lenny install: some problems with aptitude, and/or kernel?

[Toni Mueller]

Hi!

On Tue, 25.08.2009 at 15:37:34 +0200, Thomas Neumann <blacky+fai at fluffbunny.de> wrote:
> > 1. Installing a kernel using a class and "PACKAGES aptitude" fails with
> > a message about a missing "initrd = yes" statement in
> > ${target}/etc/kernel-img.conf
> [...]
> > I worked around this problem by creating this custom script to install
> > the kernel later:
> 
> Why don't you use the hooks?

because I don't yet have that much understanding of the proper usage of
hooks, and thus not had them on my mind. I've now started to use them,
though.

> $FAI/files/etc/kernel-img.conf/DEFAULT
> [My contents is a little bit different, customize to your needs.]

Thanks!

> hook get's called and makes sure an appropriate file is copied to
> /target/etc/ . Please make sure that the hook and the file both refer to
> the same classname, e.g. DEFAULT.

Hmmm... so, in the example, fcopy doesn't copy the file
/etc/kernel-img.conf from the installation client (= NFS root), but the
file faiconfig/files/etc/kernel-img.conf/<classname> if the hook is
named instsoft.<classname>, right?

> In a later mail you wrote there's some fallout which may be a consequence
> of the missing kernel. I'm not sure this is a correct assumption, because
> Debian and Ubuntu can both be installed with no kernel at all.

What would a machine without a kernel be useful for, but at the same
time require FAI to be installed?

> Try the stuff above and tell us if it helped.

Your tips helped me quite a bit around the kernel problem, so I can now
almost install the machine. If "software.log" is the result of the
"instsoft" task, then there are some problems buried in there, as well
as in some scripts. I'm not sure about how to work around these to
really fully automatically install the machine, though.

The hardest part seems to be to figure out where the various errors
originate. I'm also wondering how to best write my scripts to be able
to successfully run them under "fai softupdate" (eg. buried "adduser x"
statement fail because the user already exists).


Kind regards,
--Toni++