Re: [debian-knoppix] Knoppix and cloning for different types of hardware
>From Wouter Mignon on Monday, 2003-06-16 at 13:59:07 +0200:
> Hello,
>
> We want to use knoppix as basis for our dual boot Win/Linux image in our
> school's pc classrooms. The windows partition uses sysprep to customize
> the image, this way we can use only one image for all of our classrooms.
> We would like to stick to one image and the autodetection feature
> Knoppix uses seems like a good solution.
>
> I tried the hd-install which is included on the Knoppix CD but this
> install seems to install a customized version of Knoppix for the
> specific PC you are installing to, and not the autodetection part.
>
> What way van I copy a knoppix image to harddrive which works on all
> knoppix supported-hardware after cloning. Or does anybody know any other
> way to easily deploy linux images in classrooms with different types of
> hardware?
There are at least two ways to do this:
1) Have a look at the files on the CD, and you will see that
the number of files is remarkably few. The reason is that
almost everything of interest is contained in the compressed
file KNOPPIX/KNOPPIX, which can be copied to your hard disk.
If you copy KNOPPIX/KNOPPIX to your hard disk, and make a
boot-floppy from the floppy image on the CD (KNOPPIX/boot.img),
you can then start up all the computers with the boot-floppy,
with the benefits of autodetection and identical images.
There are some additional benefits: the compressed image uses
less space than a full install (700MB versus 2GB), you do not
have to make any additional partitions (the compressed image
can live on the same partition as your Windows files, if you
have enough space), and it is difficult to tamper with the
compressed image---but of course it can be deleted.
2) Install to hard disk, not via knx-hdinstall, but by the
following method. This method requires that you have
a free partition available. After booting the CD,
make an ext2 file system on the free partition,
and mount it. Then
cp -a /KNOPPIX/* /mnt/<free partition>
The advantage of this method is that the Knoppix compressed
image is now UNcompressed, and normal operations should be
a little faster. The disadvantage is that your system is
now less tamper-resistant, and unless you recompile the
kernel or make a new initrd, you have no journaling.
In either case, you still have the usual Knoppix autodetection.
If operation is sufficiently smooth, I would probably prefer
method (1), because it seems easier and cleaner. Method (1)
is very much like running from CD, except that it is quieter,
and you do not need a CD-player.
Conrad
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