Could you please include a subject in your emails? You seem to be replying to the messages and deleting the subject every time.
On 2020-04-28, Buck wrote: >> Examples of usage of each of what? > > I was referring to this statement of yours: "profiles" defines which > profiles are included in simple-cdd, "auto-profiles" selects which > profiles to use at run-time without asking the user." > I'm not sure why it didn't make it through. I am still learning this > cool but unusual bug reporting system. It's just email, basically, so many of the same common ettiquette applies here. > Anyway, that statement made no sense to me, even after reading lots > and lots of docs and help files. Please provide examples of each. I'll try again... --profiles selects what profiles are included on the generated images, essentially copying the files from ./profiles/ and/or /usr/share/simple-cdd/profiles/ files onto the installer media for the relevent profile, and determines which packages are available on the install media. --auto-profiles effectively preseeds which profiles to install when you boot the installer, if you do not use --auto-profiles, it will ask you which profiles you want to install when you boot the installer media (e.g. USB, DVD, CD, etc.). >> Yes, please include the contents of these files, otherwise it's >> essentially impossible for me to understand what you're doing or what's > Okay: > > --custom.preseed-- > #### Contents of the preconfiguration file (for jessie) > ### Localization > # Preseeding only locale sets language, country and locale. > #d-i debian-installer/locale string en_US > > # The values can also be preseeded individually for greater flexibility. > d-i debian-installer/language string en > d-i debian-installer/country string CH > #d-i debian-installer/locale string en_US.UTF-8 As explained in the simple-cdd README, these cannot be effectively preseeded using a simple-cdd profile, as preseeding is loaded after the questions are asked. Use --locale=en_CH > # Keyboard selection. > d-i keyboard-configuration/xkb-keymap select us > # d-i keyboard-configuration/toggle select No toggling Same. Use --keyboard=us Both --locale and --keyboard configure the boot prompt to pass specific preseeded debconf values, which are preseeded very early in the boot process. > # Root password, either in clear text > d-i passwd/root-password password wootaler > d-i passwd/root-password-again password wootaler > # or encrypted using an MD5 hash. > #d-i passwd/root-password-crypted password [MD5 hash] Presumably, you've encoutered a warning from simple-cdd, as it cannot verify that it's a valid preseeding file (the password configuration is tested with a different database that requires root access, and simple-cdd should not be run as root). > # Alternatively, you may specify a disk to partition. If the system has only > # one disk the installer will default to using that, but otherwise the device > # name must be given in traditional, non-devfs format (so e.g. /dev/sda > # and not e.g. /dev/discs/disc0/disc). > # For example, to use the first SCSI/SATA hard disk: > #d-i partman-auto/disk string /dev/sda If you want automatic partitioning, you'll need to uncomment this, or it will ask you... And you need to make sure you're passing it a valid device, which can get very tricky as devices may be enumerated in a non-deterministic way. In qemu, it might be /dev/vda (libvirt) or /dev/sda (scsi, ide, usb), for example. If you have USB sticks, the USB stick might be /dev/sda, or the installed disk might be /dev/sda. With simple systems that you can control, usually it'll be /dev/sda, but no guarantees. > # Individual additional packages to install > d-i pkgsel/include string build-essential git w3m secure-delete rsync nmap > screen tmux sudo pwgen net-tools dnstools You need these packages to be available in one of your profiles, or it will require network access... maybe that's ok for you... > # Due notably to potential USB sticks, the location of the MBR can not be > # determined safely in general, so this needs to be specified: > #d-i grub-installer/bootdev string /dev/sda > # To install to the first device (assuming it is not a USB stick): > #d-i grub-installer/bootdev string default You need to specify this or it will ask you. And again, it needs to match the disks you actually have available, and pick the correct ones. > --custom.packages-- > (blank) You probably want the packages you mentioned in your preseeding file: d-i pkgsel/include string build-essential git w3m secure-delete rsync nmap screen tmux sudo pwgen net-tools dnstools > --custom.postinst-- > (contains a custom BASH script with private data) You taunt me and limit my ability to help you. :P > --custom.description-- > (contains a single-line string with private data describing the project) You taunt me and limit my ability to help you. :P > --custom.udebs-- > # the udeb needed for simple-cdd > simple-cdd-profiles This is redundant with the default profile, but shouldn't hurt anything. >>> Wait wait whoah whoah. The docs I've been reading for weeks don't >>> sound like this at all. I'm going to explain what I've been lead to >>> believe. You will hopefully tell me *specifically* how I am wrong, >>> and suggest correct usage instead. > >>What docs are you referring to? > > My primary source was > https://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/debian-handbook/sect.automated-installation.en.html Ok, that's the underpinnings of how debian-installer works. While the documentation is largely relevent for simple-cdd, as simple-cdd extensively uses the hooks provided in debian-installer, you're not going to find documentation specific to simple-cdd there. >>From the README: > >> Default Profile > >> the profile named "default" is special, because it always gets installed. > >> modify the profile/default.* files with care, as simple-cdd relies upon the >> default profile working in certain ways ... > > That's a great example of what I meant, but maybe it makes sense not to bog > down with details. We've had a pretty extensive back and forth, so I'm not sure "what I meant" is referring to. >> I don't understand where you get this impression from. > > So clearly the issue is that we communicate differently. Maybe you're > vague and I'm making assumptions. Ok, perhaps I was a bit vague, assuming you knew about where to find documentation for packages in Debian. If you haven't already, please read /usr/share/doc/simple-cdd/README* > Maybe I am just dumb today. Each of those can be a common set of > errors leading to situations like this. Once we figure out the issue > (ie - you and I use this bug report such that you explain how it > really works) I will happily provide suggested documentation. I hope we get there, but I'm going to need to limit the amount of energy I commit to this unless things start to feel more specific, and thus, productive. >> Language selection is addressed in the README in the "Language and >> Country Selection" heading. It's one of those special configurations. > > Yes and I think I did it right (please see sample above) but I still > get the problem of being asked for a language selection when I boot > the VM. Maybe I did not do it right? Apparently, you missed the --locale configuration option mentioned in the simple-cdd README: Language and Country Selection to pre-select the language and country, it is recommended to use the --locale commandline option: build-simple-cdd --locale en_US >> There's also some debian-installer documentation the briefly touches >> on what questions can be answered with which methods of preseeding: > >> https://www.debian.org/releases/stable/amd64/apbs01.en.html > > Much too briefly. I've read that, and I did not find it helpful. It was > very abstract. Fair enough. >> There are a lot of other things documented in the adjacent >> chapters. > > Probably, but none of them are naturally led to from the 12.3 doc, so > they might be there but be unfound when it matters. One of the challenges with debian-installer documentation is it is extremely flexible, and involves a lot of moving parts that may change at any time, which makes it very difficult to produce comprehensive documentation. >>>> That said, not including or aggressively overriding contents in the >>>> default profile is >>>> possible to break how simple-cdd works, so be selective in what you >>>> override. >>> >>> That's not helpful! Please point me to the docs that explain the >>> precise interplay between default and custom profiles, including a >>> specific list of what I must not override! >> >>There are no such docs. The specific values change over time largely >>entirely outside of simple-cdd... > > So the solution is... to guess? Experimentation works pretty well. There are very few options you will need to change. You're talking about the interaction between literally 50000+ moving parts... but in reality, you probably only need to worry about a handful of them. >> Yes, I would recommend copying whatever files you need to modify from >> /usr/share/simple-cdd/profiles/ into your working ./profiles/ directory >> and change as little as you can to get what you want. > > What? *Why would I need to modify a file from > /usr/share/simple-cdd/profiles*? You are making some assumption here > that is not explained or clear. Since the "default" profile is always included, installed, etc. when using simple-cdd, if you want to change the behavior of the "default" profile, you will need to copy the files from /usr/share/simple-cdd/default.* into ./profiles/ and modify them. You can tweak any of the other example profiles from /usr/share/simple-cdd/profiles/ by also copying them into you working ./profiles/ directory. >> For each file type it looks first in ./profiles/PROFILE.* and if it >> doesn't find one, it looks in /usr/share/simple-cdd/profiles/PROFILE.* > > Okay, now this is clear. GREAT! >> The "default" profile is *always* loaded, so if you want to change >> something in it, you need to add ./profiles/default.* for any of the >> files you want to change or override. > > Ohhhhhhh. I knew it was "always selected; it contains the bare > minimum required for Simple-CDD to work." But this is a little > different. Okay. I'm not sure what you mean, a profile consists of the files present in ./profiles/ and/or /usr/share/simple-cdd/profiles, preferring the former over the latter. >> The "default" profile is loaded a little earlier than the other >> profiles; any other simple-cdd profiles will be loaded after the >> " default" profile preseed has run and should be able to overwrite the >> "default" settings ... except for things that have already been used by >> debian-installer. > > Two points: > > 1. This should almost definitely go into > https://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/debian-handbook/sect.automated-installation.en.html > section 12.3.3.1. That is debian-installer documentation. If anything specific to simple-cdd needs documentation, it belongs in the simple-cdd documentation. For avoidance of doubt, simple-cdd profiles are specific to simple-cdd. > 2. How can I know which "things... have already been used by > debian-installer"? The simple-cdd profiles are the result of years of working on this(though the majority of work was in the first few months), and effectively documents what *I* think are the questions that matter for a fully or semi-automated install using debian-installer. >>>> The custom.preseed file may not be loaded till later in the process; it >>>> depends on which questions you're thinking are answered by it. There is >>>> a question during the install that asks which simple-cdd profiles to >>>> load; any pquestions asked before that obviously can't be preseeded. > > Does this imply that it is not possible to have a completely non-interactive > installer? No, it does not. See /usr/share/simple-cdd/profiles/test.* > Why does the install ask which simple-cdd profiles to load, if I use > the --profiles switch? Because that is exactly how it is intended to work. The --profiles switch tells you which profiles are available on the install media. If --auto-profiles if not specified, it will ask which profiles to install when you're doing the install. If you want a fully automated install for SOMEPROFILE, you'll have to specify *both* --profiles SOMEPROFILE and --auto-profiles SOMEPROFILE. >> [non-interactive installer] should be possible, but often time all the exact >> questions asked may >> be hard to track down. > > Can you point me to a doc that has a complete list? A *mostly* complete list could be found by downloading the approximately 50000+ packages in Debian and extracting the questions from the /var/lib/dpkg/info/*.templates files. Hopefully that illustrates the scope of what you're asking for? > What process does one use to "track down" the basic language required > for an effective preseed file? Try an install, note what questions are still asked, and from the resulting installed system that asked too many questions, run "debconf-get-selections" and "debconf-get-selections --installer" and look for the questions you want to preseed, add them to your preseed file, try again, etc. >> There's no real difference in simple-cdd profiles defined in ./profiles/ >> and in /usr/share/simple-cdd/profiles, other than the order in which >> simple-cdd looks for files, preferring the files in the ./profiles/ >> directory. > I would also add this to > https://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/debian-handbook/sect.automated-installation.en.html > section 12.3.3.1 Again, debian-installer documentation is not the place to document simple-cdd specifics. > or maybe to https://wiki.debian.org/Simple-CDD/Howto. Sure, the simple-cdd README and the wiki Simple-CDD/Howto page are the appropriate places to document this sort of thing... and should be kept in sync. Help appreciated. > (I don't know about the Howto because I can never see the Debian > wiki.) You obviously know about the wiki *somehow* given that you've just provided a link to it... > I would phrase it like this: > > "When reading profiles, simple-cdd gives precedence to profiles > defined in ./profiles/ and then in /usr/share/simple-cdd/profiles." Thanks for the suggestion. Where *exactly* do you think this should be specified? >> Once you grasp this, I would *very* much appreciate patches to improve >> the documentation. :) > > I will be happy to do this. First, let's work on the "Once you grasp > this" part. I am trying, I promise. And I am starting to see that > this may not be a bug, but I'm not 100% sure and anyway I would really > benefit from the help (ie - examining the files above to determine why > I might have the original error.) Good luck. live well, vagrant
signature.asc
Description: PGP signature
