Title: How to transform a Debian based system to a Debian Edu installation
Tags: english, debian edu, debian
Date: 2013-05-17 11:50

<p><a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu / Skolelinux</a> is
an operating system based on Debian intended for use in schools.  It
contain a turn-key solution for the computer network provided to
pupils in the primary schools.  It provide both the central server,
network boot servers and desktop environments with heaps of
educational software.  The project was founded almost 12 years ago,
2001-07-02.  If you want to support the project, which is in need for
cash to fund developer gatherings and other project related activity,
<a href="http://www.linuxiskolen.no/slxdebianlabs/donations.html">please
donate some money</a>.

<p>A topic that come up again and again on the Debian Edu mailing
lists and elsewhere, is the question on how to transform a Debian or
Ubuntu installation into a Debian Edu installation.  It isn't very
hard, and last week I wrote a script to replicate the steps done by
the Debian Edu installer.</p>

<p>The script,
<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/>
in the debian-edu-config package, will go through these six steps and
transform an existing Debian Wheezy or Ubuntu (untested) installation
into a Debian Edu Workstation:</p>

<ol>

<li>Add skolelinux related APT sources.</li>
<li>Create /etc/debian-edu/config with the wanted configuration.</li>
<li>Install debian-edu-install to load preseeding values and pull in
    our configuration.</li>
<li>Preseed debconf database with profile setup in
    /etc/debian-edu/config, and run tasksel to install packages
    according to the profile specified in the config above,
    overriding some of the Debian automation machinery.</li>
<li>Run debian-edu-cfengine-D installation to configure everything
    that could not be done using preseeding.</li>
<li>Ask for a reboot to enable all the configuration changes.</li>

</ol>

<p>There are some steps in the Debian Edu installation that can not be
replicated like this.  Disk partitioning and LVM setup, for example.
So this script just assume there is enough disk space to install all
the needed packages.</p>

<p>The script was created to help a Debian Edu student working on
setting up <a href="http://www.raspberrypi.org">Raspberry Pi</a> as a
Debian Edu client, and using it he can take the existing
<a href="http://www.raspbian.org/FrontPage‎">Raspbian</a> installation and
transform it into a fully functioning Debian Edu Workstation (or
Roaming Workstation, or whatever :).</p>

<p>The default setting in the script is to create a KDE Workstation.
If a LXDE based Roaming workstation is wanted instead, modify the
PROFILE and DESKTOP values at the top to look like this instead:</p>

<p><pre>
PROFILE="Roaming-Workstation"
DESKTOP="lxde"
</pre></p>

<p>The script could even become useful to set up Debian Edu servers in
the cloud, by starting with a virtual Debian installation at some
virtual hosting service and setting up all the services on first
boot.</p>