Re: Testing the d-i.

[Shaul Karl <shaulka@bezeqint.net>]

On 12 Apr 2003 01:06:17 +0200, Petter Reinholdtsen wrote:

> [Shaul Karl]
> >   To what degree are the following methods usable for testing the d-i:
> >
> >   1. Using a serial console.
> >   2. Using a dedicated card that redirects the console and keyboard that
> >      the BIOS is using to a serial line.
> >   3. A boot ROM on an Ethernet card.
> >
> > ?
> 
> I do not use any of these methods.  I test in VMWare, and once in a
> while I burn out a CD and test it on a scratch machine.  I do not have
> the equipment to test any of the things you describe, and besides it
> is quicker to test using VMWare.  Most of the stuff I test isn't HW
> dependent.
> 


  Using a boot ROM on an Ethernet card for the installed machine and a
serial console seems to me quicker then using VMWare because it frees
the resources that VMWare uses. In addition, testing the installer that
way will probably makes the installer better implemented for actual
installations on a remote machine, thus making the d-i superior to
other installers. In this case I believe that the text mode of the
debian installer will turn into an advantage rather then a point of
weakness. It will also make debian less dependent on proprietary
software.
  The only real problems that I can see are:
1) You don't have the required equipment.
2) You might be unfamiliar with (semi) disk less clients.
3) d-i might not be fully prepared for this mode of operation.
4) Anything else?

  In addition, although you would still burn out a CD and test it on
a scratch machine once in a while, you would need the scratch machine
and the cables to be connected whenever you want to test something.
Perhaps you would leave them connected permanently. Yet since the 
scratch machine can be without a monitor and without a keyboard in
order to run your frequent tests I hope that it is a negligible 
requirement. 

  Aren't the advantages of testing the d-i with an Ethernet boot ROM
and a serial console well worth the effort to solve those problems?
This is doubly true as the solutions seems to me rather simple and 
cheap.

  I would also like to point out that the ability to install on a
remote machine might be more usable then one might think. Scenarios
that fit into such installations are home network, office environment
and probably more.
-- 

    Shaul Karl, shaulka@bezeqint.n e t