d-i kernel and modules

[Joey Hess <joeyh@debian.org>]

I've been thinking about how the kernel and kernel modules stuff could
work.

The requirements: 

* We need to keep the kernel used to boot the installer in-sync with the
  modules on the installer. 
* The modules will be split amoung a number of udebs, and some of them 
  might be on a remote mirror and be downloaded during the installation
  process.
* We need to install a kernel into the /target filesystem as part of the
  install process, and ideally that should include a full set of modules
  and should be installed as a kernel .deb.
* We need to provide for users who wish to compile their own kernel and
  use that to install.
* We need to support flavored kernels (probably).

My ideas go like this: 

* There will be a package that handles making a debian-installer boot 
  image (I started working on it today).
* When the package builds an image, it is provided with a kernel.deb package
  somehow. As part of the build process, it pulls that deb apart, and
  pulls the modules out of it and creates the module udebs it needs. It
  also grabs the vmlinux file of course.
* The module .udebs will have named including the kernel version and 
  flavor and can be uploaded to the debian archive for official builds.
* If someone wants to do a custom kernel, they can provide the .udebs to
  the installer on floppies or some other local media.
* Something or other can record the name of the kernel .deb package that
  all this was built from, so Aj's base building code can
  download/install it along with the rest of the base system.

Unresolved issues:

* How does the build program figure out what kernel module udebs are
  needed, and what should be in them?
* What about users who want to provide their own kernel, but don't
  have a debian system to build it on? They could just compile modules
  in, but there might be dependany problems then, if udebs depend on
  a particular kernel module udeb, and it is not available.

-- 
see shy jo