Thanks kp. Responses to your comments added below. davidMbrooke
On Sat, 2010-09-25 at 23:22 +0200, KP Kirchdoerfer wrote: > Hi David; > > good work. > I'll give it a test tomorrow. > Some comments below. > > Am Samstag, 25. September 2010, 22:12:41 schrieb davidMbrooke: > > Hi, > > > > My work on a new image build script for Bering-uClibc 4.x is not > > complete but it is ready to be shared. I have just checked an initial > > version of "buildimage.pl" into CVS. It is heavily based on > > "buildpacket.pl" and hopefully you will spot the similarities. > > The basic idea is as follows: > > - There are multiple "disk image" targets. > > - Each of these has its own configuration file (buildimage.cfg) which > > I have chosen to locate in directories called buildtool/image/* > > - So far I have created two examples: > > buildtool/image/Bering-uClibc-isolinux-std/buildimage.cfg > > buildtool/image/Bering-uClibc-syslinux-std/buildimage.cfg > > - The first example is intended to replicate the current > > tools/geniso.sh script and creates an equivalent .iso file > > - The .iso file is now created in the relevant sub-directory of > > buildtool/image > > - I have intentionally omitted the .ser (Serial Console) > > configuration since I expect to have alternative image configurations > > for these (Bering-uClibc-isolinux-ser perhaps) > > An easier (and more general) solution will be a seperate configdb.lrp, as > Martin has done in his draft for a 2.6 kernel release. Yes, but there needs to be a modified isolinux.cfg (from isolinux.ser) and configdb.ser needs to be loaded as configdb.lrp. These files could be renamed automatically using a separate "serial" buildimage.cfg so that the user does not need to edit the contents of the image manually. > > > - The second example has the same contents but generates a .tar.gz > > file intended to be copied to a SYSLINUX-prepared flash drive > > - I don't think it is practical to create a ".img" or similar for > > a flash drive, but please correct me if that is wrong > > - As with the previous scripts, some template files are taken from > > tools/image/* but I have created new sub-directories (common, isolinux, > > syslinux) > > - The buildtool.cfg file controls the substitution of variables in > > these template files > > > > Please give it a try and see what you think. An example command line is: > > > > ./buildimage.pl --image=Bering-uClibc-isolinux-std --relver=4.0alpha > > > > Note that I had to add some more lines to conf/buildtool.conf > > > > Comments, questions, bug reports, enhancement requests are all welcome. > > > > There is some documentation at > > https://sourceforge.net/apps/mediawiki/leaf/index.php?title=Bering-uClibc_4 > > .x_-_Developer_Guide_-_Building_an_Image though I need to update that with > > examples of the configuration file syntax. > > I've read the wiki (and having your thoughts above in mind) I'm confused > about > PXE and CF disks. > > It is my understanding that everyone thinks PXE is only for booting a > complete > and runnable router from a tftp-server. > > Preparing a bootable CF disk is done via "copying" files to the CF. > > A smart way to make use of PXE to load a CF disk has been documented a few > years ago: > http://leaf.sourceforge.net/doc/buci-ide3.html#id3226960 > > It may have overseen, but that's what I'm aiming for with a pxe-capable image > (it's different from an ISO image and from a "tar.gz" to copy to a CF). I understand - using PXE to "bootstrap" an install on a machine with a CF, rather than physically removing the CF card and copying files with a USB-to-CF adaptor. That page talks about a "modified linuxrc" at step 4. I guess if we make the standard linuxrc more generic with respect to PKGPATH we could specify e.g. tftp://server/path as PKGPATH in leaf.cfg for PXE boot. We also need the tftp client as part of initrd, wouldn't we? > > In other words: > > There shall be another buildimage.cfg for PXE/CF in the future. Sure.This would generate a .tar.gz for installing on the PXE server. That is what I originally had in mind, although for "full" PXE booting rather than for installing on a CF card. If we add the tftp client and change linuxrc we can do both. I will add a "PXELINUX" block at the end of buildimage.pl > The wiki should be somewhat more precise. It is a work in progress :-) > > Speaking about the wiki: > I've always found wiki's like a stone quarry. Pls let us avoid to produce > another one. IMHO we should first have a structure - similar to a good > programming practice, "write the docs first". I agree 100% ! Structure and consistency are important in the documentation. The Wiki technology is useful in many ways but good structure does not come automatically. I have started drafting a structure for the User Guide by adding to the "Table of Contents" page for that document. Let us use that and the "discussion" pages on the Wiki to share plans for the documentation. We should probably also have a Wiki page on the structure of the Wiki. > > > kp > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Start uncovering the many advantages of virtual appliances > and start using them to simplify application deployment and > accelerate your shift to cloud computing. > http://p.sf.net/sfu/novell-sfdev2dev > > _______________________________________________ > leaf-devel mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/leaf-devel ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Start uncovering the many advantages of virtual appliances and start using them to simplify application deployment and accelerate your shift to cloud computing. http://p.sf.net/sfu/novell-sfdev2dev _______________________________________________ leaf-devel mailing list [email protected] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/leaf-devel
