Re: Adding ISO-search support to the CD (netinst) images?
On Sat, Dec 31, 2011 at 12:30:10PM -0400, Joey Hess wrote:
> Evgeni Golov wrote:
> > grub2:
> > loopback loop /debian-7.0-amd64-NETINST-findiso.iso
> > set root=(loop)
> > linux /install.amd/vmlinux findiso
> > initrd /install.amd/initrd.gz
> > boot
>
> So for this to work, the user has to go out of their way to configure it
> to be used, including specifying the initrd to use. Why is this better
> than the user downloading the hd-media initrd.gz and using that?
The grub method is automatable (in grub itself too).
Just create a folder, dump some ISOs there and create a script that will
itterate over the ISOs and create grub entries to chainload these.
If the iso would contain a grub.cfg (or better loopback.cfg [1]), this
would run completelly automated (I have such a cfg on my hd, didnt
commit it yet). If not, easy guessing is possible in most of the cases.
> This cannot quite replace hd-media, because the hd-media initrd contains
> many more kernel drivers, to be able to scan hard drives. Those are not
> included on the cdrom initrd to avoid bloating it.
Sure. But at least for me, I need hd-media to boot an usb-drive w/ D-I.
No fancy firewire/non-sata SCSI etc.
So current state would be enough (I boot netbooks/notebooks with the
drive), even if not a complete replacement of all the hd-media
use-cases.
> As one of the main authors and maintainers of iso-scan, I see it being
> used in increasingly limited circumstances, and have been hoping that
> those use-cases will narrow to the point that it can be removed. Making
> it marginally easier to boot the CD with grub2 is a very narrow use-case
> indeed, and not a good justification for adding iso-scan to the cdrom
> initrd.
Well, I fear this won't be possible. The last years gave us enough
machines that have no cdrom and desperately need a way of installation
from usb, so having hd-media was always great. And yes, hybrid media is
cool, but does not give the same flexibility (is that a word at all?) of
having multiple installers on one usb.
Regards
Evgeni
[1] http://www.supergrubdisk.org/wiki/Loopback.cfg
--
Bruce Schneier can read and understand Perl programs.
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