grml-live [-a <architecture>] [-c <classe[s]>] [-C <configfile>] [-g
<grml_name>] [-i <iso_name> ] [-o <output_directory>] [-r <release_name>] [-s
-<suite>] [-t <template_directory>] [-v <version_number>] [-bBFhquVz]
+<suite>] [-t <template_directory>] [-v <version_number>] [-U <username>] [
+-AbBFnNquVz]
CAUTION: Please check out <<current_state,the 'Current state of grml-live with
squashfs-tools and kernel' section>> for details about current state of involved
grml-live provides the build system for creating a grml and Debian based Linux
Live-CD. The build system is based on
-link:http://www.informatik.uni-koeln.de/fai/[FAI] (Fully Automatic
+link:http://fai-project.org/[FAI] (Fully Automatic
Installation). grml-live uses the "fai dirinstall" feature to generate a chroot
system based on the class concept of FAI (see later sections for further
details) and provides the framework to be able to generate a full-featured ISO.
details of a build process.
CAUTION: grml-live does **not** use /etc/fai for configuration but instead
-provides and uses /etc/grml/fai. This ensures that it does not clash with
-default FAI configuration and packages, so you can use grml-live and FAI
+provides and uses ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG} which is pointing to /etc/grml/fai by default
+(unless overriden using the ''-D'' option). This ensures that it does not clash
+with default FAI configuration and packages, so you can use grml-live and FAI
completely independent at the same time!
[NOTE]
Options
-------
+ -A::
+
+Clean up output directories before attempting the build. Packs the chroot
+into a tar archive, and removes chroot and iso build directories before exiting.
+
-a **ARCHITECTURE**::
Use the specified architecture instead of the currently running one. This
-c **CLASSES**::
Specify the CLASSES to be used for building the ISO via FAI. By default only
-the classes GRMLBASE, GRML_MEDIUM and I386 are assumed, resulting in a small base
-system (being about ~180MB total ISO size). If using a non-I386 system (like
-AMD64) you should specify the appropriate architecture as well. Additionally you
-can specify a class providing a grml-kernel (see
-<<classes,the 'CLASSES' section in this document>> for details about available classes).
-So instead of GRML_MEDIUM you can also use GRML_SMALL and GRML_FULL.
+the classes GRMLBASE, GRML_FULL and I386/AMD64 (depending on system
+architecture) are assumed, resulting in a small base system (being about ~180MB
+total ISO size). If using a non-I386 system (like AMD64) you should specify the
+appropriate architecture as well. Additionally you can specify a class providing
+a grml-kernel (see <<classes,the 'CLASSES' section in this document>> for
+details about available classes). So instead of GRML_FULL you can also use
+GRML_SMALL and GRML_FULL.
[IMPORTANT]
All class names should be written in uppercase letters. Do not use a dash, use
of grml-live, so please make sure you use /etc/grml/grml-live.conf as a base for
your own configuration file (usually /etc/grml/grml-live.local). Please also
notice that the configuration file specified via this option is **not** (yet)
-supported inside the scripts/hooks/classes at /etc/grml/fai/config. Instead use
+supported inside the scripts/hooks/classes at ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config. Instead use
/etc/grml/grml-live.local for configuration stuff used inside
-/etc/grml/fai/config.
+${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config.
-d **DATE**::
ISO with release information for a specific date but have to build it in
advance. Usage example: '-d 2009-10-30'
+ -D **CONFIGURATION_DIRECTORY**::
+
+The specified directory is used as configuration directory for grml-live and its
+FAI. By default /etc/grml/fai is used as default configuration directory. If
+you want to have different configuration scripts, package definitions, etc. with
+without messing with the global configuration under /etc/grml/fai provided by
+grml-live this option provides you the option to use your own configuration
+directory. This directory is what's being referred to as ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}
+throughout this documentation.
+
-F::
Force execution and do not prompt for acknowledgment of configuration.
Skip creation of the ISO file. This option is useful if you want to build/update
the chroot and/or recreate the squashfs file without building an ISO file.
+ -N::
+
+Bootstrap the chroot without building bootloader, squashfs, or finalizing the
+ISO. Use this option if installation of some packages fails, you want to run
+custom commands or similar.
+The main use of this option is to save time by skipping stages which aren't
+necessary for bootstrapping the chroot and which would get executed more than
+once when iterating through the initial bootstrapping.
+Alternatively, use this option as a test run of grml-live. Once you are
+satisfied with the state of your grml_chroot, use grml-live **-u** to build the
+remaining stages and finalize the ISO.
+
-o **OUTPUT_DIRECTORY**::
Main output directory of the build process of FAI. Some directories are created
-s **SUITE**::
Specify the Debian suite you want to use for your live-system. Defaults to
-"lenny" (being current Debian/stable). Supported values are: etch, lenny, sid.
-Debian "squeeze" (current Debian/testing) requires base.tgz
-(/etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles/....tar.gz) or a recent version of debootstrap.
+"squeeze" (being current Debian/stable). Supported values are: etch, lenny,
+squeeze, sid. Debian "squeeze" requires a recent base.tgz
+(${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/basefiles/$CLASSNAME.tar.gz) or a recent version of
+debootstrap.
-t **TEMPLATE_DIRECTORY**::
Specify place of the templates used for building the ISO. By default
(and if not manually specified) this is /usr/share/grml-live/templates/.
+ -T **CHROOT_ARCHIVE**::
+
+Unpack chroot tar archive before starting. Most useful in combination with
+-A and -b or -u.
+
-u::
Update existing chroot instead of rebuilding it from scratch. This option is
based on the softupdate feature of FAI.
+ -U **USERNAME**::
+
+Sets ownership of all build output files to specified username before exiting.
+
-v **VERSION_NUMBER**::
Specify version number of the release.
-z::
-Use ZLIB instead of LZMA compression in mksquashfs part of the build process.
+Use ZLIB instead of LZMA/XZ compression in mksquashfs part of the build process.
[[usage-examples]]
Usage examples
To get a small Debian-unstable and grml-small based Live-CD using
/home/mika/grml-live as build and output directory just use:
- # grml-live -s sid -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386 -o /home/mika/grml-live
+ # grml-live -s sid -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,AMD64 -o /home/mika/grml-live
-To get a medium sized, Debian-unstable and grml-based Live-CD for i386
+To get a medium sized, Debian-unstable and grml-based Live-CD for amd64
architecture using /grml/grml-live as build and output directory just run:
- # grml-live -s sid -a i386 -c GRMLBASE,GRML_MEDIUM,I386
+ # grml-live -s sid -a amd64 -c GRMLBASE,GRML_FULL,AMD64
To get a small, Debian-unstable and grml-based Live-CD using /tmp as build and
output directory and use grml_0.0-3.iso as ISO name (placed inside
/tmp/grml_isos) just invoke:
- # grml-live -o /tmp -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386 -s sid -i grml_0.0-3.iso
+ # grml-live -o /tmp -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,AMD64 -s sid -i grml_0.0-3.iso
[NOTE]
GRML_SMALL, GRML_MEDIUM or GRML_FULL). The following files and directories are
relevant for class GRMLBASE by default:
- /etc/grml/fai/config/scripts/GRMLBASE/
- /etc/grml/fai/config/debconf/GRMLBASE
- /etc/grml/fai/config/class/GRMLBASE.var
- /etc/grml/fai/config/hooks/instsoft.GRMLBASE
- /etc/grml/fai/config/package_config/GRMLBASE
+ ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/scripts/GRMLBASE/
+ ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/debconf/GRMLBASE
+ ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/class/GRMLBASE.var
+ ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/hooks/instsoft.GRMLBASE
+ ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/package_config/GRMLBASE
Take a look at the next section for information about the concept of those
files/directories.
If you want to use your own configuration, extend an existing configuration
and/or add additional packages to your ISO just invent a new class (or extend an
existing one). For example if you want to use your own class named "FOOBAR" just
-set CLASSES="GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386" inside /etc/grml/grml-live.local or
-invoke grml-live using the classes option: "grml-live -c
-GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386,FOOBAR ...".
+set CLASSES="GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,AMD64,FOOBAR" inside /etc/grml/grml-live.local
+or invoke grml-live using the classes option: "grml-live -c
+GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,AMD64,FOOBAR ...".
More details regarding the class concept can be found in the documentation of
FAI itself (being available at /usr/share/doc/fai-doc/).
-----------------
The package selection part of the classes can be found in
-/etc/grml/fai/config/package_config whereas some further classes are defined for
-example in /etc/grml/fai/config/scripts/ so specific feature sets can be
+${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/package_config whereas some further classes are defined for
+example in ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/scripts/ so specific feature sets can be
selected. The following classes are predefined:
* DEBORPHAN: get rid of all packages listed in output of Deborphan
* GRMLBASE: the main class responsible for getting a minimal subset of what's
-defining a grml system. Important parts of the buildprocess are specified in
+defining a Grml system. Important parts of the buildprocess are specified in
this class as well, so unless you have a really good reason you should always
use this class.
-* GRML_FULL: full featured grml, also known as the "normal", full grml.
+* GRML_FULL: full featured grml, also known as the "normal", full grml as
+introduced in november 2011 (~350MB ISO size).
-* GRML_MEDIUM: medium sized grml version, known as grml-medium
+* GRML_MEDIUM: medium sized grml version, used to be known as grml-medium
+until november 2011 (~220MB ISO size).
-* GRML_POWERPC: grml for PowerPC architecture, not supported yet (still work in
-progress)
+* GRML_SMALL: minimum sized grml version, known as grml-small (~110MB ISO
+size).
-* GRML_SMALL: minimum sized grml version, known as grml-small
+* GRML_XL: large size Grml version, used to be known as "full grml" until
+november 2011 (~700MB ISO size).
* LATEX: LaTeX(-related) packages like auctex, texlive,...
(which used to be shipped by grml before the LaTeX removal)
* REMOVE_DOCS: get rid of documentation directories (like /usr/share/doc,
/usr/share/man/, /usr/share/info,...)
+* SOURCES: retrieve Debian source packages after installation. Files will be
+placed in the output directory under grml_sources.
+
* XORG: providing important packages for use with a base grml-featured X.org
setup
Notice that grml-live ships FAI configuration files that do not use the same
namespace as the FAI packages itself. This ensures that grml-live does not clash
with your usual FAI configuration, so instead of /etc/fai/fai.conf (package
-fai-client) grml uses /etc/grml/fai/fai.conf instead. For more details see
+fai-client) grml uses ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/fai.conf instead. For more details see
below. To get an idea how another configuration or example files could look like
check out /usr/share/doc/fai-doc/examples/simple/ (provided by Debian package
fai-doc). Furthermore /usr/share/doc/fai-doc/fai-guide.html/ch-config.html
from /etc/grml/grml-live.local as well you have to specify them on the grml-live
commandline.
- /etc/grml/fai/fai.conf
+ ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/fai.conf
Main configuration file for FAI which specifies where all the configuration
files and scripts for FAI/grml-live can be found. By default the configuration
variables are FAI_CONFIG_SRC=file:///etc/grml/fai/config and
-FAI_CONFIGDIR=/etc/grml/fai/config - both pointing to a directory shipped by
+GRML_FAI_CONFIG=/etc/grml/fai/config - both pointing to a directory shipped by
grml-live out-of-the-box so you shouldn't have to configure anything in this
file.
- /etc/grml/fai/make-fai-nfsroot.conf
+ ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/make-fai-nfsroot.conf
This file is used by make-fai-nfsroot(8) only. Usually you don't have to change
anything inside this file. If you want to modify NFSROOT though you can adjust
it there.
- /etc/grml/fai/NFSROOT
+ ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/NFSROOT
This file specifies the package list for creating the NFSROOT.
- /etc/grml/fai/apt/sources.list
+ ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/apt/sources.list
This file specifies which mirrors should be considered for retrieving the Debian
packages when creating the main chroot (including all the software you would
like to see included). Important: this file should *not* be adjusted manually!
Instead use the GRML_LIVE_SOURCES variable inside /etc/grml/grml-live.conf or
-/etc/grml/grml-live.local which modifies /etc/grml/fai/apt/sources.list
+/etc/grml/grml-live.local which modifies ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/apt/sources.list
on-the-fly via grml-live then. If you want to generally adjust apt configuration
-use FAI's fcopy command with /etc/grml/fai/config/files instead.
+use FAI's fcopy command with ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/files instead.
- /etc/grml/fai/config/
+ ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/
The main directory for configuration of FAI/grml-live. More details below.
- /etc/grml/fai/config/class/
+ ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/class/
This directory contains files which specify main configuration variables for the
FAI classes.
- /etc/grml/fai/config/debconf/
+ ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/debconf/
This directory provides the files for preseeding/configuration of debconf
through files.
- /etc/grml/fai/config/hooks/
+ ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/hooks/
This directory provides files for customising the build process through hooks.
Hooks are user defined programs or scripts, which are called during the
installation process.
- /etc/grml/fai/config/package_config/
+ ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/package_config/
Directory with lists of software packages to be installed or removed. The
different classes describe what should find its way to your ISO. When running
-"grml-live -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386 ..." only the configuration of GRMLBASE,
-GRML_SMALL and and I386 will be taken. If you use 'grml-live -c
-GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386,FOOBAR ...' then the files of GRMLBASE, GRML_SMALL,
-I386 **plus** the files from FOOBAR will be taken. So just create a new class to
+"grml-live -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,AMD64 ..." only the configuration of GRMLBASE,
+GRML_SMALL and and AMD64 will be taken. If you use 'grml-live -c
+GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,AMD64,FOOBAR ...' then the files of GRMLBASE, GRML_SMALL,
+AMD64 **plus** the files from FOOBAR will be taken. So just create a new class to
adjust the package selection according to your needs. Please notice that the
directory GRMLBASE contains a package list defining a minimum but still
reasonable package configuration.
- /etc/grml/fai/config/scripts/
+ ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/scripts/
Scripts for customising the ISO within the build process.
- /etc/grml/fai/live-initramfs/
+ ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/live-initramfs/
This directory provides the files used for building the initramfs/initrd via
live-initramfs(8).
default being /var/log/fai/grml/.
If you are using the grml-live buildd you will find the logs of the grml-live
-run at /var/log/grml-buildd.stdout and /var/log/grml-buildd.stderr.
+run at /var/log/grml-buildd.log.
If you want to store build information in a database just install the
grml-live-db Debian package. Further details available in the grml-live-db
Current state of grml-live with squashfs-tools and kernel
---------------------------------------------------------
-To make it easier to track problems this section documents current state of
-grml-live playing together with squashfs-tools / squashfs-lzma-tools (for
-building the compressed file) and the kernel version. Documentation of this
-section is up2date by 7rd of september 2009, please report any bugs you
-encounter.
+Use squashfs-tools >=4.2-1 (available from Grml repositories as well as from
+Debian/unstable) to build Grml (based) ISOs featuring kernel version
+2.6.38-grml[64].
-Difference between squashfs-lzma-tools and squashfs-tools
-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
+Difference between squashfs-lzma-tools, squashfs-lzma-tools4 and squashfs-tools
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Whereas the ZLIB compression is much faster in the build process, the LZMA
compression provides a smaller resulting ISO. If you're wondering: the official
Squashfs-tools was introduced in Debian and once provided support for LZMA
compression. Sadly LZMA compression within squashfs-tools became unsupported and
-therefore squashfs-lzma-tools had to be introduced by the Grml team. Different
-kernel versions provide different squashfs file formats (version 3.x for kernel
-versions until 2.6.28-grml[64], since kernel 2.6.31-grml[64] it's the 4.x
-format).
+therefore squashfs-lzma-tools[4] had to be introduced and maintained by the Grml
+team. Different kernel versions provide different squashfs file formats. Kernel
+versions until 2.6.28-grml[64] used the 3.x file format but those outdated
+kernels aren't supported by grml-live automatically anymore nowdays (manual
+handling through SQUASHFS_BINARY possible though). Kernel versions
+2.6.31-grml[64] and 2.6.33-grml[64] use openwrt's squashfs lzma file format
+version 4. Kernel versions starting with 2.6.35-grml[64] use the mainline ondisk
+file format version 4.
If you're wondering which package supports what, here's a short overview:
-* squashfs-tools 1:4.0-1: ZLIB as default, no LZMA support/options, file format
-version 4
+* squashfs-lzma-tools4 4.0-x: ZLIB as default, LZMA support via '-comp lzma'
+option (enabled by grml-live by default), file format version 4 (mainline
+version), package maintained and available from Grml, recommended for current
+grml-live builds featuring kernels >=2.6.35-grml[64]
+
+* squashfs-lzma-tools 4.0-2: ZLIB as default, LZMA support via '-lzma' option
+(enabled by grml-live by default), file format version 4 (openwrt style),
+package maintained and available from Grml, recommended for any grml-live builds
+with kernel versions 2.6.31-grml[64] and 2.6.33-grml[64]
+
+* squashfs-tools 1:4.0-x: ZLIB as default, no LZMA support/options, file format
+version 4, package maintained and available from Debian, recommended only for
+ZLIB-only builds of any grml-live builds with kernel versions >=2.6.31-grml[64]
+
+Outdated, JFTR:
* squashfs-tools 1:3.3-7: ZLIB as default, no LZMA support/options, file format
version 3
-* squashfs-tools 1:3.2r2-9exp1: LZMA as default, ZLIB support via -nolzma
+* squashfs-tools 1:3.2r2-9exp1: LZMA as default, ZLIB support via '-nolzma'
option, file format version 3
-* squashfs-lzma-tools 4.0-2: ZLIB as default, LZMA support via -lzma option,
-file format version 4
-
-* squashfs-lzma-tools 3.3-1: LZMA as default, ZLIB support via -nolzma option,
+* squashfs-lzma-tools 3.3-1: LZMA as default, ZLIB support via '-nolzma' option,
file format version 3
-Depending on the kernel version you want to use you need different versions
-squashfs-tools/squashfs-lzma-tools. Yes, that's pretty a mess (don't ask how
-much this sucks for us developers) - though this is supposed to calm down with
-the recent integration of squashfs file format 4 in the mainline kernel. Support
-for LZMA is pending and should dramatically simplify the situation for
-developers as well as users as soon as it's available mainline.
+Now, depending on the kernel version you want to use you need different versions
+of squashfs-tools/squashfs-lzma-tools[4]. Yes, that's a mess (don't ask how much
+this sucks for us developers) - though we're putting lots of effort into our
+toolchain to automatically handle this for you through the grml-live build
+system and provide proper documentation. The situation is supposed to calm down
+with the recent integration of the squashfs file format 4 in the mainline
+kernel. Support for LZMA is pending and as soon as it's available mainline this
+should dramatically simplify the situation for developers as well as users.
+
+[TIP]
+If you want to force usage of a specific mksquashfs binary just set the
+SQUASHFS_BINARY configuration/environment variable. Set SQUASHFS_OPTIONS for
+customizing the options that should be used by the mksquashfs binary during
+build process.
+
+Using squashfs-lzma-tools4 4.0-1 on the build system
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+squashfs-lzma-tools4 4.0-1 is available via the Grml repositories. It provides
+the mksquashfs-lzma4 and unsquashfs-lzma4 binaries. The package does NOT
+conflict with neither Debian's squashfs-tools package nor Grml's
+squashfs-lzma-tools package, so you can install all of them at the same time and
+the build system will try to figure out the best matching binary automatically
+for you.
+
+The packages can be downloaded from
+link:http://deb.grml.org/pool/main/s/squashfs-lzma-tools4/[http://deb.grml.org/pool/main/s/squashfs-lzma-tools4/]
+
+It provides support for the new squashfs file format version 4 (as available in
+mainline, so *not* the one being used by squashfs-lzma-tools and kernel
+2.6.33-grml) and therefore requires kernel versions starting with
+2.6.35-grml[64]. It supports LZMA as well as ZLIB compression. Just use the
+defaults for enabling LZMA or use grml-live's '-z' option if you want to use
+ZLIB compression instead.
+
+* Kernel 2.6.31-grml[64]: works with ZLIB compression, fails with LZMA
+* Kernel 2.6.33-grml[64]: works with ZLIB compression, fails with LZMA
+* Kernel 2.6.35-grml[64]: works with ZLIB *and* LZMA compression
+* Kernel 2.6.36-grml[64]: works with ZLIB *and* LZMA compression
+
+[NOTE]
+squashfs-tools >=4.1-1 and/or squashfs-lzma-tools4 are the recommended package
+for building up2date ISOs with grml-live! Please use other squashfs-* packages
+only if you want to build live systems providing kernel versions older than
+2.6.35-grml*. Use squashfs-tools >=4.1-1 or squashfs-lzma-tools4 from Grml if
+you want to remaster any Grml releases MORE RECENT than 2010.04.
Using squashfs-lzma-tools 4.0-2 on the build system
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-squashfs-lzma-tools 4.0-2 is available via the grml repositories. It provides
+squashfs-lzma-tools 4.0-2 is available via the Grml repositories. It provides
the mksquashfs-lzma and unsquashfs-lzma binaries. The package does NOT conflict
with Debian's squashfs-tools package (you can install both of them at the same
time).
The packages can be downloaded from
link:http://deb.grml.org/pool/main/s/squashfs-lzma-tools/[http://deb.grml.org/pool/main/s/squashfs-lzma-tools/]
-It provides support for the new squashfs file format version 4 and therefore
-requires kernel versions newer than 2.6.28-grml[64]. It supports LZMA as well as
-ZLIB compression. Just use the defaults for enabling LZMA or use grml-live's
-'-z' option if you want to use ZLIB instead.
+It provides support for the new squashfs file format version 4 (based on openwrt
+patches, this is *not* the mainline file format that's being used by kernel
+2.6.35-grml and squashfs-lzma-tools4!) and therefore requires kernel versions
+newer than 2.6.28-grml[64]. It supports LZMA as well as ZLIB compression. Just
+use the defaults for enabling LZMA or use grml-live's '-z' option if you want to
+use ZLIB instead.
-* Kernel 2.6.23-grml[64]: does not work
-* Kernel 2.6.26-grml[64]: does not work
-* Kernel 2.6.28-grml[64]: does not work
+* Kernel \<=2.6.28-grml[64]: does not work
* Kernel 2.6.31-grml[64]: works
* Kernel 2.6.33-grml[64]: works
+* Kernel 2.6.35-grml[64]: works for ZLIB compression, fails for LZMA
[NOTE]
-
-Please use squashfs-lzma-tools >=4.0-2 from Grml if you want to remaster any
-grml release being MORE RECENT than 2009.05.
+Please use squashfs-lzma-tools >=4.0-2 from Grml only if you want to remaster
+Grml releases 2009.10 and 2010.04 or live systems with their according kernel
+versions.
Using squashfs-tools 1:4.0-X on the build system
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
squashfs-tools >=1:4.0-1 is available in Debian/unstable and Debian/testing. It
-provides the mksquashfs and unsquashfs binaries. The package does NOT
-conflict with the squashfs-lzma-tools 4.0-2 package (you can install both of
-them at the same time).
+provides the mksquashfs and unsquashfs binaries. The package does NOT conflict
+neither with the squashfs-lzma-tools 4.0-2 package nor with the
+squashfs-lzma-tools4 package (so you can install all of them at the same time).
The packages can be downloaded from
link:ftp://ftp.de.debian.org/debian/pool/main/s/squashfs-tools/[ftp://ftp.de.debian.org/debian/pool/main/s/squashfs-tools/]
It provides support for the new squashfs file format version 4 and therefore
requires kernel versions newer than 2.6.28-grml[64].
-It does NOT support LZMA compression. If you need LZMA support please use
-Grml's squashfs-lzma-tools (see section above) instead.
+It does NOT support LZMA compression (dropped with
+link:http://packages.debian.org/changelogs/pool/main/s/squashfs-tools/current/changelog[version
+1:3.3-4] and not yet re-integrated yet, see
+link:http://bugs.debian.org/594595[#594595]). If you need LZMA support please
+use Grml's squashfs-lzma-tools[4] (see sections above) instead.
-* Kernel 2.6.23-grml[64]: does not work
-* Kernel 2.6.26-grml[64]: does not work
-* Kernel 2.6.28-grml[64]: does not work
-* Kernel 2.6.31-grml[64]: works
-* Kernel 2.6.33-grml[64]: works
+* Kernels \<=2.6.28-grml[64]: does not work
+* Kernel 2.6.31-grml[64]: works (ZLIB only)
+* Kernel 2.6.33-grml[64]: works (ZLIB only)
+* Kernel 2.6.35-grml[64]: works (ZLIB only)
+* Kernel 2.6.36-grml[64]: works (ZLIB only)
[NOTE]
-Please use squashfs-tools >=1:4.0-1 only if you want to remaster grml releases
-MORE RECENT than 2009.05 using the ZLIB compression.
+Please use squashfs-tools between 4.0-1 and 4.1-1 only if you want to remaster
+Grml releases starting with 2009.10 using the ZLIB compression, please use other
+squashfs packages otherwise instead.
+
+Outdated, JFTR:
Using squashfs-lzma-tools 3.3-1 on the build system
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-squashfs-lzma-tools 3.3-1 from the grml repository supports kernel
+squashfs-lzma-tools 3.3-1 from the Grml repository supports kernel
2.6.26-grml[64] and 2.6.28-grml[64] using both LZMA and ZLIB (-nolzma)
-compression. It's the recommended package for building ISOs with grml-live
-currently!
+compression.
The packages can be downloaded from
link:http://deb.grml.org/pool/main/s/squashfs-lzma/[http://deb.grml.org/pool/main/s/squashfs-lzma/].
[NOTE]
-Please use squashfs-lzma-tools 3.3-1 if you want to remaster grml release
+Please use squashfs-lzma-tools 3.3-1 only if you want to remaster Grml releases
2008.11 or 2009.05.
Using squashfs-tools 1:3.3-7 on the build system
to Debian package squashfs-lzma-tools 3.3-1 (see section above).
* Kernel 2.6.28-grml: does NOT work, please use ZLIB mode instead or switch
to Debian package squashfs-lzma-tools 3.3-1 (see section above).
+//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
[[faq]]
FAQ
How do I deploy grml-live on a plain Debian installation?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-The easiest way to get a running grml-live setup is to install grml or
+The easiest way to get a running grml-live setup is to install Grml or
grml-medium using grml2hd (for example inside KVM, Virtualbox, VMware,... if you
don't want to run it on a physical system). Of course using grml-live on a
plain, original Debian installation is supported as well. So there we go.
What we have: plain, original Debian Lenny (5.0).
-What we want: build a grml-medium ISO based on Debian/squeeze for the i386
+What we want: build a grml-medium ISO based on Debian/squeeze for the amd64
architecture using grml-live.
[IMPORTANT]
Package: squashfs-tools
Pin: origin deb.grml.org
Pin-Priority: 996
-
- Package: squashfs-lzma-tools
- Pin: origin deb.grml.org
- Pin-Priority: 996
EOF
# get keyring for apt:
apt-get update
apt-get --allow-unauthenticated install grml-debian-keyring
- # install basefile so we don't have to build basic chroot from scratch:
- mkdir -p /etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles/
- mv base.tgz /etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles/I386.tar.gz
+ # optionally(!) install basefile so we don't have to build basic
+ # chroot from scratch, grab from http://daily.grml.org/
+ # mkdir -p /etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles/
+ # mv base.tgz /etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles/I386.tar.gz
+ # mv base64.tgz /etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles/AMD64.tar.gz
# install relevant tools
# please check out http://grml.org/grml-live/#current_state when encountering problems!
- apt-get -o APT::Install-Recommends=false install grml-live squashfs-lzma-tools
+ apt-get -o APT::Install-Recommends=false install grml-live squashfs-tools
# adjust grml-live configuration for our needs:
cat > /etc/grml/grml-live.local << EOF
- # consider using LZMA only for space reasons (resulting in longer
- # build time but smaller ISO):
- SQUASHFS_OPTIONS="-nolzma"
+ ## want a faster build process and don't need smaller ISOs?
+ ## if so use zlib compression
+ # SQUASHFS_OPTIONS="-comp gzip -b 256k"
+ ## want to use a specific squashfs binary?
+ # SQUASHFS_BINARY='/usr/bin/mksquashfs'
# install local files into the chroot
CHROOT_INSTALL="/etc/grml/fai/chroot_install"
## adjust if necessary (defaults to /grml/grml-live):
## OUTPUT="/srv/grml-live"
FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP="squeeze http://cdn.debian.net/debian/"
ARCH="i386"
- CLASSES="GRMLBASE,GRML_MEDIUM,I386"
+ CLASSES="GRMLBASE,GRML_FULL,AMD64"
# PRESERVE_LOGFILE='1'
# ZERO_FAI_LOGFILE='1'
GRML_LIVE_SOURCES="
# just optional(!) - upgrade FAI to latest available version:
cat >> /etc/apt/sources.list << EOF
# fai:
- deb http://www.informatik.uni-koeln.de/fai/download lenny koeln
+ deb http://fai-project.org/download lenny koeln
EOF
# get gpg key of FAI repos and install current FAI version:
and the ISO can be found inside /grml-live/grml-live/grml_isos/ then.
-[[fai-on-etch]]
-Help, I'm using Debian etch and I don't have FAI version >3.2
-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-
- wget http://www.informatik.uni-koeln.de/fai/download/etch/fai-client_3.2.8_all.deb \
- http://www.informatik.uni-koeln.de/fai/download/etch/fai-server_3.2.8_all.deb \
- http://www.informatik.uni-koeln.de/fai/download/etch/fai-doc_3.2.8_all.deb
- dpkg -i fai-client_3.2.8_all.deb fai-server_3.2.8_all.deb fai-doc_3.2.8_all.deb
+[[grml_fai_config_variable]]
+What is $GRML_FAI_CONFIG?
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-or check out the link:http://www.informatik.uni-koeln.de/fai/[FAI-homepage] for
-further details.
+The variable '$GRML_FAI_CONFIG' is pointing to the directory /etc/grml/fai by
+default. To provide you a maximum of flexibility you can set up your own
+configuration directory (e.g. based on /etc/grml/fai) and use this directory
+running grml-live with the '-D <config_dir>' option. Now '$GRML_FAI_CONFIG'
+points to the specified directory instead of using /etc/grml/fai and all the
+configuration files, scripts and hooks will be taken from your
+'$GRML_FAI_CONFIG' directory.
[[how-to-debug]]
I've problems with the build process. How to start debugging?
* 1 minute and 40 seconds with ZLIB
[[install-local-files]]
-How to I install further files into the chroot/ISO?
+How do I install further files into the chroot/ISO?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Just point the configuration variable CHROOT_INSTALL to the directory which
Can I use my own (local) Debian mirror?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-Sure. Just adjust the variables GRML_LIVE_SOURCES and FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP (if not
-already using NFSROOT's base.tgz) inside /etc/grml/grml-live.conf according to
-your needs. Please don't forget that you should use the grml servers as well
-(see default configuration) so all the grml packages can be downloaded as well.
+Yes. Set up an according sources.list configuration as class file in
+${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/files/etc/apt/sources.list.d/ and adjust the variable
+FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP (if not already using NFSROOT's base.tgz) inside
+/etc/grml/grml-live.conf[.local]. If you're setting up your own class file don't
+forget to include the class name in the class list (grml-live -c ...).
-If you want to use a local (for example NFS mount) mirror additionally, just
-adjust MIRROR_DIRECTORY and MIRROR_SOURCES inside /etc/grml/grml-live.conf as
-well.
+If you want to use a local (for example NFS mount) mirror additionally then
+adjust MIRROR_DIRECTORY in /etc/grml/grml-live.conf[.local] as well.
-Unless you specify GRML_LIVE_SOURCES and/or FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP the default from
-/etc/grml/fai/apt/sources.list and /etc/grml/fai/make-fai-nfsroot.conf will be
-taken. If you customise the variables in /etc/grml/grml-live.conf then the two
-files will be adjusted during runtime automatically.
+If you want to use a HTTP Proxy (like apt-cacher-ng), set APT_PROXY. Example:
-If MIRROR_DIRECTORY and MIRROR_SOURCES are specified the local mirror will be
-taken as first entry in the generated sources.list so it's preferred over
-non-local mirrors. Using a fallback mirror (via providing several mirrors in
-GRML_LIVE_SOURCES as used by default) is a recommended setting.
+ APT_PROXY="http://localhost:3142/"
[[add-additional-debian-packages]]
How do I add additional Debian package(s) to my CD/ISO?
and specify it when invoking grml-live then:
- # grml-live -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386,MIKA
+ # grml-live -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,AMD64,MIKA
[[reset-grml-live-configuration]]
I fscked up my grml-live configuration. How do I reset it to the defaults?
First of all build the chroot system:
mkdir /tmp/nfsroot && cd /tmp/nfsroot
- debootstrap lenny /tmp/nfsroot/ http://cdn.debian.net/debian
+ debootstrap squeeze /tmp/nfsroot/ http://cdn.debian.net/debian
tar zcf base.tgz ./
Then check out where your NFSROOT is located:
/grml-live/grml-live_20071029.22138/grml_chroot//
[...]
+[TIP]
+Existing base.tgz can be found at http://daily.grml.org/
+
[[apt-cacher]]
-Set up apt-cacher / apt-cacher-ng for use with grml-live
+Set up apt-cacher-ng for use with grml-live
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-Make sure /etc/grml/grml-live.conf provides according GRML_LIVE_SOURCES and
+Make sure /etc/grml/grml-live.local provides according APT_PROXY and
FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP:
- # cat /etc/grml/grml-live.conf
+ # cat /etc/grml/grml-live.local
[...]
- GRML_LIVE_SOURCES="
- deb http://localhost:3142/deb.grml.org grml-stable main
- deb http://localhost:3142/deb.grml.org grml-testing main
- deb http://localhost:3142/cdn.debian.net/debian lenny main contrib non-free
- "
+ APT_PROXY="http://localhost:3142/"
[...]
- FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP="lenny http://localhost:3142/cdn.debian.net/debian lenny main contrib non-free"
+ FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP="squeeze http://localhost:3142/cdn.debian.net/debian squeeze main contrib non-free"
-Make sure apt-cacher / apt-cacher-ng is running ('/etc/init.d/apt-cacher
-restart' or '/etc/init.d/apt-cacher-ng restart'). That's it. All downloaded
-files will be cached in /var/cache/apt-cacher/ or /var/cache/apt-cacher-ng then.
+Make sure apt-cacher-ng is running ('/etc/init.d/apt-cacher-ng restart').
+That's it. All downloaded files will be cached in /var/cache/apt-cacher-ng then.
[[approx]]
Set up approx for use with grml-live
GRML_LIVE_SOURCES="
deb http://localhost:9999/grml grml-stable main
deb http://localhost:9999/grml grml-testing main
- deb http://localhost:9999/debian lenny main contrib non-free
+ deb http://localhost:9999/debian squeeze main contrib non-free
"
- FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP="lenny http://localhost:9999/debian"
+ FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP="squeeze http://localhost:9999/debian"
Configure approx:
Don't forget to restart approx (/etc/init.d/approx restart). That's it.
All downloaded files will be cached in /var/cache/approx now.
+[[revert_manifold]]
+How do I revert the manifold feature from an ISO?
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+The so called manifold feature Grml ISOs use by default allows one to use the same
+ISO for CD boot and USB boot. If you notice any problems when booting just
+revert the manifold feature running:
+
+ % dd if=/dev/zero of=grml.iso bs=512 count=1 conv=notrunc
+
+To switch from manifold to isohybrid mode (an alternative approach provided by
+syslinux) then just execute:
+
+ % isohybrid grml.iso
+
+[[basetgz]]
+How do I create a base tar.gz (I386.tar.gz or AMD64.tar.gz)
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+Execute the following commands (requires root):
+
+ ARCH='amd64' # replace with i386 if necessary
+ SUITE='squeeze' # using the current stable release should always work
+ debootstrap --arch "$ARCH" --exclude=info,tasksel,tasksel-data "$SUITE" "$ARCH" http://debian.netcologne.de/debian
+ cd "$ARCH"
+ rm var/cache/apt/archives/*.deb
+ tar zcf ../"${ARCH}".tar.gz *
+
+And finally place the generated tarball in /etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles/ (note
+that it needs to be uppercase letters matching the class names, so: AMD64.tar.gz
+for amd64 and I386.tar.gz for i386).
+
+[[autobuild]]
+How do I set up an autobuild environment?
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+If you want to set up a system like link:http://daily.grml.org/[daily.grml.org]
+the Debian package grml-live-buildd provides all you need to start. Start with
+figuring out the cron job script /usr/share/grml-live/buildd/cronjob.sh.
+
+If you want to automatically update the grml-live Debian package on your build
+system based on the git tree of grml-live (so you get bleeding edge of
+development which might is interesting for services like daily.grml.org) the
+provided release_helper.sh script provides everything you need. Execute as root:
+
+ echo "deb file:/home/grml-live-git/grml-live.build-area/ ./" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/grml-live.list
+ adduser --disabled-login --disabled-password grml-live-git
+
+Execute 'visudo' to update sudo configuration and add the following line:
+
+ grml-live-git ALL=NOPASSWD: /usr/bin/apt-get
+
+Switch to user grml-live-git and configure the rest:
+
+ su - grml-live-git
+ mkdir grml-live.build-area
+ git clone git://git.grml.org/grml-live.git
+ git config --global user.name "Grml-Live Git Autobuild"
+ git config --global user.email "grml-live-git@$(hostname)"
+
+Finally install a cron job (as user grml-live-git) like:
+
+ 30 00 * * * cd /home/grml-live-git/grml-live.git/ && env AUTOBUILD=1 scripts/release_helper.sh >/home/grml-live-git/grml-live-build.log
+
+Tip: To find out the build date of the installed grml-live package just execute:
+
+ % apt-cache policy grml-live | grep 'Installed.*autobuild'
+ Installed: 0.13.1~autobuild1300450381
+
+and run "date -ud @$STRING" where $STRING is the number behind the "autobuild",
+like:
+
+ % date -ud @1300450081
+ Fri Mar 18 12:08:01 UTC 2011
+
[[question]]
I've a question which isn't answered by this document
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Please report feedback, link:http://grml.org/bugs/[bugreports] and wishes
link:http://grml.org/contact/[to the grml-team]!
+[[documentation]]
+Documentation
+-------------
+
+The most recent grml-live documentation is available online at
+http://grml.org/grml-live/ and for offline reading also available
+in different formats:
+
+* http://grml.org/grml-live/grml-live.epub
+* http://grml.org/grml-live/grml-live.pdf
+
[[authors]]
Authors
-------