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## changes in debian live and user error (solved)

Stuff that has not yet gone into the official build.
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### changes in debian live and user error (solved)

by meandean » Sat Oct 27, 2012 1:40 pm

I don't know if anyone has tried the latest live-build in sid along with a tasty new kernel but it appears overlayfs is the name of the game instead of unionfs/aufs. I was not able to use my usual install method for overlayfs, nor was I able to figure out what needs to be excluded/changed to make it work. I fear it may require mounting and extracting the squashfs instead of copying over the live system. Hopefully I was just doing something wrong and after I sleep a while it will jump out at me....
I have used wheezy live-build package with a newer kernel without a problem so maybe the new packages won't make it to wheezy???
Or maybe it is the snapshot/knockoff tool that needs something changed so that the build will work properly then maybe the installer will work as well.
Last edited by meandean on Sat Nov 10, 2012 1:12 am, edited 2 times in total.

meandean
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### Re: overlayfs

by fsmithred » Sat Oct 27, 2012 6:22 pm

Did it fail to copy the running system, or did the installation fail to boot?
No sid here, but if that's where the change is, and since wheezy is frozen, we have at least a couple of years before we must use it. (to figure it out)

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### Re: overlayfs

by meandean » Sat Oct 27, 2012 7:57 pm

It seems to copy part of the system, maybe that is the key. If I recall I had to exclude /lib/live otherwise a bunch of the iso got copied over. When I excluded it I seemed to lose everything related to the user settings. So maybe we need to stop having a actual user or setup a username other than user.
More info...
I also had to change the boot entry a bit. If you look at the newer debin live images the isolinux.cfg entried are similar to...

Code: Select all
  `label live
  menu label run live
  menu default
  linux /live/vmlinuz
  initrd /live/initrd.img
  append boot=live config quiet splash
  `

And it ran thru the live scripts so maybe that is the problem is it is conflicting with how we already have a user named user.
But the new live-build is in sid which usually means that it is intended to get pushed to testing.
Maybe with the older kernel it will still behave and we will have a while to figure it out though.

meandean
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  Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2011 5:16 am

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### Re: overlayfs

by devils_debian » Sun Oct 28, 2012 12:44 am

Ah, maybe I experienced this issue too, when using Ref tools 9.0.6-2. It just so happens that by then I'd upgraded 'live-' tools to Sid/Experimental, but decided to downgrade after stuck boot (on USB stick).
Not the fault of Refracta Snapshot, just unfortunate timing...

devils_debian
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### Re: overlayfs

by dzz » Sun Oct 28, 2012 2:24 pm

Not much time for sid these days here. I do have a few-month-old siduction install. I DU'd it today using no non-Debian repo. Purged all their own live-boot stuff and installed Debian's, installed snapshot 9.0.6-2. That should leave essentially straight sid for this purpose.
Ran snapshot with no special options nor rsyc excludes
I am writing now from that snapshot!

Code: Select all
  `:~$ dpkg -l|grep live-boot
  ii live-boot 3.0~b6-1 Debian Live - System Boot Scripts
  ii live-boot-doc 3.0~b6-1 Debian Live - System Boot Scripts (documentation)
  ii live-boot-initramfs-tools 3.0~b6-1 Debian Live - System Boot Scripts (initramfs-tools backend)`

Code: Select all
  `:~$ dpkg -l|grep live-config
  ii live-config 3.0.8-1 Debian Live - System Configuration Scripts
  ii live-config-doc 3.0.8-1 Debian Live - System Configuration Scripts (documentation)
  ii live-config-sysvinit 3.0.8-1 Debian Live - System Configuration Scripts (sysvinit backend)
  `

Code: Select all
  `:~$ dpkg -l|grep initramfs
  ii initramfs-tools 0.102 generic modular initramfs generator
  ii libklibc 2.0~rc5-1 minimal libc subset for use with initramfs
  ii live-boot-initramfs-tools 3.0~b6-1 Debian Live - System Boot Scripts (initramfs-tools backend)
  ysvinit backend)
  `

Sure you're not missing something?
Make sure "config" in not on cmdline, if you got preconfigured live user (i,e, refracta) else user-setup will run on boot and cause conflict. Use only selected live-config scripts like locales, as or if needed
BTW the live media mountpoint has changed from /live/image to /lib/live/image.(or /lib/live/findiso... great, the grml patch finally made it to sid)

dzz
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  Joined: Wed Apr 27, 2011 11:53 am
  Location: Devon, England

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### Re: overlayfs

by meandean » Mon Oct 29, 2012 9:17 am

Good gawd I hope it is something simple as that as I thought we had this thing fairly nailed down. I still have the image (and some sleep) so I will hopefully try again late today.
I am a bit confused as you said you didn't change the excludes yet you mention the same change that I did from /live to /lib/live. That didn't require a change to the excludes file?

meandean
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  Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2011 5:16 am

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### Re: overlayfs

by dzz » Mon Oct 29, 2012 8:27 pm

What I meant was, in sid live-boot itself creates /lib/live/image (or /lib/live/findiso) at initramfs and uses it for a mountpoint... In squeeze that was /live/image, findiso is not supported unless you hacked it with the grml patches. I read that it was changed to keep non-standard stuff (/live) out of the actual base /
To see what is going on in a live session you might have to add "showmounts" to cmdline
Only the installer needs to exclude that mountpoint... (it doesn't at the moment, that needs sorting)
EDIT there might be more in there that need (installer) excluding... have to review later. In squeeze it is enough to exclude /live directory, it is not used by anything else
/lib/live itself is part of live-config and live-boot deb packages, that must not be excluded. On an installed system e.g. the one you would make a snapshot of. /lib/live/image.(or /lib/live/findiso) do not exist
As far as I understood it perusing sid "man live-boot" aufs seems still the default..
Chasing moving targets is just so time-consuming! Don't know if that change is in wheezy... dont know much of other changes either, except that the single "live" script that get built into initrd is now split into several
That sid snapshot, I didn't even look at the rsync excludes, never mind alter it

dzz
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  Joined: Wed Apr 27, 2011 11:53 am
  Location: Devon, England

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### Re: overlayfs

by fsmithred » Wed Oct 31, 2012 2:28 pm

Can you tell me how you got a live sid? First, I tried installing refracta-wheezy, then upgrading to sid. When I run refractasnapshot on that, virtualbox eventually freezes, and the cpu is pinned at 100%. Powering off the VM leaves a zombie virtualbox running, and the cpu stays at 100%.
Then I installed live-build in sid, and tried making an iso. None of the lb config options I know and love will work. I ended up running lb config with no options, and I made a binary.hybrid.iso that boots, but it says it's wheezy, and it's running the -3 kernel, not the -4. Do I need to build this in squeeze, and use '-d sid'?

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### Re: overlayfs

by dzz » Wed Oct 31, 2012 8:24 pm

> Can you tell me how you got a live sid?

me? I already explained, I used installed siduction. I dist-upgraded it to current sid again today, built another snapshot from that installed system. Writing from the new snapshot right now!
I could install the Debian kernel and do another snapshot and see what happens but for now, the only core difference from straight sid should be:

Code: Select all
  `:~$ uname -r
  3.4-0.towo.2-siduction-686`

I don't use virtualbox much (too slow) Don't know much about live-build either, never use it... I like debootstrap then manual chroot for the rest but haven't done that in sid for a long time. Maybe lb is broken in current sid, or something is missing?
This snapshot is currently booted using filesystem.squashfs, vmlinuz and initrd.img extracted from the ISO and copied to a fixed disk partition. Not burned a cd nor put on usb yet here. This is a quick, easy, non-destructive method to boot a live system.
Starting it from a grub-legacy menu like this:

Code: Select all
  `title squashboot sid snapshot
  root (hd0,1)
  kernel (hd0,1)/sid/vmlinuz live-media-path=/sid boot=live ip=frommedia showmounts union=aufs quiet vga=791
  initrd (hd0,1)/sid/initrd.img`

Note my cmdline specifies "live-media-path" (necessary if filesystem.squashfs is in a custom path) If the default, /live, has changed thet's news to me but simple to find out.
Note also, if another /live/filesystem.squashfs exists anywhere on your system, live-boot (unless that has changed) will pick the first one it finds, not necessarily the right one!
BTW we discussed the new live mountpoints earlier (this is in the live session, not the directory structure on the actual cd image)

Code: Select all
  `# ls -l /lib/live
  total 14
  drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 572 Oct 28 11:24 boot
  -rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 3913 Sep 30 16:27 boot-init.sh
  -rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 281 Oct 2 09:42 boot.sh
  drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 761 Oct 28 11:25 config
  -rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 4841 Sep 30 16:27 config.sh
  drwxr-xr-x 8 root root 4096 Oct 28 15:29 image
  drwxr-xr-x 12 root root 260 Oct 31 17:42 overlay
  drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 60 Oct 31 17:42 rootfs
  # ls /live
  ls: cannot access /live: No such file or directory`

overlay, image and rootfs DIR's do not/should not exist on the installed system, refracta-installer will need to exclude them.. (not tried to install that snapshot yet)

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### Re: overlayfs

by meandean » Wed Oct 31, 2012 10:45 pm

sorry, cant recall
too much going on
too little sleep
I no longer have the partition so I may have lost any chance of following up. I do still have the image but the problem (pebkac or otherwise) may have made it worthless.
I dont think the system was sid but rather wheezy with the newer sid live packages. I think I installed the newer packages because I was having trouble and thought the newer packages may help. I was using either the 3.5 kernel in experimental or it may have been the 3.6 linux libre kernel. I can't recall.
I suspect the problem is a self-inflicted one. I didn't have my head on straight to begin with and fudging around with kernels and so forth...

meandean
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