blog/data/2013-05-17-skolelinux-blessing.txt

   1 Title: How to transform a Debian based system to a Debian Edu installation
   2 Tags: english, debian edu, debian
   3 Date: 2013-05-17 11:50
   4
   5 <p><a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu / Skolelinux</a> is
   6 an operating system based on Debian intended for use in schools.  It
   7 contain a turn-key solution for the computer network provided to
   8 pupils in the primary schools.  It provide both the central server,
   9 network boot servers and desktop environments with heaps of
  10 educational software.  The project was founded almost 12 years ago,
  11 2001-07-02.  If you want to support the project, which is in need for
  12 cash to fund developer gatherings and other project related activity,
  13 <a href="http://www.linuxiskolen.no/slxdebianlabs/donations.html">please
  14 donate some money</a>.
  15
  16 <p>A topic that come up again and again on the Debian Edu mailing
  17 lists and elsewhere, is the question on how to transform a Debian or
  18 Ubuntu installation into a Debian Edu installation.  It isn't very
  19 hard, and last week I wrote a script to replicate the steps done by
  20 the Debian Edu installer.</p>
  21
  22 <p>The script,
  23 <a href="http://anonscm.debian.org/viewvc/debian-edu/branches/wheezy/debian-edu-config/share/debian-edu-config/tools/debian-edu-bless?view=markup">debian-edu-bless<a/>
  24 in the debian-edu-config package, will go through these six steps and
  25 transform an existing Debian Wheezy or Ubuntu (untested) installation
  26 into a Debian Edu Workstation:</p>
  27
  28 <ol>
  29
  30 <li>Add skolelinux related APT sources.</li>
  31 <li>Create /etc/debian-edu/config with the wanted configuration.</li>
  32 <li>Install debian-edu-install to load preseeding values and pull in
  33     our configuration.</li>
  34 <li>Preseed debconf database with profile setup in
  35     /etc/debian-edu/config, and run tasksel to install packages
  36     according to the profile specified in the config above,
  37     overriding some of the Debian automation machinery.</li>
  38 <li>Run debian-edu-cfengine-D installation to configure everything
  39     that could not be done using preseeding.</li>
  40 <li>Ask for a reboot to enable all the configuration changes.</li>
  41
  42 </ol>
  43
  44 <p>There are some steps in the Debian Edu installation that can not be
  45 replicated like this.  Disk partitioning and LVM setup, for example.
  46 So this script just assume there is enough disk space to install all
  47 the needed packages.</p>
  48
  49 <p>The script was created to help a Debian Edu student working on
  50 setting up <a href="http://www.raspberrypi.org">Raspberry Pi</a> as a
  51 Debian Edu client, and using it he can take the existing
  52 <a href="http://www.raspbian.org/FrontPage‎">Raspbian</a> installation and
  53 transform it into a fully functioning Debian Edu Workstation (or
  54 Roaming Workstation, or whatever :).</p>
  55
  56 <p>The default setting in the script is to create a KDE Workstation.
  57 If a LXDE based Roaming workstation is wanted instead, modify the
  58 PROFILE and DESKTOP values at the top to look like this instead:</p>
  59
  60 <p><pre>
  61 PROFILE="Roaming-Workstation"
  62 DESKTOP="lxde"
  63 </pre></p>
  64
  65 <p>The script could even become useful to set up Debian Edu servers in
  66 the cloud, by starting with a virtual Debian installation at some
  67 virtual hosting service and setting up all the services on first
  68 boot.</p>