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]>] [-C <configfile>] [-g
14 <grml_name>] [-i <iso_name> ] [-o <output_directory>] [-r <release_name>] [-s
15 <suite>] [-t <template_directory>] [-v <version_number>] [-bBFhquVz]
17 CAUTION: Please check out <<current_state,the 'Current state of grml-live with
18 squashfs-tools and kernel' section>> for details about current state of involved
19 tools before starting with grml-live or if you encounter any problems.
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), apt-cacher(1) and approx(8). To avoid downloading the
50 base system again and again check out FAI's NFSROOT (see FAQ of this document
58 Use the specified architecture instead of the currently running one. This
59 allows building a 32bit system on a 64bit host (though you can't build a 64bit
60 system on a 32bit system/kernel of course). Please notice that real
61 crosscompiling (like building a ppc system on x86) isn't possible due to the
62 nature and the need of working in a chroot. Currently supported values: i386
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 Build the ISO without touching the chroot at all. This option is useful if
75 you modified anything that FAI or grml-live might adjust via grml's FAI
76 scripts. It's like the '-b' option but even more advanced. Use only if you
77 really know that you do not want to update the chroot.
81 Specify the CLASSES to be used for building the ISO via FAI. By default only
82 the classes GRMLBASE, GRML_MEDIUM and I386 are assumed, resulting in a small base
83 system (being about ~180MB total ISO size). If using a non-I386 system (like
84 amd64) you should specify the appropriate architecture as well. Additionally you
85 can specify a class providing a grml-kernel (see
86 <<classes,the 'CLASSES' section in this document>> for details about available classes).
87 So instead of GRML_MEDIUM you can also use GRML_SMALL and GRML_FULL.
89 -C **CONFIGURATION_FILE**::
91 The specified file is used as configuration file for grml-live. By default
92 /etc/grml/grml-live.conf is used for main configuration. If a file named
93 /etc/grml/grml-live.local exists it is used as well (sourced after reading
94 /etc/grml/grml-live.conf to allow overriding settings). As a last option the
95 specified configuration file is sourced so it is possible to override settings
96 of /etc/grml/grml-live.conf as well as of /etc/grml/grml-live.local. Please
97 notice that all configuration files have to be adjusted during execution of
98 grml-live, so please make sure you use /etc/grml/grml-live.conf as a base for
99 your own configuration file. Please also notice that the configuration file
100 specified via this option is **not** (yet) supported inside the
101 scripts/hooks/classes at /etc/grml/fai/config. Instead use
102 /etc/grml/grml-live.conf and/or /etc/grml/grml-live.local for configuration
103 stuff used inside /etc/grml/fai/config.
107 Force execution and do not prompt for acknowledgment of configuration.
111 Set the grml flavour name. Common usage examples: grml, grml-small, grml64.
112 Please do NOT use blanks and any special characters like '/', ';' inside
113 GRML_NAME, otherwise you might notice problems while booting.
117 Display short usage information and exit.
121 Specify name of ISO which will be available inside $OUTPUT_DIRECTORY/grml_isos
124 -o **OUTPUT_DIRECTORY**::
126 Main output directory of the build process of FAI. Some directories are created
127 inside this target directory, being: grml_cd (where the files for creating the
128 ISO are located, including the compressed squashfs file), grml_chroot (the
129 chroot system) and grml_isos (where the resulting ISO is stored).
133 Build the ISO without (re-)creating the squashfs compressed file using mksquashfs.
134 This option is useful if you just want to update parts outside the chroot in the ISO.
135 Consider combining this option with the build-only option '-b'.
139 Specify name of the release.
143 Specify the Debian suite you want to use for your live-system. Defaults to
144 "lenny" (being current Debian/stable). Supported values are: etch, lenny, sid.
145 Debian "squeeze" (current Debian/testing) requires base.tgz
146 (/etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles/....tar.gz) until it's supported by debootstrap.
148 -t **TEMPLATE_DIRECTORY**::
150 Specify place of the templates used for building the ISO. By default
151 (and if not manually specified) this is /usr/share/grml-live/templates/.
155 Update existing chroot instead of rebuilding it from scratch. This option is
156 based on the softupdate feature of FAI.
158 -v **VERSION_NUMBER**::
160 Specify version number of the release.
164 Increase verbosity in the build process.
168 Use ZLIB instead of LZMA compression in mksquashfs part of the build process.
173 To get a small, Debian-stable and grml-based Live-CD using /grml/grml-live
174 as build and output directory just run:
178 To get a small Debian-unstable and grml-small based Live-CD using
179 /home/mika/grml-live as build and output directory just use:
181 # grml-live -s sid -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386 -o /home/mika/grml-live
183 To get a medium sized, Debian-unstable and grml-based Live-CD for i386
184 architecture using /grml/grml-live as build and output directory just run:
186 # grml-live -s sid -a i386 -c GRMLBASE,GRML_MEDIUM,I386
188 To get a small, Debian-unstable and grml-based Live-CD using /tmp as build and
189 output directory and use grml_0.0-3.iso as ISO name (placed inside
190 /tmp/grml_isos) just invoke:
192 # grml-live -o /tmp -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386 -s sid -i grml_0.0-3.iso
196 If you have about 700MB of free space inside /dev/shm (being a tmpfs, usually
197 you should have >=1GB of RAM) just run "mount -o remount,suid,dev,rw /dev/shm"
198 and use /dev/shm as build and output directory - resulting in very fast build
199 process. But please be aware of the fact that rebooting your system will result
200 in an empty /dev/shm, so please use another directory for $CHROOT_OUTPUT,
201 $BUILD_OUTPUT and $ISO_OUTPUT if you plan to create more persistent output. :)
203 Main features of grml-live
204 --------------------------
206 * create a grml-/Debian-based Linux Live-CD with one single command
208 * class based concept, providing a maximum of flexibility
210 * supports integration of own hooks, scripts and configuration
212 * supports use and integration of own Software and/or Kernels via simple use of
215 * native support of FAI features
217 * multi-arch support (work in progress)
222 grml-live uses FAI and its class based concept for adjusting configuration and
223 setup according to your needs. This gives you flexibility and strength without
224 losing the simplicity in the build process.
226 The main and base class provided by grml-live is named GRMLBASE. It's strongly
227 recommended to **always** use the class GRMLBASE when building an ISO using
228 grml-live, as well as the architecture dependent class which provides the kernel
229 (being 'I386' for x86_32 and 'AMD64' for x86_64) and a GRML_* class (like
230 GRML_SMALL, GRML_MEDIUM or GRML_FULL). The following files and directories are
231 relevant for class GRMLBASE by default:
233 /etc/grml/fai/config/scripts/GRMLBASE/
234 /etc/grml/fai/config/debconf/GRMLBASE
235 /etc/grml/fai/config/class/GRMLBASE.var
236 /etc/grml/fai/config/hooks/instsoft.GRMLBASE
237 /etc/grml/fai/config/package_config/GRMLBASE
239 Take a look at the next section for information about the concept of those
242 If you want to use your own configuration, extend an existing configuration
243 and/or add additional packages to your ISO just invent a new class (or extend an
244 existing one). For example if you want to use your own class named "FOOBAR" just
245 extend CLASSES="GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386" inside /etc/grml/grml-live.conf to
246 CLASSES="GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386,FOOBAR" or invoke grml-live using the classes
247 option: "grml-live -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386,FOOBAR ...".
249 More details regarding the class concept can be found in the documentation of
250 FAI itself (being available at /usr/share/doc/fai-doc/).
257 The package selection part of the classes can be found in
258 /etc/grml/fai/config/package_config whereas some further classes are defined for
259 example in /etc/grml/fai/config/scripts/ so specific feature sets can be
260 selected. The following classes are predefined:
262 * DEBORPHAN: get rid of all packages listed in output of Deborphan
264 * GRMLBASE: the main class responsible for getting a minimal subset of what's
265 defining a grml system. Important parts of the buildprocess are specified in
266 this class as well, so unless you have a really good reason you should always
269 * GRML_FORENSIC: tools for forensic investigations which has been created
270 by people from link:http://www.forensic-geeks.org/[forensic-geeks.org].
272 * GRML_FULL: full featured grml, also known as the "normal", full grml.
274 * GRML_MEDIUM: medium sized grml version, known as grml-medium
276 * GRML_POWERPC: grml for PowerPC architecture, not supported yet (still work in
279 * GRML_SMALL: minimum sized grml version, known as grml-small
281 * LATEX: LaTeX(-related) packages like auctex, texlive,...
282 (which used to be shipped by grml before the LaTeX removal)
284 * LATEX_CLEANUP: get rid of several very large LaTeX directories
285 (like some /usr/share/doc/texlive-*, /usr/share/doc/texmf,...)
287 * LOCALES: use full featured locales setup (see /etc/locale.gen.grml). This
288 avoids to get rid of /usr/share/locale - which happens by default otherwise - as
291 * NO_ONLINE: do not run scripts during the chroot build process which require a
294 * RELEASE: run some specific scripts and commands to provide the workflow for an
295 official grml release
297 * REMOVE_DOCS: get rid of documentation directories (like /usr/share/doc,
298 /usr/share/man/, /usr/share/info,...)
300 * XORG: providing important packages for use with a base grml-featured X.org
306 Notice that grml-live ships FAI configuration files that do not use the same
307 namespace as the FAI packages itself. This ensures that grml-live does not clash
308 with your usual FAI configuration, so instead of /etc/fai/fai.conf (package
309 fai-client) grml uses /etc/grml/fai/fai.conf instead. For more details see
310 below. To get an idea how another configuration or example files could look like
311 check out /usr/share/doc/fai-doc/examples/simple/ (provided by Debian package
312 fai-doc). Furthermore /usr/share/doc/fai-doc/fai-guide.html/ch-config.html
313 provides documentation regarding configuration possibilities.
317 Script for the main build process. Requires root permissions for execution.
319 /etc/grml/grml-live.conf
321 Main configuration file for grml-live. All the important steps can be configured
324 /etc/grml/fai/fai.conf
326 Main configuration file for FAI which specifies where all the configuration
327 files and scripts for FAI/grml-live can be found. By default it is set to
328 FAI_CONFIGDIR=/etc/grml/fai/config, a directory shipped by grml-live
329 out-of-the-box so you shouldn't have to configure anything in this file.
331 /etc/grml/fai/make-fai-nfsroot.conf
333 This file is used by make-fai-nfsroot(8) only. Usually you don't have to change
334 anything inside this file. If you want to modify NFSROOT though you can adjust
337 /etc/grml/fai/NFSROOT
339 This file specifies the package list for creating the NFSROOT.
341 /etc/grml/fai/apt/sources.list
343 This file specifies which mirrors should be considered for retrieving the Debian
344 packages when creating the main chroot (including all the software you would
345 like to see included). Important: this file should *not* be adjusted manually!
346 Instead use the GRML_LIVE_SOURCES variable inside /etc/grml/grml-live.conf or
347 /etc/grml/grml-live.local which modifies /etc/grml/fai/apt/sources.list
348 on-the-fly via grml-live then. If you want to generally adjust apt configuration
349 check out /etc/grml/fai/files/etc/apt instead.
351 /etc/grml/fai/config/
353 The main directory for configuration of FAI/grml-live. More details below.
355 /etc/grml/fai/config/class/
357 This directory contains files which specify main configuration variables for the
360 /etc/grml/fai/config/debconf/
362 This directory provides the files for preseeding/configuration of debconf
365 /etc/grml/fai/config/hooks/
367 This directory provides files for customising the build process through hooks.
368 Hooks are user defined programs or scripts, which are called during the
369 installation process.
371 /etc/grml/fai/config/package_config/
373 Directory with lists of software packages to be installed or removed. The
374 different classes describe what should find its way to your ISO. When running
375 "grml-live -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386 ..." only the configuration of GRMLBASE,
376 GRML_SMALL and and I386 will be taken. If you use 'grml-live -c
377 GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386,FOOBAR ...' then the files of GRMLBASE, GRML_SMALL,
378 I386 **plus** the files from FOOBAR will be taken. So just create a new class to
379 adjust the package selection according to your needs. Please notice that the
380 directory GRMLBASE contains a package list defining a minimum but still
381 reasonable package configuration.
383 /etc/grml/fai/config/scripts/
385 Scripts for customising the ISO within the build process.
389 This directory provides files used inside the scripts of
390 /etc/grml/fai/config/scripts/*. For a full documentation what happens with the
391 files please refer to the source of the scripts.
393 /etc/grml/fai/live-initramfs/
395 This directory provides the files used for building the initramfs/initrd via
401 grml-live itself logs to /var/log/grml-live.log. Unless you set ZERO_LOGFILE in
402 /etc/grml/grml-live.conf the output is appended to the file. If you set the
403 ZERO_LOGFILE configuration option the logfile will be truncated on each new
404 invocation of grml-live.
406 The FAI part of grml-live logs to /var/log/fai/$HOSTNAME/ - so the
407 default being /var/log/fai/grml/.
409 If you are using the grml-live buildd you will find the logs of the grml-live
410 run at /var/log/grml-buildd.stdout and /var/log/grml-buildd.stderr.
412 Requirements for the build system
413 ---------------------------------
415 * any Debian based system should be sufficient (if it doesn't work it's a bug,
416 please send us a bug report then) [a usual
417 link:http://grml.org/grml2hd/[grml2hd] harddisk installation (using grml or
418 grml-medium) ships all you need]. Check out <<deploy-on-debian,How do I deploy
419 grml-live on a plain Debian installation>> for details how to set up grml-live
420 on a plain, original Debian system.
422 * enough free disk space; at least 800MB are required for a minimal grml-live
423 run (\~400MB for the chroot [$CHROOT_OUTPUT], \~150MB for the build target
424 [$BUILD_OUTPUT] and \~150MB for the resulting ISO [$ISO_OUTPUT] plus some
425 temporary files), if you plan to use GRML_FULL you should have at least 4GB of
426 total free disk space
428 * fast network access for retrieving the Debian packages used for creating the
429 chroot (check out "local mirror" and "NFSROOT" to workaround this problem as far
432 For further information see next section.
436 Current state of grml-live with squashfs-tools and kernel
437 ---------------------------------------------------------
439 To make it easier to track problems this section documents current state of
440 grml-live playing together with squashfs-tools / squashfs-lzma-tools (for
441 building the compressed file) and the kernel version. Documentation of this
442 section is up2date by 04nd of august 2009, please report any bugs you
445 Using squashfs-lzma-tools 3.3-1 on the build system
446 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
448 squashfs-lzma-tools from the grml repository supports kernel 2.6.26-grml[64] and
449 2.6.28-grml[64] using both lzma and zlib (-nolzma) compression. It's the
450 recommended package for building ISOs with grml-live currently!
452 The packages can be downloaded from
453 link:http://deb.grml.org/pool/main/s/squashfs-lzma/[http://deb.grml.org/pool/main/s/squashfs-lzma/].
456 Please use squashfs-lzma-tools 3.3-1 if you want to remaster grml release
459 Using squashfs-tools 1:3.3-7 on the build system
460 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
462 squashfs-tools 1:3.3-7 is available via the official Debian/unstable and
463 Debian/testing (Lenny) pool running:
465 # aptitude install squashfs-tools=1:3.3-7
467 or directly via downloading the files
468 http://grml.org/squashfs/squashfs-tools_3.3-7_i386.deb (for x86) or
469 http://grml.org/squashfs/squashfs-tools_3.3-7_amd64.deb (for amd64) [both build
470 on and for Debian/etch but working with testing and unstable as well].
472 Please notice that squashfs-tools 1:3.3-7 does NOT support LZMA compression at
473 all (so you won't be able to remaster release 2008.11 and 2009.05 using LZMA for
474 example). The -nolzma option of mksquashfs is not available therefore (even
475 though grml-live will deactivate it for you automatically anyway). Please use
476 squashfs-lzma-tools instead.
478 * Kernel 2.6.23-grml: does NOT work, please use squashfs-tools 1:3.2r2-9exp1
479 instead if you still want to use kernel 2.6.23 (not
481 * Kernel 2.6.26-grml: works (without LZMA compression only of course!)
482 * Kernel 2.6.28-grml: works (without LZMA compression only of course!)
484 Using squashfs-tools 1:3.2r2-9exp1 on the build system
485 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
487 squashfs-tools 1:3.2r2-9exp1 is available via the grml-testing repository,
490 # aptitude install squashfs-tools=1:3.2r2-9exp1
492 or directly via downloading the files
493 http://grml.org/squashfs/squashfs-tools_3.2r2-9exp1_i386.deb (for x86) or
494 http://grml.org/squashfs/squashfs-tools_3.2r2-9exp1_amd64.deb (for amd64).
496 Using with ZLIB compression (SQUASHFS_OPTIONS='-nolzma' or -z
497 option in grml-live cmdline):
499 * Kernel 2.6.23-grml: works
500 * Kernel 2.6.26-grml: works
501 * Kernel 2.6.28-grml: supposed to work (not verified though)
503 Using with LZMA compression:
505 * Kernel 2.6.23-grml: works
506 * Kernel 2.6.26-grml: does NOT work, please use zlib mode instead or switch
507 to Debian package squashfs-lzma-tools (see section above).
508 * Kernel 2.6.28-grml: does NOT work, please use zlib mode instead or switch
509 to Debian package squashfs-lzma-tools (see section above).
515 How do I deploy grml-live on a plain Debian installation?
516 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
518 The easiest way to get a running grml-live setup is to install grml or
519 grml-medium using grml2hd (for example inside KVM, Virtualbox, VMware,... if you
520 don't want to run it on a physical system). Of course using grml-live on a
521 plain, original Debian installation is supported as well. So there we go.
523 What we have: plain, original Debian Lenny (5.0).
525 What we want: build a grml-medium ISO based on Debian/squeeze for the i386
526 architecture using grml-live.
530 If you encounter any problems while booting the resulting ISO please be aware of
531 <<current_state,the 'current state of grml-live with squashfs-tools and kernel'
537 # adjust sources.list:
538 cat >> /etc/apt/sources.list << EOF
540 # grml stable repository:
541 deb http://deb.grml.org/ grml-stable main
542 deb-src http://deb.grml.org/ grml-stable main
544 # grml testing/development repository:
545 deb http://deb.grml.org/ grml-testing main
546 deb-src http://deb.grml.org/ grml-testing main
549 # adjust apt-pinning (only prefer squashfs stuff from grml):
550 cat >> /etc/apt/preferences << EOF
552 Pin: origin deb.grml.org
555 Package: squashfs-tools
556 Pin: origin deb.grml.org
559 Package: squashfs-lzma-tools
560 Pin: origin deb.grml.org
564 # get keyring for apt:
566 apt-get --allow-unauthenticated install grml-debian-keyring
568 # install basefile so we don't have to build basic chroot from scratch:
569 mkdir -p /etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles/
570 mv base.tgz /etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles/I386.tar.gz
572 # install relevant tools:
573 apt-get -o APT::Install-Recommends=false install grml-live squashfs-lzma-tools
575 # adjust grml-live configuration for our needs:
576 cat > /etc/grml/grml-live.local << EOF
577 # consider using lzma only for space reasons (resulting in longer
578 # build time but smaller ISO):
579 SQUASHFS_OPTIONS="-nolzma"
580 ## adjust if necessary (defaults to /grml/grml-live):
581 ## OUTPUT="/srv/grml-live"
582 FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP="squeeze http://ftp.de.debian.org/debian/"
584 CLASSES="GRMLBASE,GRML_MEDIUM,I386"
586 # ZERO_FAI_LOGFILE='1'
588 deb http://deb.grml.org/ grml-stable main
589 deb http://deb.grml.org/ grml-testing main
590 deb http://ftp.de.debian.org/debian squeeze main contrib non-free
594 # just optional(!) - upgrade FAI to latest available version:
595 cat >> /etc/apt/sources.list << EOF
597 deb http://www.informatik.uni-koeln.de/fai/download lenny koeln
600 # get gpg key of FAI repos and install current FAI version:
601 gpg -a --recv-keys AB9B66FD; gpg -a --export AB9B66FD | apt-key add -
603 apt-get install fai-client fai-server fai-doc
605 That's it. Now invoking 'grml-live -V' should build the ISO. If everything
606 worked as expected the last line of the shell output should look like:
608 [*] Successfully finished execution of grml-live [running 687 seconds]
610 and the ISO can be found inside /grml-live/grml-live/grml_isos/ then.
612 Help, I'm using Debian etch and I don't have FAI version >3.2
613 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
615 wget http://www.informatik.uni-koeln.de/fai/download/etch/fai-client_3.2.8_all.deb \
616 http://www.informatik.uni-koeln.de/fai/download/etch/fai-server_3.2.8_all.deb \
617 http://www.informatik.uni-koeln.de/fai/download/etch/fai-doc_3.2.8_all.deb
618 dpkg -i fai-client_3.2.8_all.deb fai-server_3.2.8_all.deb fai-doc_3.2.8_all.deb
620 or check out the link:http://www.informatik.uni-koeln.de/fai/[FAI-homepage] for
623 I've problems with the build process. How to start debugging?
624 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
626 Check out the logs inside /var/log/fai/... If you don't have the time to debug
627 the problem in further detail or don't know how to proceed just send a copy of
628 your config, logs and the commandline with a short problem description to
631 # history | grep grml-live > /etc/grml/grml_live.cmdline
632 # tar zcf grml_live_problem.tar.gz /etc/grml/grml-live.conf \
633 /etc/grml/grml-buildd.conf /var/log/fai /etc/grml/fai
635 Can I use my own (local) Debian mirror?
636 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
638 Sure. Just adjust the variables GRML_LIVE_SOURCES and FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP (if not
639 already using NFSROOT's base.tgz) inside /etc/grml/grml-live.conf according to
640 your needs. Please don't forget that you should use the grml servers as well
641 (see default configuration) so all the grml packages can be downloaded as well.
643 If you want to use a local (for example NFS mount) mirror additionally, just
644 adjust MIRROR_DIRECTORY and MIRROR_SOURCES inside /etc/grml/grml-live.conf as
647 Unless you specify GRML_LIVE_SOURCES and/or FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP the default from
648 /etc/grml/fai/apt/sources.list and /etc/grml/fai/make-fai-nfsroot.conf will be
649 taken. If you customise the variables in /etc/grml/grml-live.conf then the two
650 files will be adjusted during runtime automatically.
652 If MIRROR_DIRECTORY and MIRROR_SOURCES are specified the local mirror will be
653 taken as first entry in the generated sources.list so it's prefered over
654 non-local mirrors. Using a fallback mirror (via providing several mirrors in
655 GRML_LIVE_SOURCES as used by default) is a recommended setting.
657 How do I add additional Debian package(s) to my CD/ISO?
658 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
660 Just create a new class (using the package_config directory):
662 # cat > /etc/grml/fai/config/package_config/MIKA << EOF
666 another_name_of_a_debian_package
670 and specify it when invoking grml-live then:
672 # grml-live -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386,MIKA
674 I fscked up my grml-live configuration. How do I reset it to the defaults?
675 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
677 Notice: this deletes all your grml-live configuration files. If that's really
678 what you are searching for just run:
680 rm -rf /etc/grml/fai /etc/grml/grml-live.conf
681 dpkg -i --force-confnew --force-confmiss /path/to/grml-live_..._all.deb
685 If you don't control your /etc using a version control system (VCS) yet it's a
686 good chance to start using it now. Check out
687 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/]
688 for more details how to maintain /etc using the mercurial VCS.
690 How do I create a base.tgz for use as NFSROOT?
691 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
693 First of all build the chroot system:
695 mkdir /tmp/nfsroot && cd /tmp/nfsroot
696 debootstrap lenny /tmp/nfsroot/ http://ftp.de.debian.org/debian
699 Then check out where your NFSROOT is located:
701 # grep '^NFSROOT' /etc/grml/fai/make-fai-nfsroot.conf
702 NFSROOT=/grml/fai/nfsroot
704 So as /grml/fai/nfsroot is your NFSROOT place the file under
705 /grml/fai/nfsroot/live/filesystem.dir/var/tmp/:
707 mv base.tgz /grml/fai/nfsroot/live/filesystem.dir/var/tmp/base.tgz
709 or even better use /etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles/$CLASSNAME.tar.gz instead.
710 Use I386 as $CLASSNAME for i386 builds and AMD64 for amd64 builds.
712 Now running "grml-live ..." will use this file as main system instead of
713 executing debootstrap. Check out the output for the following lines if using
717 Calling task_extrbase
718 Unpacking Debian base archive
719 Extracting /grml/fai/nfsroot/live/filesystem.dir/var/tmp/base.tgz
723 or if using /etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles/$CLASSNAME.tar.gz for:
726 ftar: extracting /etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles///AMD64.tar.gz to
727 /grml-live/grml-live_20071029.22138/grml_chroot//
730 Set up apt-cacher / apt-cacher-ng for use with grml-live
731 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
733 Make sure /etc/grml/grml-live.conf provides according GRML_LIVE_SOURCES and
736 # cat /etc/grml/grml-live.conf
739 deb http://localhost:3142/deb.grml.org grml-stable main
740 deb http://localhost:3142/deb.grml.org grml-testing main
741 deb http://localhost:3142/ftp.de.debian.org/debian lenny main contrib non-free
744 FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP="lenny http://localhost:3142/ftp.de.debian.org/debian lenny main contrib non-free"
746 Make sure apt-cacher / apt-cacher-ng is running ('/etc/init.d/apt-cacher
747 restart' or '/etc/init.d/apt-cacher-ng restart'). That's it. All downloaded
748 files will be cached in /var/cache/apt-cacher/ or /var/cache/apt-cacher-ng then.
750 Set up approx for use with grml-live
751 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
753 Make sure /etc/grml/grml-live.conf provides according GRML_LIVE_SOURCES and
756 # cat /etc/grml/grml-live.conf
759 deb http://localhost:9999/grml grml-stable main
760 deb http://localhost:9999/grml grml-testing main
761 deb http://localhost:9999/debian lenny main contrib non-free
763 FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP="lenny http://localhost:9999/debian"
767 # cat /etc/approx/approx.conf
769 debian http://ftp.at.debian.org/debian
770 grml http://deb.grml.org/
772 Don't forget to restart approx (/etc/init.d/approx restart). That's it.
773 All downloaded files will be cached in /var/cache/approx now.
775 I've a question which isn't answered by this document
776 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
778 Don't hesitate to ask on IRC (channel #grml on irc.freenode.org) or just drop me
779 a mail: <mika@grml.org>
781 Download / install grml-live as a Debian package
782 ------------------------------------------------
784 Debian packages are available through the grml-repository at
785 link:http://deb.grml.org/pool/main/g/grml-live/[deb.grml.org]. If you want to
786 build a Debian package on your own (using for example a specific version or the
787 current development tree), just execute:
789 git clone git://git.grml.org/grml-live
796 The source of grml-live is available at
797 link:http://git.grml.org/?p=grml-live.git[http://git.grml.org/?p=grml-live.git]
802 Check out link:http://wiki.grml.org/doku.php?id=grml-live[grml-live in the grml-wiki]
808 Please report feedback, link:http://grml.org/bugs/[bugreports] and wishes
809 link:http://grml.org/contact/[to the grml-team]!
813 Michael Prokop <mika@grml.org>
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816 // vim:ai tw=80 ft=asciidoc expandtab
817 /////////////////////////////////////