Build your own live CD

rasat · 2004-02-03 05:14:42

Here is a link to a "how-to-do" document building your own live CD with Arch Linux distro.

AMLUG Project Logbook.
http://www.amlug.net/new-projects/forum … owtopic=34

For questions and comments post in this forum.

andy · 2004-02-03 10:24:31

Cool, I wanted to try that before - now I actually can :-) (if and when I really do it is another question ;-) ...)

Guest · 2004-02-03 17:57:59

I did some editing, fixing few codes, more organized and also a test run building the live CD by following the codes and descriptions in the document. If I missed something, please let me know or edit the document.

rasat · 2004-06-14 07:35:40

sud_crow wrote:

Im thinking in building my own liveCD for a specific reason and porpouse, as i cant find one that fits my needs..... i was wondering if you could give me a hand or a couple of tips...

The main idea is to install everything in fresh partition the way we want the system (Arch) to run. Make a small "mini root", add boot system, and burn evrything in CD. Take a look at the wiki doc. Its a copy from the AMLUG Project Logbook.... be free to edit.

Wiki:
http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Bui … 0live%20CD

I suggest you change the compressing system and make a new type of "mini root" (to increase the free memory). The zisofs is slow and the suggested type of "mini root" is low in free memory for running a workstation CD... few of the reasons why I am changing AL-AMLUG Live CD from workstation to a demo CD.
http://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?p=30900#30900

sud_crow · 2004-06-14 09:23:46

Im quite in a hurry right now, but im going to ask you a couple of thing about the miniroot and the filesystem later.

Thanks for giving me a hand on this..!

rasat · 2004-06-15 07:42:22

sud_crow wrote:

dp wrote:
Great idea. What development are you planning?
C/C++? GTK+?
If it had these it would be very handy for me too.
Right now, i have this planned:
C/C++, GTK+, Python, Haskell and Java.

If you plan to make it more public as a "developer" live CD, I suggest add apache and php (including a lightweight html editor) for web development. To add MySQL would also be nice but requires a Thumb Drive (USB memory stick) and an installer similar to the TD installer in AMLUG, to store database files.

dpb · 2004-06-15 10:28:14

rasat wrote:

sud_crow wrote:
dp wrote:
Great idea. What development are you planning?
C/C++? GTK+?
If it had these it would be very handy for me too.

:shock:
That should be dpb... I asked that...

It should also include Beaver, it's a nice programmers editor.

Dusty · 2004-06-15 15:48:11

I don't think a "public" developer CD would fly. Developers are independent creatures and will only use a system that's set up exactly how they want it.

Dusty

sud_crow · 2004-06-16 04:56:08

HI,

firs some answers/comments:

rasat wrote:

If you plan to make it more public as a "developer" live CD, I suggest add apache and php (including a lightweight html editor) for web development. To add MySQL would also be nice but requires a Thumb Drive (USB memory stick) and an installer similar to the TD installer in AMLUG, to store database files.

I do plan to make it public, and also i was thinking in adding php and apache, but i didnt know that MySQL needed a thumb drive, and (as i dont have one) i guess i wont add any of the three as there is not much utility in php without a database...at least for the things that i do with it.
I really think in including lots of programms and information (some PDF of books that are available to everyone, as Thinking in C++, but i have to check licenses and that stuff), but that i guess i will do it when i feel comfortable with it, so, probably the first couple of versions (not to name the hundreds of atemps) will be reduced in size to save me time.

dpb wrote:

It should also include Beaver, it's a nice programmers editor.

I will check it and comment later

I don't think a "public" developer CD would fly. Developers are independent creatures and will only use a system that's set up exactly how they want it.

im one of those 8) and thats the main reason im doing it, there are some livecds for PHP, Zope and some other stuff, but not for what i need/want.

Now im back with more questions!

rasat wrote:

I suggest you change the compressing system and make a new type of "mini root" (to increase the free memory). The zisofs is slow and the suggested type of "mini root" is low in free memory for running a workstation CD... few of the reasons why I am changing AL-AMLUG Live CD from workstation to a demo CD.

This are some of the issues im most in dubt, what are the different compression methods? (i know what it means, but what are available besides zisofs).

And i was thinking in using this scripts: www.linux-live.org
They seem to work in every distro, and i asked a couple of questions in the forum to the admin, and he was optimistic about it (he thinks they will work if the distribution is atained to the Linux Hirearchy Standard -- probably misspelled)

Take a look at them, if you can, and tell me what you think.

dpb · 2004-06-16 06:31:27

Dusty wrote:

I don't think a "public" developer CD would fly. Developers are independent creatures and will only use a system that's set up exactly how they want it.

Well, if there were some developer live CD out there, all the developers could easily modify it to their own needs.

rasat · 2004-06-16 06:35:32

sud_crow wrote:

rasat wrote:
I suggest you change the compressing system and make a new type of "mini root" (to increase the free memory).
This are some of the issues im most in dubt, what are the different compression methods? (i know what it means, but what are available besides zisofs)

Here below are different compression methods. If you are not familar with the methods, do as I did with the first version of AL-AMLUG, first don't compress the files to get the CD to work without hazzle. Remember not to exceed the CD capacity (~700MB)

There are several read-only compressed fileystems available for Linux:
1. squashfs
Is freely available from http://squashfs.sourceforge.net as a set of patches to the 2.4.19 to 2.4.22 kernels. It uncompresses on the fly from an image.

2. cramfs
Is included in the standard Linux 2.4.20 kernel at http://kernel.org. It is intended for read-only filesystems in ROM, does not support hard links and timestamps and is limited to 256MB filesystems.

3. zisofs
Is included in the standard linux 2.4.20 kernel at http://kernel.org. Instead of having the entire compressed filesystem in a single file on the CD, it compresses each individual file within a regular filetree on the CDROM.

4. cloop device
The cloop device is a generic way to compress any other filesystem. It is like the loopback device used to mount regular files as if they were block devices, but implements gzip-style data decompression on the way.

Klaus Knopper (of Knoppix) says:
"zisofs is a compressed filesystem, cloop is a compressed block device. Compressed filesystems are slower, because each file has to be uncompressed again in each read, while cloop keeps the uncompressed blocks in the normal block layer filesystem cache. cloop is older, well-tested and filesystem independent.

PS.
I know the zisofs how to install and use. I have not tried the other metodhs.

dpb · 2004-06-16 07:37:34

Knoppix uses the cloop device and it works great. I think you should use cloop in this too. http://knoppix.net/docs/index.php/Knopp … eringHowto contains a knoppix remastering howto, it might help with this somehow.

sud_crow · 2004-06-16 07:57:11

Thanks both

Rasat, excelent and brief description of each compression method!

I guess i will go without compression for a while... it will save me time until i get the things the way that i want, and then i might get my whole attention to it and see whats best....

Also, if i dont compress, it might be faster...

dpb, thanks for the link, i read about knoppix remastering, but didnt took a deep look at it. i also saw some stuff about Damn Small Linux moduling (its based in Knoppix so, its kind the same thing) and Morphix... and the scripts i named above that belong to Slax... so i guess there are plenty of ways to proceede.

So Rasat, a correct me if im wrong...
As im not using any compression for the first time, i just install my system in a new partition, then i should create a mini-root (even if i dont compress?) and an initrd image and burn everything to the cd... --more or less --

Thanks for the input!

dpb · 2004-06-16 08:54:24

I should add that I did a Knoppix remaster for my graduation work at school according to that remaster howto. Worked great.

rasat · 2004-06-16 13:14:52

sud_crow wrote:

So Rasat, a correct me if im wrong...
As im not using any compression for the first time, i just install my system in a new partition, then i should create a mini-root (even if i dont compress?) and an initrd image and burn everything to the cd... --more or less

Correct.... system partition, mini-root and initrd (isolinux).

Before burning, what you have installed in the new partition, copy all folders and files under one folder (example /system). In the CD this folder with its content is read only. The mini-root is actually an other partition but small in size and easily developed in your existing work partition. It is an image with same folder structure as in the /system folder. Its read-write and uploaded in RAM when booting. The tricky part is to design what folders and files need read-write access (in mini-root) and what can run through symlinks to /system folder with read access.

In AL-AMLUG the size of mini-root image is big 12MB (when uncompressed) because the entire booting system runs from it until login when folders only then are converted into symlinks to access /system folder. This was purposely done to get the booting to look like native Arch Linux. To have a small size image I am not sure how to design... didn't try.

To make it easy, you can use the boot system from AL-AMLUG... you need to edit some of the files in /etc in the miniroot.gz
ftp://ftp.bliss-solutions.org/live-cd/d … /isolinux/

Note about the content in amlug sever:
The /miniroot(uncompressed) are the folders and files in miniroot.gz

dpb · 2004-06-23 16:49:13

sud_crow: Any progress on this yet? I might try making one myself soon.

sud_crow · 2004-06-24 02:03:26

Hi!

Yes, but not at the cd burn stage yet... I made the partition, installed arch and im installing the programs i like and customizing it, and as I'm pretty busy right now, i cant finish it for a couple of days --have an exam on friday and its eliminatory--. As soon as i have working (or not ) cd im posting about it!

About doing it yourself: Go ahead, i think is a good experience and quite fun (maybe!) too, having your real own desktop to carry around is quite amazing! (specially to show off )

dpb · 2004-06-24 07:20:11

sud_crow wrote:

About doing it yourself: Go ahead, i think is a good experience and quite fun (maybe!) too, having your real own desktop to carry around is quite amazing! (specially to show off )

I'll try it if I find some time somewhere.
I'm getting tired of the slowness of my vnc connection to my home computer so it'll be nice... And my transparency stuff wont work with vnc! :x

dpb · 2004-07-07 07:15:21

Hi.

I've been planning a live cd of my own for the last couple of weeks.
I've decided to try squashfs with it. I've done a patched kernel with squashfs support and also did a squashfs-tools package.

How could I use hwd in it? (I haven't used it at all..)
Does it create the config files?

rasat · 2004-07-07 12:13:57

dpb wrote:

How could I use hwd in it? (I haven't used it at all..)
Does it create the config files?

Hwd doesn't do any auto config. In AL-AMLUG live CD I am using a modified hwd auto configuring sound, X, and ethernet.... to configure them manually each time when running the CD, is frustrating.

I am currently working on AL-AMLUG 0.5 modifying the latest hwd version. The hwd will be ready in one day. I will upload in my server for you to take a look.

dpb · 2004-07-07 12:18:10

rasat wrote:

dpb wrote:
How could I use hwd in it? (I haven't used it at all..)
Does it create the config files?
Hwd doesn't do any auto config. In AL-AMLUG live CD I am using a modified hwd auto configuring sound, X, and ethernet.... to configure them manually each time when running the CD, is frustrating.
I am currently working on AL-AMLUG 0.5 modifying the latest hwd version. The hwd will be ready in one day. I will upload in my server for you to take a look.

Cool. I'm not yet in that point with the CD that I'll need hwd... so I can wait a day.

rasat · 2004-07-10 08:14:18

Instead of making a separate hwd for live CD, I upgraded hwd with a temporally module loader for test purpose. Hwd-2.3 loades modules for sound, ethernet and usb module.

To auto configure X, make a script to copy the hwd generated etc/X11/XF86Config-4.hwd. Move /usr/man/man8/howto.8 and ~/howto.8.gz to miniroot's / folder and make symlinks. Also disable the update option (hwd -u).
http://amlug.net/new-projects/hwd/hwd.html

Arch Linux

#1 2004-02-03 05:14:42

Build your own live CD

#2 2004-02-03 10:24:31

Re: Build your own live CD

#3 2004-02-03 17:57:59

Re: Build your own live CD

#4 2004-06-14 07:35:40

Re: Build your own live CD

#5 2004-06-14 09:23:46

Re: Build your own live CD

#6 2004-06-15 07:42:22

Re: Build your own live CD

#7 2004-06-15 10:28:14

Re: Build your own live CD

#8 2004-06-15 15:48:11

Re: Build your own live CD

#9 2004-06-16 04:56:08

Re: Build your own live CD

#10 2004-06-16 06:31:27

Re: Build your own live CD

#11 2004-06-16 06:35:32

Re: Build your own live CD

#12 2004-06-16 07:37:34

Re: Build your own live CD

#13 2004-06-16 07:57:11

Re: Build your own live CD

#14 2004-06-16 08:54:24

Re: Build your own live CD

#15 2004-06-16 13:14:52

Re: Build your own live CD

#16 2004-06-23 16:49:13

Re: Build your own live CD

#17 2004-06-24 02:03:26

Re: Build your own live CD

#18 2004-06-24 07:20:11

Re: Build your own live CD

#19 2004-07-07 07:15:21

Re: Build your own live CD

#20 2004-07-07 12:13:57

Re: Build your own live CD

#21 2004-07-07 12:18:10

Re: Build your own live CD

#22 2004-07-10 08:14:18

Re: Build your own live CD

Board footer