Re: Installation Manual Revisions
Ross Boylan <RossBoylan@stanfordalumni.org> writes:
> The current chapter 5 has been sliced and diced so much that it is a
> confusing mix of things. It has a bunch of material which seems to belong
> in the next chapter (on booting the initial install system), and I would
> like to relocate that material there.
Sounds good.
> It also says ad nauseum that there
> are many different choices.
Less is more (and easier to maintain!).
> I would like to focus chapter 5 on an overview of the installation process
> and on the concrete steps needed to get things going. At the moment it
> lists media and files, but offers only modest help in choosing from these
> options.
Good point.
> I would begin with an overview of the installation process. In particular,
> emphasize the various "media" choices available at different installation
> steps, and the fact that the installation process gradually expands the
> options available.
Ok -- seems plausible.
> Second, discuss some common scenarios for installation:
> * bootable CD-ROM -> skip to next chapter
> * use diskettes to kick off the install, getting other files (drivers and
> base) from somewhere without size constraints
> * diskettes all the way
> I know that different architectures support different options, and that
> some don't support diskettes at all.
Please retain a stress (maybe only for non-i386) on network booting,
net-based install options, etc. For instance, on an SPARC Ultra5,
CD-ROM and TFTP installation are the only plausible options.
> Third, discuss proper choice of subarchitecture or flavor. For i386, offer
> direct advice like "if memory is limited, use limited memory option.
Nit -- there is no limited memory option!
> If on a laptop, use safe.
Probably, if on laptop, use 'idepci'.
> If using diskettes all the way, use compact. Otherwise, use
> standard." (This probably belongs before the advice to stop reading
> if you have a bootable CD-ROM, since the user may need to know about
> the different install options different CD-ROMs offer).
Actually, the official CD-ROMs are built in pretty consistent ways,
but I'm not sure the exactly details. In slink, CD #1 had stock
kernel, CD #2 had tecra, etc. I don't know what they're doing with
potato -- ask debian-cd list.
> Fourth, provide a guide to the files in the archive, oriented toward "which
> ones do I need to download and what do I do with them." This would relate
> the different files to the different installation stages.
Sounds good.
> Fifth, specifics of the different choices of media and methods
> (nfs/ftp/ppp/hard drive...).
Not sure exactly what you mean, but seems plausible if you mean what I
think you mean.
> I believe there will be a lot I don't know for sure. I hope that by
> offering concrete wrong advice I'll make it easy for someone to insert the
> concrete right advice, whereas now a lot is left to the imagination of the
> reader.
Hmmm....
> I would love to use some tables, but the current infrastructure does not
> support it. Any suggestions?
Yurgh. That's a toughie. Only DocBook supports that that I know of.
Try to hack it thru w/o them I guess.
--
.....Adam Di Carlo....adam@onShore.com.....<URL:http://www.onShore.com/>
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