knoppix essential packages?

**Capricorny** · 08-24-2012, 10:43 PM

Originally Posted by dwstarke

Yes, I agree. I am taking a two-pronged approach.

I am systematically stripping out small sections and then testing the resultant remastered KNOPPIX. This is slow going.

I have installed Ubuntu 12.04. and have installed a "precise" debootstrap chroot. Using a Knoppix poor man's install, I can (like Capricorny) chroot into this file tree and have installed all the Knoppix debian packages. I am now doing the tedious reading of the init scripts. Fortunately for us, Klaus moved from a compiled C hwsetup to a shell-script version. This suggests to me that this might just be possible. I am struggling to come up to speed on cloop and aufs so that the permanence feature can be debugged successfully. I would appreciate a citation from anyone with a resource for the requisite "how-tos".

I am now envisioning a basic KNOPPIX compressed fs with minimal software, a KNOPPIX2 file containing the software of choice, utilizing the ramdisk fs method Klaus was discussing in the other thread.

The result should be a read-only OS/app system (secure) with an easily backed-up persistent home directory (with the attending app configs) that will run on any system (because of the great hw detection). In my case, it will have the added advantage of being more purely Debian, so that further dev. will be almost trivial.

I will move somewhat slowly due to the lack of large blocks of time. I would be happy to collaborate with anyone who has a more advanced knowledge (or more time than I). If you have Ubuntu already installed, the setup is incredibly easy.

I think this may be fruitful - but the best would be if we could get Klaus K interested too. As I see it, much of what he has been doing has been either compatible with or directly useful for such an approach.

Klaus K has indicated he is working on 7.0.4 now, so maybe a new release isn't that far away. For my own part, I would like to use that as the starting point. Eventually providing input for him on possible adaptations in the next releases thereafter.

I think minirt init would need minimal adaptation for this approach - the only thing I personally would modify, is to provide support for either cloop or squashfs. (This is written on a system running remastered 7.0.3 with squashfs.)

I think the idea of a rather small basic KNOPPIX image is a good one. (Or maybe rather a few alternatives for the basic image.) There are always problems cramming in more in a DVD size image, and they would be greatly relieved if most basics were cared for in the KNOPPIX(.sq) image. Of course we don't have to stick to a 4GB max file size, but I have found that practical.

With wishful thinking, we could imagine (DVD size - 1.5GB) KNOPPIX2 images available for download, which could then be expanded and repackaged. A few users might also have need for a KNOPPIX3 image, but that would rather be the exception, I think.