make-fai-nfsroot(8)

NAME
make-fai-nfsroot - create the FAI nfsroot directory

SYNOPSIS
make-fai-nfsroot [options]

DESCRIPTION
Create the FAI nfsroot directory as pointed by $NFSROOT in the config_file. This directory is necessary for the installation of Debian on remote clients using the FAI package. The config_file location is discussed in the OPTIONS below. The exit code returned is 0 if all commands to build the root directory exited successfully and >0 if an error occurs.

OPTIONS

-B BASETGZ
    Use specified BASETGZ file as base.tgz for the nfsroot. This avoids calling debootstrap and therefore reduces the buildtime for the nfsroot.

-C CFDIR
    Use CFDIR as configuration directory. Default is /etc/fai. You can also set the environment variable FAI_ETC_DIR.

-f config_file
    Not supported any more. Use option -C instead.

-K  Remove all kernels from NFSROOT. This is the same as calling aptitude purge ~nlinux-image inside the nfsroot.

-k  Install additional packages defined in /etc/fai/NFSROOT into the nfsroot. Also copies all kernels from the nfsroot to the directory $TFTPROOT.

-p  Preserve ssh keys. This will preserve the whole .ssh directory of the root account inside the nfsroot.

-U  Do not divert update-initramfs during build of the nfsroot. This will slow down the creation process a bit. Use it in case of missing initrd inside the nfsroot or when Ubuntu fails if the diversion exists.

-v  Create verbose output on stdout.

-h  Show simple help.

-r  Attempt to recover a previously failed run of this command.

NOTES
If you do not use NFS, you may still use the NFSROOT directory as a staging point for building the base installation tarball.

RECOVERY
CAUTION! This is an advanced feature. You should be willing to open up an editor and browse the make-fai-nfsroot code to understand what each task does and how your use of the recovery option can be impacted by fiddling around with the stamp files. You can call make-fai-nfsroot with the '-r' option to attempt a recovery of a previous run. As tasks are completed, stamp files are generated in /var/run/fai/make-fai-nfsroot. As each task is called in recovery mode, the stamp file is checked. If it exists, the task is skipped. This will save you much time during your initial install and debug phase. It is not a very sophisticated mechanism but it can help you on updating the nfsroot as well. For example, if you want to update the kernel that is installed, remove the following stamp files: install_kernel_nfsroot_stamp, setup_bootp_stamp, setup_dhcp_stamp. The order in which the stamp files are created are as follows:
call_debootstrap_stamp
    Debootstrap was called successfully.
create_base_stamp
    Created after successfully calling debootstrap plus a couple of other tasks.
upgrade_nfsroot_stamp
    The packages in $NFSROOT have successfully been upgraded with apt.
add_packages_nfsroot_stamp
    New packages have been installed with apt as specified by the $NFSPACKAGES environment variable in /etc/fai/fai.conf.
copy_fai_files_stamp
    FAI copies a base of files to the NFSROOT directory.
setup_ssh_stamp
    The SSH environment is set up. You could probably remove this stamp alone to refresh your ssh setup.
create_nfsroot_stamp
    This stamp file is created when all the preceeding steps have been taken. You have a base nfsroot directory. All you need now is the kernel and the BOOTP or DHCP setup.
install_kernel_nfsroot_stamp
    The kernel you specified in $KERNELPACKAGE has been installed.
setup_bootp_stamp | setup_dhcp_stamp
    Your kernel was either BOOTP or DHCP. The appropriate setup has been completed.

SEE ALSO
exports(5), nfsd(8), fai-setup(8) This program is part of FAI (Fully Automatic Installation). See the FAI manual for more information on how to use make-fai-nfsroot. The FAI homepage is http://fai-project.org.

FILES
The FAI configuration file.
The configuration file for make-fai-nfsroot.
Directory containing shell scripts to be sourced at the end of make-fai-nfsroot for additional configuration of the nfsroot. Can be changed with NFSROOT_HOOKS.
Copy this file to the NFSROOT.
Stamp files used for recovery.

AUTHOR
Thomas Lange <lange@informatik.uni-koeln.de>