1. Name

grml-live - build framework based on FAI for generating a grml and Debian based Linux Live system (CD/ISO)

2. Synopsis

grml-live [-a <architecture>] [-c <classe[s]>] [-C <configfile>] [-g <grml_name>] [-i <iso_name> ] [-o <output_directory>] [-r <release_name>] [-s <suite>] [-t <template_directory>] [-v <version_number>] [-bBFhquVz]

Caution Please check out the Current state of grml-live with squashfs-tools and kernel section for details about current state of involved tools before starting with grml-live or if you encounter any problems.

3. Description

grml-live provides the build system for creating a grml and Debian based Linux Live-CD. The build system is based on FAI (Fully Automatic Installation). grml-live uses the "fai dirinstall" feature to generate a chroot system based on the class concept of FAI (see later sections for further details) and provides the framework to be able to generate a full-featured ISO. It does not use all the FAI features by default though and you don’t have to know FAI to be able to use it.

The use of FAI gives you the flexibility to choose the packages you would like to include on your very own Linux Live-CD without having to deal with all the details of a build process.

Caution grml-live does not use /etc/fai for configuration but instead provides and uses /etc/grml/fai. This ensures that it does not clash with default FAI configuration and packages, so you can use grml-live and FAI completely independent at the same time!
Note Please notice that you should have a fast network connection as all the Debian packages will be downloaded and installed via network. If you want to use a local mirror (strongly recommended if you plan to use grml-live more than once) checkout mkdebmirror (see /usr/share/doc/grml-live/examples/mkdebmirror), debmirror(1), reprepro(1) (see /usr/share/doc/grml-live/examples/reprepro/ for a sample configuration), apt-cacher(1) and approx(8). To avoid downloading the base system again and again check out FAI’s NFSROOT (see FAQ of this document for details).

4. Options

-a ARCHITECTURE

Use the specified architecture instead of the currently running one. This allows building a 32bit system on a 64bit host (though you can’t build a 64bit system on a 32bit system/kernel of course). Please notice that real crosscompiling (like building a ppc system on x86) isn’t possible due to the nature and the need of working in a chroot. Currently supported values: i386 and amd64.

-b

Build the ISO without updating the chroot via FAI. This option is useful for example when working on stable releases: if you have a working base system/chroot and do not want to execute any further updates (via "-u" option) but intend to only build the ISO.

-B

Build the ISO without touching the chroot at all. This option is useful if you modified anything that FAI or grml-live might adjust via grml’s FAI scripts. It’s like the -b option but even more advanced. Use only if you really know that you do not want to update the chroot.

-c CLASSES

Specify the CLASSES to be used for building the ISO via FAI. By default only the classes GRMLBASE, GRML_MEDIUM and I386 are assumed, resulting in a small base system (being about ~180MB total ISO size). If using a non-I386 system (like amd64) you should specify the appropriate architecture as well. Additionally you can specify a class providing a grml-kernel (see the CLASSES section in this document for details about available classes). So instead of GRML_MEDIUM you can also use GRML_SMALL and GRML_FULL.

-C CONFIGURATION_FILE

The specified file is used as configuration file for grml-live. By default /etc/grml/grml-live.conf is used as default configuration. If a file named /etc/grml/grml-live.local exists it is used as well (sourced after reading /etc/grml/grml-live.conf meant as main file for local configuration). As a last option the specified configuration file is sourced so it is possible to override settings of /etc/grml/grml-live.conf as well as of /etc/grml/grml-live.local. Please notice that all configuration files have to be adjusted during execution of grml-live, so please make sure you use /etc/grml/grml-live.conf as a base for your own configuration file (usually /etc/grml/grml-live.local). Please also notice that the configuration file specified via this option is not (yet) supported inside the scripts/hooks/classes at /etc/grml/fai/config. Instead use /etc/grml/grml-live.local for configuration stuff used inside /etc/grml/fai/config.

-d DATE

Use specified date as build date information on the ISO instead of the default. The default is the date when grml-live is being executed (retrieved via executing date +%Y-%m-%d). The information is stored inside the file /GRML/grml-version on the ISO, /etc/grml_version in the squashfs file and in all the bootsplash related files. This option is useful if you want to provide an ISO with release information for a specific date but have to build it in advance. Usage example: -d 2009-10-30

-F

Force execution and do not prompt for acknowledgment of configuration.

-g GRML_NAME

Set the grml flavour name. Common usage examples: grml, grml-small, grml64. Please do NOT use blanks and any special characters like /, ; inside GRML_NAME, otherwise you might notice problems while booting.

-h

Display short usage information and exit.

-i ISO_NAME

Specify name of ISO which will be available inside $OUTPUT_DIRECTORY/grml_isos by default.

-I CHROOT_INSTALL

Specify name of source directory which provides files that should become part of the chroot/ISO. Not enabled by default. Note: the files are installed under / in the chroot so you have to create the rootfs structure on your own.

-n

Skip creation of the ISO file. This option is useful if you want to build/update the chroot and/or recreate the squashfs file without building an ISO file.

-o OUTPUT_DIRECTORY

Main output directory of the build process of FAI. Some directories are created inside this target directory, being: grml_cd (where the files for creating the ISO are located, including the compressed squashfs file), grml_chroot (the chroot system) and grml_isos (where the resulting ISO is stored).

-q

Build the ISO without (re-)creating the squashfs compressed file using mksquashfs. This option is useful if you just want to update parts outside the chroot in the ISO. Consider combining this option with the build-only option -b.

-r RELEASENAME

Specify name of the release.

-s SUITE

Specify the Debian suite you want to use for your live-system. Defaults to "lenny" (being current Debian/stable). Supported values are: etch, lenny, sid. Debian "squeeze" (current Debian/testing) requires base.tgz (/etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles/….tar.gz) or a recent version of debootstrap.

-t TEMPLATE_DIRECTORY

Specify place of the templates used for building the ISO. By default (and if not manually specified) this is /usr/share/grml-live/templates/.

-u

Update existing chroot instead of rebuilding it from scratch. This option is based on the softupdate feature of FAI.

-v VERSION_NUMBER

Specify version number of the release.

-V

Increase verbosity in the build process.

-z

Use ZLIB instead of LZMA compression in mksquashfs part of the build process.

5. Usage examples

To get a small, Debian-stable and grml-based Live-CD using /grml/grml-live as build and output directory just run:

# grml-live

To get a small Debian-unstable and grml-small based Live-CD using /home/mika/grml-live as build and output directory just use:

# grml-live -s sid -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386 -o /home/mika/grml-live

To get a medium sized, Debian-unstable and grml-based Live-CD for i386 architecture using /grml/grml-live as build and output directory just run:

# grml-live -s sid -a i386 -c GRMLBASE,GRML_MEDIUM,I386

To get a small, Debian-unstable and grml-based Live-CD using /tmp as build and output directory and use grml_0.0-3.iso as ISO name (placed inside /tmp/grml_isos) just invoke:

# grml-live -o /tmp -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386 -s sid -i grml_0.0-3.iso
Note If you have about 700MB of free space inside /dev/shm (being a tmpfs, usually you should have >=1GB of RAM) just run "mount -o remount,suid,dev,rw /dev/shm" and use /dev/shm as build and output directory - resulting in very fast build process. But please be aware of the fact that rebooting your system will result in an empty /dev/shm, so please use another directory for $CHROOT_OUTPUT, $BUILD_OUTPUT and $ISO_OUTPUT if you plan to create more persistent output. :)

6. Main features of grml-live

7. The class concept

grml-live uses FAI and its class based concept for adjusting configuration and setup according to your needs. This gives you flexibility and strength without losing the simplicity in the build process.

The main and base class provided by grml-live is named GRMLBASE. It’s strongly recommended to always use the class GRMLBASE when building an ISO using grml-live, as well as the architecture dependent class which provides the kernel (being I386 for x86_32 and AMD64 for x86_64) and a GRML_* class (like GRML_SMALL, GRML_MEDIUM or GRML_FULL). The following files and directories are relevant for class GRMLBASE by default:

/etc/grml/fai/config/scripts/GRMLBASE/
/etc/grml/fai/config/debconf/GRMLBASE
/etc/grml/fai/config/class/GRMLBASE.var
/etc/grml/fai/config/hooks/instsoft.GRMLBASE
/etc/grml/fai/config/package_config/GRMLBASE

Take a look at the next section for information about the concept of those files/directories.

If you want to use your own configuration, extend an existing configuration and/or add additional packages to your ISO just invent a new class (or extend an existing one). For example if you want to use your own class named "FOOBAR" just set CLASSES="GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386" inside /etc/grml/grml-live.local or invoke grml-live using the classes option: "grml-live -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386,FOOBAR …".

More details regarding the class concept can be found in the documentation of FAI itself (being available at /usr/share/doc/fai-doc/).

8. Available classes

The package selection part of the classes can be found in /etc/grml/fai/config/package_config whereas some further classes are defined for example in /etc/grml/fai/config/scripts/ so specific feature sets can be selected. The following classes are predefined:

9. Files

Notice that grml-live ships FAI configuration files that do not use the same namespace as the FAI packages itself. This ensures that grml-live does not clash with your usual FAI configuration, so instead of /etc/fai/fai.conf (package fai-client) grml uses /etc/grml/fai/fai.conf instead. For more details see below. To get an idea how another configuration or example files could look like check out /usr/share/doc/fai-doc/examples/simple/ (provided by Debian package fai-doc). Furthermore /usr/share/doc/fai-doc/fai-guide.html/ch-config.html provides documentation regarding configuration possibilities.

/usr/sbin/grml-live

Script for the main build process. Requires root permissions for execution.

/etc/grml/grml-live.conf

Main configuration file for grml-live which should be considered as a reference configuration file only. Please use /etc/grml/grml-live.local for local configuration instead.

/etc/grml/grml-live.local

All the local configuration should go to this file. This file overrides any defaults of grml-live. Configurations via /etc/grml/grml-live.local are prefered over the ones from /etc/grml/grml-live.conf. If you want to override settings from /etc/grml/grml-live.local as well you have to specify them on the grml-live commandline.

/etc/grml/fai/fai.conf

Main configuration file for FAI which specifies where all the configuration files and scripts for FAI/grml-live can be found. By default the configuration variables are FAI_CONFIG_SRC=file:///etc/grml/fai/config and FAI_CONFIGDIR=/etc/grml/fai/config - both pointing to a directory shipped by grml-live out-of-the-box so you shouldn’t have to configure anything in this file.

/etc/grml/fai/make-fai-nfsroot.conf

This file is used by make-fai-nfsroot(8) only. Usually you don’t have to change anything inside this file. If you want to modify NFSROOT though you can adjust it there.

/etc/grml/fai/NFSROOT

This file specifies the package list for creating the NFSROOT.

/etc/grml/fai/apt/sources.list

This file specifies which mirrors should be considered for retrieving the Debian packages when creating the main chroot (including all the software you would like to see included). Important: this file should not be adjusted manually! Instead use the GRML_LIVE_SOURCES variable inside /etc/grml/grml-live.conf or /etc/grml/grml-live.local which modifies /etc/grml/fai/apt/sources.list on-the-fly via grml-live then. If you want to generally adjust apt configuration check out /etc/grml/fai/files/etc/apt instead.

/etc/grml/fai/config/

The main directory for configuration of FAI/grml-live. More details below.

/etc/grml/fai/config/class/

This directory contains files which specify main configuration variables for the FAI classes.

/etc/grml/fai/config/debconf/

This directory provides the files for preseeding/configuration of debconf through files.

/etc/grml/fai/config/hooks/

This directory provides files for customising the build process through hooks. Hooks are user defined programs or scripts, which are called during the installation process.

/etc/grml/fai/config/package_config/

Directory with lists of software packages to be installed or removed. The different classes describe what should find its way to your ISO. When running "grml-live -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386 …" only the configuration of GRMLBASE, GRML_SMALL and and I386 will be taken. If you use grml-live -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386,FOOBAR … then the files of GRMLBASE, GRML_SMALL, I386 plus the files from FOOBAR will be taken. So just create a new class to adjust the package selection according to your needs. Please notice that the directory GRMLBASE contains a package list defining a minimum but still reasonable package configuration.

/etc/grml/fai/config/scripts/

Scripts for customising the ISO within the build process.

/etc/grml/fai/files/

This directory provides files used inside the scripts of /etc/grml/fai/config/scripts/*. For a full documentation what happens with the files please refer to the source of the scripts.

/etc/grml/fai/live-initramfs/

This directory provides the files used for building the initramfs/initrd via live-initramfs(8).

10. Available log files

grml-live itself logs to /var/log/grml-live.log. Unless you set ZERO_LOGFILE in /etc/grml/grml-live.conf the output is appended to the file. If you set the ZERO_LOGFILE configuration option the logfile will be truncated on each new invocation of grml-live.

The FAI part of grml-live logs to /var/log/fai/$HOSTNAME/ - so the default being /var/log/fai/grml/.

If you are using the grml-live buildd you will find the logs of the grml-live run at /var/log/grml-buildd.stdout and /var/log/grml-buildd.stderr.

11. Requirements for the build system

For further information see next section.

12. Current state of grml-live with squashfs-tools and kernel

To make it easier to track problems this section documents current state of grml-live playing together with squashfs-tools / squashfs-lzma-tools (for building the compressed file) and the kernel version. Documentation of this section is up2date by 7rd of september 2009, please report any bugs you encounter.

12.1. Difference between squashfs-lzma-tools and squashfs-tools

Whereas the ZLIB compression is much faster in the build process, the LZMA compression provides a smaller resulting ISO. If you’re wondering: the official Grml builds use the LZMA compression.

Squashfs-tools was introduced in Debian and once provided support for LZMA compression. Sadly LZMA compression within squashfs-tools became unsupported and therefore squashfs-lzma-tools had to be introduced by the Grml team. Different kernel versions provide different squashfs file formats (version 3.x for kernel versions until 2.6.28-grml[64], since kernel 2.6.31-grml[64] it’s the 4.x format).

If you’re wondering which package supports what, here’s a short overview:

Depending on the kernel version you want to use you need different versions squashfs-tools/squashfs-lzma-tools. Yes, that’s pretty a mess (don’t ask how much this sucks for us developers) - though this is supposed to calm down with the recent integration of squashfs file format 4 in the mainline kernel. Support for LZMA is pending and should dramatically simplify the situation for developers as well as users as soon as it’s available mainline.

12.2. Using squashfs-lzma-tools 4.0-2 on the build system

squashfs-lzma-tools 4.0-2 is available via the grml repositories. It provides the mksquashfs-lzma and unsquashfs-lzma binaries. The package does NOT conflict with Debian’s squashfs-tools package (you can install both of them at the same time).

The packages can be downloaded from http://deb.grml.org/pool/main/s/squashfs-lzma-tools/

It provides support for the new squashfs file format version 4 and therefore requires kernel versions newer than 2.6.28-grml[64]. It supports LZMA as well as ZLIB compression. Just use the defaults for enabling LZMA or use grml-live’s -z option if you want to use ZLIB instead.

Note Please use squashfs-lzma-tools >=4.0-2 from Grml if you want to remaster any grml release being MORE RECENT than 2009.05.

12.3. Using squashfs-tools 1:4.0-1 on the build system

squashfs-tools 1:4.0-1 is available in Debian/unstable and Debian/testing. It provides the mksquashfs and unsquashfs binaries. The package does NOT conflict with the squashfs-lzma-tools 4.0-2 package (you can install both of them at the same time).

The packages can be downloaded from ftp://ftp.de.debian.org/debian/pool/main/s/squashfs/

It provides support for the new squashfs file format version 4 and therefore requires kernel versions newer than 2.6.28-grml[64].

It does NOT support LZMA compression. If you need LZMA support please use Grml’s squashfs-lzma-tools (see section above) instead.

Note Please use squashfs-tools 1:4.0-1 only if you want to remaster grml releases MORE RECENT than 2009.05 using the ZLIB compression.

12.4. Using squashfs-lzma-tools 3.3-1 on the build system

squashfs-lzma-tools 3.3-1 from the grml repository supports kernel 2.6.26-grml[64] and 2.6.28-grml[64] using both LZMA and ZLIB (-nolzma) compression. It’s the recommended package for building ISOs with grml-live currently!

The packages can be downloaded from http://deb.grml.org/pool/main/s/squashfs-lzma/.

Note Please use squashfs-lzma-tools 3.3-1 if you want to remaster grml release 2008.11 or 2009.05.

12.5. Using squashfs-tools 1:3.3-7 on the build system

squashfs-tools 1:3.3-7 is available through http://grml.org/squashfs/squashfs-tools_3.3-7_i386.deb (for x86) or http://grml.org/squashfs/squashfs-tools_3.3-7_amd64.deb (for amd64) [both build on and for Debian/etch but working with testing and unstable as well].

Please notice that squashfs-tools 1:3.3-7 does NOT support LZMA compression at all (so you won’t be able to remaster release 2008.11 and 2009.05 using LZMA for example). The -nolzma option of mksquashfs is not available therefore (even though grml-live will deactivate it for you automatically anyway). Please use squashfs-lzma-tools instead.

12.6. Using squashfs-tools 1:3.2r2-9exp1 on the build system

squashfs-tools 1:3.2r2-9exp1 is available via the grml-testing repository, running:

# aptitude install squashfs-tools=1:3.2r2-9exp1

or directly via downloading the files http://grml.org/squashfs/squashfs-tools_3.2r2-9exp1_i386.deb (for x86) or http://grml.org/squashfs/squashfs-tools_3.2r2-9exp1_amd64.deb (for amd64).

Using with ZLIB compression (SQUASHFS_OPTIONS=-nolzma or -z option in grml-live cmdline):

Using with LZMA compression:

13. FAQ

13.1. How do I deploy grml-live on a plain Debian installation?

The easiest way to get a running grml-live setup is to install grml or grml-medium using grml2hd (for example inside KVM, Virtualbox, VMware,… if you don’t want to run it on a physical system). Of course using grml-live on a plain, original Debian installation is supported as well. So there we go.

What we have: plain, original Debian Lenny (5.0).

What we want: build a grml-medium ISO based on Debian/squeeze for the i386 architecture using grml-live.

Important If you encounter any problems while booting the resulting ISO please be aware of the current state of grml-live with squashfs-tools and kernel section.

13.1.1. Instructions

# adjust sources.list:
cat >> /etc/apt/sources.list << EOF
# grml stable repository:
  deb     http://deb.grml.org/ grml-stable  main
  deb-src http://deb.grml.org/ grml-stable  main
# grml testing/development repository:
  deb     http://deb.grml.org/ grml-testing main
  deb-src http://deb.grml.org/ grml-testing main
EOF
# adjust apt-pinning (only prefer squashfs stuff from grml):
cat >> /etc/apt/preferences << EOF
Package: *
Pin: origin deb.grml.org
Pin-Priority: 1
Package: squashfs-tools
Pin: origin deb.grml.org
Pin-Priority: 996
Package: squashfs-lzma-tools
Pin: origin deb.grml.org
Pin-Priority: 996
EOF
# get keyring for apt:
apt-get update
apt-get --allow-unauthenticated install grml-debian-keyring
# install basefile so we don't have to build basic chroot from scratch:
mkdir -p /etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles/
mv base.tgz /etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles/I386.tar.gz
# install relevant tools
# please check out http://grml.org/grml-live/#current_state when encountering problems!
apt-get -o APT::Install-Recommends=false install grml-live squashfs-lzma-tools
# adjust grml-live configuration for our needs:
cat > /etc/grml/grml-live.local << EOF
# consider using LZMA only for space reasons (resulting in longer
# build time but smaller ISO):
SQUASHFS_OPTIONS="-nolzma"
# install local files into the chroot
CHROOT_INSTALL="/etc/grml/fai/chroot_install"
## adjust if necessary (defaults to /grml/grml-live):
## OUTPUT="/srv/grml-live"
FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP="squeeze http://cdn.debian.net/debian/"
ARCH="i386"
CLASSES="GRMLBASE,GRML_MEDIUM,I386"
ZERO_LOGFILE='1'
# ZERO_FAI_LOGFILE='1'
GRML_LIVE_SOURCES="
deb http://deb.grml.org/            grml-stable  main
deb http://deb.grml.org/            grml-testing main
deb http://cdn.debian.net/debian squeeze main contrib non-free
"
EOF
# just optional(!) - upgrade FAI to latest available version:
cat >> /etc/apt/sources.list << EOF
# fai:
  deb http://www.informatik.uni-koeln.de/fai/download lenny koeln
EOF
# get gpg key of FAI repos and install current FAI version:
gpg -a --recv-keys AB9B66FD; gpg -a --export AB9B66FD | apt-key add -
apt-get update
apt-get install fai-client fai-server fai-doc

That’s it. Now invoking grml-live -V should build the ISO. If everything worked as expected the last line of the shell output should look like:

[*] Successfully finished execution of grml-live [running 687 seconds]

and the ISO can be found inside /grml-live/grml-live/grml_isos/ then.

13.2. Help, I’m using Debian etch and I don’t have FAI version >3.2

wget http://www.informatik.uni-koeln.de/fai/download/etch/fai-client_3.2.8_all.deb \
     http://www.informatik.uni-koeln.de/fai/download/etch/fai-server_3.2.8_all.deb \
     http://www.informatik.uni-koeln.de/fai/download/etch/fai-doc_3.2.8_all.deb
dpkg -i fai-client_3.2.8_all.deb fai-server_3.2.8_all.deb fai-doc_3.2.8_all.deb

or check out the FAI-homepage for further details.

13.3. I’ve problems with the build process. How to start debugging?

Check out the logs inside /var/log/fai/… If you think it’s a bug in grml-live send a copy of your config, logs and the commandline with a short problem description to <mika@grml.org>:

# history | grep grml-live > /etc/grml/grml_live.cmdline
# tar zcf grml_live_problem.tar.gz /etc/grml/grml-live.conf \
          /etc/grml/grml-buildd.conf /var/log/fai /etc/grml/fai
-> finally mail grml_live_problem.tar.gz to <mika@grml.org>

If you need help with grml-live or would like to see new features as part of grml-live you can get commercial support via Grml Solutions.

13.4. How much is the difference between LZMA and ZLIB compression?

ISO size (bs = blocksize):

ISO

LZMA (256kB bs)

ZLIB

grml_sid

666M

771M

grml_squeeze

659M

761M

grml_lenny

624M

723M

grml64_sid

677M

791M

grml64_squeeze

671M

785M

grml64_lenny

639M

745M

grml-medium_sid

208M

236M

grml-medium_squeeze

206M

234M

grml-medium_lenny

193M

220M

grml64-medium_sid

213M

245M

grml64-medium_squeeze

213M

244M

grml64-medium_lenny

201M

231M

grml-small_sid

102M

118M

grml-small_squeeze

101M

117M

grml-small_lenny

97M

112M

grml64-small_sid

103M

120M

grml64-small_squeeze

103M

120M

grml64-small_lenny

99M

116M

Build time of grml-medium’s squashfs file (depends on your system, though just to get the ratio between the different options):

13.5. How to I install further files into the chroot/ISO?

Just point the configuration variable CHROOT_INSTALL to the directory which provides the files you would like to install. Note that the files are installed under / in the chroot - so you have to create the rootfs structure on your own. Usage example:

echo "CHROOT_INSTALL=\$GRML_FAI_CONFIG/chroot_install" >> /etc/grml/grml-live.local
mkdir -p /etc/grml/fai/chroot_install/usr/src/
wget example.org/foo.tar.gz
mv foo.tar.gz /etc/grml/fai/chroot_install/usr/src/
grml-live ...

13.6. Can I use my own (local) Debian mirror?

Sure. Just adjust the variables GRML_LIVE_SOURCES and FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP (if not already using NFSROOT’s base.tgz) inside /etc/grml/grml-live.conf according to your needs. Please don’t forget that you should use the grml servers as well (see default configuration) so all the grml packages can be downloaded as well.

If you want to use a local (for example NFS mount) mirror additionally, just adjust MIRROR_DIRECTORY and MIRROR_SOURCES inside /etc/grml/grml-live.conf as well.

Unless you specify GRML_LIVE_SOURCES and/or FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP the default from /etc/grml/fai/apt/sources.list and /etc/grml/fai/make-fai-nfsroot.conf will be taken. If you customise the variables in /etc/grml/grml-live.conf then the two files will be adjusted during runtime automatically.

If MIRROR_DIRECTORY and MIRROR_SOURCES are specified the local mirror will be taken as first entry in the generated sources.list so it’s prefered over non-local mirrors. Using a fallback mirror (via providing several mirrors in GRML_LIVE_SOURCES as used by default) is a recommended setting.

13.7. How do I add additional Debian package(s) to my CD/ISO?

Just create a new class (using the package_config directory):

# cat > /etc/grml/fai/config/package_config/MIKA << EOF
PACKAGES aptitude
vim
another_name_of_a_debian_package
and_another_one
EOF

and specify it when invoking grml-live then:

# grml-live -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,I386,MIKA

13.8. I fscked up my grml-live configuration. How do I reset it to the defaults?

Notice: this deletes all your grml-live configuration files. If that’s really what you are searching for just run:

rm -rf /etc/grml/fai /etc/grml/grml-live.conf
dpkg -i --force-confnew --force-confmiss /path/to/grml-live_..._all.deb
Note If you don’t control your /etc using a version control system (VCS) yet it’s a good chance to start using it now. Check out http://michael-prokop.at/blog/2007/03/14/maintain-etc-with-mercurial-on-debian/ for more details how to maintain /etc using the mercurial VCS.

13.9. How do I create a base.tgz for use as NFSROOT?

First of all build the chroot system:

mkdir /tmp/nfsroot && cd /tmp/nfsroot
debootstrap lenny /tmp/nfsroot/ http://cdn.debian.net/debian
tar zcf base.tgz ./

Then check out where your NFSROOT is located:

# grep '^NFSROOT' /etc/grml/fai/make-fai-nfsroot.conf
NFSROOT=/grml/fai/nfsroot

So as /grml/fai/nfsroot is your NFSROOT place the file under /grml/fai/nfsroot/live/filesystem.dir/var/tmp/:

mv base.tgz /grml/fai/nfsroot/live/filesystem.dir/var/tmp/base.tgz

or even better use /etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles/$CLASSNAME.tar.gz instead. Use I386 as $CLASSNAME for i386 builds and AMD64 for amd64 builds.

Now running "grml-live …" will use this file as main system instead of executing debootstrap. Check out the output for the following lines if using NFSROOT:

[...]
Calling task_extrbase
Unpacking Debian base archive
Extracting /grml/fai/nfsroot/live/filesystem.dir/var/tmp/base.tgz
Calling task_mirror
[...]

or if using /etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles/$CLASSNAME.tar.gz for:

[...]
ftar: extracting /etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles///AMD64.tar.gz to
/grml-live/grml-live_20071029.22138/grml_chroot//
[...]

13.10. Set up apt-cacher / apt-cacher-ng for use with grml-live

Make sure /etc/grml/grml-live.conf provides according GRML_LIVE_SOURCES and FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP:

# cat /etc/grml/grml-live.conf
[...]
GRML_LIVE_SOURCES="
deb http://localhost:3142/deb.grml.org grml-stable  main
deb http://localhost:3142/deb.grml.org grml-testing main
deb http://localhost:3142/cdn.debian.net/debian lenny main contrib non-free
"
[...]
FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP="lenny http://localhost:3142/cdn.debian.net/debian lenny main contrib non-free"

Make sure apt-cacher / apt-cacher-ng is running (/etc/init.d/apt-cacher restart or /etc/init.d/apt-cacher-ng restart). That’s it. All downloaded files will be cached in /var/cache/apt-cacher/ or /var/cache/apt-cacher-ng then.

13.11. Set up approx for use with grml-live

Make sure /etc/grml/grml-live.conf provides according GRML_LIVE_SOURCES and FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP:

# cat /etc/grml/grml-live.conf
[...]
GRML_LIVE_SOURCES="
deb http://localhost:9999/grml            grml-stable  main
deb http://localhost:9999/grml            grml-testing main
deb http://localhost:9999/debian lenny    main contrib non-free
"
FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP="lenny http://localhost:9999/debian"

Configure approx:

# cat /etc/approx/approx.conf
[...]
debian http://ftp.at.debian.org/debian
grml   http://deb.grml.org/

Don’t forget to restart approx (/etc/init.d/approx restart). That’s it. All downloaded files will be cached in /var/cache/approx now.

13.12. I’ve a question which isn’t answered by this document

Don’t hesitate to contact the author: <mika@grml.org>

14. Download / install grml-live as a Debian package

Debian packages are available through the grml-repository at deb.grml.org. If you want to build a Debian package on your own (using for example a specific version or the current development tree), just execute:

git clone git://git.grml.org/grml-live
cd grml-live
debuild -us -uc

15. Source

The source of grml-live is available at http://git.grml.org/?p=grml-live.git

16. TODO list

Check out the TODO file.

17. Bugs

Please report feedback, bugreports and wishes to the grml-team!

18. Authors

Michael Prokop <mika@grml.org>