New project but iso is too big

Thanks for pointing .cmg file out for me. :smile:

I probably can understand the convinience argument for putting .cmg files on a DVD but I'm not buying the efficiency argument untill somebody show me a benchmark results.

Both cramfs and cloop do decompression "on-the-fly" they just do it on different levels - one on File System level, another on a block
level. Note, that what they decompress still lives on DVD for both of them even after they are mounted.

When cloop is mounted it reads all offsets of compressed blocks into memory therefore finding what to load from the DVD does not take much time - lookup in this translation table what to load, make corresponding request to DVD driver, and then send back to kernel decompressed data. As a result you would spend as much time looking for an application and loading it for a big cloop image as you would do for a small one.

As for .cmg files... It's very interesting approach, I admit it. Especially, for small programs depending only on their own resources and on core components. But I wonder how interdependency could be solved with it. What would .cmg file do if it needs something from another .cmg? Bundle all necessary files in its own .cmg? Look for another .cmg? And what if you start program twice? If you click the same .cmg you will spend another /dev/loop. Do you ask users to start .cmg differently if it is already started?

But, I'm sorry... This is not a .cmg discussion board.

Thanks,
Igor

belyi;

You are correct, this is not a .cmg forum, but a DVD forum. The answer given to the DVD question however can be provided by .cmg files.

I agree that multiple calls of the same .cmg use up loop availability. This can be increased by cheat codes. It does not seem to be a serious drawback.

All .cmg files are independent of each other and no interdependency is possible for a correctly encoded .cmg file. The .cmg files are bundled with their dependencies.

I am interested in the application of solutions to the LiveDVD media use and your idea seems appropo as does the .cmg approach. I know that the .cmg approach is useable as evidenced by probono in his posts.

I eagerly expect to find a good use for multiple "cloop" solutions to the DVD media LiveDVD maximal use of rom space. I especially appreciate solutions that are easily upgraded. A combo of "cloop" multiples and deleteable .cmg files seems attractive.

I find .cmg files compatible with my desktop system, archlinuxOS as well as LiveCD's STUX, pcLinuxOS as well as Knoppix derivatives.

I am hoping I can utilize the "cloop" system you describe as well. I find that cloop, cramfs, and zisofs are all possible in a LiveCD/DVD.

I hope I can add multiple "cloop" to that list.

Best to you

:D

Belyi;
The reference to bugreport...bug=296179 returns no such item in google.

You don't need to google for it. Just follow the link:
http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=296179

Igor

For a proof of concept I've created a new minirt26.gz which recognizes KNOPPIX.0 .. KNOPPIX.3 images as a split KNOPPIX image. I've tried it on KNOPPIX 3.7 CD by spliting its compressed image in half.
You can get this 1.4Mb minirt26.gz from ftp://belyi.ac93.org/pub/KNOPPIX/minirt26.gz but I have very small upload speed so it may be easier if I tell you what I did.

1. Mounted the original minirt26:
modprobe cloop
mount -o loop KNOPPIX-3.7.iso /mnt/src
losetup /dev/cloop0 /mnt/src/KNOPPIX/KNOPPIX
mount /dev/cloop0 /mnt/root
gzip -c /mnt/src/boot/isolinux/minirt26.gz > minirt26
mount -o loop minirt26 /mnt/minirt

2. Edited /mnt/minirt/linuxrc (here's the patch: ftp://belyi.ac93.org/pub/KNOPPIX/linuxrc-dm.patch)

3. Statically compiled losetup and dmsetup utils (simply added -static switch to the linker) and copied them into /mnt/minirt/static

4. Statically compiled a small program dmtables (ftp://belyi.ac93.org/pub/KNOPPIX/dmtables.c and copied it into static as well.
gcc -static -o dmtables dmtables.c
cp dmtables /mnt/minirt/static

5. Copied driver mapper kernel module:
cp /mnt/root/lib/modules/2.6.9/kernel/drivers/md/dm-mod.ko /mnt/minirt/modules/dm-mod.o

6. Created additional cloop nodes:
pushd /mnt/minirt/dev
mv cloop cloop0
ln -s cloop0 cloop
mknod cloop1 b 240 1
mknod cloop2 b 240 2
mknod cloop3 b 240 3
popd

7. Unmount and compress minirt26 back:
umount /mnt/minirt
gzip minirt26

8. Create your splitted KNOPPIX image:
rsync -a --exclude=KNOPPIX/KNOPPIX /mnt/src/ newimage
extract_compressed_fs /mnt/src/KNOPPIX/KNOPPIX | split -d -a 1 -b 973696k - knoppix.decomp.
create_compressed_fs knoppix.decomp.0 > newimage/KNOPPIX/KNOPPIX.0
create_compressed_fs knoppix.decomp.1 > newimage/KNOPPIX/KNOPPIX.1
cp minirt26.gz newimage/boot/isolinux
mkisofs -pad -l -r -J -v -V "KNOPPIX" -no-emul-boot -boot-load-size 4 -boot-info-table -b boot/isolinux/isolinux.bin -c boot/isolinux/boot.cat -hide-rr-moved -o KNOPPIX-3.7-splited.iso newimage

9. Burn the image and then boot it using knoppix26

10. If it works you can start fill KNOPPIX with your favorite programs without worry for 2Gb limitation of iso9660. :smile:


Note 1. dmtables just simulates the job of blockdev --getsz, plus some arithmetics to align those split images nicely for driver mapper. I suspect you can do its job easily with some other methods.

Note 2. This is just quick-and-dirty work - it is not intended for mass production.

Note 3. I didn't use extrace_compressed_fs and create_compressed_fs programs - I used my own utils but it shouldn't be matter as long as you use the patched version.


I appologize for being too verbose... Spending 20 minutes to create an image and then finding a typo in linuxrc during boot (repeated number of times) do get on my nerves. I thought I should spill it on somebody else too. :wink:

Cheers,
Igor

IGOR;
Downloaded the 1.4MB file, renamed to minirt26.gz.

I assume the next step is step 8 wherein the file is incorporated into the mkisofs command. This produces an iso for a DVD burn which incorporates the split KNOPPIX image created by the procedures in step 8.

Step 9 then provides a DVD disc with the knoppix26 option to boot.

This creates a DVD disc with knoppix26 boot option but I am confused by the statement in step 10 which seems to indicate...adding to the disc. Perhaps your intent was to show that the system works and the user can re-do the procedure and change the KNOPPIX apps to be included in a new burn.

To make the operation of mkisofs completely clear, perhaps a coded statement would be best.

I mention this because this procedure will be read by many users with less than expert capability. It has been advertised on two other OS sites.

You know of course that a newbie is an expert user trying a new program for the first time....

Your experience with the typos in linuxrc are replicated in my experience with minirt26.gz modifications!

I have yet to install any new applications in Knoppix3.7 but have managed to generate changes to a knoppix DVD to permit toram of a 2GB DVD in my
3GB ram.

Many thanks for your expose' of the methodology behind the multi cloop Knoppix burn! :D

I will post it in archlinux!

This limitation will get silly when we have BluRay at 100GB.
If I don't need ISO conformance ... I know perfectly well what will read the file, it will be 'mount -o cloop' from Knoppix ... how do I write an 'iso' with a bigger Knoppix file ?

I've put a torrent for 'Knoppix 3.6 DVD for Windows' under http://home.btconnect.com/chrisandcarolyn/torrents/ . Does this kind of thing
http://home.btconnect.com/chrisandcarolyn/k37qemu.png. (Actually that is Knoppix37 for Windows, torrent in same directory, screen shot of DVD not to hand but is obvious) Hope someone with a fast permanent connection can take it; it will take best part of a week to leech.

Chris-uk;

Pleased to have your interesting post with the screen-shot to boot! Nothing like a pix to save ten thousand words...

Wondering how fast the DVD loads at boot.

The screenshot depicts a never-turn-it-off syndrome!!! Surf while you sleep?

What version of windows?

Many users would have withdrawal symptoms if they had to torrent for week!!! More suicides!!! :lol:

Very nice that you provide such an interesting opportunity :D

May we have the index of the torrent listed in your next post?

http://linuxtracker.org hosts the torrents; but grab from my web page, it should be automatic.
6 hours for a CD if I have to upload it; some are well seeded. 11 CDs and a DVD altogether.
'Knoppix 3.7 for Windows' takes a couple of minutes to boot; slow, but not unacceptably slow. 'SuSE for Windows' and 'Warty for Windows' are slow for technical reasons, but the rest are fine.

I appologize for the confusion in my post. It wasn't meant to be an instruction on creating a KNOPPIX distribution with splitted files - I just documented the steps I've made to create the new minirt26.gz so that the steps which could be made better were easy to spot. For a regular KNOPPIX remasterer just having the minirt26.gz should be enough. The step 8. was simply copied from http://www.knoppix.net/wiki/Knoppix_Remastering_Howto for compliteness and yes, this is the step you should jump to if you have the right minirt26.gz. Step 10. is not a step as such - just a happy remark. Please, strike 10. from its prefix.

Now, the chris-uk's remark regarding silliness of the ISO made me think... Acctully, you need ISO only for boot, so there's an even easier solution based on the driver mapper:
Create your bootable KNOPPIX image without the compressed KNOPPIX file, then create an ext2 file system (or any other without 2Gb limitation) containing only this compressed KNOPPIX file and append it to the bootable KNOPPIX image. The following steps should show what I mean:

rsync -a --exclude=KNOPPIX/KNOPPIX /mnt/src/ newimage
mkisofs -pad -l -r -J -v -V "KNOPPIX" -no-emul-boot -boot-load-size 4 -boot-info-table -b boot/isolinux/isolinux.bin -c boot/isolinux/boot.cat -hide-rr-moved -o KNOPPIX-3.7-prefix.iso newimage
dd if=/dev/zero of=KNOPPIX-3.7-suffix.iso bs=1M count=697
losetup /dev/loop3 KNOPPIX-3.7-suffix.iso
mke2fs -T largefile4 -m 0 /dev/loop3
mount /dev/loop3 /mnt/root
cp -a /mnt/src/KNOPPIX/KNOPPIX /mnt/root
umount /mnt/root
cat KNOPPIX-3.7-prefix.iso KNOPPIX-3.7-sufix.iso > KNOPPIX-3.7-moved.iso

You will need another linuxrc for such generated image which will do something like the following (1427456 - is the size of the KNOPPIX-3.7-suffix.iso in 512b blocks and 11268 is of the KNOPPIX-3.7-prefix.iso):
echo "0 1427456 linear /dev/cdrom 11268" | dmsetup create knoppix
mount /dev/mapper/knoppix /mnt/tmp
losetup /dev/cloop0 /mnt/tmp/KNOPPIX
mount /dev/cloop0 /KNOPPIX

I'll try to comeup with the new minirt26.gz latter.

Cheers,
Igor