DI-NETBOOT-ASSISTANT(1)

NAME
di-netboot-assistant - Debian-Installer netboot assistant

SYNOPSIS
di-netboot-assistant [-h] [--version] [--verbose] [--offline] {[install image...] | [uninstall image...] | [uncache image...] | [purge image...] | [rebuild-menu] } [--arch=arch] [--di-args=ARGS] [--target-args=ARGS] [--alias=alias]

DESCRIPTION

di-netboot-assistant is a simple tool to download and extract latest debian installer netboot images.

Unless the -h, --help, -V, or --version option is given, one of the commands below must be present.

install
    install is followed by a repository name desired for installation. The repository name has to be one of those declared in /etc/di-netboot-assistant/di-sources.list. The image will be installed/extracted in the default location (declared in /etc/di-netboot-assistant/di-netboot-assistant.conf).

uninstall
    uninstall is followed by the name of the repository to be uninstalled (or the repository's alias if you used --alias=). The netboot files related to that distribution will be removed from the TFTP server.

uncache
    uncache will clean the cached files for the given netboot image. You must specify a repository name (not an --alias= name).

purge
    purge is followed by a repository name desired for installation. purge is identical to running uninstall then uncache for a given repository.

rebuild-menu
    rebuild-menu will rebuild the top level menu. It's only useful if you have modified di-netboot-assistant.conf and you are using some client images that have top level menu (like i386, amd64 and ia64). This command takes no argument.

OPTIONS

-h, --help Print this message and exit

-v, --version
    Print script version and exit

--alias=alias
    Specify the alias name under wich this repository will be saved. Alias names can only contain alphanumeric, "_" and "-" characters. This is especially useful for daily images. By default, the alias name is the same as the repository name.

--arch=arch
    Specify the architecture you want to install or purge. The architecture you can use for the install action must be declared in /etc/di-netboot-assistant/di-sources.list. The architecture you can use for purge action in one of those you previously installed ! The usable architectures can be listed by leaving --arch= empty. The default architecture is the current one (as reported by dpkg --print-architecture).

--verbose
    Verbose messages

--di-args="ARGS"
    Debian-Installer boot arguments. The specified arguments will be *appended* to the one provided in the downloaded image, before the "--". (You can also define DI_ARGS= in di-netboot-assistant.conf).

--target-args="ARGS"
    Boot arguments for the target (installed) system. The specified arguments will be *appended* to the one provided in the downloaded image, at the very end of the line. (You can also define TARGET_ARGS= in di-netboot-assistant.conf).

--offline
    Don't download the files (use the files cached previously).

EXAMPLES
To install a netboot image for the stable repository, for the default architecture.
    di-netboot-assistant install stable
To list the installed netboot image that can removed.
    di-netboot-assistant purge
To remove a netboot image for the stable repository, for the default architecture.
    di-netboot-assistant purge stable

EXIT CODE

0   Successful program execution.

1   An error occured. (note that purge doesn't fail if the specified repository doesn't exists).

FILES

/etc/di-netboot-assistant/di-netboot-assistant.conf
    The default system-wide configuration file. The file syntax must be bash(1) compatible.

~/.di-netboot-assistant/di-netboot-assistant.conf
    User's own configuration file. The file syntax must be bash(1) compatible. (see file peruser.di-netboot-assistant.conf, in /usr/share/doc/di-netboot-assistant/examples/)

/etc/di-netboot-assistant/di-sources.list
    This file contains the list of downloadable netboot images.

/etc/di-netboot-assistant/pxelinux.HEAD
    The content of this file is prepended to the generated PXELinux config file (i.e boot menu). PXELinux bootloader is used on BIOS based i386 and amd64 systems.

/etc/di-netboot-assistant/elilo.HEAD
    The content of this file is prepended to the generated Elilo config file (i.e boot menu). Elilo bootloader is used on EFI based systems like ia64 and a few i386 systems.

/var/lib/di-netboot-assistant/
    The folder where hints about installed netboot images are stored. Do not edit those files, re-use install to modify the settings of installed image.

/var/cache/di-netboot-assistant/
    The folder where downloaded files are stored (cached) before "installing" them. Use the action uncache to remove cached files.

SECURITY
Do not use sudo to grant execution right to di-netboot-assistant (see the README file).

PROXY
di-netboot-assistant uses wget or curl to actually download the files. You can set the environnement variables accordingly.

AUTHOR
di-netboot-assistant was written by Frank Lin PIAT <fpiat@klabs.be>.