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1275 lines
48 KiB
1275 lines
48 KiB
<html>
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<head><title>gBootRoot</title></head>
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<body text="#000000" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" link="#0000EF" vlink="#51188E"
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alink="#FF0000">
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<center>$Id: index.html,v 1.64 2002/01/07 19:19:47 freesource Exp $</center>
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<p>
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<H1 align="center">gBootRoot</h1>
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<H3 align="center">at</h3>
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<p align="center"><A href="http://sourceforge.net/projects/gbootroot">
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<IMG src="http://sourceforge.net/sflogo.php?group_id=9513&type=1"
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width="88" height="31" border="0"
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alt="SourceForge Logo"> </A></p>
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<p></p>
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<P align="center">
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<b>bOOTrOOT</b> makes the development, construction, and
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testing of distributions fun and simple.</P>
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<br>
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<P align="center">
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<b>Download gBootRoot</b></P>
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<P align="center">
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<b>Newest version</b><br>
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(Milestone version 1.3.1 dedicated to the first ever
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<a href="http://www.morlug.org">MORLUG</a> meeting in my
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hometown!)
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<br><br>
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<a href="http://freshmeat.net/redir/gbootroot/3075/url_tgz/gbootroot.orig.tar.gz">gbootroot source (type make to install)</a><br>
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<a href="http://freshmeat.net/redir/gbootroot/3075/url_deb/gbootroot_all.deb">
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gbootroot debian package</a></p>
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<P align="center">
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<b>Add-ons</b><br>
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<a href="http://freshmeat.net/redir/make-debian-x11/18842/url_tgz/make-debian-x11.orig.tar.gz">
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make-debian-x11 source (type make to install)</a><br>
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<a href="http://freshmeat.net/redir/make-debian-x11/18842/url_deb/make-debian-x11_all.deb">
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make-debian-x11 debian package</a>
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<p>
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<p align="center">
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<em>Users who use packaging tools which support apt should add these lines to
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their sources.list:</em><br><br>
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<align>deb http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/gbootroot ./<br>
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deb http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/avd ./<br></p>
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<p align="center">Older versions found at this
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<A href="http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/gbootroot/">site</A></P>
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<p align="center"><a href="images/screenshot.jpg">Screenshot</a></P>
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<p align="center"><a href="#FAQ">FAQ</a></P>
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<p align="center">and</P><br>
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<P align="center">
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<IMG ALT="" SRC="images/gbootroot.jpg">
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</P>
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<P align="center">
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<b>How to Use gBootRoot's UI</b></P>
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<P><IMG ALT="" SRC="images/gBS.jpg" align="right">The most important button to
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familiarize yourself with is the Submit button which starts the whole process;
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dialogs are presented as the process continues asking you if you want to
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continue "OK" or stop "Cancel".</P>
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<p>
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The <u>first row</u> allows you to choose a Boot Method.
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Clicking on the menu on the right selects the Boot Method.</p>
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<P>The <u>second row</u> allows you to select the kernel for the Boot/Root set. You
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may either use the file selector button on the right hand side, or you may
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type in the location on the left hand side.</P>
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<P>
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The <u>third row</u> allows you to select the compressed filesystem you are
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providing, using either of the two ways mentioned before. You may use a
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pre-made root filesystem or you may create one using one of the Methods
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provided in the Advanced Root Section.
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</P>
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<P>The <u>fourth row</u> allows you to select the device you want to use. The default
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device is the first floppy disk - /dev/fd0.</P>
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<p>
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The <u>fifth row</u> allows you to choose the size of the device being used. The default size of 1440 assumes you are using a floppy drive
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(Note: You may
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want to experiment with 1722 which works fine with many floppy drives.), but
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can be used with other sized devices like tape drives. Click on the
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appropriate radio button to choose either gzip or bzip2 compression if the
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program doesn't automatically detect it.</p>
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<P align="center"><b>Verbosity Box</b></p>
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<IMG ALT="" SRC="images/verbosity_box.jpg" align="right">
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The <u>slider bar</u> on the right allows the output of the verbosity box
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to be
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changed from the highest (2) to the lowest setting (1) or to be turned off (0)
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or on again. At times it may be advantageous to turn off the
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verbosity box
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since large quantities of output to this box may cause gbootroot to use too
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much cpu power; however, output may still be found in the text file "verbose"
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in /tmp/gbootroot_tmp'time-date' or /tmp/gboot_non_root_`id -u` for
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normal users.</p>
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<br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>
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<p><P align="center"><b>
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Using the Advanced Boot Section</b></p>
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<p><IMG ALT="" SRC="images/ABS.jpg" align="right">
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Libraries & Binaries & Modules check boxes: Turn off and on the
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stripping of symbols. The stripping
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behavior for libraries may be changed by clicking on the right mouse button
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to change --strip-debug to --strip-all. Binaries default to
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--strip-all and Modules default to --strip-debug.</p>
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<p>
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"Devel Device" If the device used for development is different than the
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actual boot device, use this field to indicate that device. You will have to
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run lilo -v -C brlilo.conf -r "device mount point" manually at a later time
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on the actual boot device.</p>
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<p>
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"Opt. Device" Add devices to the boot disk which are necessary for the
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kernel to function properly. Put a space between each
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device. For instance, /dev/fb0 for frame buffer devices.</p>
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<p>
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"append =" Add append options to brlilo.conf. If you are using a frame
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buffer device you could add something like video=matrox:vesa:402,depth:16.</p>
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<p>
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"Kernel Module" Add the modules found in
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/lib/modules/kernel-version which are necessary for the Boot Method to work
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properly. If these modules aren't found in the modules directory
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it is assumed
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that they either are in the kernel or they do not exist. In the
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case of 2 disk compression, floppy needs to be included in the
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kernel or included as a module. Kmod inserts the modules, and
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kmod needs to be built into the kernel along
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with initrd and ramdisk."</p>
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<p>
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"Kernel Version" Override the kernel version number found in the
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kernel header. This will change the /lib/modules/kernel-version
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directory.</p>
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<p>
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System.map: When a non-running kernel is chosen it is important
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to include a copy of that kernel's System.map file so that depmod can use
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the correct set of kernel symbols to resolve kernel references in each
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module. This can be found in the kernel's source code after
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compilation.
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<br><br><br><br><br><br><br>
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<P align="center">
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<b>Using the Advanced Root Section</b></P>
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<p><IMG ALT="" SRC="images/ARS.jpg" align="right">
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"Root Device" This is the device used for the root filesystem when
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constructing the Boot/Root set. You may choose a device which is
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different
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than the Boot device, but presently only floppy devices are supported.</p>
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<p>
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"Root Device Size" The size of the actual media used for the Root Device.</p>
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<p>
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"Root Filename" The name give to the root filesystem when
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initially made in the temporary creation location. The save
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button allows the creation to
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be saved in the permanent default location when the
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Accept button is pressed.</p>
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<p>
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"Filesystem Size" Root Methods make the filesystem the size
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which is specified here.</p>
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<p>
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"Compression" Off by default to allow user-mode-linux
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testing. Turn on
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compression when you are ready to use a Boot Method
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which requires compression.</p>
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<p>
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"Method" The root filesystem creation method.</p>
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<p>
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"Template" The template associated with a Root
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Method. Not all Root Methods
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have templates.</p>
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<p>
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"Generate" This puts the chosen Root Method in action.</p>
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<p>
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"UML" Abbreviation for user-mode-linux. This is a
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linux kernel which runs on
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top of the host system's linux kernel and allows a you run a live root
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filesystem.</p>
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<p>
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"Accept" This accepts the created root filesystem if it is
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found in the
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temporary creation directory. The UML box and the main section
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will now
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reflect the path to this root filesystem. You can now test with
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the UML
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button or a put together a complete Boot/Root set with the Submit button.</p>
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<br><br><br><br><br><br><br>
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<p><P align="left"><b>User Mode Linux Box</b></p>
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<p><IMG ALT="" SRC="images/uml_box.jpg" align="center"></p>
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<p>
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"Xterm" Choose an xterm with its executable options switch.</p>
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<p>
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"mconsole:" Allow you to pass the help, sysrq, config, and remove
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commands to the mconsole to control the Linux virtual machine specified
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with the umid value. Good information about sysrq is found in
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Documentation/sysrq.txt in the Linux sources.
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<pre>
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sysrq (Shows sysrq option values in virtual machine.)
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sysrq [0-9|b|e|i|l|m|p|r|s|t|u]
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reboot
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halt
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config <dev>=<config>
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remove <dev>
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switch <umid>
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version
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help
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</pre>
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<p>
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"Options" Enter uml command-line options like: <code>mem=64,
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devfs=nomount</code>. The <code>umid</code> option is used by
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Reboot, Halt, and the mconsole to determine which Linux virtual machine is
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running. The umid value may be changed by
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altering the value for the <code>switch</code> option in the mconsole entry
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box to allow control of a different Linux virtual machine.
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</p>
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<pre>
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umid=bootroot
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mconsole: switch bootroot2 [Enter]
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mconsole: sysrq s sysrq u sysrq b [Enter]
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mconsole: switch bootroot [Enter]
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</pre>
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<p>
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"Root_Fs" Choose an uncompressed root
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filesystem. Append with ubd?=.</p>
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<p>
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"Reboot" Passes the reboot command to the mconsole to reboot the
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Linux virutal machine.
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<p>
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"Halt" Passes the halt command to the mconsole to halt the
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Linux virtual machine.
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<p>
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"Abort" Abort user-mode-linux kernel processes. Should
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be used as a last resort when Halt fails.</p>
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<p><P align="left"><b>
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About the Yard Box</b></p>
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<p><IMG ALT="" SRC="images/yard_box.jpg" align="center"></p>
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The Yard Box is a Root Method which is "Generated" from the Advanced Root
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Section after a Template is chosen. It has several
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interesting features.
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<p>
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The check boxes at the bottom represent the different stages involved in
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creating a root filesystem. The behavior of these stages
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may be altered in
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three ways: Edit->Stages->one-by-one (default) will perform each stage
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sequentially, stopping between each stage, the user may continue the process
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by pressing the Continue
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button. Edit->Stages->continuous proceeds non-stop
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through all the
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stages. Edit->Stages->'user defined' allows the user to
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choose any stages the user wants, and will then proceed through all the
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chosen
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stages. Choosing only 'Check', 'Links & Deps', 'Copy', and 'Create'
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is a good example.</p>
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<p><IMG ALT="" SRC="images/tests.jpg" align="center"></p>
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<p>
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The behavior of some of the stages may be
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altered. For instance Alt-T allows
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you to choose which tests to run on the newly created
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root filesystem.</p>
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<p><IMG ALT="" SRC="images/template_search.jpg" align="center"></p>
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<p>
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Press Alt-S to enable template text searching in either
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direction. Find exact matches or ignore case with
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the case sensitive check box.</p>
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<p><IMG ALT="" SRC="images/file.jpg" align="center"></p>
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<p>
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Use Ctl-S to save changes to a template, Alt-A to save the
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template with a new name, or Alt-N to create a new template.
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bOOTrOOT will not allow read-only
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templates (ex: Examples) or template links to be saved
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with their own name; after you make changes to these kind of templates,
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save them with a new name to preserve the changes.</p>
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<p><IMG ALT="" SRC="images/settings.jpg" align="center"></p>
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<p>
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Edit->Setttings has two check boxes which allow you to turn on and off
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the automatic NSS and PAM configuration files parsing behavior described
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in detail in Example.yard and Example-Mini.yard.
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<p><IMG ALT="" SRC="images/stripping.jpg" align="center"></p>
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<p>
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Edit->Settings->Stripping allows you to turn off/on stripping for
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Libraries, Binaries, and Modules. --strip-all is the
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default for binaries and libraries,
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and --strip-debug is the default for modules; however libraries may
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be changed to --strip-debug in the settings.</p>
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<p><IMG ALT="" SRC="images/paths.jpg" align="center"></p>
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<p>
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Edit->Setting->Paths allows you to prepend a new search path to gbootroot's
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environment $PATH variable.
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</p>
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<p><IMG ALT="" SRC="images/replacements.jpg" align="center"></p>
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<p>
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Edit->Replacements in your $HOME/.gbootroot/Replacements directory using
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an editor of your choice.
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</p>
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<p><IMG ALT="" SRC="images/create.jpg" align="center"></p>
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<p>
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Create->Replacements creates special replacement
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files. Presently it creates
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a fstab configuration file as Replacements/etc/fstab.new in
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$HOME/.gbootroot/yard/.</p>
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<P align="left">
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<b>Filesystem Box</b></P>
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<p><IMG ALT="" SRC="images/filesystem.jpg" align="center"></p>
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The Filesystem Box (Edit->'File System") is the control center for access to
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the filesystem making utilities provided by the root_fs helper.
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For normal users it defaults to genext2fs, and for root, mke2fs.
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If a normal
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user sets the filesystem size greater than 8192k before the box is opened then
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UML Exclusively is turned on, and mke2fs is assumed, otherwise it is off
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and genext2fs is used.
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UML Exclusively is off by
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default for root, and allows root to create filesystem on a loop device, but
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normal users don't have loop device access so genext2fs is used instead to
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create a UID/GID 0 fs. Both types of users can turn this button on
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at any time regardless of the filesystem size, and assuming they provide a
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filesystem command suppored by the root_fs helper; however, normal users
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should keep this on when the filesystem
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size is greater than 8192k. Preserve Permissions are off by
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default for normal
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users, and on by default for root, these are good defaults since a normal
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user would create a fs with their own UID/GID if they turned this on.
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<p>
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The root_fs helper provides support for these commands:<br>
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<code>mke2fs mkreiserfs mkcramfs genromfs mkminix</code>
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<p>
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<u>Notes</u>:
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1). All these commands may have options added, but it is uneccessary to add
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directory, device, or source options 2).
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Mkcramfs and genromfs use the filesystem given a
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filename in the ARS as the source to produce another filesystem which is
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named respectively with _cramfs or _romfs appended to the original name of
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this filesystem.
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If in doubt
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what this all means, watch the verbosity box when the filesystem is created,
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and things should become more clear.
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<br>
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<br>
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<P><IMG ALT="" SRC="images/gBSicon.jpg" align="center"> <b>FAQ</b></P>
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<a name ="FAQ">
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1. <a href="#1">What's the advantage of using this program?</a>
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<br>
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2. <a href="#2">How do I use gBootRoot?</a>
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<br>
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3. <a href="#3">Oops, I can't get something to work, what should I do?</a>
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<br>
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4. <a href="#4">What are all these CVS directories doing in my replacements?</a>
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<br>
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5. <a href="#5">Can I use a program linked to uClibc in the template?</a>
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<br>
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6. <a href="#6">What do you mean by macro distribution?</a>
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<br>
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7. <a href="#7">How am I able to create root filesystems as a normal user?</a>
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<br>
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8. <a href="#8">How does this program allow a normal user to create a root filesystem larger than 8192k?</a>
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<br>
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9. <a href="#9">How can I create boot disks as a normal user?</a>
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<br>
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10. <a href="#10">What is make_debian, and how do I use it?</a>
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<br>
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11. <a href="#11">My root filesystem doesn't start in single mode when started like this: "bootdisk 1?"</a>
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<br>
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12. <a href="#12">What does the 2 disk compression method do?</a>
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<br>
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13. <a href="#13">I've created a root fs. Then I've tried to create the boot disk using the 2 disk compression method. The device selection is /dev/fd0, size is 1440k, but the initrd_image.gz is 715k. I don't know much about boot disks but shouldn't the boot disks contain mainly the kernel?</a>
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<br>
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14. <a href="#14">There isn't enough room left on my 1440 floppy to make a Boot or Root disk. Is there any way to free up more space apart from reducing the size of the kernel?</a>
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<br>
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15. <a href="#15">gBootRoot doesn't start because it can't locate Gtk.pm?</a>
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<br>
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16. <a href="#16">If you roll the floppy density counter down to 0 and then try go back up towards 1440 and 1722, you get very funny figures.</a>
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</a>
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<br>
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17. <a href="#17">Changing from gz to bz2 compression for the boot image in the main section has no effect and gzip is still exectuted.</a>
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|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<P><a name="1"><b>What's the advantage of using this program?</b></a> <a href="#FAQ">[back]</a></P>
|
|
|
|
<P><A href="./bootroot.html">BootRoot</A>
|
|
was the original program, but I decided that a GUI approach
|
|
provided the user much more versatility and power in creating
|
|
distributions. Since the first gBootRoot,
|
|
bOOTrOOT has become a full blown distribution creation program which may
|
|
be used by a normal user.
|
|
It may be used for the creation of root filesystems in every
|
|
imaginable application from Embedded Systems to Mini Distributions to
|
|
Macro distributions to Full sized Distributions.  The root
|
|
and boot filesystems may
|
|
be tested long before implementation by using user-mode-linux.
|
|
Boot Methods are provided to allow root filesystems to run from different types
|
|
of media.
|
|
Historically, developers have written scripts
|
|
which have focused on providing a particular type of root
|
|
filesystem and boot method. Observation reveals that all these
|
|
approaches share many commonalities. gBootRoot has been
|
|
designed to embrace
|
|
these similiarities, and to allow developers to create drop-in methods
|
|
via modules or easy to understand templates.
|
|
gBootroot is the GIMP of distribution creation!</P>
|
|
|
|
<P><a name="2"><b>How do I use gBootRoot?</b></a> <a href="#FAQ">[back]</a></P>
|
|
|
|
<center><u>Test an existing mini distribution.</u></center>
|
|
|
|
<P>1. Download
|
|
<a href="http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/user-mode-linux/root_fs_tomrtbt_1.7.205.bz2">
|
|
root_fs_tomrtbt_1.7.205.bz2</a> from
|
|
<a href="http://www.sourceforge.net/projects/user-mode-linux">
|
|
user-mode-linux</a> at Sourceforge to your
|
|
$HOME/.gbootroot/root_filesystems. </p>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
2. bzip2 -dc root_fs_tomrtbt_1.7.205.bz2 > root_fs_tomrtbt_1.7.205.
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
3. Run
|
|
gbootroot. Click on the Advanced Root Section (ARS), click on
|
|
the UML button. Select root_fs_tomrtbt_1.7.205, add devfs=nomount
|
|
to the options, and click on the Submit
|
|
button.</p>
|
|
|
|
<center><u>Create a boot and root floppy for an existing mini distribution.</u></center>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
4. Click on the Advanced Boot
|
|
Section (ABS). Root_fs_tomrtbt is about 16M, so add ramdisk_size=16384 to
|
|
the 'append=' entry. From the main box choose '2 disk compression', and
|
|
press on the Root Filesystem button and select root_fs_tomrtbt_1.7.205.bz2.
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
5. Click the Submit button on the main
|
|
box. Have two floppy disks ready.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
6. When you boot the boot disk you will see Lilo, you may access the menu using [Ctrl] and [Tab] to see the available images, or wait for the
|
|
prompt to insert the root disk.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<center><u>Test a macro distribution created by make_debian-X11.</u></center>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
|
|
7. Download
|
|
<a href="http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=9513">
|
|
root_fs_debian_x11-(latest revision).bz2</a>. Then follow the
|
|
instructions in the
|
|
first three steps, but don't add devfs=nomount. This root
|
|
filesystem was created with
|
|
the make_debian-X11 script from the make-debian-x11 add-on found at
|
|
<a href="http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=9513">
|
|
gbootroot's</a> Sourceforge home.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<center><u>Make your own micro distribution from an existing template.</u></center>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
8. Click on the ARS if its not already opened.
|
|
Choose Yard from the Method pull-down menu. Choose
|
|
<b>Example-Mini.yard</b>
|
|
from the pull-down Template menu. Click on the Generate button.
|
|
The Yard Box will pop up. Click on the Continue button
|
|
until the Create check box turns off. You could continue to the
|
|
tests, but they really wouldn't apply to this minimalistic example because
|
|
there are no links or login type files in the template.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
9. Experiment with Edit->Stages from the Yard Box menu.
|
|
Try different types of staging behavior, and notice the
|
|
differences.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
10. Test your creation with the UML box as explained in step 3.
|
|
You will want to add init=/bin/bash to the Options entry.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
11. At this point you will probably want to play around a little
|
|
bit. Familiarize yourself with the Format Rules found
|
|
near the top of the template. You may want to save the template
|
|
with a different name and experiment with changes, or create a new template
|
|
using File->New (Shortcut: Alt-N).</p>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<center><u>Make your own mini distribution from an existing template.</u></center>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
12. Choose <b>Example.yard</b> from the Template menu in the ARS.
|
|
Save it with a new name.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
13. There are two types of inittabs provided for each major
|
|
distribution type. The inittab with nodevfs appended doesn't use
|
|
the
|
|
device fs, i.e. the devfs=nomount kernel option. Uncomment the
|
|
inittab, getty, and gettydefs (if required) for
|
|
your distribution type. If you aren't using Debian make sure to
|
|
comment (#) out the corresponding stuff for Debian.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
14. Example.yard template introduces you to Replacements like
|
|
the inittabs described above.
|
|
Replacements can be anywhere and are specified in the template as either
|
|
an absolute path or relative to $PATH
|
|
(Edit->Settings->Path); the default path location for Replacements for users is
|
|
$HOME/.gbootroot/yard/Replacements.
|
|
Also, this template introduces you to links, $VERSION,
|
|
how library dependencies are automatically figured for binaries
|
|
and the automated
|
|
approach for finding service modules and dependencies for PAM and NSS.
|
|
Once you learn the format rules and how they are interpreted
|
|
by the program you will find that making your own templates is
|
|
quite simple.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
15 Click on the Continue button until you finish the Space Left
|
|
stage. Adjust the Filesystem Size in the ARS to a size larger than
|
|
the Total space shown in the verbosity box. Create your
|
|
root_fs,
|
|
and make sure there was enough room left. You may have to adjust the
|
|
size and run Copy and Create again.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
16 Now that you have a root filesystem you may continue to
|
|
the Test stage and observe what is missing. Next run the root_fs
|
|
from the UML box.
|
|
If things don't work correctly you will have to hunt down the cause,
|
|
make the appropriate changes and proceed through the stages again.  
|
|
If you only make a change to a Replacement, you only have to run
|
|
the Copy and Create stage again. If you make a change to the
|
|
template you have to run at least the Check, Links & Deps, Copy, and Create
|
|
stages again.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<center><u>Make the mini distribution you just created with a different
|
|
filesystem type.</u></center>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
17. Now that you have successfully created a working mini
|
|
distribution from Example.yard, re-create it with a different
|
|
filesystem type: ext2, minix, reiserfs, romfs or cramfs.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
18. Open up the Filesystem Box (Edit->'File System") and click on
|
|
the UML Exclusively check button, and enter a filesystem command. For this
|
|
example <code>mkminix</code> will be used to create a minix filesystem.
|
|
Normal users will want to keep the Preserve Permissions check
|
|
button off. Press the submit button when finished.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
19. Adjust the Filesystem Size in the ARS larger than 8192k, you
|
|
could also make it smaller, but the point of this exercise is to introduce
|
|
users to how the 8192k barrier of genext2fs can be exceeded.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
20.
|
|
Set the staging behavior to user defined, and choose the Create check button
|
|
if you are a normal user or if you are root and created the root_fs in stages
|
|
12-16 with genext2fs, otherwise, root needs to choose the Check, Links & Deps,
|
|
Copy, and Create check boxes. Press Continue and observe what
|
|
happens. Do step 16.
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
21. Can we create a different filesystem type
|
|
for the root filesystem we just altered?
|
|
Enter <code>genromfs</code> to create a romfs filesystem.
|
|
Set the staging behavior to user defined if this hasn't already been done,
|
|
turn on the Create check button,
|
|
and press the Continue button. Assuming you've left the
|
|
ARS open, press the UML button so that the UML box closes and reopens, and you
|
|
will notice that your fs has _romfs appended to it. Try it out.
|
|
|
|
You may
|
|
notice complaints on boot-up about ioctl.save, to remove these complaints you
|
|
could create a replacement ioctl.save, edit and save the changes to the
|
|
template, re-create the filesystem, and test again.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
22. So what about devices for normal users?
|
|
Genext2fs creates devices for normal users, however, when UML Exclusively
|
|
is used a normal user doesn't have the capability to copy over devices
|
|
from the host system. Instead, devfs should be used.
|
|
If more devices are required, devfsd can be used to set them up after the
|
|
root filesystem is booted. Did you get things to work?
|
|
Congratulations, you have created a root filesystem without needing to
|
|
be root!
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<center><u>Make your own root filesystems from your own templates.</u></center>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
23. Now that you have done your homework, I set you free to create
|
|
your own root filesystems from your own templates with replacements
|
|
of your own choice. Create a root_fs which can fit on a block
|
|
device, and then create an emergency disk customized for your own system,
|
|
or create your own customized macro distribution and run it from the
|
|
UML box to try things you never would have dreamed of doing on your host
|
|
system. And that is just the beginning of the things you can do.
|
|
|
|
|
|
<P><a name="3"><b>Oops, I can't get something to work, what should I do?</b></a> <a href="#FAQ">[back]</a></p>
|
|
|
|
If something isn't working for you, I want to know because you probably have
|
|
found a bug. Don't fall
|
|
into the trap that makes you believe that developers don't want to be deluged
|
|
with bugs, quite to the contrary. developers love to receive bugs,
|
|
and I heartily encourage all users to send Free Software developers all their
|
|
problems.
|
|
I have experience working in Quality Assurance, and I know that a
|
|
program with the complexity of gbootroot is a perfect recipe for
|
|
the existence of all types of bugs. As a developer focusing on the
|
|
deployment of code it is easy for bugs to slip by unnoticed.
|
|
Free Source software depends on users sending in bugs if the software is
|
|
to ever experience rapid development; users shouldn't leave this process
|
|
to the developers, because this guarantees that they will need to spend lots
|
|
of time in the testing phase rather than spending time adding great
|
|
new features.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
<em>Testers Wanted! Big Reward!</em>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
Just because a project doesn't have a name like "Linux" doesn't
|
|
mean that the project should live by itself without community support,
|
|
so please send in those bugs.
|
|
I consider a bug anything which effects the user negatively,
|
|
whether it is a user interface (UI) which is hard to understand
|
|
or use, documentation which seems misleading, or if the program doesn't
|
|
seem to deliver results as it should. Even if you think
|
|
your problem may be due to your own lack of understanding, I still
|
|
recommend that you contact me after reasonable attempts, because what
|
|
you may be experiencing is what "MANY" may be experiencing. At the
|
|
bottom of this page is the contact information. Your problem
|
|
will help gbootroot become a better program for all, and you will be a hero!
|
|
|
|
<P><a name="4"><b>What are all these CVS directories doing in my replacements?</b></a> <a href="#FAQ">[back]</a></p>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
CVS directories are deliberately put in the Replacement directories to
|
|
prevent users from making changes to global replacement files.
|
|
This allows developers who create add-ons (ex: make-debian-x11) to remain
|
|
confident that any changes made to
|
|
add-on replacements will remain available to all users.
|
|
Replacements
|
|
from add-ons are placed in the archictecture-independent
|
|
/usr/share/gbootroot/yard/Replacements directory, and the
|
|
archictecture-dependent /usr/lib/bootroot/yard/Replacements
|
|
directory.
|
|
When a user opens up gBootRoot, the program checks to see if there are any
|
|
new replacements and then creates symlinks from the
|
|
$HOME/.gbootroot/yard/Replacements directory to the
|
|
replacement repositories.
|
|
In general the repositories for replacements are owned by root, so normal
|
|
users can't make changes to these files; however, when root is
|
|
editing replacements in the $HOME Replacements location, it should be the
|
|
administrator's policy to use an editor which respects versioned files (i.e. Emacs). Then the
|
|
administrator will not be able to
|
|
make any changes to the replacements repository because the CVS directories
|
|
keep date information which prevents the editing of these
|
|
files. The files kept in /usr/lib are usually binary files
|
|
specific to the host architecture,
|
|
where as the files linked from /usr/share are often text files compatible
|
|
with any architecture; however,
|
|
this directory is meant to be used for data which shouldn't be modified
|
|
directly by any user
|
|
(see <a href="http://www.pathname.com/fhs/">FHS</a>).</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
<em>Note for users of version 1.2.14 or earlier</em>: Verions of gbootroot
|
|
before 1.3.0 didn't have this set-up, instead there were just copies of add-on
|
|
replacements in the $HOME replacement directory to allow the user
|
|
to directly modify add-on replacements.
|
|
In order to get the full benefit of the new change you will need to
|
|
rename any of the $HOME/.gbootroot/yard/Replacements
|
|
you've modified and put them in a safe place, then remove the old
|
|
replacements, and return the renamed replacements.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
<a name="5"><b>Can I use a program linked to uClibc in the template?</b></a> <a href="#FAQ">[back]</a></p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
Binaries are auto-magically checked to discover whether they require libc6 or
|
|
uClibc. If they are found to require uClibc
|
|
/usr/i386-linux-uclibc/bin/ldd
|
|
is used to discover shared library dependencies, otherwise ldd is
|
|
called without any path.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<a name="6"><b>What do you mean by macro distribution?</b></a> <a href="#FAQ">[back]</a></p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
A macro distribution is a term I coined. It implies a software
|
|
distribution larger than a mini distribution usually
|
|
associated with 1.44 to 1.722 sized floppy disks, but smaller than a
|
|
base distribution which provides the foundation to create a full size
|
|
distribution. It is usually pruned, and provides the
|
|
absolute minimum needed to provide all the functionality usually
|
|
associated with a full sized distribution, yet it still uses the same
|
|
libraries and binaries. Because it can be made quickly, it is
|
|
useful for creating a current snapshot of ones own host systems, and can be
|
|
used to run experiments safely via user-mode-linux without fear of
|
|
corrupting the host system.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<a name="7"><b>How am I able to create root filesystems as a normal user?</b></a> <a href="#FAQ">[back]</a></p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
Genext2fs is used to allow a normal user to create an ext2
|
|
filesystem with all UIDS and GIDS belonging to 0 (root) without the need for
|
|
a loop or ram device. Device nodes are created from a device table
|
|
file written to by gbootroot.  This program is authored by
|
|
Xavier Bestel, but the version used by gbootroot has
|
|
modifications from Erik Andersen (BusyBox) to allow a device table
|
|
to be used rather than a device listing. The maximum allowable size
|
|
for a filesystem is 8192k. User and group information
|
|
can be changed when the filesystem is run from a kernel.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
<a name="8"><b>How does this program allow a normal user to create a root filesystem larger than 8192k?</b></a> <a href="#FAQ">[back]</a></p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
Although genext2fs only allows a normal user to create a UID/GID 0 root
|
|
filesystem up to a maximum size of 8192k, this program exceeds this barrier by
|
|
taking advantage of the unique characteristics of user-mode-linux, allowing
|
|
normal users to explore things they never could before.
|
|
User-mode-linux is used to boot up a root_fs helper, the program then
|
|
communicates with the user linux system via expect to automatically
|
|
create a UID/GID 0 filesystem from the files copied over from the
|
|
/tmp/gboot_non_root_`id -u`/loopback directory. The steps will
|
|
vary slightly depending on which filesystem command is chosen, however, the
|
|
same
|
|
concept is used. You may apply this to filesystems smaller than
|
|
8192 by adjusting the settings in the Filesystem Box.
|
|
If you want to learn how to do this manually, look at the ten steps below.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
<em>The root_fs helper used by gbootroot is completely root-free</em>.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
<u>Ten steps to manually make a >8192 fs as a normal user.</u>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
1. You may want to create a helper root filesystem
|
|
(<=8192k), and give it an unique name in the
|
|
ARS Root Filename. The root_fs
|
|
created from Example.yard provides all the functionality you need,
|
|
regardless, you will need some sort of working root_fs with all the
|
|
necessary system utilities before proceeding with the next step.
|
|
We will call this root_fs_helper.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
2. Create your root filesystem (>8192k) as you normally would when
|
|
using
|
|
genext2f, making sure to choose the filesystem size you require from
|
|
the ARS.
|
|
Proceed through the required stages, and when you finish the Create stage
|
|
an ERROR dialog box will pop up saying "Cannot genext2fs
|
|
filesystem" which you can safely ignore. At this point in the
|
|
"echo /tmp/gboot_non_ root_`id -u`" directory there is an empty file
|
|
with the name
|
|
specified in the ARS Root Filename field which we will assume is called
|
|
root_fs. Above this directory
|
|
in loopback/ all files and directories copied over during the Create stage
|
|
can be found.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
3. Open up the UML box from the ARS. In the Root_Fs
|
|
entry ubd0 should be pointing to the helper root_fs, and
|
|
ubd1 should be pointing to the empty root_fs file:
|
|
<pre>
|
|
ubd0=/tmp/gboot_non_root_1000/root_fs_helper ubd1=/tmp/gboot_non_root_1000/root_fs
|
|
</pre>
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
4. The devfs is used in this example.
|
|
Press the Submit button on the UML box, and login to
|
|
the root_fs_helper. Create two mounting directories if they
|
|
don't exist. For this example, /mnt1 and
|
|
/mnt2 are used.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
5. Make a filesystem type of your own choice on /dev/ubd/1:
|
|
<pre>
|
|
mke2fs -m0 /dev/ubd/1
|
|
</pre>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
6. Mount /dev/ubd/1 on /mnt1:
|
|
<pre>
|
|
mount /dev/ubd/1 /mnt1
|
|
</pre>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
7. Mount the host filesystem on /mnt2:
|
|
<pre>
|
|
mount -t hostfs none -o /tmp/gboot_non_root_1000/loopback /mnt2
|
|
</pre>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
8. Copy everything from loopback to /mnt1:
|
|
<pre>
|
|
cp -a /mnt2/* /mnt1
|
|
</pre>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
9. Change UIDs and GIDs to the appropriate user:
|
|
<pre>
|
|
chown -v -R 0:0 /mnt1
|
|
chown -v -R 1002:1002 /mnt1/home/user
|
|
</pre>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
10. Unmount everything. Root_fs is now ready to be used!
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
<a name="9"><b>How can I create boot disks as a normal user?</b></a> <a href="#FAQ">[back]</a></p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
Make the boot disk as you normally would. As long as you have
|
|
write permissions to the boot device you shouldn't run
|
|
into a problem. However, not all boot loaders
|
|
can be set-up as a non-root user, but, you may still continue to
|
|
the end of the process and set-up the boot loader later from a machine you
|
|
have root access on. In order to use lilo while running
|
|
gbootroot there
|
|
are two prerequisites your administrator will have to establish for you.
|
|
First, he will have to edit the fstab to allow you to mount a certain
|
|
block device. For instance, to allow you to mount /dev/fd0, you
|
|
have to mount the /tmp/gboot_non_root_mnt_`id -u` directory. If
|
|
your UID is 1000, then a line like this is added to the fstab:
|
|
<pre>
|
|
/dev/fd0 /tmp/gboot_non_root_mnt_1000 auto defaults,user,noauto 0 0
|
|
</pre>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
Next, the administrator needs to give you access to the
|
|
lilo command. Sudo is a good solution, and in gbootroot the
|
|
$main::sudo variable is assigned "sudo", this can be changed by the
|
|
administrator to some other sudo-like program. The administrator
|
|
then uses visudo to edit the sudoers file with a line like this:
|
|
|
|
<pre>
|
|
user hostname = NOPASSWD: /sbin/lilo
|
|
</pre>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
Note that NOPASSWD is used. Gbootroot won't prompt for a password,
|
|
and just assumes no password in necessary. I could change this
|
|
behavior if people request it. If modules are required for
|
|
the boot method to work properly, you need to have read
|
|
permissions to them so they can be copied. Now a bootdisk with
|
|
lilo can be made.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
<a name="10"><b>What is make_debian, and how do I use it?</b></a> <a href="#FAQ">[back]</a></p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
Make_debian is a script which takes information from
|
|
a Debian installation and creates a template which can be used to make a
|
|
macro distribution using gBootRoot's yard method.
|
|
It creates replacements for important configuration files to represent
|
|
the actual packaging state it will be providing.
|
|
In order to use this script you need to be running a Debian-like
|
|
distribution, anotherwards, one which uses dpkg, apt and file-rc to maintain
|
|
its packaging and boot hierarchy. Dswim is used to collect
|
|
information used in making the template. When you run the
|
|
template in the Yard Box as
|
|
a normal user follow the instructions from the FAQ answer to
|
|
"How can a normal user create a root filesystem larger than 8192k?"</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
Run make_debian from the command-line. The script first finds all
|
|
required packages on your host system, then it checks to see if any of
|
|
the extra packages mentioned in its configuration are missing.
|
|
As a rule, even if extra packages
|
|
are missing, a working distribution will still be created.
|
|
The script will then ask you a few questions,
|
|
and then proceed to make Debian-`uname -n`.yard in your template
|
|
directory.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
<em>Extra Packages and static template data:</em>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
You can resolve missing packages by installing them on your system, or you can
|
|
edit the script and replace those packages with a suitable replacement,
|
|
since you may be using a different version of Debian then the author
|
|
used when putting together make_debian. Make a copy of make_debian,
|
|
and then edit the part under EDIT HERE between qw().
|
|
You may edit the static data for the template within the script where it says
|
|
EDIT TEMPLATE BELOW.
|
|
The <b>make-debian-x11</b> add-on is actually the
|
|
result of
|
|
making these modifications. First, extra packages were
|
|
added, second, extra replacements were provided and the static information
|
|
in the template was modified to reflect these replacements.
|
|
|
|
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<a name="11"><b>My root filesystem doesn't start in single mode when started like
|
|
this:  "bootdisk 1?"</b></a> <a href="#FAQ">[back]</a></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
When you start a kernel image with 1, you are telling it to start in runlevel
|
|
1, not in single mode. Use "single" instead.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
While on the subject, it should be pointed at the setting up init and its
|
|
runlevels is one of the
|
|
most challenging areas of creating a bootable root_fs. Often
|
|
your creation will only work with "single" until all the conflicts
|
|
are resolved. Things are complicated even futher by the fact that
|
|
devices can now be set up in two majors ways: tty? or ttys/? (devfs).
|
|
Fortunately, user-mode-linux comes in very handy for hunting
|
|
down all the bugs.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<P><a name="12"><b>What does the 2 disk compression method do?</b></a> <a href="#FAQ">[back]</a></P>
|
|
<P>This Boot Method creates a boot disk with lilo, a kernel and an initrd
|
|
image. The
|
|
initrd script mounts another root disk with a compressed (gzip or bzip2)
|
|
filesystem.</P>
|
|
|
|
<p><a name="13"><b>I've created a root fs. Then I've tried to create the boot disk using the 2 disk compression method. The device selection is /dev/fd0, size is 1440k, but the initrd_image.gz is 715k. I don't know much about boot disks but shouldn't the boot disks contain mainly the kernel?</b></a> <a href="#FAQ">[back]</a></p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
If you are creating a single boot disk in which the kernel knows where to
|
|
find the root filesystem, then nothing else but a kernel is required
|
|
assuming it is copied in a way that is starts at block 0 on the device
|
|
media.
|
|
However, in order to boot /dev/fd0 from /dev/fd0 the kernel has to
|
|
mount the initial boot disk, and then after the new root disk is inserted,
|
|
it remounts that disk. In order to accomplish this, an initrd is
|
|
required.
|
|
Initial ram disks are essentially mini filesystems with the
|
|
bare necessities to allow a special init type file called linuxrc to
|
|
perform similar types of duties as an init, but in a much more esoteric
|
|
fashion than
|
|
an init.
|
|
During a kernels initrd stage it looks for linuxrc, and during
|
|
normal boot it looks for init or a specified init passed as an option to
|
|
the kernel.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
So you are probably wondering what all this has to do with the large initrd
|
|
size when using the 2 disk compression method.
|
|
Linuxrc can be anything from a statically-linked executable to a script
|
|
which requires the dynamically-linked ash executable.
|
|
In the case of the 2
|
|
disk compression method, the later method is employed, and this uses
|
|
information found directly from your host system. You may have
|
|
noticed
|
|
the libraries required by ash found from your host system
|
|
can be quite large even after being stripped assuming you are using a major
|
|
distribution or derivative of
|
|
one. 
|
|
The advantage of a two disk boot/root
|
|
system is related to the fact that modern kernels are themselves quite
|
|
large, leaving very little room for a root filesystem.
|
|
The present ABS
|
|
(boot section) is descended from some pretty old historic code from the
|
|
original bootroot and is due
|
|
for a major upgrade to allow a lot more flexibility in creating
|
|
streamlined boot disks from a variety of user definable methods.
|
|
Unfortunately (or fortunately for root filesystem making, a process which
|
|
used to take days), I've been devoting a lot of time to the ARS, but
|
|
hopefully I'll be adding major changes to the ABS in the near future.
|
|
|
|
<p><a name="14"><b>There isn't enough room left on my 1440 floppy to make a Boot or Root
|
|
disk. Is there any way to free up more space apart from reducing
|
|
the size of the kernel?</b></a> <a href="#FAQ">[back]</a></p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
Move the device size to 1722. This is a trick that <a href="http://www.toms.net/rb/">tomsrtbt</a> uses on his famous rescue disk.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
(Update 10/06/2001) <br>
|
|
Up until mke2fs version 1.19 you were able to do
|
|
`mke2fs -F /dev/fd0 1722` on a 1440 device without any problem, but since
|
|
then mke2fs has become much more particular about enforcing actual device
|
|
size. . Mke2fs will complain:</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
"mke2fs: Attempt to write block from filesystem resulted in short write
|
|
zeroing block 1600 at end of filesystem."</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
I understand Theodore Ts'o reasoning for doing this, but I strongly believe
|
|
that the old behavior was very useful for people creating
|
|
mini-distributions so I have issued
|
|
<a href="
|
|
http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=468652&group_id=2406&atid=352406">Feature Request #468652</a> at e2fsprogs site
|
|
at Sourceforge. It should
|
|
be noted that fdformat is an unacceptable solution because it tends
|
|
to be machine specific, and the original mke2fs behavior made floppies that
|
|
worked
|
|
everywhere. Feel free
|
|
to add your comments to the Feature Request. Thanks.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
<a name="15"><b>gBootRoot doesn't start because it can't locate Gtk.pm?</b></a> <a href="#FAQ">[back]</a></P>
|
|
|
|
<p>This program requires Gtk-Perl available from <a href="http://www.perl.com/CPAN">CPAN</a>, <a href="http://freshmeat.net/projects/gtk-perl">Freshmeat</a> or most GNU/Linux distributions.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><a name="16"><b>If you roll the floppy density counter down to 0 and then try go back
|
|
up towards 1440 and 1722, you get very funny figures.</b></a> <a href="#FAQ">[back]</a></p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
This is because of the way Gtk works. There are two adjustments,
|
|
step and page increments. When you press your first mouse button the step
|
|
has been set to 282 so that a person can easily switch between 1440 and 1722.
|
|
When you use your second mouse button the page is set at 360. You can go
|
|
down to zero by pressing your third mouse button on the
|
|
down arrow. Now
|
|
page up with the second button to 1440 and step with the first button to
|
|
1722. Pretty cool, eh?</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>While we are on this subject please check out these keyboard shortcuts for Gtk.</p>
|
|
|
|
<P>Motion Shortcuts
|
|
|
|
<UL>
|
|
<LI> Ctrl-A Beginning of line </LI>
|
|
<LI> Ctrl-E End of line </LI>
|
|
<LI> Ctrl-N Next Line </LI>
|
|
<LI> Ctrl-P Previous Line </LI>
|
|
<LI> Ctrl-B Backward one character </LI>
|
|
<LI> Ctrl-F Forward one character </LI>
|
|
<LI> Alt-B Backward one word </LI>
|
|
<LI> Alt-F Forward one word </LI>
|
|
</UL>
|
|
|
|
<P> Editing Shortcuts
|
|
|
|
<UL>
|
|
<LI> Ctrl-H Delete Backward Character (Backspace) </LI>
|
|
<LI> Ctrl-D Delete Forward Character (Delete) </LI>
|
|
<LI> Ctrl-W Delete Backward Word </LI>
|
|
<LI> Alt-D Delete Forward Word </LI>
|
|
<LI> Ctrl-K Delete to end of line </LI>
|
|
<LI> Ctrl-U Delete line </LI>
|
|
</UL>
|
|
|
|
<P>Selection Shortcuts
|
|
|
|
<UL>
|
|
<LI> Ctrl-X Cut to clipboard </LI>
|
|
<LI> Ctrl-C Copy to clipboard </LI>
|
|
<LI> Ctrl-V Paste from clipboard </LI>
|
|
</UL>
|
|
|
|
<p><a name="17"><b>Changing from gz to bz2 compression for the boot image in the main section has no effect and gzip is still exectuted.</b></a> <a href="#FAQ">[back]</a></p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
In the main section to two check boxes are just indicators of what
|
|
compression has been used on the root filesystem.
|
|
Gz if gzipped, and bz2
|
|
in bzip2ed, and gz if uncompressed.
|
|
Usually, the compression is
|
|
auto-detected, but if it isn't you can manually choose the compression
|
|
type, or override the real compression type.
|
|
In the ARS you can actually
|
|
compress a root filesystem after it has been created by turning
|
|
compression on, choosing a compression type, and pressing the Accept
|
|
button.
|
|
Basically, the main section just assumes you already have a
|
|
compressed filesystem, this will change in the future; however, actual
|
|
compression is done either in the ABS (not yet) or the ARS, the main
|
|
section is just used to put together the parts.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
<IMG ALT="Larry Ewing's Penguin celebrates in gBootRoot." SRC="images/peng-movie.4.gif">
|
|
|
|
<br><br><br>
|
|
Contact me: Jonathan Rosenbaum <<a href="freesource@users.sourceforge.net">freesource@users.sourceforge.net</a>>
|
|
<br>
|
|
Submit a Bug: <a href="http://sourceforge.net/bugs/?group_id=9513">gBootRoot Bug System</a>
|
|
<br>
|
|
Join or browse the mailing lists: <a href="http://sourceforge.net/mail/?group_id=9513">gbootroot-{devel,user} mailing lists</a>
|
|
<br>
|
|
Ask a question: <a href="http://sourceforge.net/forum/forum.php?forum_id=29639">Help Forum</a>
|
|
<br>
|
|
Start a discussion: <a href="http://sourceforge.net/forum/forum.php?forum_id=29638">Open Discussion Forum</a>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
|
|
</body></html>
|
|
|