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Network Image Installer
=======================

This kiwi image builable for CD and USB sticks enables to install systems
directly via Network, independent of their version.

It works through general installation sources via the "setupgrubfornfsinstall"
script from Ludwig Nussel, or by dumping kiwi images reachable via nfs onto a
harddrive. Beware, the later option nukes all partitions!

It is capable of updating itself when newer versions are available.
Also, there are a number of root shells and support tools installed for
diagnosis and repairing broken installations.


Building
========

0) zypper in kiwi kiwi-tools kiwi-doc kiwi-desc-isoboot kiwi-desc-oemboot
   Currently NetworkImageInstaller will use Factory for testing, and builds
   only on Factory (YMMV).
   NOTE: Building USB stick images is broken ATM!

1) Copy root/inst/config.example to root/inst/config and adapt it accordingly
   (Auto-Update URL and list of image providers)
   You might also want to adapt root/etc/ifcfg-wlan.template if you want to run
   it using a wireless connection (this is not completely auto-configured yet).

2) Call ./create_{usb,iso}.sh, according to taste.

3) Deal with the resulting image:
   Burn a CD (preferably CD-RW) / dump it on USB stick.
   e.g. cdrecord Network_Image_Installer.i686-*.iso
   e.g. dd bs=1M if=Network_Image_Installer.i686-*.raw of=/dev/sdc
   Beware selecting the right sd* device. You may nuke your harddrive!


Auto-Update
===========

The image is capable of auto-updating itself (only minor updates for CDs,
anything for USB sticks).

After selecting the network connection the image automatically loads
$update_url/Changelog (same format as in this directory) to determine the
latest version. If an update-*.tar.gz tarball exists for this version update, a
minor update is started, which does not require a reboot, and is also possible
with CD images (not persistent, of course).

If a major update is required (USB stick only), it will download a complete
image and dump it onto the USB stick itself. Do not power down or unplug the
network connection or the USB stick during this process, it will leave your USB
stick unbootable!

For major updates, just copy the created image(s) and the Changelog to the auto-update directory that is reachable by $update_url from the config.

For minor updates, you have to select the required files by hand. For example,
2.4.5->2.4.6 only changed inst/installer.sh, so it's enough to "tar cvfz
update-2.4.6.tar.gz inst/installer.sh" (inside root/), and to copy the
resulting tarball and the Changelog to the auto-update directory.


(c) 2010-2011 Matthias Hopf <[email protected]>