Disclaimer, I have a weak spot for Ansible (any configuration management really).
I find Ansible great for both single and multi-machine configuration. It allows me to know exactly, and maintain that, what each machine looks like without wasting time. I see it as tool for capturing knowledge and freeing me to experiment and learn without a fear of breaking things. My updates to new distro version are usually piece of cake too. That all being said - single purpose appliance kind of thing - that is what containers and/or virtual machines are meant for. Configuration and functional isolation are two different things. Tomas On Dec 26, 2017 12:04 PM, "Carl Karsten" <[email protected]> wrote: > the ansible bit comes in handy when you have 2 machines that share some > config setting, like the port number a client and server will use. or ssh > keys so you can ssh from one to the other. If you are not managing > something like that, hard to say if it is worth the trouble. > > That script makes an installer on rw media. it mounts it, adds the .iso > file and adds some parameters to the installer's kernel append line. I > ran it, and I picked out the few you care about: > > > + wget > http://ftp.debian.org/debian/dists/stretch/main/installer- > amd64/current/images/hd-media/boot.img.gz > + wget > https://cdimage.debian.org/debian-cd/current/amd64/iso- > cd/debian-9.3.0-amd64-netinst.iso > + zcat boot.img.gz | sudo dcfldd of=/dev/sdc > + pmount /dev/sdc sdc > + cp debian-9.3.0-amd64-netinst.iso > cache/stretch/debian-9.3.0-amd64-netinst.iso.SHA256SUM /media/sdc > > sed command that makes "this" (ansible stuff removed) > > APPEND --- debconf/priority=high auto=true netcfg/dhcp_timeout=60 fb=false > url=twist:8007 partman-auto/disk=/dev/sda > grub-installer/bootdev=/dev/sda hostname=testme domain= > hw-detect/load_firmware=false > > url=twist:8007 - twist is my laptop, 8007 is the port im running a simple > http server on to host the preseed files and all the other files needed > later. it is easy to move the preseed file to the usb stick, but putting > all the files there gets tedious so no one has bothered to do it. > > > > > > On Tue, Dec 26, 2017 at 12:45 PM, Richard Owlett <[email protected]> > wrote: > > > On 12/26/2017 10:48 AM, Carl Karsten wrote: > > > >> How is what you want different from booting the DVD? > >> > > > > Essentially that I want my "thingy" to be on an intrinsically read/write > > medium. There are references to "customizing an install CD/DVD" on the > web. > > I have found them to have too narrow a definition of "custom" and/or > being > > incomplete. > > > > > >> or differint from debootstrap: > >> https://packages.debian.org/stretch/debootstrap > >> > > > > I looked at debootstrap back when Squeeze was "stable" and I was brand > new > > to Linux. Maybe I've learned enough to understand the instructions for > > using debootstrap. > > > > > > https://www.debian.org/releases/potato/i386/ch-init-config.en.html > >> "dbootstrap is the name of the program which is run after you have > booted > >> into the installation system. It is responsible for initial system > >> configuration and the installation of the ``base system''. " > >> > >> Here is something close. > >> It contains just what is needed to install a minimal system, (what it > >> sounds like you want) > >> and then it's > >> the late_command does stuff you might want too: > >> apt install git ansible > >> git clone playbook > >> ansible ... which installs and configures the apps needed to make > videos. > >> > >> This script creates a bootable usb stick based on a 58M > >> hd-media/boot.img.gz > >> https://github.com/CarlFK/video-stack-deploy/blob/nbpy/scrip > >> ts/mk_usb_installer.sh > >> Most of the script is managing the ansible parameters. > >> > > > > I'll have to spend some time with ansible to see what its goals and how > > the mesh with my mental image of my goals and the path to accomplish > them. > > > > > >> The installer will search for an iso and use it as a local repo, > >> the script puts this on the same usb stick: > >> 290M Dec 9 07:04 debian-9.3.0-amd64-netinst > >> > > > > Thank you. > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > PLUG mailing list > > [email protected] > > http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug > > > > > > -- > Carl K > _______________________________________________ > PLUG mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug > _______________________________________________ PLUG mailing list [email protected] http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
