Geert Stappers wrote:
On Wed, Feb 25, 2004 at 12:19:54PM -0500, Erik Dykema wrote:Geert Stappers wrote:<snip what="lines we have seen before"/>Then it's not necessary to include the code stuff in the preseeder udebs, because that functionality (scripting & etc.) is totally handled by cfengine.My proposal is to let d-i bring the computer at a level that can run cfengine. Now I think about it, preseeder can just be data. Or not even a udeb just the file with answers. Auto install with debian-installer will be creating the proper boot image.Yes, this is my proposal as well, and I concur that having just the file with the answers would be the simplest=best way to do it. This is at any rate how red hat's kickstart works.Where, when & how does the Red Hat installer read the file with answers?
Kickstart can get the answers in one of two ways. First you make the kickstart file.
Then you can:put it onto the boot disk / cdrom. When the kernel boots, it looks in default places and it if finds it, it begins the installation. Or, put it somewhere on NFS, and pass the nfs location to the kernel at boot time (append kickstart=192.168.1.1:/kickstart.file). This is the one that is really useful for PXE booting.
Here is a redhat manual describing the process: http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/linux/RHL-9-Manual/custom-guide/ch-kickstart2.html As far as I know, what this would require is: a) d-i to be able to see what the messages passed to the kernel were. b) Parsing out the location to the kickstart file if it exists. c) Mounting that location via NFS and copying the file over.d) Using the instructions in the file to answer the questions posed during installation, OR, e) using the instructions in the file to put answers into the debconf database, which then would cause d-i not to ask any questions as it already knows what all the answers are (not really clear on how debconf works).
Erik