Starting new thread:
with Forwarded conversation
Subject: was: [Fedora-livecd-list] Development of biarch live CD script.
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From: Jasper Hartline <jasper.hartline@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, Aug 28, 2010 at 4:50 PM
To: livecd@lists.fedoraproject.org


Here is another one I've started work on:
http://autopsy.liveprojects.info/scripts/mkbackup.py

It's purpose is to create a LiveDVD out of the running system.
This LiveDVD in conjunction with Anaconda's liveinst method of doing a
direct copy
of sr0 to sda or similar lays the basis for using this as a possible
installable, backup solution.
Also has LiveCD/DVD capability, which is ok.

If you come up with anything we can do on that one too I would be glad to know.
I looked at the patch you sent for mkbiarch.py and the directory part isn't
a good thing, we don't want to make it so non-dynamic.

If we create /x86 and /x64 we could even create /x86/{kde,gnome}
/x64/{kde,gnome} which would in thoery, be able to create USB disk
image fitting all 4 ISO discs, two for x86 and two for x64.

Also adding Live.ISO capability, we want to keep extlinux and isolinux dirs.
mkbiarch.py still needs checkisomd5() though.

It is apparently only available in Anaconda, but I can't find where.
I am pretty sure it implants a MD5SUM file somewhere hidden on the
ISO,m which can be checked against
the ISO files to make sure they are not corrupt. This was really
something that could be useful.. and thank you for bringing it, up.

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From: Frederick Grose <fgrose@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, Aug 28, 2010 at 6:02 PM
To: livecd@lists.fedoraproject.org


See https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=448030 , in particular, the edit-livecd and edit-liveos attachments.  This posting has some more background, http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/livecd/2010-August/006098.html .

It's good to see someone else working on this goal.

          --Fred

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From: Jasper Hartline <jasper.hartline@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, Aug 28, 2010 at 6:19 PM
To: livecd@lists.fedoraproject.org


Well. These are similar but not the same.
mkbackup.py would create a LiveCD/LiveDVD out of a running system.
I don't know what edit-liveos does or edit-livecd but to my knowledge
they are only for inserting packages into an already built LiveCD ISO.

The mkbackup.py script does not do that, it simply would create a
LiveCD/DVD out of the current installed system as a means for a Live
bootable backup image, which with Anaconda, can be reinstalled to a
machine in case of disk failure or other problems.

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From: Frederick Grose <fgrose@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, Aug 28, 2010 at 6:34 PM
To: livecd@lists.fedoraproject.org


Yes, and as the running system may have been modified, it is much like an intentional
customization (if the dump procedure does not exclude changes).
edit-livecd is for inserting packages or files; edit-liveos is proposed as a new version to accommodate customization and branding.
Not being familiar with dump, I found this thread interesting, http://lists.samba.org/archive/linux/2005-April/013361.html .

        --Fred

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From: Bruno Wolff III <bruno@wolff.to>
Date: Sat, Aug 28, 2010 at 7:04 PM
To: Jasper Hartline <jasper.hartline@gmail.com>
Cc: livecd@lists.fedoraproject.org


On Sat, Aug 28, 2010 at 22:19:04 +0000,
That's a pretty neat feature. It even gives you a good way to test that
your backups work. You'd still want to have some incremental backups to
save space.

This might be worth calling a feature for F15.

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From: Jasper Hartline <jasper.hartline@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, Aug 28, 2010 at 10:28 PM
To: livecd@lists.fedoraproject.org


Ok. I thought it was pretty neat too, you really have some range of
motion in your backups
when and if you can do it this way, instead of you know, the random
disk-backup image file laying around on CD.

The only really limitation I see it has, is the fact, a DVD is 4.7GB.
This means, if we
squash the root filesystem of any given system, files there must not
be larger than the maximum of what will
fit squashed in 4.7GB. Smaller of course is not an issue, but until
Blueray is more popular..
I think this Live backup media limitation would need to be limited to
a single DVD size.
There may be ways around this, maybe not. I will be at least working on getting
some base level functionality working with it here in the coming days
and would be glad to hear suggestions.

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From: Jasper Hartline <jasper.hartline@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, Aug 28, 2010 at 10:35 PM
To: livecd@lists.fedoraproject.org


Hm. I'm not sure I follow yet, but maybe I'm just not understanding.
What I want to work on with mkbackup.py is creating a LiveCD/LiveDVD
out of the running system, not a LiveCD system created with livecd-creator.

mkbackup.py will take the root filesystem of any given host and squash it up
and create a Live media out of it, essentially making an exact backup
of the machine's drive, which has the ability to run as a Live operating system, but
also is installable with Anaconda's liveinst method.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++
(end of forwarded conversation)

For those who are interested in taking a stock LiveOS image and customizing it with specific content, such as adding or removing features, documents, images, bookmarks, ebooks, etc., the procedure you describe will serve those purposes as well.

(The Sugar on a Stick Spin folks, http://spins.fedoraproject.org/soas/, have be working on customization kits for this purpose.  We use Live USB devices to provide a portable learning platform, and would like to allow teachers and students replicate a course or semester of study or work (or proposed study or work) from their working Live USB device to their students, classmates, or playmates.  http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Sugar_on_a_Stick/Sugar_Clone describes the project and provides a more crude, copy-overlay and copy-home solution based on the livecd-iso-to-disk script.)

So one feature we would need to achieve is to be able to mkbackup/mkclone with a running LiveOS image.

        --Fred