Bug#510271: installation-report: Lenny on a Slug - eventual success after a few tries and some fixups
Martin Michlmayr wrote: > * Rick Thomas [2009-01-13 10:05]: >>> Sorry, I was wrong here. Yeah, this sounds like an interesting >>> approach. >> I don't think regenerating the image should be necessary. If "--payload" > > Yes, as I said, I was wrong. You can just specify --payload with an > existing image when uploading to the NSLU2. > >> can be used along with the image you provide, then there could be code in >> the image that looks to see if the "payload" area has something that looks >> like a preseed (maybe a "magic number" or checksum or timestamp or >> something else to be reasonably sure we're not being fooled by random data >> or by stuff left-over from the last d-i.) If there is, it can use it, if >> not, it can ignore it. >> >> Or am I missing something? I don't know much about the internals of the >> upslug2 process, so I'm sure there's plenty I could be missing. Is there >> documentation beyond the upslug2 man page I could look at? In particular, >> I gather that the program on the slug end of the upslug2 process is called >> "redboot" -- is that correct? Is there a Linksys manual or technical >> paper describing redboot? > > The boot loader on the NSLU2 is RedBoot, but I don't think this > payload has anything to do with RedBoot per se. I think the payload > features simply writes the data to a location in flash that isn't used > for anything. > > But I don't know any details myself about this feature. I've copied > Rod Whitby who should be able to point to more documentation (if it > exists) or give us more information. Source code for the upgrade protocol in the Linksys (written by SerComm) version of RedBoot is available. The --payload switch to upslug2 is probably not used by anyone in the world at the moment (we certainly haven't used it in the nslu2-linux project, nor in the NSLU2 Debian work). All it does is overwrite an area in the FIS directory partition when uploading an image. It's exactly equivalent to overwriting the bytes in the image before calling upslug2 - there is no special upgrade protocol support used or required. So nothing uses that area today (we were considering using it for IXP microcode storage, but decided to put it in the rootfs instead), and no Linksys software touches that area (which is why we originally thought of using it, and added support for that in the tools). However, it will be overwritten by each flash of the NSLU2, so is different from the SysConf area (which is currently used for preseeding network settings) in that respect. -- Rod -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-boot-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org
Bug#510271: installation-report: Lenny on a Slug - eventual success after a few tries and some fixups
* Rick Thomas [2009-01-13 10:39]: > I think explicitly mentioning "domain" as well as "hostname" and IP- > address should be all that's required. The hostname was mentioned already. I've added a reference to "domain" now too. Thanks. -- Martin Michlmayr http://www.cyrius.com/ -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-boot-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org
Bug#510271: installation-report: Lenny on a Slug - eventual success after a few tries and some fixups
* Rick Thomas [2009-01-13 10:05]: >> Sorry, I was wrong here. Yeah, this sounds like an interesting >> approach. > > I don't think regenerating the image should be necessary. If "--payload" Yes, as I said, I was wrong. You can just specify --payload with an existing image when uploading to the NSLU2. > can be used along with the image you provide, then there could be code in > the image that looks to see if the "payload" area has something that looks > like a preseed (maybe a "magic number" or checksum or timestamp or > something else to be reasonably sure we're not being fooled by random data > or by stuff left-over from the last d-i.) If there is, it can use it, if > not, it can ignore it. > > Or am I missing something? I don't know much about the internals of the > upslug2 process, so I'm sure there's plenty I could be missing. Is there > documentation beyond the upslug2 man page I could look at? In particular, > I gather that the program on the slug end of the upslug2 process is called > "redboot" -- is that correct? Is there a Linksys manual or technical > paper describing redboot? The boot loader on the NSLU2 is RedBoot, but I don't think this payload has anything to do with RedBoot per se. I think the payload features simply writes the data to a location in flash that isn't used for anything. But I don't know any details myself about this feature. I've copied Rod Whitby who should be able to point to more documentation (if it exists) or give us more information. I should mention again, though, that while this feature might be nice to have, I'm personally not interested in working on it (because there are so many other things on my TODO list from which more people will benefit than from this feature). -- Martin Michlmayr http://www.cyrius.com/ -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-boot-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org
Bug#510271: installation-report: Lenny on a Slug - eventual success after a few tries and some fixups
On Jan 13, 2009, at 2:23 AM, Martin Michlmayr wrote: 2) Assume a user has a slug they've been using with the Linksys software for a while and wants to switch to Debian: What should they do to make sure d-i gets their network configuration right without having to resort to the fixups you describe below? ... the docs clearly say that a) the network configuration has to be complete when you use a static IP address and b) if you configure the Linksys firmware to use DHCP that will be used. So to make sure d-i gets it right you either have to: a) put in all values in the Linksys firmware or b) tell the Linksys firmware to use DHCP and configure your DHCP server properly. I think both are pretty clear. Maybe I should explicitly mention "hostname" and "domain" somewhere, though... The docs are clear if you know what you're looking for. If you don't, it's easy to miss the important stuff. (This is, of course universally true, and not a solvable problem in general. But in this specific instance...) I think explicitly mentioning "domain" as well as "hostname" and IP- address should be all that's required. The existing docs mention in a general way what happens if parameters are missing, but do not provide a complete list of needed parameters. So maybe a footnote giving the complete list of network configuration parameters that the d-i will use if it can get them out of the mtdblock1 area (IP-address, netmask, gateway address, DNS server, hostname, domain -- have I missed anything?) and some details on what it will do if any of them are missing? Maybe I'm just over-thinking the problem because it happened to be me who got bitten by it. In any case, "Thanks!" for all your efforts. The slug is a really neat little box, and your work makes it really easy for general users like me to join in the fun. I'm grateful. Enjoy! Rick PS: I'll leave it to you to close this bug if you think it's served its purpose. -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-boot-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org
Bug#510271: installation-report: Lenny on a Slug - eventual success after a few tries and some fixups
On Jan 13, 2009, at 2:58 AM, Martin Michlmayr wrote: * Martin Michlmayr [2009-01-13 08:23]: 3) Is there any way to have d-i offer slug users the same kind of network configuration options as are considered normal for users of other systems? For example, it appears that there is room for some user-definable data at the end of the flash image (see the "--payload" option in the upslug2 man page). Can that be used to preseed some d-i parameters, such as networking configuration? Good question; I don't know. Maybe you can investigate. But this would require users to regenerate the image... Sorry, I was wrong here. Yeah, this sounds like an interesting approach. I don't think regenerating the image should be necessary. If "-- payload" can be used along with the image you provide, then there could be code in the image that looks to see if the "payload" area has something that looks like a preseed (maybe a "magic number" or checksum or timestamp or something else to be reasonably sure we're not being fooled by random data or by stuff left-over from the last d- i.) If there is, it can use it, if not, it can ignore it. And the preseed can be quite general, not just for network configuration, though I assume that network configuration would be one very common use. If '--prefix' can't be used, then maybe just concatenating the (suitably encapsulated) preseed on the end of the image? Or am I missing something? I don't know much about the internals of the upslug2 process, so I'm sure there's plenty I could be missing. Is there documentation beyond the upslug2 man page I could look at? In particular, I gather that the program on the slug end of the upslug2 process is called "redboot" -- is that correct? Is there a Linksys manual or technical paper describing redboot? Thanks! Rick -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-boot-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org
Bug#510271: installation-report: Lenny on a Slug - eventual success after a few tries and some fixups
* Martin Michlmayr [2009-01-13 08:23]: > > 3) Is there any way to have d-i offer slug users the same kind of > > network configuration options as are considered normal for users of > > other systems? For example, it appears that there is room for some > > user-definable data at the end of the flash image (see the > > "--payload" option in the upslug2 man page). Can that be used to > > preseed some d-i parameters, such as networking configuration? > > Good question; I don't know. Maybe you can investigate. But this > would require users to regenerate the image... Sorry, I was wrong here. Yeah, this sounds like an interesting approach. -- Martin Michlmayr http://www.cyrius.com/ -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-boot-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org
Bug#510271: installation-report: Lenny on a Slug - eventual success after a few tries and some fixups
* Rick Thomas [2009-01-12 19:46]: > 1) What part of the current d-i documentation or d-i software needs to be > modified so that normal folks don't make the same mistake I did. I'm open to improving the docs, but so far I'm not sure there's anything wrong with then... > 2) Assume a user has a slug they've been using with the Linksys > software for a while and wants to switch to Debian: What should > they do to make sure d-i gets their network configuration right > without having to resort to the fixups you describe below? ... the docs clearly say that a) the network configuration has to be complete when you use a static IP address and b) if you configure the Linksys firmware to use DHCP that will be used. So to make sure d-i gets it right you either have to: a) put in all values in the Linksys firmware or b) tell the Linksys firmware to use DHCP and configure your DHCP server properly. I think both are pretty clear. Maybe I should explicitly mention "hostname" and "domain" somewhere, though... > 3) Is there any way to have d-i offer slug users the same kind of > network configuration options as are considered normal for users of > other systems? For example, it appears that there is room for some > user-definable data at the end of the flash image (see the > "--payload" option in the upslug2 man page). Can that be used to > preseed some d-i parameters, such as networking configuration? Good question; I don't know. Maybe you can investigate. But this would require users to regenerate the image... I cannot possibly see how this would be easier compared to simply filling in the domain name with the Linksys firmware (or fixing it after the installation). > 4) And specific to my own case: Do I have to re-flash with the > Linksys software to repair the network configuration for the next > time I want to do a test install? Or is there a simpler way that > can be done from the existing Debian setup? The device configuration is stored in /dev/mtdblock1. The Linksys firmware will modifiy these values when you change the configuration with the web interface. I believe some of the alternative NSLU2 firmware images have a tool to modify that area... maybe that could be ported to Debian and put in the nslu2-utils package. But right now you have to flash the Linksys firmware again. -- Martin Michlmayr http://www.cyrius.com/ -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-boot-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org
Bug#510271: installation-report: Lenny on a Slug - eventual success after a few tries and some fixups
On Jan 12, 2009, at 3:43 PM, Martin Michlmayr wrote: * Rick Thomas [2009-01-12 10:13]: If you send me a copy of your /dev/mtdblock1, I can verify whether you set a domain name or not. Here you go. Yep, no domain is set. Assuming that I did not set a domain back when I had the Linksys firmware installed... What can I do *now* to set it right and get my parameters from DHCP? I assume you don't want to do a new installation, right? Actually, I bought this slug specifically for the purpose of helping test new d-i versions, so the truth is: Yes, I do want to do a new installation -- lots of them as new versions of d-i come out (and I have time for testing and writing up my results, of course!). So the questions really are these: 1) What part of the current d-i documentation or d-i software needs to be modified so that normal folks don't make the same mistake I did. 2) Assume a user has a slug they've been using with the Linksys software for a while and wants to switch to Debian: What should they do to make sure d-i gets their network configuration right without having to resort to the fixups you describe below? 3) Is there any way to have d-i offer slug users the same kind of network configuration options as are considered normal for users of other systems? For example, it appears that there is room for some user-definable data at the end of the flash image (see the "-- payload" option in the upslug2 man page). Can that be used to preseed some d-i parameters, such as networking configuration? 4) And specific to my own case: Do I have to re-flash with the Linksys software to repair the network configuration for the next time I want to do a test install? Or is there a simpler way that can be done from the existing Debian setup? If d-i uses info from DHCP for the hostname and domain, it will write it to /etc/hosts, hostname, etc. The installed Debian system doesn't use DHCP for this. So you simply need to change /etc/hosts, hostname and every other file that mentions example.org and change it to something else. This will show you the files: grep -r example.org /etc The other question is whether your NSLU2 should obtain an IP address via DHCP or use the static address. If it should use DHCP, you have to edit /etc/network/interfaces Thanks! In fact, the above fixup is pretty much what I wound up doing. Is there a note somewhere in the wiki or install notes or somewhere that says what to do in a case like this? Not really... at least not explicitly. But my install page describes where d-i gets the network values from. That's true. And, as I said, when I looked with the right questions in mind, the answer was staring me in the face. But when I started out, it wasn't obvious what questions I should be asking, so I missed the significance of that part of your documentation. It was ever thus: "The history of computer programming is a race between the software developers to make bigger and better and more idiot proof software, and the Universe to make bigger and better idiots. So far the Universe is winning!" None of which excuses us from the duty of continually improving our software and documentation. Let me know if there's anything you'd like me to do along those lines... Thanks for all your help! I hope my experience was useful for you too, and it results in an improved experience for other slug users. Rick -- Martin Michlmayr http://www.cyrius.com/ -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-boot-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org
Bug#510271: installation-report: Lenny on a Slug - eventual success after a few tries and some fixups
* Rick Thomas [2009-01-12 10:13]: >> If you send me a copy of your /dev/mtdblock1, I can verify whether you >> set a domain name or not. > > Here you go. Yep, no domain is set. > Assuming that I did not set a domain back when I had the Linksys > firmware installed... What can I do *now* to set it right and get > my parameters from DHCP? I assume you don't want to do a new installation, right? If d-i uses info from DHCP for the hostname and domain, it will write it to /etc/hosts, hostname, etc. The installed Debian system doesn't use DHCP for this. So you simply need to change /etc/hosts, hostname and every other file that mentions example.org and change it to something else. This will show you the files: grep -r example.org /etc The other question is whether your NSLU2 should obtain an IP address via DHCP or use the static address. If it should use DHCP, you have to edit /etc/network/interfaces > Is there a note somewhere in the wiki or install notes or somewhere > that says what to do in a case like this? Not really... at least not explicitly. But my install page describes where d-i gets the network values from. -- Martin Michlmayr http://www.cyrius.com/ -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-boot-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org
Bug#510271: installation-report: Lenny on a Slug - eventual success after a few tries and some fixups
* Rick Thomas [2009-01-12 02:22]:
>> d-i netcfg/get_hostname string debian
>> d-i netcfg/get_domain string example.org
...
>> d-i netcfg/get_ipaddress string 192.168.1.177
>> d-i netcfg/get_netmask string 255.255.255.0
>> d-i netcfg/get_gateway string 192.168.1.254
>> d-i netcfg/get_nameservers string 192.168.1.118 192.168.1.138 192.168.1.254
>> d-i netcfg/confirm_static boolean true
>> d-i netcfg/disable_dhcp boolean true
>> d-i netcfg/get_hostname string slug
>
> This doesn't make it any less of a bug, but it may put the behavior in a
> different light.
Yes, it does - it means that there is no bug!
If you configure your NSLU2 in the Linksys firmware to use a static IP
address, then d-i will use the network values from that configuration,
including IP, nameserver, hostname and domain name. As you can see,
it picks up the hostname properly ("slug", overwriting the default
"debian"). And you probably didn't set a domain name in the firmware,
otherwise it should have picked that up too.
If you send me a copy of your /dev/mtdblock1, I can verify whether you
set a domain name or not.
--
Martin Michlmayr
http://www.cyrius.com/
--
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Bug#510271: installation-report: Lenny on a Slug - eventual success after a few tries and some fixups
On Jan 6, 2009, at 3:59 PM, Martin Michlmayr wrote: * Rick Thomas [2008-12-30 19:12]: One thing worth mentioning though: I have a full-service DHCP on this subnet, so it got the network parameters from DHCP. This was successful, but for some reason it decided that the DNS domain was "example.org", not the one being offered by DHCP. The text "example.org" showed up in the following places: I need some more information on this. Please make a backup of your flash with cat /dev/mtdblock? > mtd-backup and copy it to your machine, so you can later write it back to the NSLU2 with upslug2. Then download the Debian installer image again and load it with upslug2. When you connect to the installer, open a shell and run the following commands. Please send me the output. cat /var/lib/dhcp3/dhclient.leases debconf-get netcfg/get_hostname debconf-get netcfg/get_domain cat /preseed.cfg You can then flash mtd-backup with upslug2 to get back into your system. Thanks. -- Martin Michlmayr http://www.cyrius.com/ OK, Here's the output (there was *no* file /var/lib/dhcp3/dhclient.leases ) ~ # ls -l /var/lib/dhcp3/ ~ # debconf-get netcfg/get_hostname slug ~ # debconf-get netcfg/get_domain example.org ~ # cat /preseed.cfg d-i ethdetect/use_firewire_ethernet boolean false d-i lowmem/low note d-i netcfg/get_hostname string debian d-i netcfg/get_domain string example.org d-i network-console/password password install d-i network-console/password-again password install d-i partconf/already-mounted boolean false d-i netcfg/choose_interface select eth0 d-i netcfg/get_ipaddress string 192.168.1.177 d-i netcfg/get_netmask string 255.255.255.0 d-i netcfg/get_gateway string 192.168.1.254 d-i netcfg/get_nameservers string 192.168.1.118 192.168.1.138 192.168.1.254 d-i netcfg/confirm_static boolean true d-i netcfg/disable_dhcp boolean true d-i netcfg/get_hostname string slug ~ # In re-reading your doc "Installing Debian on NSLU2" at www.cyrius.com/debian/nslu2/install.html> I saw (not for the first time, but never before looking for things that had to do with DHCP) the paragraph: If you have configured your network settings through the Linksys web interface to use a static IP address, these values will be used (including the hostname). which reminded me that I had done exactly that -- use the Linksys web interface to set up a static IP: 192.168.1.177 . This doesn't make it any less of a bug, but it may put the behavior in a different light. Hope this helps! Rick -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-boot-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org
Bug#510271: installation-report: Lenny on a Slug - eventual success after a few tries and some fixups
* Rick Thomas [2009-01-09 00:25]: > I'm getting ready to try this Friday. > > What URL should I use to download the Debian Installer from? http://www.slug-firmware.net/d-dls.php -- Martin Michlmayr http://www.cyrius.com/ -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-boot-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org
Bug#510271: installation-report: Lenny on a Slug - eventual success after a few tries and some fixups
I'm getting ready to try this Friday. What URL should I use to download the Debian Installer from? Thanks! Rick On Jan 6, 2009, at 3:59 PM, Martin Michlmayr wrote: * Rick Thomas [2008-12-30 19:12]: One thing worth mentioning though: I have a full-service DHCP on this subnet, so it got the network parameters from DHCP. This was successful, but for some reason it decided that the DNS domain was "example.org", not the one being offered by DHCP. The text "example.org" showed up in the following places: I need some more information on this. Please make a backup of your flash with cat /dev/mtdblock? > mtd-backup and copy it to your machine, so you can later write it back to the NSLU2 with upslug2. Then download the Debian installer image again and load it with upslug2. When you connect to the installer, open a shell and run the following commands. Please send me the output. cat /var/lib/dhcp3/dhclient.leases debconf-get netcfg/get_hostname debconf-get netcfg/get_domain cat /preseed.cfg You can then flash mtd-backup with upslug2 to get back into your system. Thanks. -- Martin Michlmayr http://www.cyrius.com/ -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-boot-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org
Bug#510271: installation-report: Lenny on a Slug - eventual success after a few tries and some fixups
* Rick Thomas [2008-12-30 19:12]: > One thing worth mentioning though: I have a full-service > DHCP on this subnet, so it got the network parameters from > DHCP. This was successful, but for some reason it decided > that the DNS domain was "example.org", not the one being > offered by DHCP. The text "example.org" showed up in > the following places: I need some more information on this. Please make a backup of your flash with cat /dev/mtdblock? > mtd-backup and copy it to your machine, so you can later write it back to the NSLU2 with upslug2. Then download the Debian installer image again and load it with upslug2. When you connect to the installer, open a shell and run the following commands. Please send me the output. cat /var/lib/dhcp3/dhclient.leases debconf-get netcfg/get_hostname debconf-get netcfg/get_domain cat /preseed.cfg You can then flash mtd-backup with upslug2 to get back into your system. Thanks. -- Martin Michlmayr http://www.cyrius.com/ -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-boot-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org
Bug#510271: installation-report: Lenny on a Slug - eventual success after a few tries and some fixups
* Rick Thomas [2008-12-31 17:02]: >> noatime is a known wishlist that will be done after lenny, I guess. > > Does that mean that there's no way to specify it at install/partitioner > time? Or that there's no way to specify it at all? Okay, I was wrong. It's already possible to choose noatime and relatime. > I was under the impression that relatime (a good compromise between > strict POSIX semantics and practicality) would be standard (at least > in certain kinds of installations) in Stretch. Is that still true? I think that was the consensus, but I'm not sure... BTW, the next version of Debian will be called "squeeze", not "stretch"; see http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel-announce/2008/09/msg0.html -- Martin Michlmayr http://www.cyrius.com/ -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-boot-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org
Bug#510271: installation-report: Lenny on a Slug - eventual success after a few tries and some fixups
On Dec 31, 2008, at 2:41 PM, Martin Michlmayr wrote: ext2 instead of ext3 is a good idea... maybe this should be offered on the NSLU2 by default as one option. On the other hand, it's also fairly easy to use the default partition schema and then change ext3 to ext2 in the partitioner manually before actually formating the disk. Maybe it's enough if I mention this on my web site. What do you think? Mentioning the ext2 option (and how to get it) on the web page is probably good enough, since via the web page is the most common (only really useful?) way to get a working installation. So I'd go with that for Lenny. Adding it as an option for Stretch is worth a wishlist bugreport, seems to me. noatime is a known wishlist that will be done after lenny, I guess. Does that mean that there's no way to specify it at install/ partitioner time? Or that there's no way to specify it at all? Or just that it's available but not automatic in Lenny and planned to be automatic in Stretch? Or something else? I was under the impression that relatime (a good compromise between strict POSIX semantics and practicality) would be standard (at least in certain kinds of installations) in Stretch. Is that still true? Thanks! Rick -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-boot-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org
Processed: Re: Bug#510271: installation-report: Lenny on a Slug - eventual success after a few tries and some fixups
Processing commands for cont...@bugs.debian.org: > reassign 510271 oldsys-preseed Bug#510271: installation-report: Lenny on a Slug - eventual success after a few tries and some fixups Bug reassigned from package `installation-reports' to `oldsys-preseed'. > retitle 510271 domain preseeding takes precedence over DHCP info Bug#510271: installation-report: Lenny on a Slug - eventual success after a few tries and some fixups Changed Bug title to `domain preseeding takes precedence over DHCP info' from `installation-report: Lenny on a Slug - eventual success after a few tries and some fixups'. > owner 510271 ! Bug 510271 [oldsys-preseed] domain preseeding takes precedence over DHCP info Owner recorded as Martin Michlmayr . > -- Stopping processing here. Please contact me if you need assistance. Debian bug tracking system administrator (administrator, Debian Bugs database) -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-boot-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org
Bug#510271: installation-report: Lenny on a Slug - eventual success after a few tries and some fixups
* Rick Thomas [2008-12-30 19:12]: > I originally wanted to try installing Lenny on an 8GB thumb drive. > But it failed repeatedly during the "installing basic software" > phase with the thumb drive going "read only". I suspected that > the thumb drive was being driven harder than it's design spec > and over heating on me. I'll try again some other day with > a different type of thumb drive. Indeed, sounds like a hardware problem to me. > Another thing I could try is use "ext2" instaead of "ext3" > filesystems on the thumb drive, and using "noatime" or "relatime" > options. Journaling on a flash-based media is reported to be a bad > idea due to the increased number of media writes per user I/O > operation. noatime is a known wishlist that will be done after lenny, I guess. ext2 instead of ext3 is a good idea... maybe this should be offered on the NSLU2 by default as one option. On the other hand, it's also fairly easy to use the default partition schema and then change ext3 to ext2 in the partitioner manually before actually formating the disk. Maybe it's enough if I mention this on my web site. What do you think? > One thing worth mentioning though: I have a full-service > DHCP on this subnet, so it got the network parameters from > DHCP. This was successful, but for some reason it decided > that the DNS domain was "example.org", not the one being > offered by DHCP. The text "example.org" showed up in > the following places: That's the value we preseed... I'm pretty sure that in the past this value would be overwritten by the one offered by DHCP, but I can confirm that this is no longer the case (and hasn't for a long time). I'll look into this issue soon. -- Martin Michlmayr http://www.cyrius.com/ -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-boot-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org
Bug#510271: installation-report: Lenny on a Slug - eventual success after a few tries and some fixups
* Rick Thomas [2008-12-31 02:23]: > For what it's worth: > > Normal installs (on the console, not via SSH) on PowerPC Macs and i386 PCs > on this subnet, using this DHCP server, don't have this problem. They > pick up the local DNS domain from DHCP and run with it. > > HTH, That's a great observation, thanks. -- Martin Michlmayr http://www.cyrius.com/ -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-boot-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org
Bug#510271: installation-report: Lenny on a Slug - eventual success after a few tries and some fixups
On Dec 30, 2008, at 7:12 PM, Rick Thomas wrote: for some reason it decided that the DNS domain was "example.org", not the one being offered by DHCP. For what it's worth: Normal installs (on the console, not via SSH) on PowerPC Macs and i386 PCs on this subnet, using this DHCP server, don't have this problem. They pick up the local DNS domain from DHCP and run with it. HTH, Rick -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-boot-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org
