2010.04-1 archboot "2k10-R3" ISO hybrid image released

tpowa · 2010-04-17 16:26:21

Hi Arch community,

Arch Linux (archboot creation tool) 2010.04-1, "2k10-R3" has been released.
To avoid confusion, this is not an official arch linux iso release!

Now Homepage available:
ftp://ftp.archlinux.org/iso/archboot/index.html

Check Readme.txt file for more information on archboot.
ftp://ftp.archlinux.org/iso/archboot/Readme.txt

Summary:
Bugfix release for 2010.03 files, with new setup features.

Hybrid image file and torrent is provided, which include
i686 and x86_64 core repository. Please check md5sum before using it.

Hybrid image file is a standard CD-burnable image and also a raw disk image.
- Can be burned to CD(RW) media using most CD-burning utilities.
- Can be raw-written to a drive using 'dd' or similar utilities.
This method is intended for use with USB thumb drives.

Please get it from your favorite arch linux mirror:
http://www.archlinux.de/?page=GetFileFr … ot/2010.04
<yourmirror>/iso/archboot/2010.04/

Changelog:

GENERAL:
- kernel 2.6.33.2 / LTS kernel 2.6.27.46
- pacman 3.3.3 usage
- RAM recommendations: 320 MB

Kernel changes:
- bump to latest .33 series

Removed features:

Environment changes:
- fixed nfs server starting
- fixed acpi-cpufreq modules
- updated pacman mirrorlist

hwdetect changes:
- fixed virtio detection

setup changes:
- full support of virtio block devices
- added size sanity checks to autoprepare
- fixed bootloader only installation
- added no-floppy option to grub2 installation
- removed pacman mirror select config dialog
- some internal function cleanup

KNOWN ISSUES:
- FTP installation mode:
None
- CD installation mode:
None

Further documentation can be found on-disk and on the wiki.
Have fun!

greetings
tpowa

gtklocker · 2010-04-17 19:23:30

Hm, this can probably help me experiment with btrfs. Does it support mkfs.btrfs?

Anonymo · 2010-04-17 21:47:55

Thank you for providing tpowa. These are great!!!

yvonney · 2010-04-17 22:00:13

[grub2 replace by grub during pacman -S archboot ?]

haven't thought it through much though wanting to ask if there's something needed to know about why pacman -S archboot want to replace grub2 with grub.
ie. "grub conflicts with grub2. Remove grub2?"
I absolutely love grub2 using it to boot many ISOs bin and img files from USB.

I'm also thinking that perhaps i'll be able to create something INSTEAD of puppy linux (only with just my few needed video drivers/wlan etc.) to do gparted, repairs, etc. Bascially a small ARCH version on USB with just what's needed. That's an aside of course. My thought is that many of us will be staying with grub2 i think and I've likely missed a few things as to why ARCHBOOT wants to remove grub. great interest in ARCHBOOT! thank you.

Last edited by yvonney (2010-04-17 23:34:07)

tpowa · 2010-04-18 16:34:05

yvonney wrote:

[grub2 replace by grub during pacman -S archboot ?]
haven't thought it through much though wanting to ask if there's something needed to know about why pacman -S archboot want to replace grub2 with grub.
ie. "grub conflicts with grub2. Remove grub2?"
I absolutely love grub2 using it to boot many ISOs bin and img files from USB.
I'm also thinking that perhaps i'll be able to create something INSTEAD of puppy linux (only with just my few needed video drivers/wlan etc.) to do gparted, repairs, etc. Bascially a small ARCH version on USB with just what's needed. That's an aside of course. My thought is that many of us will be staying with grub2 i think and I've likely missed a few things as to why ARCHBOOT wants to remove grub. great interest in ARCHBOOT! thank you.

Ah the reason for this is grub is needed by a hook to be able to install grub from initrd.
you can ignore this depend if you don't use arch_grub hook, i can also change this on next archboot release to makedepend.
Or remove grub2 and reinstall it after archboot has been installed.
BTW you can just use the initrds for rescue opertion, you need only the kernel img + initrd approx 35MB.

tpowa · 2010-04-18 16:36:47

gtklocker wrote:

Hm, this can probably help me experiment with btrfs. Does it support mkfs.btrfs?

yes it is included, but no support at all in installer only tools are there.

Dirk Sohler · 2010-04-19 17:21:09

(When) will it be possible to encrypt devices during setup with installer instead of using one of the other terminals to prepare this setup?

tpowa · 2010-04-19 18:41:57

since the R series this is possible, lvm encrypt and raid all in setup included + support for different types in bootloaders.

T-u-N-i-X · 2010-04-20 22:07:28

i686 doesn't boot on a virtualbox vm.. after extracting initramfs, it shows some kernel messages that i can't paste but it seems like a kernel panic.. 2010.02 boots fine.

tpowa · 2010-04-21 05:15:27

give it more RAM 320MB is minimum to extract initramfs.

T-u-N-i-X · 2010-04-21 07:25:01

Minimum required ram for arch is 320 mb now? What about embedded systems? (Just wondering..)

tpowa · 2010-04-21 07:29:18

Intial boot screen shows you minimum required RAM size as all Changelog files do.
You can use archboot scripts to lower this, depending on the subsystems and programs you need.
LZMA compression needs more ram to expand the initramfs.
Archlinux itself needs less to run.

Last edited by tpowa (2010-04-21 08:07:38)

Pierre · 2010-04-21 07:56:49

Afaik lzma is used for initramfs. Xz is more efficient. In fact I was able to extract big files with just 32 mb of ram and less.

tpowa · 2010-04-21 08:03:35

Oh yes sorry, it's lzma which is used and not xz.

ArchIMEDE · 2010-04-21 08:31:41

Hi TPOWA!

I performed some scenarii yesterday and here are my feedbak.

Used config is:
Dell Lattiitude D610 (internal disk not used because reserved for office work) + external usb mass storage (a SATA disk enclosed in an usb box) seen as /dev/sdb

/dev/sdb contains both partitions
=> /dev/sdb1 (primary, linux)
=> /dev/sbd2 (primary, lvm)

I created one physical volume for /dev/sbd2
I created one volumes group vg01 using pv /dev/sdb2
I created three logical volumes in vg01
=> /dev/mapper/vg01-boot
=> /dev/mapper/vg01-root
=>/dev/mapper/vg01-swap

1st scenario:
/dev/sbd1 is defined as bootable (with cfdisk)
I launch archboot
I configure keymap, locale, timezone and time
I choose option for configuring mounting points (my hard disk is already partionned)
=> 1st issue: logical volumes are not listed
=> I wonder if pvscan, vgscan and vgchange -ay were executed before usb disk was detected by udev
=> What about rescanning them just before displaying all partitions?
=> In order to continue installation, I have to perform "lvscan" + "lvm vgchange -ay" in additional console
I mount /dev/mapper/vg01-swap on swap
I mount /dev/mapper/vg01-root on /root (ext4)
I mount /dev/sdb1 on /boot (ext2)
I choose "UUID" option as suggested by your script
I choose GRUB2 installation (I have just to replace root=(hd1,1) by root=(hd0,1) and I had "rootdelay=8" and "lvmwait=/dev/sdb2' in kernel command)
I choose /dev/sdb as GRUB2 location
I reboot
=> 2nd issue: Error occurs during boot
=> It seems that "UUID" option doesn't work well from retreiving /root when it is related to a logical volume
=> Tunning fstab and grub.cfg in order to use "/dev/mapper/vg01-root" instead of UUID allows to boot correctly
=> Are "UUID" and "/root in LVM" are compatible?

2nd scenario:
boot flag is removed for /dev/sbd1 (with cfdisk)
/dev/sdb2 is defined as bootable (with cfdisk)
I launch archboot
I configure keymap, locale, timezone and time
I perform "lvscan" + "lvm vgchange -ay" in additional console
I choose option for configuring mounting points (my hard disk is already partionned)
I mount /dev/mapper/vg01-swap on swap
I mount /dev/mapper/vg01-root on /root (ext4)
I mount /dev/mapper/vg01-boot on /boot (ext2)
I don't choose "UUID" option
I choose GRUB2 installation
GRUB2 package is downloaded, GRUB package is removed, GRUB2 and freetype2 packages are installed
I click on "Continue" button (before grub.cfg is displayed in nano)
=> 3rd issue: installtion stops (return to prompt)
=> I wonder if your script manages "/boot in lvm" option

1st general remark:
What about inserting options when user chooses to create filesystem in partitions (ie "-L" option for partition label)

2nd general remark:
Even if "UUID" option is choosen, what about inserting additional (but commented) lines in fstab/grub.cfg/menu.lst?
for example, in fstab:
for a logical volume:
/dev/mapper/vg01-swap swap
#/dev/disk/by-uuid/<UUID> swap
#/dev/disk/by-label/<label> swap (when there is a label for swap partition)

for a physical partition
/dev/sdb1 /boot
#/dev/disk/by-uuid/<UUID> /boot
#/dev/disk/by-label/<label> /boot (when there is a label for /boot partition)

I hope I was clear enough.
Bu the way, I already like your current archboot version

Many thanks
ArchIMEDE

Last edited by ArchIMEDE (2010-04-21 11:25:40)

tpowa · 2010-04-21 09:27:29

Wow, thanks for so many details. Will look into them later.
In general lvm should be detected by setup routine, if you activate lvm separatly.
Primary activation is done during boot(I guess in your case it's the problem that lvm is on a external device)
I wrote this part in creating lvm by setup itself and not already with existing lvm devices in mind.
The uuid issue is strange, i need to dig deeper into this.

ArchIMEDE · 2010-04-21 10:15:05

additional question:
I noticed huge list of packages categories (as kde, gnome, lxde)...

Is this functionnality fully implemented?
If I check "kdebase", will setup install all packages included in this group or will I be asked to choose packages in an other dialog?

tpowa · 2010-04-21 10:36:12

good question, i normally never use ftp install just try it and see what will happen.
I don't guarantee for any ftp install, i can only control cd packages if they install fine.

Dieter@be · 2010-04-21 11:19:22

Pierre wrote:

In fact I was able to extract big files with just 32 mb of ram and less.

omg only 32 mb?? that's amazingly few.

kgas · 2010-04-21 18:15:53

Just installed in a new hard disk and all went fine. (ftp installation) and favour of hand picking the packages
--in the previous image there was an option to set the file system options during manual mounting of partitions and is missing.
-- IIRC there was earlier also discussion about the package details display (as in slackware) and expecting in next release
-- as in post #17 is there any reason to include packages such as gnome, lxde etc
--in earlier image setting host name in rc.conf gets reflected in hosts file that is missing (may be not using AIF?)

tpowa · 2010-04-21 19:45:04

kgas wrote:

Just installed in a new hard disk and all went fine. (ftp installation) and favour of hand picking the packages
--in the previous image there was an option to set the file system options during manual mounting of partitions and is missing.
Really? I don't think archboot setup did this ever.
-- IIRC there was earlier also discussion about the package details display (as in slackware) and expecting in next release
I never planned this, because it makes ouptut much more complicated. It's still preferred to install base and do the rest afterwards.
-- as in post #17 is there any reason to include packages such as gnome, lxde etc
Well i decided to add extra repository completly for ftp installation, it's still only base selected by default.
--in earlier image setting host name in rc.conf gets reflected in hosts file that is missing (may be not using AIF?)

Hrm archboot setup never did this, i can add this in the future.

Thanks for your feedback, that keeps me really on track for next release.

Zoranthus · 2010-04-22 13:52:09

Tanks alot! Worked flawlessly on a notebook with a hm55 chipset (that prevented me from booting into any kernel version < 2.6.33!)

Kenni · 2010-04-23 21:09:19

tpowa wrote:

- updated pacman mirrorlist
- fixed virtio detection
- full support of virtio block devices
- added size sanity checks to autoprepare
- removed pacman mirror select config dialog

WOW!!! Thank you for looking into all of my last feedback! I'm giving the new version a try now and I've just run into a minor usability bug in relation to new autoprepare stuff:
I'm booting with a 5GB virtual QEMU HDD and selecting "Auto prepare":
1. Use GPT? -> "Yes"
2. Size of /boot - space left: 5358MB -> Default: 32MB
3. Size of swap - space left 5326MB -> Default: 256MB
4. Size of / - space left 5070MB -> Default: 5070MB -> "ERROR: You have entered a too large size, please enter again."

If this is done by purpose to allow at least 1MB of space for the home-partition, the error message should be changed to reflect this. The default suggestion should really be a valid suggestion. Another way to fix this, would be to have the setup ask if you want to skip the /home partition, if you choose to allocate all of the remaining space to /. On non-server systems I personally prefer not to have a /home partition, to keep maximum flexibility.

The virtio-blk installation went smoothly, and the pacman mirror configuration is perfect now! Thanks a lot for your hard work!!!

Cypher · 2010-04-25 02:26:35

tpowa wrote:

gtklocker wrote:
Hm, this can probably help me experiment with btrfs. Does it support mkfs.btrfs?
yes it is included, but no support at all in installer only tools are there.

but can use brtfs in the root fs?

Ultraman · 2010-04-25 09:23:36

I bet it can. To the installer it's just a mountpoint.
So all you would have to do is to make the filesystems by hand, tell the installer recognizes them so you can set mountpoints (otherwise set those yourself as well), and go.
But that's just my thoughts on how one should go about it.

Arch Linux

#1 2010-04-17 16:26:21

2010.04-1 archboot "2k10-R3" ISO hybrid image released

#2 2010-04-17 19:23:30

Re: 2010.04-1 archboot "2k10-R3" ISO hybrid image released

#3 2010-04-17 21:47:55

Re: 2010.04-1 archboot "2k10-R3" ISO hybrid image released

#4 2010-04-17 22:00:13

Re: 2010.04-1 archboot "2k10-R3" ISO hybrid image released

#5 2010-04-18 16:34:05

Re: 2010.04-1 archboot "2k10-R3" ISO hybrid image released

#6 2010-04-18 16:36:47

Re: 2010.04-1 archboot "2k10-R3" ISO hybrid image released

#7 2010-04-19 17:21:09

Re: 2010.04-1 archboot "2k10-R3" ISO hybrid image released

#8 2010-04-19 18:41:57

Re: 2010.04-1 archboot "2k10-R3" ISO hybrid image released

#9 2010-04-20 22:07:28

Re: 2010.04-1 archboot "2k10-R3" ISO hybrid image released

#10 2010-04-21 05:15:27

Re: 2010.04-1 archboot "2k10-R3" ISO hybrid image released

#11 2010-04-21 07:25:01

Re: 2010.04-1 archboot "2k10-R3" ISO hybrid image released

#12 2010-04-21 07:29:18

Re: 2010.04-1 archboot "2k10-R3" ISO hybrid image released

#13 2010-04-21 07:56:49

Re: 2010.04-1 archboot "2k10-R3" ISO hybrid image released

#14 2010-04-21 08:03:35

Re: 2010.04-1 archboot "2k10-R3" ISO hybrid image released

#15 2010-04-21 08:31:41

Re: 2010.04-1 archboot "2k10-R3" ISO hybrid image released

#16 2010-04-21 09:27:29

Re: 2010.04-1 archboot "2k10-R3" ISO hybrid image released

#17 2010-04-21 10:15:05

Re: 2010.04-1 archboot "2k10-R3" ISO hybrid image released

#18 2010-04-21 10:36:12

Re: 2010.04-1 archboot "2k10-R3" ISO hybrid image released

#19 2010-04-21 11:19:22

Re: 2010.04-1 archboot "2k10-R3" ISO hybrid image released

#20 2010-04-21 18:15:53

Re: 2010.04-1 archboot "2k10-R3" ISO hybrid image released

#21 2010-04-21 19:45:04

Re: 2010.04-1 archboot "2k10-R3" ISO hybrid image released

#22 2010-04-22 13:52:09

Re: 2010.04-1 archboot "2k10-R3" ISO hybrid image released

#23 2010-04-23 21:09:19

Re: 2010.04-1 archboot "2k10-R3" ISO hybrid image released

#24 2010-04-25 02:26:35

Re: 2010.04-1 archboot "2k10-R3" ISO hybrid image released

#25 2010-04-25 09:23:36

Re: 2010.04-1 archboot "2k10-R3" ISO hybrid image released

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