO just invent a new class (or extend an
222 existing one). For example if you want to use your own class named "FOOBAR" just
223 extend CLASSES="GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386" inside /etc/grml/grml-live.conf to
224 CLASSES="GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386,FOOBAR" or invoke grml-live using the classes
225 option: "grml-live -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386,FOOBAR ...".
227 More details regarding the class concept can be found in the documentation of
228 FAI itself (being available at /usr/share/doc/fai-doc/).
233 Documentation to be done...
238 Notice that grml-live ships FAI configuration files that do not use the same
239 namespace as the FAI packages itself. This ensures that grml-live does not clash
240 with your usual FAI configuration, so instead of /etc/fai/fai.conf (package
241 fai-client) grml uses /etc/grml/fai/fai.conf instead. For more details see
242 below. To get an idea how another configuration or example files could look like
243 check out /usr/share/doc/fai-doc/examples/simple/ (provided by Debian package
244 fai-doc). Furthermore /usr/share/doc/fai-doc/fai-guide.html/ch-config.html
245 provides documentation regarding configuration possibilities.
249 Script for the main build process. Requires root permissions for execution.
251 /etc/grml/grml-live.conf
253 Main configuration file for grml-live. All the important steps can be configured
256 /etc/grml/fai/fai.conf
258 Main configuration file for FAI which specifies where all the configuration
259 files and scripts for FAI/grml-live can be found. By default it is set to
260 FAI_CONFIGDIR=/etc/grml/fai/config, a directory shipped by grml-live
261 out-of-the-box so you shouldn't have to configure anything in this file.
263 /etc/grml/fai/make-fai-nfsroot.conf
265 This file is used by make-fai-nfsroot(8) only. Usually you don't have to change
266 anything inside this file. If you want to modify NFSROOT though you can adjust
269 /etc/grml/fai/NFSROOT
271 This file specifies the package list for creating the NFSROOT.
273 /etc/grml/fai/apt/sources.list
275 This file specifies which mirrors should be used for retreiving the Debian
276 packages used for creating the main chroot (including all the software you would
277 like to see included). If you want to use a local mirror you either have to
278 adjust this file or use the GRML_LIVE_SOURCES variable inside
279 /etc/grml/grml-live.conf which modifies /etc/grml/fai/apt/sources.list
282 /etc/grml/fai/config/
284 The main directory for configuration of FAI/grml-live. More details below.
286 /etc/grml/fai/config/class/
288 This directory contains files which specify main configuration variables for the
291 /etc/grml/fai/config/debconf/
293 This directory provides the files for preseeding/configuration of debconf
296 /etc/grml/fai/config/hooks/
298 This directory provides files for customising the build process through hooks.
299 Hooks are user defined programs or scripts, which are called during the
300 installation process.
302 /etc/grml/fai/config/package_config/
304 Directory with lists of software packages to be installed or removed. The
305 different classes describe what should find its way to your ISO. When running
306 "grml-live -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386 ..." only the configuration of GRMLBASE,
307 GRML_SMALL and and I386 will be taken. If you use 'grml-live -c
308 GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386,FOOBAR ...' then the files of GRMLBASE, GRML_SMALL,
309 I386 **plus** the files from FOOBAR will be taken. So just create a new class to
310 adjust the package selection according to your needs. Please notice that the
311 directory GRMLBASE contains a package list defining a minimum but still
312 reasonable package configuration.
314 /etc/grml/fai/config/scripts/
316 Scripts for customising the ISO within the build process.
320 This directory provides files used inside the scripts of
321 /etc/grml/fai/config/scripts/*. For a full documentation what happens with the
322 files please refer to the source of the scripts.
324 /etc/grml/fai/live-initramfs/
326 This directory provides the files used for building the initramfs/initrd via
332 grml-live itself logs to /var/log/grml-live.log. Unless you set ZERO_LOGFILE in
333 /etc/grml/grml-live.conf the output is appended to the file. If you set the
334 ZERO_LOGFILE configuration option the logfile will be truncated on each new
335 invocation of grml-live.
337 The FAI part of grml-live logs to /var/log/fai/$HOSTNAME/ - so the
338 default being /var/log/fai/grml/.
340 If you are using the grml-live buildd you will find the logs of the grml-live
341 run at /var/log/grml-buildd.stdout and /var/log/grml-buildd.stderr.
343 Requirements for the build system
344 ---------------------------------
346 * any Debian based system should be sufficient (if not it's a bug, so please
347 send us a bug report then) [a usual link:http://grml.org/grml2hd/[grml2hd]
348 harddisk installation ships all you need]
350 * enough free disk space; at least 800MB are required for a minimal grml-live
351 run (\~400MB for the chroot [$CHROOT_OUTPUT], \~150MB for the build target
352 [$BUILD_OUTPUT] and \~150MB for the resulting ISO [$ISO_OUTPUT] plus some
353 temporary files), if you plan to use GRML_FULL you should have at least 4GB of
354 total free disk space
356 * fast network access for retreiving the Debian packages used for creating the
357 chroot (check out "local mirror" and "NFSROOT" to workaround this problem as far
363 Help, I'm using Debian etch and I don't have FAI version >3.2
364 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
366 wget http://www.informatik.uni-koeln.de/fai/download/etch/fai-client_3.2.3_all.deb \
367 http://www.informatik.uni-koeln.de/fai/download/etch/fai-server_3.2.3_all.deb \
368 http://www.informatik.uni-koeln.de/fai/download/etch/fai-doc_3.2.3_all.deb
369 dpkg -i fai-client_3.2.3_all.deb fai-server_3.2.3_all.deb fai-doc_3.2.3_all.deb
371 or check out the link:http://www.informatik.uni-koeln.de/fai/[FAI-homepage] for
374 I've problems with the build process. How to start debugging?
375 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
377 Check out the logs inside /var/log/fai/... If you don't have the time to debug
378 the problem in further detail or don't know how to proceed just send a copy of
379 your config, logs and the commandline with a short problem description to
382 # history | grep grml-live > /etc/grml/grml_live.cmdline
383 # tar zcf grml_live_problem.tar.gz /etc/grml/grml-live.conf \
384 /etc/grml/grml-buildd.conf /var/log/fai /etc/grml/fai
386 Can I use my own (local) Debian mirror?
387 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
389 Sure. Just adjust the variables GRML_LIVE_SOURCES and FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP (if not
390 already using NFSROOT's base.tgz) inside /etc/grml/grml-live.conf according to
391 your needs. Please don't forget that you should use the grml servers as well
392 (see default configuration) so all the grml packages can be downloaded as well.
394 If you want to use a local (for example NFS mount) mirror additionally, just
395 adjust MIRROR_DIRECTORY and MIRROR_SOURCES inside /etc/grml/grml-live.conf as
398 Unless you specify GRML_LIVE_SOURCES and/or FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP the default from
399 /etc/grml/fai/apt/sources.list and /etc/grml/fai/make-fai-nfsroot.conf will be
400 taken. If you customise the variables in /etc/grml/grml-live.conf then the two
401 files will be adjusted during runtime automatically.
403 If MIRROR_DIRECTORY and MIRROR_SOURCES are specified the local mirror will be
404 taken as first entry in the generated sources.list so it's prefered over
405 non-local mirrors. Using a fallback mirror (via providing several mirrors in
406 GRML_LIVE_SOURCES as used by default) is a recommended setting.
408 How do I add additional Debian package(s) to my CD/ISO?
409 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
411 Just create a new class (using the package_config directory):
413 # cat > /etc/grml/fai/config/package_config/MIKA << EOF
417 another_name_of_a_debian_package
421 and specify it when invoking grml-live then:
423 # grml-live -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386,MIKA
425 I fscked up my grml-live configuration. How do I reset it to the defaults?
426 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
428 Notice: this deletes all your grml-live configuration files. If that's really
429 what you are searching for just run:
431 rm -rf /etc/grml/fai /etc/grml/grml-live.conf
432 dpkg -i --force-confnew --force-confmiss /path/to/grml-live_..._all.deb
436 If you don't control your /etc using a version control system (VCS) yet it's a
437 good chance to start using it now. Check out
438 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/]
439 for more details how to maintain /etc using the mercurial VCS.
441 How do I create a base.tgz for use as NFSROOT?
442 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
444 First of all build the chroot system:
446 mkdir /tmp/nfsroot && cd /tmp/nfsroot
447 debootstrap etch /tmp/nfsroot/ http://ftp.de.debian.org/debian
450 Then check out where your NFSROOT is located:
452 # grep '^NFSROOT' /etc/grml/fai/make-fai-nfsroot.conf
453 NFSROOT=/grml/fai/nfsroot
455 So as /grml/fai/nfsroot is your NFSROOT place the file under
456 /grml/fai/nfsroot/live/filesystem.dir/var/tmp/:
458 mv base.tgz /grml/fai/nfsroot/live/filesystem.dir/var/tmp/base.tgz
460 or even better use /etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles/$CLASSNAME.tar.gz instead.
461 Use I386 as $CLASSNAME for i386 builds and AMD64 for amd64 builds.
463 Now running "grml-live ..." will use this file as main system instead of
464 executing debootstrap. Check out the output for the following lines if using
468 Calling task_extrbase
469 Unpacking Debian base archive
470 Extracting /grml/fai/nfsroot/live/filesystem.dir/var/tmp/base.tgz
474 or if using /etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles/$CLASSNAME.tar.gz for:
477 ftar: extracting /etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles///AMD64.tar.gz to
478 /grml-live/grml-live_20071029.22138/grml_chroot//
481 Set up apt-cacher for use with grml-live
482 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
484 Make sure /etc/grml/grml-live.conf provides according GRML_LIVE_SOURCES and
487 # cat /etc/grml/grml-live.conf
490 deb http://localhost:3142/deb.grml.org grml-stable main
491 deb http://localhost:3142/deb.grml.org grml-testing main
492 deb http://localhost:3142/ftp.de.debian.org/debian etch main contrib non-free
495 FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP="etch http://localhost:3142/ftp.de.debian.org/debian etch main contrib non-free"
497 Make sure apt-cacher is running (/etc/init.d/apt-cacher restart). That's it.
498 All downloaded files will be cached in /var/cache/apt-cacher/ now.
500 Set up approx for use with grml-live
501 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
503 Make sure /etc/grml/grml-live.conf provides according GRML_LIVE_SOURCES and
506 # cat /etc/grml/grml-live.conf
509 deb http://localhost:9999/grml grml-stable main
510 deb http://localhost:9999/grml grml-testing main
511 deb http://localhost:9999/debian etch main contrib non-free
513 FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP="etch http://localhost:9999/debian"
517 # cat /etc/approx/approx.conf
519 debian http://ftp.at.debian.org/debian
520 grml http://deb.grml.org/
522 Don't forget to restart approx (/etc/init.d/approx restart). That's it.
523 All downloaded files will be cached in /var/cache/approx now.
525 I've a question which isn't answered by this document
526 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
528 Don't hesitate to ask on IRC (channel #grml on irc.freenode.org) or just drop me
529 a mail: <mika@grml.org>
531 Download / install grml-live as a Debian package
532 ------------------------------------------------
534 Debian packages are available through the grml-repository at
535 link:http://deb.grml.org/pool/main/g/grml-live/[deb.grml.org]. If you want to
536 build a Debian package on your own (using for example a specific version or the
537 current development tree), just execute:
539 hg clone http://hg.grml.org/grml-live
546 The source of grml-live is available at
547 link:http://hg.grml.org/grml-live/[http://hg.grml.org/grml-live/]
552 Check out link:http://wiki.grml.org/doku.php?id=grml-live[grml-live@grml-wiki]
558 Please report feedback, link:http://grml.org/bugs/[bugreports] and wishes
559 link:http://grml.org/contact/[to the grml-team]!
563 Michael Prokop <mika@grml.org>.
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