grml-live(8)
============

Name
----

grml-live - build framework based on FAI for generating a grml and Debian based
Linux Live system (CD/ISO)

Synopsis
--------

grml-live [-c <classe[s]>] [-i <iso_name> ] [-r <release_name>]
[-s <suite>] [-t <target_directory>] [-v <version_number>] [-Fvh]

*******************************************************************************
Important! This document is growing as requested. If you have questions which
aren't answered by this document yet please let me know: <mika@grml.org>!
*******************************************************************************

Description
-----------

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
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.
It does not use all the FAI features by default though and you don't have to
know FAI to be able to use it.

The use of FAI gives you the flexibility to choose the packages you would like
to include on your very own Linux Live-CD without having to deal with all the
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
completely independent at the same time!

[NOTE]

Please notice that you should have a fast network connection as all the Debian
packages will be downloaded and installed via network. If you want to use a
local mirror (strongly recommended if you plan to use grml-live more than once)
checkout mkdebmirror (see /usr/share/doc/grml-live/examples/mkdebmirror),
debmirror(1), reprepro(1) (see /usr/share/doc/grml-live/examples/reprepro/ for a
sample configuration) and approx(8). To avoid downloading the base system again
and again check out FAI's NFSROOT (see FAQ of this document for details).

Options
-------

  -c **CLASSES**::

Specify the CLASSES to be used for building the ISO via FAI.  By default only
the classes GRMLBASE and I386 are assumed, resulting in a small base system
(being about ~150MB total ISO size) for x86 (32bit).

  -F::

Force execution and do not prompt for acknowledgment of configuration.

  -h::

Display short usage information and exit.

  -i **ISO_NAME**::

Specify name of ISO which will be available inside $TARGET_DIRECTORY/grml_isos
by default.

  -r **RELEASENAME**::

Specify name of the release. (Notice: the output of the release name is limited
to 30 characters.)

  -s **SUITE**::

Specify the Debian suite you want to use for your live-system.  Defaults to
"etch" (being current Debian/stable). Supported values are: etch, lenny, sid,
stable, testing, unstable.

  -t **TARGET_DIRECTORY**::

Main output directory of the build process of FAI.  Some directories are created
inside this target directory, being: grml_cd (where the files for creating the
ISO are located, including the compressed squashfs file), grml_chroot (the
chroot system) and grml_isos (where the resulting ISO is stored).

  -v **VERSION_NUMBER**::

Specify version number of the release. (Notice: the output of the version number
is limited to 5 characters. So "1.0-1" is fine, but "1.0.0.1" will be stripped
to "1.0.0" then.)

  -V::

Increase verbosity in the build process.

Usage examples
--------------

To get a small, Debian-stable and grml-based Live-CD using /grml/grml-live
as build and output directory just run:

  # grml-live

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 -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386 -t /home/mika/grml-live

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 -t /tmp -c GRMLBASE,I386 -s sid -i grml_0.0-3.iso

[NOTE]

If you have about 700MB of free space inside /dev/shm (being a tmpfs, usually
you should have >=1GB of RAM) just run "mount -o remount,suid,dev,rw /dev/shm"
and use /dev/shm as build and output directory - resulting in very fast build
process.  But please be aware of the fact that rebooting your system will result
in an empty /dev/shm, so please another directory for $CHROOT_TARGET,
$BUILD_TARGET and $ISO_TARGET if you plan to create more persistent output. :)

Main features of grml-live
--------------------------

* create a grml-/Debian-based Linux Live-CD with one single command

* class based concept, providing a maximum of flexibility

* supports integration of own hooks, scripts and configuration

* supports use and integration of own Software and/or Kernels via simple use of
Debian repositories

* native support of FAI features

* multi-arch support (work in progress)

The class concept
-----------------

grml-live uses FAI and its class based concept for adjusting configuration and
setup according to your needs. This gives you flexibility and strength without
losing the simplicity in the build process.

The main and base class provided by grml-live is named GRMLBASE. It's strongly
recommended to **always** use the class GRMLBASE when building an ISO using
grml-live, as well as the architecture dependend class which provides the kernel
(being 'I386' for x86_32 currently only). 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

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
extend CLASSES="GRMLBASE,I386" inside /etc/grml/grml-live.conf to
CLASSES="GRMLBASE,I386,FOOBAR" or invoke grml-live using the classes option:
"grml-live -c GRMLBASE,I386,FOOBAR ...".

More details regarding the class concept can be found in the documentation of
FAI itself (being available at /usr/share/doc/fai-doc/).

Files
-----

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
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
provides documentation regarding configuration possibilities.

  /usr/sbin/grml-live

Script for the main build process. Requires root permissions for execution.

  /etc/grml/grml-live.conf

Main configuration file for grml-live. All the important steps can be configured
at this stage.

  /etc/grml/fai/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 it is set to
FAI_CONFIGDIR=/etc/grml/fai/config, 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

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

This file specifies the package list for creating the NFSROOT.

  /etc/grml/fai/apt/sources.list

This file specifies which mirrors should be used for retreiving the Debian
packages used for creating the main chroot (including all the software you would
like to see included). If you want to use a local mirror you either have to
adjust this file or use the GRML_LIVE_SOURCES variable inside
/etc/grml/grml-live.conf which modifies /etc/grml/fai/apt/sources.list
on-the-fly then.

  /etc/grml/fai/config/

The main directory for configuration of FAI/grml-live. More details below.

  /etc/grml/fai/config/class/

This directory contains files which specify main configuration variables for the
FAI classes.

  /etc/grml/fai/config/debconf/

This directory provides the files for preseeding/configuration of debconf
through files.

  /etc/grml/fai/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/

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,I386 ..." only the files from the directories GRMLBASE
and I386 will be taken, if you use 'grml-live -c GRMLBASE,I386,FOOBAR ...' then
the files of GRMLBASE, I386 **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/

Scripts for customising the ISO within the build process.

  /etc/grml/fai/files/

This directory provides files used inside the scripts of
/etc/grml/fai/config/scripts/*. For a full documentation what happens with the
files please refer to the source of the scripts.

  /etc/grml/fai/live-initramfs/

This directory provides the files used for building the initramfs/initrd via
live-initramfs(8).

Requirements for the build system
---------------------------------

* any Debian based system should be sufficient (if not it's a bug, so please
send us a bug report then) [a usual link:http://grml.org/grml2hd/[grml2hd]
harddisk installation ships all you need]

* enough free disk space; at least 800MB are required for a minimal grml-live
run (\~400MB for the chroot [$CHROOT_TARGET], \~150MB for the build target
[$BUILD_TARGET] and \~150MB for the resulting ISO [$ISO_TARGET] plus some
temporary files), if you plan to use GRML_FULL you should have at least 4GB of
total free disk space

* fast network access for retreiving the Debian packages used for creating the
chroot (check out "local mirror" and "NFSROOT" to workaround this problem as far
as possiblbe)

FAQ
---

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_3.2.1_all.deb \
       http://www.informatik.uni-koeln.de/fai/download/etch/fai-server_3.2.1_all.deb
  dpkg -i fai-client_3.2.1_all.deb fai-server_3.2.1_all.deb

or check out the link:http://www.informatik.uni-koeln.de/fai/[FAI-homepage] for
further details.

I've problems with the build process. How to start debugging?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Check out the logs inside /var/log/fai/dirinstall/... If you don't have the time
to debug the problem in further detail or don't know how to proceed just send a
copy of your config, logs and the commandline with a short problem description
to <mika@grml.org>:

  # history | grep grml-live > /etc/grml/grml_live.cmdline
  # tar zcf grml_live_problem.tar.gz /etc/grml/grml-live.conf \
            /var/log/fai/dirinstall /etc/grml/fai

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.

If you want to use a local (for example NFS mount) mirror additionally, just
adjust MIRROR_DIRECTORY and MIRROR_SOURCES insede /etc/grml/grml-live.conf 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 MIRROR_DIRECTORY and MIRROR_SOURCES are specified the local mirror will be
taken as first entry in the generated sources.list so it's prefered over
non-local mirrors. Using a fallback mirror (via providing several mirrors in
GRML_LIVE_SOURCES as used by default) is a recommended setting.

How do I add additional Debian package(s) to my CD/ISO?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just create a new class (using the package_config directory):

  # cat > /etc/grml/fai/config/package_config/MIKA << EOF
  PACKAGES aptitude

  vim
  another_name_of_a_debian_package
  and_another_one
  EOF

and specify it when invoking grml-live then:

  # grml-live -c GRMLBASE,I386,MIKA

I fscked up my grml-live configuration. How do I reset it to the defaults?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Notice: this deletes all your grml-live configuration files. If that's really
what you are searching for just run:

  rm -rf /etc/grml/fai /etc/grml/grml-live.conf
  dpkg -i --force-confnew --force-confmiss /path/to/grml-live_..._all.deb

[NOTE]

If you don't control your /etc using a version control system (VCS) yet it's a
good chance to start using it now. Check out
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/]
for more details how to maintain /etc using the mercurial VCS.

How do I create a base.tgz for use as NFSROOT?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

First of all build the chroot system:

  mkdir /tmp/nfsroot && cd /tmp/nfsroot
  debootstrap etch /tmp/nfsroot/ http://ftp.de.debian.org/debian
  tar zcf base.tgz ./

Then check out where your NFSROOT is located:

  # grep '^NFSROOT' /etc/grml/fai/make-fai-nfsroot.conf
  NFSROOT=/grml/fai/nfsroot

So as /grml/fai/nfsroot is your NFSROOT place the file under
/grml/fai/nfsroot/live/filesystem.dir/var/tmp/:

  mv base.tgz /grml/fai/nfsroot/live/filesystem.dir/var/tmp/base.tgz

Now running "grml-live ..." will use this file as main system instead of
executing debootstrap. Check out the output for the following lines:

  [...]
  Calling task_extrbase
  Unpacking Debian base archive
  Extracting /grml/fai/nfsroot/live/filesystem.dir/var/tmp/base.tgz
  Calling task_mirror
  [...]

I've a question which isn't answered by this document
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Don't hesitate to ask on IRC (channel #grml on irc.freenode.org) or just drop me
a mail: <mika@grml.org>

Known TODOs
-----------

* support something like a directory /etc/grml/fai/packages to install
additional Debian packages without the need for a Debian repository

* provide hooks/options for updating an existing chroot/squashfs-file/ISO
(work in progress, see patches directory inside source)

* document the available classes in more detail (GRMLBASE, LATEX_CLEANUP,
NO_ONLINE, REMOVE_DOCS, GRML_SMALL,...)

* add a check to make sure $TARGET is mounted rw,suid,dev?

* add support for amd64 [gebi?] + ppc [formorer?] (and identify all packages
that are arch specific so we have a clean package list in all classes)

* support different grml-flavours through classes right out-of-the-box (being:
grml and  grml-small (done), each for x86, amd64 and ppc)

* support signed apt repositories (currently it's deactivated via FAI's
FAI_ALLOW_UNSIGNED=1 for some packages in the toolchain)

* support "final builds" (including stuff like generating md5sums, gpg,... -
create a grml_release-directory including all the details about the build
process like dpkg selection, logs,...)

* the grml-live class(es) should send output to stdout and stderr as used inside
FAI as well (so it's not as verbose unless you specify it, make it configurable
though); check for errors inside the logs then as well

* provide possibility for cleanup of all created build directories and
a smart summary of the buildprocess (including "took ... minutes/seconds to
build...")

* check out how FAI_DEBMIRROR of /etc/grml/fai/fai.conf could be merged with our
MIRROR_DIRECTORY and MIRROR_SOURCES feature of /etc/grml/grml-live.conf

* support hooks to allow further customisation of the build process

Long term goals
---------------

* Provide all upcoming grml releases based on grml-live.

* Provide a console interface (using dialog) for easy and common use of
grml-live.

* Provide a graphical interface (for example using pygtk) for easy and common
use of grml-live.

Download / install grml-live as a Debian package
------------------------------------------------

Debian packages are available through the grml-repository at
link:http://deb.grml.org/pool/main/g/grml-live/[deb.grml.org].  If you want to
build a Debian package of the most current version on your own, just execute:

  hg clone http://hg.grml.org/grml-live
  cd grml-live
  debuild -us -uc

Source
------

The source of grml-live is available at
link:http://hg.grml.org/grml-live/[http://hg.grml.org/grml-live/]

Bugs
----

Please report feedback, link:http://grml.org/bugs/[bugreports] and wishes
link:http://grml.org/contact/[to the grml-team]!

Authors
-------
Michael Prokop <mika@grml.org>.

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