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. (Notice: This option requires a feature within
71 FAI which is not yet part of the official FAI release yet.)
75 Specify the CLASSES to be used for building the ISO via FAI. By default only
76 the classes GRMLBASE, GRML_SMALL and I386 are assumed, resulting in a small base
77 system (being about ~150MB total ISO size). If using a non-I386 system (like
78 amd64) you should specify the appropriate architecture as well. Additionally you
79 can specify a class providing a grml-kernel (see
80 /etc/grml/fai/config/package_config/ for a full list). So instead of GRML_SMALL
81 you can also use GRML_MEDIUM and GRML_FULL instead.
83 -C **CONFIGURATION_FILE**::
85 The specified file is used as configuration file for grml-live. By default
86 /etc/grml/grml-live.conf is used for main configuration. If a file named
87 /etc/grml/grml-live.local exists it is used as well (sourced after reading
88 /etc/grml/grml-live.conf to allow overriding settings). As a last option the
89 specified configuration file is sourced so it is possible to override settings
90 of /etc/grml/grml-live.conf as well as of /etc/grml/grml-live.local. Please
91 notice that all configuration files have to be adjusted during execution of
92 grml-live, so please make sure you use /etc/grml/grml-live.conf as a base for
93 your own configuration file. Please also notice that the configuration file
94 specified via this option is **not** (yet) supported inside the
95 scripts/hooks/classes at /etc/grml/fai/config. Instead use
96 /etc/grml/grml-live.conf and/or /etc/grml/grml-live.local for configuration
97 stuff used inside /etc/grml/fai/config.
101 Force execution and do not prompt for acknowledgment of configuration.
105 Set the grml flavour name. Common usage examples: grml, grml-small, grml64.
109 Display short usage information and exit.
113 Specify name of ISO which will be available inside $OUTPUT_DIRECTORY/grml_isos
116 -o **OUTPUT_DIRECTORY**::
118 Main output directory of the build process of FAI. Some directories are created
119 inside this target directory, being: grml_cd (where the files for creating the
120 ISO are located, including the compressed squashfs file), grml_chroot (the
121 chroot system) and grml_isos (where the resulting ISO is stored).
125 Specify name of the release.
129 Specify the Debian suite you want to use for your live-system. Defaults to
130 "etch" (being current Debian/stable). Supported values are: etch, lenny, sid.
132 -t **TEMPLATE_DIRECTORY**::
134 Specify place of the templates used for building the ISO. By default
135 (and if not manually specified) this is /usr/share/grml-live/templates/.
139 Update existing chroot instead of rebuilding it from scratch. This option is
140 based on the softupdate feature of FAI.
142 -v **VERSION_NUMBER**::
144 Specify version number of the release.
148 Increase verbosity in the build process.
152 Use ZLIB instead of LZMA compression in mksquashfs part of the build process.
157 To get a small, Debian-stable and grml-based Live-CD using /grml/grml-live
158 as build and output directory just run:
162 To get a small Debian-unstable and grml-small based Live-CD using
163 /home/mika/grml-live as build and output directory just use:
165 # grml-live -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386 -o /home/mika/grml-live
167 To get a small, Debian-unstable and grml-based Live-CD using /tmp as build and
168 output directory and use grml_0.0-3.iso as ISO name (placed inside
169 /tmp/grml_isos) just invoke:
171 # grml-live -o /tmp -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386 -s sid -i grml_0.0-3.iso
175 If you have about 700MB of free space inside /dev/shm (being a tmpfs, usually
176 you should have >=1GB of RAM) just run "mount -o remount,suid,dev,rw /dev/shm"
177 and use /dev/shm as build and output directory - resulting in very fast build
178 process. But please be aware of the fact that rebooting your system will result
179 in an empty /dev/shm, so please another directory for $CHROOT_OUTPUT,
180 $BUILD_OUTPUT and $ISO_OUTPUT if you plan to create more persistent output. :)
182 Main features of grml-live
183 --------------------------
185 * create a grml-/Debian-based Linux Live-CD with one single command
187 * class based concept, providing a maximum of flexibility
189 * supports integration of own hooks, scripts and configuration
191 * supports use and integration of own Software and/or Kernels via simple use of
194 * native support of FAI features
196 * multi-arch support (work in progress)
201 grml-live uses FAI and its class based concept for adjusting configuration and
202 setup according to your needs. This gives you flexibility and strength without
203 losing the simplicity in the build process.
205 The main and base class provided by grml-live is named GRMLBASE. It's strongly
206 recommended to **always** use the class GRMLBASE when building an ISO using
207 grml-live, as well as the architecture dependent class which provides the kernel
208 (being 'I386' for x86_32 and 'AMD64' for x86_64) and a GRML_* class (like
209 GRML_SMALL, GRML_MEDIUM or GRML_FULL). The following files and directories are
210 relevant for class GRMLBASE by default:
212 /etc/grml/fai/config/scripts/GRMLBASE/
213 /etc/grml/fai/config/debconf/GRMLBASE
214 /etc/grml/fai/config/class/GRMLBASE.var
215 /etc/grml/fai/config/hooks/instsoft.GRMLBASE
216 /etc/grml/fai/config/package_config/GRMLBASE
218 Take a look at the next section for information about the concept of those
221 If you want to use your own configuration, extend an existing configuration
222 and/or add additional packages to your ISO just invent a new class (or extend an
223 existing one). For example if you want to use your own class named "FOOBAR" just
224 extend CLASSES="GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386" inside /etc/grml/grml-live.conf to
225 CLASSES="GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386,FOOBAR" or invoke grml-live using the classes
226 option: "grml-live -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386,FOOBAR ...".
228 More details regarding the class concept can be found in the documentation of
229 FAI itself (being available at /usr/share/doc/fai-doc/).
234 Documentation to be done...
239 Notice that grml-live ships FAI configuration files that do not use the same
240 namespace as the FAI packages itself. This ensures that grml-live does not clash
241 with your usual FAI configuration, so instead of /etc/fai/fai.conf (package
242 fai-client) grml uses /etc/grml/fai/fai.conf instead. For more details see
243 below. To get an idea how another configuration or example files could look like
244 check out /usr/share/doc/fai-doc/examples/simple/ (provided by Debian package
245 fai-doc). Furthermore /usr/share/doc/fai-doc/fai-guide.html/ch-config.html
246 provides documentation regarding configuration possibilities.
250 Script for the main build process. Requires root permissions for execution.
252 /etc/grml/grml-live.conf
254 Main configuration file for grml-live. All the important steps can be configured
257 /etc/grml/fai/fai.conf
259 Main configuration file for FAI which specifies where all the configuration
260 files and scripts for FAI/grml-live can be found. By default it is set to
261 FAI_CONFIGDIR=/etc/grml/fai/config, a directory shipped by grml-live
262 out-of-the-box so you shouldn't have to configure anything in this file.
264 /etc/grml/fai/make-fai-nfsroot.conf
266 This file is used by make-fai-nfsroot(8) only. Usually you don't have to change
267 anything inside this file. If you want to modify NFSROOT though you can adjust
270 /etc/grml/fai/NFSROOT
272 This file specifies the package list for creating the NFSROOT.
274 /etc/grml/fai/apt/sources.list
276 This file specifies which mirrors should be used for retreiving the Debian
277 packages used for creating the main chroot (including all the software you would
278 like to see included). If you want to use a local mirror you either have to
279 adjust this file or use the GRML_LIVE_SOURCES variable inside
280 /etc/grml/grml-live.conf which modifies /etc/grml/fai/apt/sources.list
283 /etc/grml/fai/config/
285 The main directory for configuration of FAI/grml-live. More details below.
287 /etc/grml/fai/config/class/
289 This directory contains files which specify main configuration variables for the
292 /etc/grml/fai/config/debconf/
294 This directory provides the files for preseeding/configuration of debconf
297 /etc/grml/fai/config/hooks/
299 This directory provides files for customising the build process through hooks.
300 Hooks are user defined programs or scripts, which are called during the
301 installation process.
303 /etc/grml/fai/config/package_config/
305 Directory with lists of software packages to be installed or removed. The
306 different classes describe what should find its way to your ISO. When running
307 "grml-live -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386 ..." only the configuration of GRMLBASE,
308 GRML_SMALL and and I386 will be taken. If you use 'grml-live -c
309 GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386,FOOBAR ...' then the files of GRMLBASE, GRML_SMALL,
310 I386 **plus** the files from FOOBAR will be taken. So just create a new class to
311 adjust the package selection according to your needs. Please notice that the
312 directory GRMLBASE contains a package list defining a minimum but still
313 reasonable package configuration.
315 /etc/grml/fai/config/scripts/
317 Scripts for customising the ISO within the build process.
321 This directory provides files used inside the scripts of
322 /etc/grml/fai/config/scripts/*. For a full documentation what happens with the
323 files please refer to the source of the scripts.
325 /etc/grml/fai/live-initramfs/
327 This directory provides the files used for building the initramfs/initrd via
333 grml-live itself logs to /var/log/grml-live.log. Unless you set ZERO_LOGFILE in
334 /etc/grml/grml-live.conf the output is appended to the file. If you set the
335 ZERO_LOGFILE configuration option the logfile will be truncated on each new
336 invocation of grml-live.
338 The FAI part of grml-live logs to /var/log/fai/$HOSTNAME/ - so the
339 default being /var/log/fai/grml/.
341 If you are using the grml-live buildd you will find the logs of the grml-live
342 run at /var/log/grml-buildd.stdout and /var/log/grml-buildd.stderr.
344 Requirements for the build system
345 ---------------------------------
347 * any Debian based system should be sufficient (if not it's a bug, so please
348 send us a bug report then) [a usual link:http://grml.org/grml2hd/[grml2hd]
349 harddisk installation ships all you need]
351 * enough free disk space; at least 800MB are required for a minimal grml-live
352 run (\~400MB for the chroot [$CHROOT_OUTPUT], \~150MB for the build target
353 [$BUILD_OUTPUT] and \~150MB for the resulting ISO [$ISO_OUTPUT] plus some
354 temporary files), if you plan to use GRML_FULL you should have at least 4GB of
355 total free disk space
357 * fast network access for retreiving the Debian packages used for creating the
358 chroot (check out "local mirror" and "NFSROOT" to workaround this problem as far
364 Help, I'm using Debian etch and I don't have FAI version >3.2
365 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
367 wget http://www.informatik.uni-koeln.de/fai/download/etch/fai-client_3.2.3_all.deb \
368 http://www.informatik.uni-koeln.de/fai/download/etch/fai-server_3.2.3_all.deb \
369 http://www.informatik.uni-koeln.de/fai/download/etch/fai-doc_3.2.3_all.deb
370 dpkg -i fai-client_3.2.3_all.deb fai-server_3.2.3_all.deb fai-doc_3.2.3_all.deb
372 or check out the link:http://www.informatik.uni-koeln.de/fai/[FAI-homepage] for
375 I've problems with the build process. How to start debugging?
376 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
378 Check out the logs inside /var/log/fai/... If you don't have the time to debug
379 the problem in further detail or don't know how to proceed just send a copy of
380 your config, logs and the commandline with a short problem description to
383 # history | grep grml-live > /etc/grml/grml_live.cmdline
384 # tar zcf grml_live_problem.tar.gz /etc/grml/grml-live.conf \
385 /etc/grml/grml-buildd.conf /var/log/fai /etc/grml/fai
387 Can I use my own (local) Debian mirror?
388 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
390 Sure. Just adjust the variables GRML_LIVE_SOURCES and FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP (if not
391 already using NFSROOT's base.tgz) inside /etc/grml/grml-live.conf according to
392 your needs. Please don't forget that you should use the grml servers as well
393 (see default configuration) so all the grml packages can be downloaded as well.
395 If you want to use a local (for example NFS mount) mirror additionally, just
396 adjust MIRROR_DIRECTORY and MIRROR_SOURCES inside /etc/grml/grml-live.conf as
399 Unless you specify GRML_LIVE_SOURCES and/or FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP the default from
400 /etc/grml/fai/apt/sources.list and /etc/grml/fai/make-fai-nfsroot.conf will be
401 taken. If you customise the variables in /etc/grml/grml-live.conf then the two
402 files will be adjusted during runtime automatically.
404 If MIRROR_DIRECTORY and MIRROR_SOURCES are specified the local mirror will be
405 taken as first entry in the generated sources.list so it's prefered over
406 non-local mirrors. Using a fallback mirror (via providing several mirrors in
407 GRML_LIVE_SOURCES as used by default) is a recommended setting.
409 How do I add additional Debian package(s) to my CD/ISO?
410 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
412 Just create a new class (using the package_config directory):
414 # cat > /etc/grml/fai/config/package_config/MIKA << EOF
418 another_name_of_a_debian_package
422 and specify it when invoking grml-live then:
424 # grml-live -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386,MIKA
426 I fscked up my grml-live configuration. How do I reset it to the defaults?
427 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
429 Notice: this deletes all your grml-live configuration files. If that's really
430 what you are searching for just run:
432 rm -rf /etc/grml/fai /etc/grml/grml-live.conf
433 dpkg -i --force-confnew --force-confmiss /path/to/grml-live_..._all.deb
437 If you don't control your /etc using a version control system (VCS) yet it's a
438 good chance to start using it now. Check out
439 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/]
440 for more details how to maintain /etc using the mercurial VCS.
442 How do I create a base.tgz for use as NFSROOT?
443 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
445 First of all build the chroot system:
447 mkdir /tmp/nfsroot && cd /tmp/nfsroot
448 debootstrap etch /tmp/nfsroot/ http://ftp.de.debian.org/debian
451 Then check out where your NFSROOT is located:
453 # grep '^NFSROOT' /etc/grml/fai/make-fai-nfsroot.conf
454 NFSROOT=/grml/fai/nfsroot
456 So as /grml/fai/nfsroot is your NFSROOT place the file under
457 /grml/fai/nfsroot/live/filesystem.dir/var/tmp/:
459 mv base.tgz /grml/fai/nfsroot/live/filesystem.dir/var/tmp/base.tgz
461 or even better use /etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles/$CLASSNAME.tar.gz instead.
462 Use I386 as $CLASSNAME for i386 builds and AMD64 for amd64 builds.
464 Now running "grml-live ..." will use this file as main system instead of
465 executing debootstrap. Check out the output for the following lines if using
469 Calling task_extrbase
470 Unpacking Debian base archive
471 Extracting /grml/fai/nfsroot/live/filesystem.dir/var/tmp/base.tgz
475 or if using /etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles/$CLASSNAME.tar.gz for:
478 ftar: extracting /etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles///AMD64.tar.gz to
479 /grml-live/grml-live_20071029.22138/grml_chroot//
482 Set up apt-cacher for use with grml-live
483 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
485 Make sure /etc/grml/grml-live.conf provides according GRML_LIVE_SOURCES and
488 # cat /etc/grml/grml-live.conf
491 deb http://localhost:3142/deb.grml.org grml-stable main
492 deb http://localhost:3142/deb.grml.org grml-testing main
493 deb http://localhost:3142/ftp.de.debian.org/debian etch main contrib non-free
496 FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP="etch http://localhost:3142/ftp.de.debian.org/debian etch main contrib non-free"
498 Make sure apt-cacher is running (/etc/init.d/apt-cacher restart). That's it.
499 All downloaded files will be cached in /var/cache/apt-cacher/ now.
501 Set up approx for use with grml-live
502 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
504 Make sure /etc/grml/grml-live.conf provides according GRML_LIVE_SOURCES and
507 # cat /etc/grml/grml-live.conf
510 deb http://localhost:9999/grml grml-stable main
511 deb http://localhost:9999/grml grml-testing main
512 deb http://localhost:9999/debian etch main contrib non-free
514 FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP="etch http://localhost:9999/debian"
518 # cat /etc/approx/approx.conf
520 debian http://ftp.at.debian.org/debian
521 grml http://deb.grml.org/
523 Don't forget to restart approx (/etc/init.d/approx restart). That's it.
524 All downloaded files will be cached in /var/cache/approx now.
526 I've a question which isn't answered by this document
527 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
529 Don't hesitate to ask on IRC (channel #grml on irc.freenode.org) or just drop me
530 a mail: <mika@grml.org>
532 Download / install grml-live as a Debian package
533 ------------------------------------------------
535 Debian packages are available through the grml-repository at
536 link:http://deb.grml.org/pool/main/g/grml-live/[deb.grml.org]. If you want to
537 build a Debian package on your own (using for example a specific version or the
538 current development tree), just execute:
540 hg clone http://hg.grml.org/grml-live
547 The source of grml-live is available at
548 link:http://hg.grml.org/grml-live/[http://hg.grml.org/grml-live/]
553 Check out link:http://wiki.grml.org/doku.php?id=grml-live[grml-live@grml-wiki]
559 Please report feedback, link:http://grml.org/bugs/[bugreports] and wishes
560 link:http://grml.org/contact/[to the grml-team]!
564 Michael Prokop <mika@grml.org>.
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