Brian wrote: > Bob Proulx wrote: > The preseed file needn't be on the network, Being present in an ISO and > with url= pointing to it is sufficient. Or it could be on a USB stick.
Ah, yes, I had forgotten about the file url syntax. But present in the iso then doesn't *need* the url= to point to it as long as it is named "preseed.cfg" it will be automatically used. All of the preseeds will be merged together in the end. > > > My provisional understanding is that d-i gets uppity if url= is not > > > given alongside auto=true. > > > > I think it is fine without. Now that I understand auto better I think > > it is fine to have it without a url preseed. But a url preseed is so > > convenient that I pretty much always want it. > > Ever tried the installer's auto install option? Or seen the result of > booting with only auto=true added to the coomand line. Short answer, no. Longer answer, just now tried it. It asked for the language. It ask for the locale. It dhcp'd an address. It then pulled my network preseed file as specified by my dhcp server with the "filename" parameter. It never asked for the keyboard. I reconfigured my dhcp server not to send the preseed filename option then tried it again. It asked for the language. It asked for the locale. It dhcp'd an address. Then it stopped and asked me the "Download debconf preconfiguration file" question. There is a full page of information that I won't recreate here. It allows entry of the preseed file on the fly. But it accepts an empty field, select "continue" and keep going without it. In which case it proceeds as if I had not done an automated installation. I may be confused but I don't believe it asked me the keyboard question. > > > I think "auto" is a typo. It should be "auto=true". > > > > It is documented that "auto" is an alias for "auto-install/enable=true > > priority=critical". I don't think it is a typo. > > At > > http://www.debian.org/releases/stable/i386/apbs02.html.en#preseed-auto Yes, and agreed to that. It also says: http://www.debian.org/releases/stable/i386/apbs02.html.en#preseed-aliases B.2.4. Aliases useful with preseeding The following aliases can be useful when using (auto mode) preseeding. Note that these are simply short aliases for question names, and you always need to specify a value as well: for example, auto=true or interface=eth0. auto auto-install/enable I think we are in agreement that the documentation needs some attention. It is inconsistent and conflicting. But so vague that it is hard to tell. > Priority critical has no effect on how auto=true performs. It should be the control for debconf so that it only asks debconf questions that are priority critical or higher. Those are documented to some extent here: (and in the debconf manual) http://www.debian.org/releases/stable/i386/ch05s03.html.en#installer-args > > > When auto url= is used only preseed/url appears in d-i's > > > /var/lib/preseed/log. > > > > What file? I don't have that file. Typo? > > Boot any ISO with keymap=, or locale=. or anything else. Then ALT F2 > and cat /var/lib/preseed/log. Oh! Cool! I did not know about that. > > I think "auto" is a typo. It should be "auto=true". When auto url= > > is used only preseed/url appears in d-i's /var/lib/preseed/log. If > > you move either of your kernel command lines to the preseed file, > > leaving everything else unchanged, the two questions are asked. I booted a test with "console-keymaps-at/keymap=us locale=en_US interface=auto" on the command line and no keyboard or local or language questions were asked. I went to vt2 and looked at the /var/lib/preseed/log you indicated and I see several d-i preseed lines including the above preseed answers listed there. Looks okay. But that did not have a url= parameter. Then I booted a second test with the url=parameter pointing to my preseed file in addition to the above. I let it proceed past the dhcp step. I switched to vt2. I looked at the /var/lib/preseed/log file. I see all of the expected preseeds there. (Without being able to cut and past from the VM console.) After the url preseed listing is a listing for the keyboard preseed. Looks normal. No questions were asked because my preseed is fully automated. Then I booted a third test with url= but without the keyboard and local on the command line. I did ensure that they were in the network preseed file for the url= parameter. Same thing. The preseed log recorded auto-install/enable true, preseed/url=my preseed file, debian-installer/locale, console-keymaps-at/keymap=us, all recorded in that file normally as expected. It did not ask me any questions and proceeded with the installation. Then I booted another test with auto but without url= and it did ask me the language and locale question. Then another few tests with and without priority=critical. Without priority=critical I was asked the language and locale questions. With it I was not. After several more tests I have concluded that "auto" is not the same as "auto=true". auto is-not-equal auto=true If I have "auto" then it asks the question before the network is up and before the network preseed. If I have "auto=true" then it dhcp's an address, pulls the network preseed and because I have the preseeds for locale and keyboard listed there the installer never asks me the question. Meaning that _either_ auto=true is needed _or_ "console-keymaps-at/keymap=us locale=en_US" (or "keymap=us locale=en_US" for Wheezy) is needed on the command line. I had them on the command line and so it was working okay for me. I believe this confirms what you have been saying that there is something special about the combinations. Plus the documentation at: http://www.debian.org/releases/stable/i386/apbs02.html.en#preseed-auto where it is talking about "auto url=..." is definitely incorrect. The new documentation at: http://www.debian.org/releases/testing/i386/apbs02.html.en#preseed-auto is slightly updated but still significantly incorrect. I understand things much better now. I will try to make some time to write up a patch for it. Thank you for the discussion! It motivated me to push through to more details of it than I would have otherwise. I had previously stopped at the command line settings since at that point I had scratched my itch. Bob
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