Hi, I developed Debian-preseed scripts to install Debian 6 on VirtualBox. link: https://forums.virtualbox.org/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=46798
Good news: Debian preseed is found to be powerful & capable of handling this task. Thanks to my work, today you can install Debian6-on-Debian6 (inside VirtualBox) in 10 minutes, 42 seconds (including KDE). Automatically !..and drink coffee. Bad news: It is much more complex than necessary. I had to jump though hoops to make Debian work. There are many under-water stones that exist for such complex scenarios: =========================================== 1. GTK-based frontend doesn't work with preseed. =========================================== My isolinux.cfg: default debian prompt 0 timeout 1 label debian kernel /install.$arch/vmlinuz append initrd=/install.$arch/initrd.gz debian-installer/locale=en_US console-setup/layoutcode=us netcfg/choose_interface=auto priority=critical preseed/file=/floppy/preseed.cfg -- #append video=vesa:ywrap,mtrr vga=788 initrd=/install.$arch/gtk/initrd.gz debian-installer/locale=en_US console-setup/layoutcode=us netcfg/choose_interface=auto priority=critical preseed/file=/floppy/preseed.cfg -- When I activated the GTK-based debian installer "gtk/initrd.gz", the GUI booted up, but it started to ask unnecessary questions about keyboard layout, and more... (it should not, as I provided them in the command line) Expected Result: GTK-based d-i should not ask any more questions than ncurses-based d-i does. =========================================== 2. Debian does not loads "preseed.cfg" automatically. =========================================== Positive Example: Windows XP -- once you boot the OS from CD, it check floppy disk for "winnt.sif", and if present, it installs automatically according to this unattended script; else manual installer starts. Real-world result: I had to create re-master custom Debian DVD on-the-fly (using scripting). It includes only 4 files: linux isolinux.bin isolinux.cfg initrd This problem is shared with Red Hat and SUSE distros. Expected Result: Bootloader (ISOLINUX?) should check for presence of "preseed.cfg" in floppy/USB disk/CDROM, and if present, start kernel + this script automatically. I'm not sure if it is possible to fix. in Windows case, the bootloader (Win NT LDR) loads NT kernel, which does this check on boot. Any ideas ? =========================================== 3. Debian fails to load "preseed.cfg" from 2nd CDROM =========================================== In my isolinux.cfg, I tried: preseed/file=/cdrom/preseed.cfg preseed/file=/cdrom0/preseed.cfg preseed/file=/cdrom1/preseed.cfg ... no go. It can't read. Works this way: (from floppy) preseed/file=/floppy/preseed.cfg Real-world result: I had to create virtual floppy image with "preseed.cfg". Red Hat and SUSE do not suffer from this issue. Expected Result: preseed/file=/cdromX/preseed.cfg Users should be able to load preseed.cfg from 1st or 2nd CD-ROM. =========================================== 4. Debian preseed/late_command is a nightmare =========================================== late_command doesn't support new lines, which makes writing built-in embedded scripts difficult. preseed.cfg -- look for late_command scripting: http://pastebin.com/aDMgyag1 Look equivalent script in Red Hat kickstart: http://pastebin.com/jEvJkfCL Red Hat kickstart way: cat > /tmp/mywork.sh <<EOF echo "Hello World !" echo "Hello World Again !" echo "Hello World Yet Again !" EOF Debian preseed way: d-i preseed/late_command string \ echo 'echo "Hello World !"' > /tmp/mywork.sh echo 'echo "Hello World Again !"' >> /tmp/mywork.sh echo 'echo "Hello World Yet Again !"' >> /tmp/mywork.sh Debian's preseed/late_command is basically unreadable. Real-world result: Debian scripts take longer to write, and are difficult to maintain / read / update. Expected Result: Please provide a better embedded scripting options inside d-i. -- -Alexey Eromenko "Technologov" -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-boot-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org Archive: http://lists.debian.org/CAOJ6w=fzec_eoo1oyvyke9l0y19bmrohf8gc4bis2nnb6gm...@mail.gmail.com
