This document discusses preseeding, which allows customizing Debian/Ubuntu installations by automating answers to questions during setup. It covers using debconf to read and write preseed files, supported formats, and examples of preseeding options like partitioning, users, packages, and running scripts. Ubiquity, the Ubuntu installer, can also be preseeded to customize the "Desktop CD" installation process.
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This document discusses preseeding, which allows customizing Debian/Ubuntu installations by automating answers to questions during setup. It covers using debconf to read and write preseed files, supported formats, and examples of preseeding options like partitioning, users, packages, and running scripts. Ubiquity, the Ubuntu installer, can also be preseeded to customize the "Desktop CD" installation process.
This document discusses preseeding, which allows customizing Debian/Ubuntu installations by automating answers to questions during setup. It covers using debconf to read and write preseed files, supported formats, and examples of preseeding options like partitioning, users, packages, and running scripts. Ubiquity, the Ubuntu installer, can also be preseeded to customize the "Desktop CD" installation process.
Copyright:
Attribution (BY)
Available Formats
Download as ODP, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
This document discusses preseeding, which allows customizing Debian/Ubuntu installations by automating answers to questions during setup. It covers using debconf to read and write preseed files, supported formats, and examples of preseeding options like partitioning, users, packages, and running scripts. Ubiquity, the Ubuntu installer, can also be preseeded to customize the "Desktop CD" installation process.
Copyright:
Attribution (BY)
Available Formats
Download as ODP, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
Download as odp, pdf, or txt
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Preseeding the Debian Installer
and Ubun-too! Brian Pitts http://polibyte.com Introduction
Preseeding is a way to Answer questions asked during installation Run scripts during installation Customize software installed Debconf
Software configuration utility
Integrated with the package manager debconf-get-selections Use --installer to read from /var/log/installer/cdebconf instead of running system debconf-show dpkg-reconfigure Format
<owner> <question name> <question type>
<value> Only use one whitespace character between type and value! Check format with debconf-set-selections -c preseed.cfg d-i is the owner of questions related to installation Answers to questions with other owners are placed in debconf database of target system Access Methods
Each run at different times
Initrd Local File (CD, USB) Network (HTTP/FTP) Local File
The media is mounted at /cdrom
Add file=/cdrom/preseed.cfg to kernel command line in isolinux.cfg USB is easy to modify since it's r/w ISO is harder. Copy the contents iso, modify it, then regenerate with mkisofs -o new-cd.iso -l -r -D -J -cache-inodes -no-emul-boot -boot-load-size 4 -boot-info-table -b isolinux/isolinux.bin -c isolinux/boot.cat extracted-cd/ Boot Parameters
Any can be specified in format
owner:path/to/variable=value auto=true (delay keyboard and locale questions) priority=critical (skip most questions) interface=eth1 (choose network interface) file=/cdrom/preseed.cfg (load local preseed file) url=http://10.0.0.1/preseed.cfg (download preseed file) DEBCONF_DEBUG=5 (syslog and vt4) Let's see what we can do... Language and Keyboard
d-i debian-installer/locale string en_US
at is almost always a safe keyboard to pick d-i console-keymaps-at/keymap select at Network
d-i passwd/user-fullname string Example User d-i passwd/username string example d-i passwd/user-password-crypted password [MD5 hash] Change default id and groups d-i passwd/user-uid string 1010 d-i passwd/user-default-groups string audio video OEM Mode
In OEM mode when install completes, there is
user named oem When you run oem-config-prepare, a script is set to run which deletes the oem user and walsk the end user through account setup OEM Mode
http://example.com/ubuntu jaunty main d-i apt-setup/local0/comment string local server d-i apt-setup/local0/key string http://example.com/key Installing Software
Tasks are groups of packages
List them with tasksel --list-tasks 35 on my ubuntu system tasksel tasksel/first multiselect ubuntu-desktop, lamp-server Install individual packages d-i pkgsel/include string ubuntu-restricted- extras openssh-server Running Commands
Runs immediately after preseed file is read
d-i preseed/early_command string Run before the new system is unmounted from /target d-i preseed/late_command string in-target lets you easily run a command in the new system d-i preseed/late_command string in-target rm / Run a script during preseed d-i preseed/run string example.sh Chaining Preseeds
Include another preseed file
d-i preseed/include string preseed2.cfg Run a command that should return the path to a preseed file, then include that preseed file d-i preseed/include_command string if [ "`hostname`" = newbox ]; then echo newbox.cfg; fi Ubiquity
Ububtu uses debian-installer on their ”alternate
install” CD, but the ”Desktop” CD uses Ubiquity Rather than installing individual packages, it decompresses a squashfs filesystem More like applying a system image than a traditional install. Very fast. Ubiquity can be preseed within limits netcfg, LVM and RAID partitioning, base- installer, pkgsel/tasksel, finish-install aren't available Ubiquity Boot Options
automatic-ubiquity – skip screens when all
qeustions are preseeded debug-ubiquity – output debconf messages to /var/log/installer/debug. Great for figuring out values to preseed. noninteractive – don't start X noprompt – shutdown without asking to eject CD Ubiquity Seed Options
Preseed empty to avoid the summary page
ubiquity ubiquity/summary note Automatically reboot when the installer completes ubiquity ubiquity/reboot boolean commands to be run on install failure/success ubiquity ubiquity/failure_command string ubiquity ubiquity/failure_command string Sample Ubiquity Preseed I
# Enable oem mode and set blank password for user with name "oem" d-i oem-config/enable boolean true d-i passwd/allow-password-empty boolean true d-i passwd/user-fullname string OEM Configuration (temporary user) d-i passwd/username string oem d-i passwd/user-password string d-i passwd/user-password-again string
# set hostname d-i netcfg/get_hostname string ubuntu
# Locale sets language and country.
d-i debian-installer/locale string en_US.UTF-8
# Keyboard selection d-i console-setup/ask_detect boolean false d-i console-setup/layoutcode string us Sample Ubiquity Preseed II
# Controls whether or not the hardware clock is set to UTC.
d-i clock-setup/utc boolean true
# Set timezone d-i time/zone string America/New_York
# Controls whether to use NTP to set the clock during the install # Say no so we don't wait if there's no network connection d-i clock-setup/ntp boolean false
# partition the disk
# wipe everything and put everything in / d-i partman-auto/method string regular d-i partman-auto/choose_recipe select atomic d-i partman/confirm_write_new_label boolean true d-i partman/choose_partition select finish d-i partman/confirm boolean true Sample Ubiquity Preseed III
# run this command after the install
# /target is the newly-installed system # oem-config-prepare sets the first run wizard for next login ubiquity ubiquity/success_command string chroot /target oem-config-prepare
# preseed this empty to avoid the summary before installation
ubiquity ubiquity/summary note
# reboot after installation
# you will still be prompted "Close the tray and press ENTER to continue?" # unless you add noprompt to the kernel command line ubiquity ubiquity/reboot boolean true Further Reading
