[Tech] Partimus (PXE?) (nearly?) unattended install solution(s?)

Wed Apr 1 11:19:00 PDT 2015

Hello all

I was hoping to email on Sunday night or Monday, but got caught up 
reviewing the code for remastersys... https://github.com/taikedz/remastersys

I have managed to put together what I believe will be able to be a 
workflow that will allow even teachers themselves to make their own 
customized ISO images in the future :-)

I've attached the preliminary notes; they will also be on 
github.com/taikedz/our-pxe under the customization/ directory

I have prepped a final demo CD with some relevant customizations; I will 
seed this over bittorrent for demo if anyone is interested, or just 
share some screenshots?

So if this customization workflow is acceptable, only two more items 
need to be addressed:

1/ preseed file for making the install unattended (my customization 
method still requires initial input from user, but after that everything 
comes pre-installed)

The main question is about /how to find out/ what the options are we are 
actually looking for...

2/ & ...... the drasted PXE server. I've burned through a few tutorials 
by now and no functioning setup.... anyone have a method/guide by which 
to get from fresh-ubuntu14.04-install to fully-functional-pxe ???

My next intention is, if we can't set up a PXE server from scratch, to 
make a home-grown solution. I'm thinking of remastering a CD to contain 
a script that'll auto-partition, mkfs and mount /dev/sda, then just 
rsync over the network...

Tai

PS -- (Guide Attached as markdown, also available at 
https://github.com/taikedz/our-pxe/blob/master/customizer/oem/respinning_ubuntus.md 
)

On 26/03/15 20:23, Christian Einfeldt wrote:
> Hi,
>
> Thanks for your thoughts, Tai.  My comments are in line below...
>
> On Thu, Mar 26, 2015 at 11:32 AM, Tai Kedzierski <dch.tai at gmail.com 
> <mailto:dch.tai at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
>
>     +++
>     PXE booting might require isolating a subnetwork during install,
>     which may not be fully suitable once the school hits 20+ machines
>     and needs to refresh all of them...
>
>     Unless they're all fitted with wireless. Has anyone got a way of
>     isolating from the main network without requiring a mass
>     deployment of cables? (my site networking skills are fairly basic,
>     maybe I'm missing a trick here)
>
>
> Abigail's Linux lab is fairly limited in scope, due to the size of the 
> room she is in.  It is not likely to grow beyond its current 
> configuration, which is summarized here:
>
> https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_s0E7w40zs80yZNrVRqupml6jqADKjD9XoJ3uFkhQMw/
>
>
>     +++
>     Customization from basic is pretty hairy.
>
>     For those who've asked, the reason we are doing pre-customization
>     is to have an image that has everything already on it. We're not
>     burning the ISO to discs, but prepping it for serving as an online
>     image over the local network.
>
>
> In the past, there was some kind of boot CD that we would put in the 
> CD tray and reboot the machine.  That machine is summarized at a high 
> level here:
>
> https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zs4_G-hvTDho1K9lP4Nrcz3BqPdw7gIczESu5f7V114/
>
>
>     +++
>     Michael's alt dists
>
>     @Christian we will have to ask you to look into those and decide.
>     I'm continuing so far on the assumption of Lubuntu for now, though
>     if you're getting more powerful machines in, can I suggest
>     something with a MATE desktop or Xfce?
>
>
> Yes, we are planning on growing the hardware capabilities of the lab, 
> and just yesterday we delivered 15 "new" machines to the lab.  But for 
> now, there are two reasons we need to stay with Lubuntu:
>
>  1. Many of the machines are old, as shown in the lab summary linked
>     below, some with as little as 500 MB of RAM.
>  2. 100 children come through that lab every day, and training them on
>     a new desktop is something that you have to build into the
>     curriculum.  I think we are going to have to stay with Lubuntu for
>     this reason alone through June of 2016.  We need to give Abigail
>     time to plan her curriculum so at to re-train the kids on the new
>     interface.
>
> Here is a summary of the
>
> https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_s0E7w40zs80yZNrVRqupml6jqADKjD9XoJ3uFkhQMw/
>
>
>
>     +++
>     Abiword - @Christian mentioned this previously, I've found the ODT
>     (text processing) engine to be rather non-compliant with
>     standards, specifically on document styling structure which is key
>     not only for formatting but also automatic chaptering and
>     sectioning. Alas, Abiword is a poor reflection of what FOSS can do
>     in a properly deployed environment.
>
>     Then, that's just me. I prefer LibreOffice as it's as standards
>     compliant as it gets - it's the reference implementation from the
>     Document Foundation, and handles "the other standards" well too so
>     interoperability can happen smoothly.
>
>
> I wasn't aware that there was this problem.  I thought that AbiWord 
> used solid truly open standards.  I will ask Abigail what she uses for 
> text writing.
>
>     +++
>     Michael's suggestion of an information repository that reflects
>     the "current state" (as a wiki methinks) is a good one. Just in
>     trying to reconcile the threads just now was not the most fun I've
>     ever had...
>
>     I can set up a digitalOcean droplet as a temporary shim, but
>     that'll disappear once the project is complete. If Partimus use
>     digitalOcean, I believe I'll be able to pass stewardship of it
>     over instead...
>
>
> Sorry about that.  Partimus does have a wiki, but as I mentioned in a 
> preceding email, I have seen wikis get pummelled by trolls.
>
> http://partimus.org/wiki/Provisioning_Server
>
> I would like to keep that wiki low-traffic, because I have found that 
> as wikis gain public attention, they attract trolls who like to deface 
> and damage it.  Just my two cents.  A google doc like our sandbox page 
> is nice, because AFAIK only people invited can edit it:
>
> https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UEgt_fkGUVdANcnZ1W2S5Rv15Hx3S92Ynn9Mui3xB_E/
>
>
>     Oh, and let's have that multi-way chat/call. I can set up a Mumble
>     server for this if everyone is comfortable with that.
>
>
> I have started a doodle.com <http://doodle.com> poll to see which 
> times might be best for everyone.  I do know that at least Mike Rojas 
> is not available during the work day, and I am not available on 
> Sundays, so that only leaves us Saturdays.  I hope that everyone will 
> find a time that works for them.  Please bear in mind that Tai 
> Kedzierski is in Scotland and Alexandro Colorado is in Mexico.  The 
> rest of us are in the San Francisco Bay Area.
>
> Thanks very much for all of your great help to each of you!
>
>
> -- 
> Christian Einfeldt

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