torios team mailing list archive

[Nio Wiklund <nio.wiklund@xxxxxxxxx>]

Den 2015-03-28 06:38, Nio Wiklund skrev:
> Den 2015-03-28 00:50, Israel skrev:
>> On 03/27/2015 06:22 PM, Nio Wiklund wrote:
>>> ...
>>
>>> Hi again,
>>>
>>> I made a new tarball, where I added the kernels and made it boot to the
>>> grub menu. This new system works well, when installed by ToriOS live
>>> (but not by 'my OBI'). It is uploaded to phillw.net, and can be
>>> downloaded and selected in ToriOS live. The link should be one line,
>>>
>>> http://phillw.net/isos/linux-tools/OBI/precise/tarballs/ToriOS_3-kernels_01_use-by-ToriOS-live.tar.xz
>>>
>>> $ ls -l ToriOS_3-kernels_01_use-by-ToriOS-live.tar.xz
>>> -rw-r--r-- 1 nio nio 430014032 mar 27 19:37
>>> ToriOS_3-kernels_01_use-by-ToriOS-live.tar.xz
>>>
>>> $ md5sum ToriOS_3-kernels_01_use-by-ToriOS-live.tar.xz
>>> 81b841b0612f4298b3652437bfa85757
>>> ToriOS_3-kernels_01_use-by-ToriOS-live.tar.xz
>>>
>>>
>>> I have also changed 'dltbl', so that it will not confuse end users. It
>>> should come with the next version of the ToriOS live system (the iso
>>> file). As it is now, an error output after a failed attempt to move the
>>> tarball should be interpreted like this:
>>>
>>> "Could not write to /tarballs, which is normal in a live session.
>>> 'Select tarball' can still find the tarball automatically."
>>>
>>> See the following screenshots
>>>
>>> http://phillw.net/isos/linux-tools/torios/pictures/19-download-tarball.png
>>>
>>> http://phillw.net/isos/linux-tools/torios/pictures/20-select-tarball.png
>>>
>>> http://phillw.net/isos/linux-tools/torios/pictures/21-partition-drives-and-install-Torios_3-kernels.png
>>>
>>>
>>> Best regards
>>> Nio
>>>
>> Hi Nio,
>> is this the dltbl you already sent me?  Or do I need another one?
>> If so please send it my way :)
>> Is there a way to choose to save it elsewhere (i.e. usb drive) and link
>> that to /tarballs automatically??
>> Or is there some other way we can make this extremely easy to do for our
>> users?
>>
>> It would be nice to implement zsync in this equation, as a failed md5sum
>> could be remedied by simply running zsync again to finish the download
>> (I have done this a few times), rather than downloading the entire file
>> again.
>> Or, at least offering the option of using zsync if it is installed.
>>
> 
> Hi Israel and Paul,
> 
> 
> In a mail dated 2015-03-27 23:39, I attached dltbl and also showed the
> diff to the previous version. That mail should have reached you too.
> ___________________________________________________________
> 
> zsync would work for tarballs like it does for iso files
> ___________________________________________________________
> 
> 
> The system for tarballs was made for installed systems in USB drives.
> There are several problems with ToriOS,
> 
> 
> 1 - the file system, ISO-9660, is read-only
> 
> This is a problem in CDs and DVDs, and in pendrives, if installed with
> mkusb. If it works with ToriOS to set up the live system with
> persistence, then data will survive reboots, and the amount that can be
> stored depends on the size of the storage.
> 
> 
> 2 - the size of the CD
> 
> This is a well known and severe limit for what can come with the iso
> file. One alternative is to have a small CD sized iso file like it is
> now with a non-pae kernel, and a bigger DVD sized iso file with more
> than one tarball.
> 
> Examples: 3 tarballs targeting different kinds of computers, or a big
> tarball with a lot of installed program packages. Some distros provide
> solutions with big DVD sized installation media.
> 
> 
> 3 - the target computers have low RAM
> 
> As it works now, it is possible to download a tarball into RAM, but
> there might not be enough RAM to store it.
> 
> *. So it would be a solution to use a third drive:
> 
> a. the installer (the live drive)
> b. the target drive (where to install ToriOS)
> c. a storage drive (could be a flash drive or HDD, external or internal,
> any writable mass storage device).
> 
> We could to add an option for dltbl to specify the path to where the
> tarball should be downloaded. It would be possible with a dialog screen
> for it.
> ___________________________
> 
> Persistent live system
> ___________________________
> 
> I think a persistent live system provides the simplest and also the most
> flexible solution. It will automatically increase the drive space, which
> is limited by low RAM, and at the same time make the stored data (in
> this case tarballs) survive rebooting and poweroff.
> 
> 
> A. Create a 'live-rw' partition in a storage drive
> 
> 1. Use gparted and create a linux partition, for example with the ext2
> file system, which is simple and does not wear a pendrive with journaling.
> 
> 2. Set the label 'live-rw' for the partition. (This is debian style and
> different from Ubuntu systems, where the label should be 'casper-rw'.)
> 
> 3. Apply the changes by clicking the green tick.
> 
> 
> B. Boot with the option 'persistent'
> 
> 1. At boot, press the TAB key to get to the boot command line
> 
> 2. Add a space and the word 'persistent'
> 
>> /live/vmlinuz initrd=/live/initrd.lz boot=live persistent
> 
> 3. Press the Enter key
> 
> and the ToriOS live system boots into a persistent live system.
> 
> 
> C. Keep the persistence healthy
> 
> It is very important to wait while buffered data are written to the
> storage drive, particularly if it is a slow USB pendrive. Do not unplug
> the the storage drive before you are sure that the system is completely
> shut down!
> 
> You can force writing the data with the command
> 
> sync
> 
> in a terminal window. Wait until the prompt returns!
> _______________
> 
> Best regards
> Nio
> 

Hi Israel and Paul,


The method (above) with a separate drive for persistence is made to work
when booting from a CD (or DVD) with the read-only file system ISO 9660.
It applies also when booted from a USB drive created with mkusb because
the ISO 9660 file system is cloned.


*Unetbootin*

The default method (tested in Ubuntu 12.04.5 LTS) creates a good live
pendrive, but no persistence.


1. You can create persistence using Unetbootin and  a 'live-rw'
partition in the same pendrive and of course a manually edited entry
with 'persistent' in the file 'syslinux.cfg'.


2. You can create persistence using Unetbootin if you rename the file
'casper-rw' to 'live-rw'. Maybe it is possible to make the developer of
Unetbootin identify ToriOS and use the file name 'live-rw'. Then
Unetbootin would create a persistent live system out of the box.

This is the easiest method, particularly for people who have used
Unetbootin before, and when the computer can boot from USB.


*. But the method with a 'live-rw' partition might be better,
particularly because

a. it allows for more than 4 GB space for persistence,

b. it is easier to keep a file system in a partition healthy (compared
to a file system in a loop mounted file)

c. and files in partitions are easily available also when ToriOS is not
running with persistence, for example when connected to another linux
system.


Best regards
Nio