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Building Debian Installer images with a custom kernel.
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So you want to build a custom version of the Debian Installer? This
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document assumes basic familiarity with building Debian packages and the
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linux kernel from source. The techniques described here are aimed mostly at
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replacing the kernel, which is the most common piece to need to replace,
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but similar techniques can be used to replace any other udeb used by this
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modular installer with a custom version.
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If you have questions about this document, mail the Debian Installer team
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at: <debian-boot@lists.debian.org>.
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Step 1. Kernel deb
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You need to find or produce a kernel deb for the kernel you want to use
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with d-i. This can be built in the standard Debian way with make-kpkg. The
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kernel should be built with the following things built in:
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devfs (does not need to automount on boot)
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initrd support
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tmpfs
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ext2
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Most everything else can be modular, and it's a good idea to enable pretty
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much everything. A good starting place is the kernel config from an
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existing official Debian kernel.
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Once you have the kernel-image.deb, install it for the next step. On i386,
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you should also install the kernel-pcmcia-modules file. You do not need to
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boot into the new kernel.
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Step 2. Kernel udebs
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Unpack the source package linux-kernel-di-i386 (other arches, replace
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i386 with your arch). In its source tree, edit the kernel-versions file.
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Each line in this file is a kernel version, you can comment out all but
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one, and modify that one to match the version of your custom kernel.
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If your custom kernel includes new kernel modules that are not in the
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standard kernel, you'll need to add them to a list in modules/i386/. See
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the kernel-wedge documentation for details.
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Make sure the build dependencies of linux-kernel-di-i386 are satisfied
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(you will need to install the kernel-wedge package), and build the package.
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This will produce several udebs.
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Step 3. Initrds and images
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Unpack the debian-installer source package. Make sure the many build
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dependencies are satisfied. Check that build/config/i386.cfg has a
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KERNELVERSION field that matches the version of your custom kernel (other
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arches, replace i386 with your arch). Note that this version includes the
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kernel flavour. For example, if your kernel-image*.udeb produced in the
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previous step is named kernel-image-2.6.4-1-386-di_0.57_i386.udeb, then
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set KERNELVERSION to 2.6.4-1-386
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Copy the udebs that were produced in step 2 into the build/localudebs
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directory. Go to the build directory and type "make list" to see a list
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of possible targets. For example, if you want to build floppy images, use
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this command:
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fakeroot make build_floppy_boot build_floppy_root
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If you're looking to build a complete Debian CD, the target to use is
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"build_cdrom_isolinux" (and see step 4).
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It turns out to be much easier to build a mini CD containing just d-i,
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which you can do with the "build_monolithic" target. You will need a
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network connection to install using this image.
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Look in the build/dest directory for the images. The MANIFEST file will
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list every file you built and its purpose. Note that the
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build_cdrom_isolinux target does not produce an entire ISO image, but just
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the initrd to go on one. However, the build_monolithic target does produce
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a bootable ISO image, and the floppy targets do produce floppy images.
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Step 4. Building a full Debian CD image
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If you have an initrd for a CD, and some kernel udebs, and a kernel deb,
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you probably want to stick them all on a Debian CD. There are two ways to
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do this. You can install the debian-cd package and read its documentation.
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Be warned that using debian-cd is difficult, and requires a local Debian
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mirror. Or you could try to remaster an existing Debian ISO using the
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technique described here:
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http://wiki.debian.net/index.cgi?DebianInstallerModify
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Neither of these routes will be as relatively polished or easy as steps
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1-3. We recommend that you don't try to build a full Debian CD unless you
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really absolutely need one, and have plenty of time to set up debian-cd. An
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alternative is to build a monolithic mini iso (as described in step 3).
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