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29 <h1 align="center">FAQ for grml</h1>
31 <p><strong>Up2date:</strong> applies to Grml version 2020.06</p>
33 <p><a name="toc"></a><strong>Index:</strong></p>
35 <p class="toc"><a href="#general">General:</a></p>
37 <li><a href="#whatis">What is Grml?</a></li>
38 <li><a href="#flavours">What are grml32 / grml64 and grml96?</a></li>
39 <li><a href="#grmlsmall">What is the difference between grml-full and grml-small?</a></li>
40 <li><a href="#get">Where do I get Grml?</a></li>
41 <li><a href="#whatmeans">What does Grml mean?</a></li>
42 <li><a href="#releasename">What about the release name?</a></li>
43 <li><a href="#requirements">Requirements for running Grml</a></li>
44 <li><a href="#bootoptions">Which bootoptions does Grml support?</a></li>
45 <li><a href="#systemd">Why is Grml using systemd?</a></li>
46 <li><a href="#known_issues">Are there any known issues with this release? How about reporting bugs?</a></li>
49 <p class="toc"><a href="#features">Features</a>:</p>
51 <li><a href="#usbboot">How do I boot Grml from a USB stick?</a></li>
52 <li><a href="#persistency">Is it possible to store my settings?</a></li>
53 <li><a href="#password">What are the passwords of users on Grml?</a></li>
54 <li><a href="#version">How do I find out the version of Grml</a></li>
55 <li><a href="#language">How do I change the language/keyboard settings?</a></li>
56 <li><a href="#wms">Which window managers can I use?</a></li>
57 <li><a href="#lvm">Where are my LVM devices?</a></li>
58 <li><a href="#swraid">Where are my Software-RAID devices?</a></li>
59 <li><a href="#booting">Which ways exist to boot Grml?</a></li>
60 <li><a href="#timezone">How do I configure timezone on my Grml system?</a></li>
61 <li><a href="#hdinstall">Is it possible to install Grml to harddisk?</a></li>
64 <p class="toc"><a href="#software">Software:</a></p>
66 <li><a href="#sw_version">Which package(s) and which version is available?</a></li>
67 <li><a href="#zsh">Why is Zsh the default shell?</a></li>
71 <p class="toc"><a href="#stuff">Support / Unanswered stuff:</a></p>
73 <li><a href="#questions">Further questions?</a></li>
74 <li><a href="#support">Commercial Support</a></li>
77 <h2><a name="general"></a><a href="#toc">General</a></h2>
79 <h3><a name="whatis"></a><a href="#toc">What is Grml?</a></h3>
81 <p>Grml is a bootable live system (Live-CD) based
82 on <a href="http://www.debian.org/">Debian</a>. It is not
83 necessary to install anything to a harddisk. Grml includes a
84 collection of GNU/Linux software especially for system
85 administrators. It specializes on administrative tasks like
86 installation, deployment and system rescue.</p>
88 <h3><a name="flavours"></a><a href="#toc">What are grml32 / grml64 and grml96?</a></h3>
91 <li>grml32-full: 32bit version (kernel and userspace)</li>
92 <li>grml64-full: 64bit version (kernel and userspace)</li>
93 <li>grml96-full: multi boot version (featuring the grml32-full and grml64-full ISOs combined on one ISO)</li>
96 <p>Unless you've a good reason to really choose the 32bit flavour we
97 <em>strongly</em> encourage you to use either the grml64 or the grml96
100 <h3><a name="grmlsmall"></a><a href="#toc">What is the difference between grml-full and grml-small?</a></h3>
102 <p>grml-small provides a reduced set of available software compared to
103 grml-full. It provides the same Linux kernel image as grml-full and is
104 fully binary compatible. Choose the grml-small flavour if size - for
105 whatever reason - really matters to you.</p>
107 <h3><a name="get"></a><a href="#toc">Where do I get Grml?</a></h3>
109 <p>Grml is open source, you can download it from the mirrors
110 listed at <a href="/download">grml.org/download/</a>.</p>
112 <h3><a name="whatmeans"></a><a href="#toc">What does Grml mean?</a></h3>
114 <p>Grml comes close to 'argl' or 'grrr' in English. People use
115 this when they want to express their dissatisfaction with
116 software (amongst other things).</p>
118 <h3><a name="releasename"></a><a href="#toc">What about the release name?</a></h3>
120 <p>Codename of Grml 2020.06 is "Ausgehfuahangl", which is
121 an austrian word for a face mask.</p>
123 <h3><a name="requirements"></a><a href="#toc">Requirements for running Grml</a></h3>
127 <li>Intel-compatible CPU (i686 or later, preferably Pentium class or higher; although some i586 processors e.g. the 'AMD Geode' are still supported)</li>
129 <li>>=384MB of RAM (>=512MB recommended)</p>
131 <li>either a bootable CD-/DVD-ROM drive,
132 a <a href="#usbboot">USB-boot capable system</a> or a
133 network card for booting via network/PXE (check
134 out <a href="#terminalserver">grml-terminalserver</a>)</li>
138 <h3><a name="accessibility"></a><a href="#toc">What does accessibility at Grml mean?</a></h3>
140 <p>The Grml kernel includes support for speakup. For software,
141 brltty and espeakup are included.</p>
143 <h3><a name="bootoptions"></a><a href="#toc">Which bootoptions does Grml support?</a></h3>
146 href="http://git.grml.org/?p=grml-live.git;a=blob_plain;f=templates/GRML/grml-cheatcodes.txt;hb=HEAD">grml-cheatcodes
147 file</a> (also available via <a href="http://grml.org/cheatcodes/">grml.org/cheatcodes/</a>). Of
149 href="https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.html">the command-line parameters</a>
150 of the Linux kernel applies to Grml as well.</p>
152 <h3><a name="systemd"></a><a href="#toc">Why is Grml using systemd?</a></h3>
154 <p>The switch from file-rc to systemd happened for various reasons.
155 Grml used file-rc for many years, mainly because it provided a better
156 way to control startup behavior via its /etc/runlevel.conf configuration
157 than with using sysvinit. Though for us Grml developers this also meant
158 that whenever there have been any changes in Debian's startup
159 configuration we had to compare our /etc/runlevel.conf setup with what a
160 normal Debian system would give us. Users who wanted to remaster Grml
161 with a custom startup procedure as well had to practically fork
162 maintenance of the /etc/runlevel.conf file. This didn't only mean
163 tracking new features/services, but also solve any possible issues
164 around it - duplicating efforts and wasting developers time
165 unnecessarily. Lately we also started to see problems that no one else
166 seemed to have (or care about enough), for example with multiple network
167 cards we ran into race-conditions with resolvconf. Problems like that
168 turned out to be release stoppers for us.</p>
170 <p>systemd on the other hand provides great documentation, service
171 supervision, takes care of parallel service startup and is the default
172 init system on most Linux distributions nowadays. This means more users,
173 better testing and integration. Logging, startup time investigation (to
174 get a fast boot procedure) and identifying failed service startups with
175 sysvinit/file-rc was always hard, unreliable or even impossible under
176 certain conditions. bootlogd was unreliable (while `journalctl -b` is
177 available out-of-the-box with systemd), bootchart not nicely integrated
178 (while systemd-analyze blame/critical-chain works out-of-the-box) and we
179 aren't aware of any equivalence for e.g. `systemctl --failed`.</p>
181 <p>While migrating our stack to systemd is <em>not</em> fully finished
182 yet, its switch - at least so far - was easier than expected. It also
183 turns out that it gives users who want to remaster Grml (or build their
184 very own ISOs from scratch using grml-live) more flexibility and control
185 over the startup process. systemd's override.conf mechanism and preset
186 feature provides the flexibility to overwrite unwanted behavior, without
187 losing the option to use existing defaults.</p>
189 <p>Last but not least we think it's good that systemd is actively
190 maintained and receives attention. The sysvinit/file-rc ecosystem was
191 stagnating/non-existend for too many years. Grml used its own initrd
192 implementation in its very beginnings, until a more broadly available
193 initramfs-tools/ live-boot solution appeared, broadening the user base,
194 sharing goals amongst different (live) distributions. Back in the days
195 Grml - like many other live distributions - had to implement hardware
196 recognition on its own. While udev received lots of complaints back
197 then, its integration actually solved all the hardware recognition for
198 the good. systemd's vision of stateless systems is something which helps
199 building live systems like Grml.</p>
201 <p>While we don't claim that systemd is perfect and doesn't have its
202 issues and drawbacks (like any software), we're happy about its
203 existence and more than happy about development and support by Debian's
206 <a name="release"></a> <!-- old anchor -->
207 <a name="bugreport"></a> <!-- old anchor -->
208 <h3><a name="known_issues"></a><a href="#toc">Are there any known issues? How about reporting bugs?</a></h3>
210 <p>Please visit the <a href="/bugs/">bug webpage</a>.</p>
212 <h2><a name="features"></a><a href="#toc">Features</a></h2>
214 <!-- TODO: needs to be improved! -->
215 <h3><a name="usbboot"></a><a href="#toc">How do I boot Grml from a USB stick?</a></h3>
218 out <a href="http://wiki.grml.org/doku.php?id=usb#grml2usb">grml2usb</a>
220 <a href="http://wiki.grml.org/doku.php?id=usb">usb webpage in the
223 <h3><a name="store"></a><a name="persistency"></a><a href="#toc">Is it possible to store my settings?</a></h3>
226 a <a href="http://wiki.grml.org/doku.php?id=persistency">persistency
229 <h3><a name="password"></a><a href="#toc">What are the passwords of users on Grml?</a></h3>
231 <p>There are no default passwords - all accounts are locked by
232 default for security reasons. Even local logins are not
233 possible (unless you set a password or create new user
234 accounts as root). You can create valid passwords using "sudo
235 passwd [username]" from the shell individually. To set a password
236 for users 'root' and 'grml' and enable SSH login you can use the 'ssh'
237 boot option, like 'ssh=yourpassword'.</p>
239 <h3><a name="version"></a><a href="#toc">How do I find out the version of Grml</a></h3>
241 <p>Run 'grml-version' or use the following command:</p>
244 $ cat /etc/grml_version</pre>
246 <h3><a name="language"></a><a href="#toc">How do I change the language/keyboard settings?</a></h3>
248 <p>By default Grml uses english settings. But it is possible to
249 change the settings via using either the bootparam(s) lang,
250 keyboard and xkeyboard or via executing grml-lang when Grml is
251 already running. Usage examples:</p>
254 grml lang=de # enter this at the bootprompt and you will get
255 # german keyboard layout and german $LANG, $LC_ALL,
257 grml keyboard=de xkeyboard=de lang=at # enter this at the bootprompt
258 # and you will get german keyboard and austrian
260 % grml-lang de # enter this in the shell to switch keyboard layout
261 # and $LANG settings in a running Grml system
264 <p>Note: run grml-setlang to get a dialog based frontend for
265 /etc/default/locale. Run grml-setkeyboard to get a dialog
266 based frontend for /etc/sysconfig/keyboard.</p>
269 <h3><a name="wms"></a><a href="#toc">Which window managers can I use?</a></h3>
271 <p>Starting with the 2011.12 release Grml provides <a
272 href="http://www.fluxbox.org/">Fluxbox</a> as window manager.</p>
274 <h3><a name="lvm"></a><a href="#toc">Where are my LVM devices?</a></h3>
276 <p>LVM (Logival Volumes) is <strong>not</strong> started by default to
277 avoid any possible damage to your data. To activate present LVM
278 devices execute (replace "$name" with the name of the PV):</p>
281 # Start lvm2-pvscan@$name
284 <p>or if you don't know its name and to enable all present ones, use:</p>
290 <p>If you want to enable LVM by default just boot using the 'lvm'
291 bootoption which automatically enables LVM.</p>
293 <h3><a name="swraid"></a><a href="#toc">Where are my Software-RAID devices?</a></h3>
295 <p>Software-RAID (usually known as the mdadm stuff) is
296 <strong>not</strong> started by default to avoid any possible damage to
297 your data. To get access to present SW-RAID devices just execute:</p>
300 # mdadm --asssemble --scan
303 <p>If you want to enable SW-RAID by default just boot using
304 the 'swraid' bootoption which enables automatic assembling of
305 software raid arrays.</p>
307 <a name="terminalserver"></a>
308 <h3><a name="booting"></a><a href="#toc">Which ways exist to boot Grml?</a></h3>
310 <!-- TODO: needs rework -->
312 <p>Of course running from CD/DVD is a common way to boot
313 Grml. But Grml provides many more ways to boot:</p>
315 <p>It is possible to boot Grml via USB (e.g. USB stick or
316 harddisk), firewire, or running from a Compact Flash disk. It
317 works out of the box; you don't need to modify anything. Check
318 out <a href="http://wiki.grml.org/doku.php?id=usb">the usb
319 webpage in the grml-wiki</a> for more details.</p>
321 <p>Your computer can not boot from CD-ROM but provides a
322 floppy disk? Take a look
323 at <a href="http://btmgr.sourceforge.net/">btmgr</a>, <a href="http://ubcd4win.com/faq.htm#floppy">ubcd4win</a>
324 or <a href="http://linux.simple.be/tools/sbm">sbm</a>. They
325 provide support for booting from CD-ROM via a special floppy
328 <p>grml-terminalserver makes it possible to boot your system
330 using <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preboot_Execution_Environment">PXE</a>
331 (Preboot Execution Environment). If your network card does not
332 provide support for booting via PXE you can still boot it
333 either using the provided grub image by grml-terminalserver
334 (for example via floppy drive) or
335 using <a href="http://etherboot.org/wiki/index.php">gPXE</a>.
336 For more information, refer to
337 the <a href="/terminalserver/">grml-terminalserver
340 <h3><a name="timezone"></a><a href="#toc">How do I configure
341 timezone on my Grml system?</a></h3>
343 <p>Available bootoptions relevant in live mode:</p>
346 <li>utc: set UTC, if your system/hardware clock is set to UTC (Coordinated Universal Time)
347 <li>localtime: Hardware Clock is set to local time (LOCAL), this is the default
348 <li>tz=$option: set timezone to corresponding $option, usage example: tz=Europe/Vienna, defaults to UTC if unset
351 <p>Further information: manpages hwclock(8), tzselect(1) and tzconfig(8); <a
352 href="http://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/system-administrator/ch-sysadmin-time.html">Debian
353 GNU/Linux System Administrator's Manual Chapter 16 - Time</a> and <a
354 href="http://wiki.debian.org/TimeZoneChanges">TimeZoneChanges in the
357 <h3><a name="hdinstall"></a><a href="#toc">Is it possible to install Grml to harddisk?</a></h3>
359 <p>No. If you want to get a Debian system take a look at <a
360 href="/grml-debootstrap/">grml-debootstrap</a> (or use the <a
361 href="https://www.debian.org/">Debian Installer</a> instead).</p>
363 <h2><a name="software"></a><a href="#toc">Software</a></h2>
365 <h3><a name="sw_version"></a><a href="#toc">Which package(s) and which
366 version is available?</a></h3>
368 <p>If you want to get details about the provided packages and the
369 package versions without booting the Grml ISO check out the dpkg_...
370 files in the <a href="/files/#debian">Debian-Information section on
371 grml.org/files/</a>.</p>
373 <h3><a name="zsh"></a><a href="#toc">Why is Zsh the default shell?</a></h3>
375 <p>Short answer: because <a href="/zsh/">Zsh rocks</a>, really!</p>
377 <p>Long(er) answer: If you don't know Zsh take a look the <a
378 href="/zsh/">Grml Zsh reference card</a>.</p>
380 <p>If you are a Bash user and don't know Zsh yet, don't be
381 afraid. Bash is largely a subset of Zsh and you don't have to
382 throw away your knowledge about shell stuff.</p>
384 <h2><a name="stuff"></a><a href="#toc">Support / Unanswered stuff</a></h2>
386 <h3><a name="questions"></a><a href="#toc">Further questions</a></h3>
388 <p>Do you have a question which is not answered in the FAQ or
389 in the provided <a href="/docs/">documentation</a> (execute
390 "grml-info" on your Grml system for offline
391 documentation)? Also check out 'grml-tips $KEYWORD' on your
392 Grml system. Take a look at
393 <a href="/">the Grml website</a> and <a href="http://wiki.grml.org/">the
394 grml-wiki</a>. A good place to become part of the community is the <a
395 href="/mailinglist/">Grml mailinglist</a>.</p>
397 <h3><a name="support"></a><a href="#toc">Commercial Support</a></h3>
399 <p>You want to deploy Grml in your data center, use it as part of your
400 business or have an emergency case? You're happy with Grml but would
401 like to get your very own live system (providing your favourite software
402 selection, special configuration, setup and a custom bootsplash)?
403 Please get in <a href="/contact/">touch with us</a>.</p>
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