X-Git-Url: https://pere.pagekite.me/gitweb/homepage.git/blobdiff_plain/f08bb34f0ce4e23a80671f4bb3aad5edb801fe75..8611eec2eaa194d79354d8137c4df67bb2eece15:/blog/index.rss diff --git a/blog/index.rss b/blog/index.rss index 9f9ea2925b..31836fee3e 100644 --- a/blog/index.rss +++ b/blog/index.rss @@ -6,6 +6,115 @@ http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/ + + Debian Jessie, PXE and automatic firmware installation + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_Jessie__PXE_and_automatic_firmware_installation.html + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_Jessie__PXE_and_automatic_firmware_installation.html + Fri, 17 Oct 2014 14:10:00 +0200 + <p>When PXE installing laptops with Debian, I often run into the +problem that the WiFi card require some firmware to work properly. +And it has been a pain to fix this using preseeding in Debian. +Normally something more is needed. But thanks to +<a href="https://packages.qa.debian.org/i/isenkram.html">my isenkram +package</a> and its recent tasksel extension, it has now become easy +to do this using simple preseeding.</p> + +<p>The isenkram-cli package provide tasksel tasks which will install +firmware for the hardware found in the machine (actually, requested by +the kernel modules for the hardware). (It can also install user space +programs supporting the hardware detected, but that is not the focus +of this story.)</p> + +<p>To get this working in the default installation, two preeseding +values are needed. First, the isenkram-cli package must be installed +into the target chroot (aka the hard drive) before tasksel is executed +in the pkgsel step of the debian-installer system. This is done by +preseeding the base-installer/includes debconf value to include the +isenkram-cli package. The package name is next passed to debootstrap +for installation. With the isenkram-cli package in place, tasksel +will automatically use the isenkram tasks to detect hardware specific +packages for the machine being installed and install them, because +isenkram-cli contain tasksel tasks.</p> + +<p>Second, one need to enable the non-free APT repository, because +most firmware unfortunately is non-free. This is done by preseeding +the apt-mirror-setup step. This is unfortunate, but for a lot of +hardware it is the only option in Debian.</p> + +<p>The end result is two lines needed in your preseeding file to get +firmware installed automatically by the installer:</p> + +<p><blockquote><pre> +base-installer base-installer/includes string isenkram-cli +apt-mirror-setup apt-setup/non-free boolean true +</pre></blockquote></p> + +<p>The current version of isenkram-cli in testing/jessie will install +both firmware and user space packages when using this method. It also +do not work well, so use version 0.15 or later. Installing both +firmware and user space packages might give you a bit more than you +want, so I decided to split the tasksel task in two, one for firmware +and one for user space programs. The firmware task is enabled by +default, while the one for user space programs is not. This split is +implemented in the package currently in unstable.</p> + +<p>If you decide to give this a go, please let me know (via email) how +this recipe work for you if you decide to give it a go. :)</p> + +<p>So, I bet you are wondering, how can this work. First and +foremost, it work because tasksel is modular, and driven by whatever +files it find in /usr/lib/tasksel/ and /usr/share/tasksel/. So the +isenkram-cli package place two files for tasksel to find. First there +is the task description file (/usr/share/tasksel/descs/isenkram.desc):</p> + +<p><blockquote><pre> +Task: isenkram-packages +Section: hardware +Description: Hardware specific packages (autodetected by isenkram) + Based on the detected hardware various hardware specific packages are + proposed. +Test-new-install: show show +Relevance: 8 +Packages: for-current-hardware + +Task: isenkram-firmware +Section: hardware +Description: Hardware specific firmware packages (autodetected by isenkram) + Based on the detected hardware various hardware specific firmware + packages are proposed. +Test-new-install: mark show +Relevance: 8 +Packages: for-current-hardware-firmware +</pre></blockquote></p> + +<p>The key parts are Test-new-install which indicate how the task +should be handled and the Packages line referencing to a script in +/usr/lib/tasksel/packages/. The scripts use other scripts to get a +list of packages to install. The for-current-hardware-firmware script +look like this to list relevant firmware for the machine: + +<p><blockquote><pre> +#!/bin/sh +# +PATH=/usr/sbin:$PATH +export PATH +isenkram-autoinstall-firmware -l +</pre></blockquote></p> + +<p>With those two pieces in place, the firmware is installed by +tasksel during the normal d-i run. :)</p> + +<p>If you want to test what tasksel will install when isenkram-cli is +installed, run <tt>DEBIAN_PRIORITY=critical tasksel --test +--new-install</tt> to get the list of packages that tasksel would +install.</p> + +<p><ahref="https://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/">Debian Edu</a> will be +pilots in testing this feature, as isenkram is used to install +firmware now.</p> + + + Ubuntu used to show the bread prizes at ICA Storo http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Ubuntu_used_to_show_the_bread_prizes_at_ICA_Storo.html @@ -970,94 +1079,5 @@ narkotikamarkedet er mye bedre enn å overlate det til kriminelle.</li> - - Debian Edu interview: Bernd Zeitzen - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_Edu_interview__Bernd_Zeitzen.html - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_Edu_interview__Bernd_Zeitzen.html - Thu, 31 Jul 2014 08:30:00 +0200 - <p>The complete and free “out of the box” software solution for -schools, <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu / -Skolelinux</a>, is used quite a lot in Germany, and one of the people -involved is Bernd Zeitzen, who show up on the project mailing lists -from time to time with interesting questions and tips on how to adjust -the setup. I managed to interview him this summer.</p> - -<p><strong>Who are you, and how do you spend your days?</strong></p> - -<p>My name is Bernd Zeitzen and I'm married with Hedda, a self -employed physiotherapist. My former profession is tool maker, but I -haven't worked for 30 years in this job. 30 years ago I started to -support my wife and become her officeworker and a few years later the -administrator for a small computer network, today based on Ubuntu -Server (Samba, OpenVPN). For her daily work she has to use Windows -Desktops because the software she needs to organize her business only -works with Windows . :-(</p> - -<p>In 1988 we started with one PC and DOS, then I learned to use -Windows 98, 2000, XP, …, 8, Ubuntu, MacOSX. Today we are running a -Linux server with 6 Windows clients and 10 persons (teacher of -children with special needs, speech therapist, occupational therapist, -psychologist and officeworkers) using our Samba shares via OpenVPN to -work with the documentations of our patients.</p> - -<p><strong>How did you get in contact with the Skolelinux / Debian Edu -project?</strong></p> - -<p>Two years ago a friend of mine asked me, if I want to get a job in -his school (<a href="http://www.gymnasium-harsewinkel.de/">Gymnasium -Harsewinkel</a>). They started with Skolelinux / Debian Edu and they -were looking for people to give support to the teachers using the -software and the network and teaching the pupils increasing their -computer skills in optional lessons. I'm spending 4-6 hours a week -with this job.</p> - -<p><strong>What do you see as the advantages of Skolelinux / Debian -Edu?</strong></p> - -<p>The independence.</p> - -<p>First: Every person is allowed to use, share and develop the -software. Even if you are poor, you are allowed to use the software -included in Skolelinux/Debian Edu and all the other Free Software.</p> - -<p>Second: The software runs on old machines and this gives us the -possibility to recycle computers, weeded out from offices. The -servers and desktops are running for more than two years and they are -working reliable. </p> - -<p>We have two servers (one tjener and one terminal server), 45 -workstations in three classrooms and seven laptops as a mobile -solution for all classrooms. These machines are all booting from the -terminal server. In the moment we are installing 30 laptops as mobile -workstations. Then the pupils have the possibility to work with these -machines in their classrooms. Internet access is realized by a WLAN -router, connected to the schools network. This is all done without a -dedicated system administrator or a computer science teacher.</p> - -<p><strong>What do you see as the disadvantages of Skolelinux / Debian -Edu?</strong></p> - -<p>Teachers and pupils are Windows users. &lt;Irony on&gt; And Linux -isn't cool. It's software for freaks using the command line. &lt;Irony -off&gt; They don't realize the stability of the system. </p> - -<p><strong>Which free software do you use daily?</strong></p> - -<p>Firefox, Thunderbird, LibreOffice, Ubuntu Server 12.04 (Samba, -Apache, MySQL, Joomla!, … and Skolelinux / Debian Edu)</p> - -<p><strong>Which strategy do you believe is the right one to use to -get schools to use free software?</strong></p> - -<p>In Germany we have the situation: every school is free to decide -which software they want to use. This decision is influenced by -teachers who learned to use Windows and MS Office. They buy a PC with -Windows preinstalled and an additional testing version of MS -Office. They don't know about the possibility to use Free Software -instead. Another problem are the publisher of school books. They -develop their software, added to the school books, for Windows.</p> - - -