Re: Reseed Help
On Mon, Aug 27, 2012 at 7:51 AM, r...@aarden.us wrote: I am trying to implement the preseed information contained on: http://users.telenet.be/mydotcom/howto/linux/autoinventory.htm In the section debian installer preseed file' there is a command sequence: TARGET=/root/inventory debconf-get-selections --installer $TARGET/$TARGET/list_packages_installer debconf-get-selections $TARGET/list_packages 1) From the description, it sounds like list_packages_installer can be used as a preseed file. How do I tell the installer what the preseed file name is or is it the above as a default? The page states: list_packages_installer will contain the options relevant to the debian-installer : the base system configuration. list_packages will be more elaborate and contains also the choices you've made during package installation. This can be used to re-install packages with the same options as on your model. It is not recommended to use these files directly as preseed files, but you can use the data in it to populate a preseed file with sensible questions and answers. 2) Does this mean that neither list_packages_installer and list_packages should not be used as preseed files? If not, the directions say to use the info to populate a preseed file with sensible questions and answers. I was hoping the above would provide an installer preseed file, but it seems there is another file necessary? I have not found what needs to go in a preseed file so I don't know how to use the data in the two files above to make a preseed. Is there a way to automatically build a preseed file? I am looking for a method to reproduce specific builds and define a basis for modifications. I would like to use the computer to automate these tasks so I don't [continually] make mistakes that I must recover from, or at least simplify the recovery process. How to I build a preseed file from an existing system? This is a new, minimal system, just enough to form a basis to build a workstation step by recoverable step. It's best to start from [1] and add the extra installation and configuration steps that you want based on debconf-get-selections and debconf-get-selections --installer. debconf-get-selections and debconf-get-selections --installer have unset configurations and have multiple-set configurations. If you run debconf-get-selections | grep tzdata, there are various timezones with blank settings. I don't have Debian box at hand to look this up exactly, but, AFAIR, the timezone section of debconf-get-selections --installer has a zone set when countries with multiple timezones. 1. http://www.debian.org/releases/squeeze/example-preseed.txt -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of unsubscribe. Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org Archive: http://lists.debian.org/CAOdo=SzqC=XOpLUxe8L1Lo5YX=-jbm6o8b6zxkxteonofyf...@mail.gmail.com
Reseed Help
I am trying to implement the preseed information contained on: http://users.telenet.be/mydotcom/howto/linux/autoinventory.htm In the section debian installer preseed file' there is a command sequence: TARGET=/root/inventory debconf-get-selections --installer $TARGET/$TARGET/list_packages_installer debconf-get-selections $TARGET/list_packages 1) From the description, it sounds like list_packages_installer can be used as a preseed file. How do I tell the installer what the preseed file name is or is it the above as a default? The page states: list_packages_installer will contain the options relevant to the debian-installer : the base system configuration. list_packages will be more elaborate and contains also the choices you've made during package installation. This can be used to re-install packages with the same options as on your model. It is not recommended to use these files directly as preseed files, but you can use the data in it to populate a preseed file with sensible questions and answers. 2) Does this mean that neither list_packages_installer and list_packages should not be used as preseed files? If not, the directions say to use the info to populate a preseed file with sensible questions and answers. I was hoping the above would provide an installer preseed file, but it seems there is another file necessary? I have not found what needs to go in a preseed file so I don't know how to use the data in the two files above to make a preseed. Is there a way to automatically build a preseed file? I am looking for a method to reproduce specific builds and define a basis for modifications. I would like to use the computer to automate these tasks so I don't [continually] make mistakes that I must recover from, or at least simplify the recovery process. I am looking for automation but it looks like I need understanding first. I have been reading about preseeding for three weeks and thought I had an idea. Now it looks like I am still missing something. How to I build a preseed file from an existing system? This is a new, minimal system, just enough to form a basis to build a workstation step by recoverable step. Thanks, ray -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of unsubscribe. Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org Archive: http://lists.debian.org/20120827045100.1753ead7c2b35a7d15c5b99498690bcc.0e18989029@email11.secureserver.net
Re: Reseed Help
r...@aarden.us wrote: I am trying to implement the preseed information contained on: http://users.telenet.be/mydotcom/howto/linux/autoinventory.htm In the section debian installer preseed file' there is a command sequence: TARGET=/root/inventory debconf-get-selections --installer $TARGET/$TARGET/list_packages_installer debconf-get-selections $TARGET/list_packages That section is derived from the official documentation here: http://www.debian.org/releases/stable/i386/apbs03.html.en 1) From the description, it sounds like list_packages_installer can be used as a preseed file. How do I tell the installer what the preseed file name is or is it the above as a default? That is documented here: http://www.debian.org/releases/stable/i386/apbs01.html.en And here: http://www.debian.org/releases/stable/i386/apbs02.html.en There are several different options and possibilities. I won't repeat them here. I think if you read through that documentation it will answer many of your questions. If not then keep asking questions. The page states: list_packages_installer will contain the options relevant to the debian-installer : the base system configuration. list_packages will be more elaborate and contains also the choices you've made during package installation. This can be used to re-install packages with the same options as on your model. It is not recommended to use these files directly as preseed files, but you can use the data in it to populate a preseed file with sensible questions and answers. Yes. 2) Does this mean that neither list_packages_installer and list_packages should not be used as preseed files? If not, the directions say to use the info to populate a preseed file with sensible questions and answers. The biggest problem I see is that those files generated from debconf-get-selections are machine generated output. They are all jammed together with no comments and no logical ordering. Therefore they are hard to maintain. Therefore it is usually best to use them as information to populate your own human generated files. The files you generate would ideally have comments and paragraphs organizing them such as to make them maintainable. I was hoping the above would provide an installer preseed file, but it seems there is another file necessary? I have not found what needs to go in a preseed file so I don't know how to use the data in the two files above to make a preseed. Is there a way to automatically build a preseed file? You can use that output to automatically build a preseed file. But it is hard to read and hard to modify later. I started out that way but then during the process of making changes I continually refined the preseed file to produce exactly what I wanted. There are a number of example preseed files posted around the net. The problem is that preseed files by their very nature are site specific information. For example I set up hostnames, domain names, disk partitions, locales, users, passwords, apt repositories, mirror settings, installed packages, and generally make lots of installation decisions. Each and every one of those is a site specific choice. Looking through my files if I were to remove or make those answers neutral and generic there wouldn't be anything left to show! I am looking for a method to reproduce specific builds and define a basis for modifications. I would like to use the computer to automate these tasks so I don't [continually] make mistakes that I must recover from, or at least simplify the recovery process. I am looking for automation but it looks like I need understanding first. I have been reading about preseeding for three weeks and thought I had an idea. Now it looks like I am still missing something. It can be a confusing thing trying to figure this out. All you see are an endless number of variables that can be set this way or that way. If you had a flowchart these decision points would all make sense. But initially you don't know the flow and so they are all just a jumble of variables. But don't despair. It really isn't that bad. Take each piece by itself and slowly work through things and it suddenly all makes sense. How to I build a preseed file from an existing system? This is a new, minimal system, just enough to form a basis to build a workstation step by recoverable step. The way I did it for myself was to work through an installation once and then use the output of debconf-get-selections to set up *just a few* of the variables in a preseed file. Then I installed again and observed that those questions were answered automatically and were not asked that time. But other questions were asked. I added those variables to the preseed file and then repeated a test installation. I again observed that those were not asked and moved through to the next set of questions. The trick for me was to do a little bit at a time. Instead of trying to create the entire preseed
Re: Re: Reseed Help
Bob, That was great. It is just the way I learn best. ray -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org Archive: http://lists.debian.org/20120827182402.1753ead7c2b35a7d15c5b99498690bcc.d7d5740330@email11.secureserver.net
