/[d-i]/trunk/manual/en/appendix/preseed.xml

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-revision 38231 by joeyh,
Mon Jun 19 22:15:58 2006 UTC
+revision 44376 by fjp,
Sun Jan 21 23:54:54 2007 UTC
 Line 2
  <!-- $Id$ -->
  <!--
- Be carefull with the format of this file as it is parsed to generate
+ Be careful with the format of this file as it is parsed to generate
  the example preconfiguration file.
  In that file all text between <informalexample> tags that have the
  attribute 'role="example"' set is included, except if a 'condition'
 Line 17 
 Currently only a single variant of the e
  <para>
- This appendix explains the intricacies of preseeding answers to questions in
+ This appendix explains how to preseed answers to questions in &d-i; to
- &d-i; to automate your installation.
+ automate your installation.
  </para><para>
 Line 48 
 There are three methods that can be used
  <firstterm>network</firstterm>. Initrd preseeding will work with any
  installation method and supports preseeding of more things, but it requires
  the most preparation. File and network preseeding each can be used with
- different installation methods. With file and network preseeding the first
+ different installation methods.
- few installer questions cannot be preseeded because the preconfiguration
- file is only loaded after they have been asked.
  </para><para>
-Line 71 
 installation methods.
+Line 69 
 installation methods.
    <entry>CD/DVD</entry>
    <entry>yes</entry>
    <entry>yes</entry>
-   <entry>no</entry>
+   <entry>yes<footnote id='apx-ps-net'>
+   <para>
+   but only if you have network access, and set <literal>preseed/url</literal>
+   appropriately
+   </para>
+   </footnote></entry>
  </row><row>
    <entry>netboot</entry>
    <entry>yes</entry>
-Line 81 
 installation methods.
+Line 86 
 installation methods.
    <entry>hd-media <phrase condition="bootable-usb">(including usb-stick)</phrase></entry>
    <entry>yes</entry>
    <entry>yes</entry>
-   <entry>no</entry>
+   <entry>yes<footnoteref linkend='apx-ps-net'/></entry>
  </row><row condition="supports-floppy-boot">
    <entry>floppy based (cd-drivers)</entry>
    <entry>yes</entry>
    <entry>yes</entry>
-   <entry>no</entry>
+   <entry>yes<footnoteref linkend='apx-ps-net'/></entry>
  </row><row condition="supports-floppy-boot">
    <entry>floppy based (net-drivers)</entry>
    <entry>yes</entry>
-Line 113 
 configured.
+Line 118 
 configured.
  </para><para>
- In practical terms this means for file and network preseeding that the
+ Obviously, any questions that have been processed before the
- questions about language, country and keyboard selection will already have
+ preconfiguration file is loaded cannot be preseeded (this will include
- been asked. For network preseeding add to that any questions related to
+ questions that are only displayed at medium or low priority, like the
- network configuration. Some other questions that are only displayed
+ first hardware detection run). <xref linkend="preseed-bootparms"/>
- at medium or low priority (like the first hardware detection run) will
+ offers a way to avoid these questions being asked.
- also already have been processed.
  </para><para>
- Obviously, any questions that have been processed before the
+ In order to avoid the questions that would normally appear before the
- preconfiguration file is loaded cannot be preseeded.
+ preseeding occurs, you can start the installer in <quote>auto</quote>
- <xref linkend="preseed-bootparms"/> offers a way to avoid these
+ mode. This delays questions that would normally be asked too early for
- questions being asked.
+ preseeding (i.e. language, country and keyboard selection) until after
+ the network comes up, thus allowing them to be preseeded. It also runs
+ the installation in critical priority, which avoids many unimportant
+ questions. See <xref linkend="preseed-auto"/> for details.
  </para>
    </sect2>
-Line 137 
 questions being asked.
+Line 144 
 questions being asked.
  Although most questions used by &d-i; can be preseeded using this method,
  there are some notable exceptions. You must (re)partition an entire disk
  or use available free space on a disk; it is not possible to use existing
- partitions. You currently cannot use preseeding to set up RAID.
+ partitions.
  </para>
    </sect2>
-Line 162 
 The following types of templates are rel
+Line 169 
 The following types of templates are rel
  </para>
- <itemizedlist>
+ <itemizedlist spacing="compact">
  <listitem><para>
    string: allows the user to type any value
  </para></listitem>
-Line 202 
 are stored in a separate, non-readable f
+Line 209 
 are stored in a separate, non-readable f
  </para>
    </sect2>
  -->
-   <sect2 id="preseed-hooks">
-   <title>Running custom commands during the installation</title>
- <para>
- A very powerful and flexible option offered by the preconfiguration tools
- is the ability to run commands or scripts at certain points in the
- installation. See <xref linkend="preseed-shell"/> for details.
- </para>
- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem><para>
-   <userinput>preseed/early_command</userinput>: is run as soon as the
-   preconfiguration file has been loaded
- </para></listitem>
- <listitem><para>
-   <userinput>preseed/late_command</userinput>: is run just before the reboot
-   at the end of the install, but before the <filename>/target</filename>
-   filesystem has been unmounted
- </para></listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
-   </sect2>
-   <sect2 id="preseed-seenflag">
-   <title>Using preseeding to change default values</title>
- <para>
- It is possible to use preseeding to change the default answer for a
- question, but still have the question asked. To do this the
- <firstterm>seen</firstterm> flag must be reset to <quote>false</quote> after
- setting the value for a question.
- </para>
- <informalexample><screen>
- d-i foo/bar string value
- d-i foo/bar seen false
- </screen></informalexample>
-   </sect2>
   </sect1>
   <sect1 id="preseed-using">
   <title>Using preseeding</title>
  <para>
- Of course you will first need to create a preconfiguration file and place it in
+ You will first need to create a preconfiguration file and place it in
  the location from where you want to use it. Creating the preconfiguration file
  is covered later in this appendix. Putting it in the correct location is fairly
  straightforward for network preseeding or if you want to read the file off
  a floppy or usb-stick. If you want to include the file on a CD or DVD, you
  will have to remaster the ISO image. How to get the preconfiguration file
  included in the initrd is outside the scope of this document; please consult
- the developers documentation for &d-i;.
+ the developers' documentation for &d-i;.
  </para><para>
-Line 320 
 Boot parameters to specify:
+Line 286 
 Boot parameters to specify:
  Note that <filename>preseed/url</filename> can be shortened to just
  <filename>url</filename> and <filename>preseed/file</filename> to just
- </filename>file</filename> when they are passed as boot parameters.
+ <filename>file</filename> when they are passed as boot parameters.
  </para>
+   </sect2>
+   <sect2 id="preseed-bootparms">
+   <title>Using boot parameters to preseed questions</title>
+ <para>
+ If a preconfiguration file cannot be used to preseed some steps, the
+ install can still be fully automated, since you can pass preseed values on
+ the command line when booting the installer.
  </para><para>
- While you're at it, you may want to add a boot parameter
+ Boot parameters can also be used if you do not really want to use preseeding,
- <userinput>priority=critical</userinput>. This will avoid most
+ but just want to provide an answer for a specific question. Some examples where
- questions even if the preseeding below misses some.
+ this can be useful are documented elsewhere in this manual.
+ </para><para>
+ To set a value to be used inside &d-i;, just pass
+ <userinput><replaceable>path/to/variable</replaceable>=<replaceable>value</replaceable></userinput>
+ for any of the preseed variables listed in the examples in this appendix.
+ If a value is to be used to configure packages for the target system, you
+ will need to prepend the <firstterm>owner</firstterm><footnote>
+ <para>
+ The owner of a debconf variable (or template) is normally the name of the
+ package that contains the corresponding debconf template. For variables
+ used in the installer itself the owner is <quote>d-i</quote>.
+ Templates and variables can have more than one owner which helps to
+ determine whether they can be removed from the debconf database if the
+ package is purged.
  </para>
+ </footnote> of the variable as in
+ <userinput><replaceable>owner</replaceable>:<replaceable>path/to/variable</replaceable>=<replaceable>value</replaceable></userinput>.
+ If you don't specify the owner, the value for the variable will not be
+ copied to the debconf database in the target system and thus remain unused
+ during the configuration of the relevant package.
+ </para><para>
+ Note that some variables that are frequently set at the boot prompt
+ have a shorter alias. If an alias is available, it is used in the
+ examples in this appendix instead of the full variable.  In
+ particular, the <literal>preseed/url</literal> variable has been
+ aliased as <literal>url</literal> and has some extra magic to allow
+ shortened urls to be used. Another example is the <literal>tasks</literal>
+ alias, which translates to <literal>tasksel:tasksel/first</literal>.
+ </para><para>
+ A <quote>--</quote> in the boot options has special meaning. Kernel
+ parameters that appear after the last <quote>--</quote> may be copied
+ into the bootloader configuration for the installed system (if supported by
+ the installer for the bootloader). The installer will automatically filter
+ out any options (like preconfiguration options) that it recognizes.
+ </para>
+ <note><para>
+ Current linux kernels (2.6.9 and later) accept a maximum of 32 command line
+ options and 32 environment options, including any options added by default
+ for the installer. If these numbers are exceeded, the kernel will panic
+ (crash). (For earlier kernels, these numbers were lower.)
+ </para></note>
+ <para>
+ For most installations some of the default options in your bootloader
+ configuration file, like <literal>vga=normal</literal>, may be safely
+ removed which may allow you to add more options for preseeding.
+ </para>
+ <note><para>
+ It may not always be possible to specify values with spaces for boot
+ parameters, even if you delimit them with quotes.
+ </para></note>
+   </sect2>
+   <sect2 id="preseed-auto">
+   <title>Auto mode</title>
+ <para>
+ There are several features of Debian Installer that combine to allow
+ fairly simple command lines at the boot prompt to result in
+ arbitrarily complex customized automatic installs.  To illustrate
+ this, here are some examples that can be used at the boot prompt:
+ <informalexample><screen>
+ auto url=autoserver
+ </screen></informalexample>
+ This relies on there being a DHCP server that will get the machine to
+ the point where <literal>autoserver</literal> can be resolved by DNS,
+ perhaps after adding the local domain if that was provided by DHCP.
+ If this was done at a site where the domain is
+ <literal>example.com</literal>, and they have a reasonably sane DHCP
+ setup, it would result in the preseed file being retrieved from
+ <literal>http://autoserver.example.com/d-i/etch/./preseed.cfg</literal>.
+ </para><para>
+ The last part of that url (<literal>d-i/etch/./preseed.cfg</literal>)
+ is taken from <literal>auto-install/defaultroot</literal>. By default
+ this includes the directory <literal>etch</literal> to allow future versions
+ to specify their own codename and let people migrate forwards in a
+ controlled manner.  The <literal>/./</literal> bit is used to indicate
+ a root, relative to which subsequent paths can be anchored (for use in
+ preseed/include and preseed/run).  This allows files to be specified
+ either as full URLs, paths starting with / that are thus anchored, or
+ even paths relative to the location where the last preseed file was
+ found.  This can be used to construct more portable scripts where an
+ entire hierarchy of scripts can be moved to a new location without
+ breaking it, for example copying the files onto a USB stick when they
+ started out on a web server.  In this example, if the preseed file
+ sets <literal>preseed/run</literal> to
+ <literal>/scripts/late_command.sh</literal> then the file will be
+ fetched from
+ <literal>http://autoserver.example.com/d-i/etch/./scripts/late_command.sh</literal>.
+ </para><para>
+ If there is no local DHCP or DNS infrastructure, or if you do not want to
+ use the default path to <filename>preseed.cfg</filename>, you can still
+ use an explicit url, and if you don't use the <literal>/./</literal>
+ element it will be anchored to the start of the path (i.e. the third
+ <literal>/</literal> in the URL).  Here is an example that requires minimal
+ support from the local network infrastructure:
+ <informalexample><screen>
+ auto url=<replaceable>http://192.168.1.2/path/to/mypreseed.file</replaceable>
+ </screen></informalexample>
+ The way this works is that:
+ <itemizedlist spacing="compact">
+ <listitem><para>
+ if the URL is missing a protocol, http is assumed,
+ </para></listitem>
+ <listitem><para>
+ if the hostname section contains no periods, it has the domain derived
+ from DHCP appended to it, and
+ </para></listitem>
+ <listitem><para>
+ if there's no <literal>/</literal>'s after the hostname, then the default
+ path is added.
+ </para></listitem>
+ </itemizedlist>
+ </para><para>
+ In addition to specifying the url, you can also specify settings that
+ do not directly affect the behavior of &d-i; itself, but can be passed
+ through to scripts specified using <literal>preseed/run</literal>
+ in the loaded preseed file.  At present, the only example of
+ this is <literal>auto-install/classes</literal>, which has an alias
+ <literal>classes</literal>.  This can be used thus:
+ <informalexample><screen>
+ auto url=<replaceable>example.com</replaceable> classes=<replaceable>class_A;class_B</replaceable>
+ </screen></informalexample>
+ The classes could for example denote the type of system to be installed,
+ or the localization to be used.
+ </para><para>
+ It is of course possible to extend this concept, and if you do, it is
+ reasonable to use the auto-install namespace for this. So one might have
+ something like <literal>auto-install/style</literal> which is then used
+ in your scripts.  If you feel the need to do this, please mention it on
+ the <email>debian-boot@lists.debian.org</email> mailing list so that we
+ can avoid namespace conflicts, and perhaps add an alias for the parameter
+ for you.
+ </para><para>
+ The <literal>auto</literal> boot label is not yet defined on all
+ architectures. The same effect may be achieved by simply adding the two
+ parameters <literal>auto=true priority=critical</literal> to the kernel
+ command line.  The <literal>auto</literal> parameter is an alias for
+ <literal>auto-install/enabled</literal> and controls the delay of the
+ locale and keyboard questions until after there has been a chance to
+ preseed them, while <literal>priority</literal> is an alias for
+ <literal>preseed/priority</literal> and setting it to
+ <literal>critical</literal> stops any questions with a lower priority
+ from being asked.
+ </para><para>
+ Additional options that may be of interest while attempting to
+ automate an install while using DHCP are: <literal>interface=auto
+ netcfg/dhcp_timeout=60</literal> which makes the machine choose the
+ first viable NIC and be more patient about getting a reply to its
+ DHCP query.
+ </para>
+   </sect2>
+   <sect2 id="preseed-aliases">
+   <title>Aliases useful with preseeding</title>
+ <para>
+ The following aliases can be useful when using (auto mode) preseeding.
+ </para>
+ <!-- Setting column width does not seem to work; use non-breaking spaces
+      to separate columns a bit -->
+ <informaltable frame="none">
+ <tgroup cols="2"><tbody>
+ <row><entry>auto</entry><entry>auto-install/enabled</entry></row>
+ <row><entry>classes</entry><entry>auto-install/classes</entry></row>
+ <row><entry>fb</entry><entry>debian-installer/framebuffer</entry></row>
+ <row><entry>locale</entry><entry>debian-installer/locale</entry></row>
+ <row><entry>priority</entry><entry>debconf/priority</entry></row>
+ <row><entry>file</entry><entry>preseed/file</entry></row>
+ <row><entry>url</entry><entry>preseed/url</entry></row>
+ <row><entry>interface</entry><entry>netcfg/choose_interface</entry></row>
+ <row><entry>hostname&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</entry><entry>netcfg/get_hostname</entry></row>
+ <row><entry>domain</entry><entry>netcfg/get_domain</entry></row>
+ <row><entry>protocol</entry><entry>mirror/protocol</entry></row>
+ <row><entry>suite</entry><entry>mirror/suite</entry></row>
+ </tbody></tgroup>
+ </informaltable>
    </sect2>
    <sect2 id="preseed-dhcp">
-Line 368 
 automate Debian installs should only be
+Line 554 
 automate Debian installs should only be
  </para>
    </sect2>
-   <sect2 id="preseed-bootparms">
-   <title>Using boot parameters to supplement preseeding</title>
- <para>
- Some parts of the installation process cannot be automated using some forms
- of preseeding because the questions are asked before the preconfiguration
- file is loaded. For example, if the preconfiguration file is downloaded over
- the network, the network setup must be done first. One reason to use initrd
- preseeding is that it allows preseeding of even these early steps of the
- installation process.
- </para><para>
- If a preconfiguration file cannot be used to preseed some steps, the install
- can still be fully automated, since you can pass preseed values to the kernel
- on the command line. Just pass <userinput>path/to/var=value</userinput>
- for any of the preseed variables listed in the examples.
- </para><para>
- A <quote>--</quote> in the boot options has special meaning.
- Kernel parameters that appear after it will be copied into the installed
- bootloader configuration (if supported by the installer for the
- bootloader). Note that the <quote>--</quote> may already be
- present in the default boot parameters.
- </para>
- <note><para>
- The 2.4 kernel accepts a maximum of 8 command line options and
-environment options (including any options added by default for the
- installer). If these numbers are exceeded, 2.4 kernels will drop any
- excess options and 2.6 kernels will panic. For kernel 2.6.9 and later,
- you can use 32 command line options and 32 environment options.
- </para></note>
- <para>
- For most installations some of the default options in your bootloader
- configuration file, like <literal>vga=normal</literal>, may be safely
- removed which may allow you to add more options for preseeding.
- </para>
- <note><para>
- It may not always be possible to specify values with spaces for boot
- parameters, even if you delimit them with quotes.
- </para></note>
-   </sect2>
   </sect1>
   <sect1 id="preseed-creating">
   <title>Creating a preconfiguration file</title>
  <para>
-Line 453 
 There are a few rules to keep in mind wh
+Line 589 
 There are a few rules to keep in mind wh
  <listitem><para>
    Most questions need to be preseeded using the values valid in English and
    not the translated values. However, there are some questions (for example
-   in <classname>partman</classname> where the translated values need to be
+   in <classname>partman</classname>) where the translated values need to be
    used.
  </para></listitem>
  <listitem><para>
-Line 520 
 an install, you can use the command <com
+Line 656 
 an install, you can use the command <com
  </para>
   </sect1>
   <sect1 id="preseed-contents">
   <title>Contents of the preconfiguration file</title>
  <para>
-Line 605 
 If you need to pick a particular interfa
+Line 742 
 If you need to pick a particular interfa
  a preconfiguration file from the network, use a boot parameter such as
  <userinput>interface=<replaceable>eth1</replaceable></userinput>.
+ </para><para>
+ Although preseeding the network configuration is normally not possible when
+ using network preseeding (using <quote>preseed/url</quote>), you can use
+ the following hack to work around that, for example if you'd like to set a
+ static address for the network interface. The hack is to force the network
+ configuration to run again after the preconfiguration file has been loaded
+ by creating a <quote>preseed/run</quote> script containing the following
+ lines:
+ <informalexample><screen>
+ killall.sh dhclient
+ netcfg
+ </screen></informalexample>
  </para>
  <informalexample role="example"><screen>
-Line 654 
 d-i netcfg/wireless_wep string
+Line 806 
 d-i netcfg/wireless_wep string
    <title>Mirror settings</title>
  <para>
- Depending on the installation method you use, a mirror may be used both to
+ Depending on the installation method you use, a mirror may be used to
- download additional components of the installer, the base system and to
+ download additional components of the installer, to install the base system,
- set up the <filename>/etc/apt/sources.list</filename> for the installed
+ and to set up the <filename>/etc/apt/sources.list</filename> for the installed
  system.
  </para><para>
-Line 695 
 d-i mirror/http/proxy string
+Line 847 
 d-i mirror/http/proxy string
  <para>
  Using preseeding to partition the harddisk is very much limited to what is
- supported by <classname>partman-auto</classname>. You can choose to either
+ supported by <classname>partman-auto</classname>. You can choose to partition
- partition existing free space on a disk or a whole disk. The layout of the
+ either existing free space on a disk or a whole disk. The layout of the
  disk can be determined by using a predefined recipe, a custom recipe from
  a recipe file or a recipe included in the preconfiguration file. It is
- currently not possible to partition multiple disks using preseeding nor to
+ currently not possible to partition multiple disks using preseeding.
- set up RAID.
  </para>
-Line 716 
 correct one will be selected before usin
+Line 867 
 correct one will be selected before usin
  # If the system has free space you can choose to only partition that space.
  # Note: this must be preseeded with a localized (translated) value.
  #d-i partman-auto/init_automatically_partition \
- #      select Use the largest continuous free space
+ #      select Guided - use the largest continuous free space
- # Alternatively, you can specify a disk to partition. The device name can
+ # Alternatively, you can specify a disk to partition. The device name
- # be given in either devfs or traditional non-devfs format.
+ # can be given in either devfs or traditional non-devfs format.
- # For example, to use the first disk devfs knows of:
+ # For example, to use the first disk:
  d-i partman-auto/disk string /dev/discs/disc0/disc
+ # In addition, you'll need to specify the method to use.
+ # The presently available methods are: "regular", "lvm" and "crypto"
+ d-i partman-auto/method string lvm
+ # If one of the disks that are going to be automatically partitioned
+ # contains an old LVM configuration, the user will normally receive a
+ # warning. This can be preseeded away...
+ d-i partman-auto/purge_lvm_from_device boolean true
+ # And the same goes for the confirmation to write the lvm partitions.
+ d-i partman-lvm/confirm boolean true
  # You can choose from any of the predefined partitioning recipes.
  # Note: this must be preseeded with a localized (translated) value.
-Line 738 
 d-i partman-auto/choose_recipe \
+Line 899 
 d-i partman-auto/choose_recipe \
  # just point at it.
  #d-i partman-auto/expert_recipe_file string /hd-media/recipe
- # If not, you can put an entire recipe the preconfiguration file in one
+ # If not, you can put an entire recipe into the preconfiguration file in one
  # (logical) line. This example creates a small /boot partition, suitable
  # swap, and uses the rest of the space for the root partition:
  #d-i partman-auto/expert_recipe string                         \
-Line 767 
 d-i partman/confirm boolean true
+Line 928 
 d-i partman/confirm boolean true
    </sect2>
+   <sect2 id="preseed-partman-raid">
+   <title>Partitioning using RAID</title>
+ <para>
+ You can also use preseeding to set up partitions on software RAID arrays.
+ Supported are RAID levels 0, 1 and 5, creating degraded arrays and
+ specifying spare devices.
+ If you are using RAID 1, you can preseed grub to install to all devices
+ used in the array; see <xref linkend="preseed-bootloader"/>.
+ </para>
+ <warning><para>
+ This type of automated partitioning is easy to get wrong. It is also a
+ very new component that may still have some bugs or missing error
+ handling. The responsibility to get the various recipes right (so they
+ make sense and don't conflict) lies with the user.
+ Check <filename>/var/log/syslog</filename> if you run into problems.
+ </para><para>
+ Note that only RAID 0 and RAID 1 have been tested by the developers of the
+ component. RAID 5 is untested. Advanced RAID setup with degraded arrays or
+ spare devices has only been tested lightly.
+ </para></warning>
+ <informalexample><screen>
+ # NOTE: this option is of beta release quality and should be used carefully
+ # The method should be set to "raid".
+ #d-i partman-auto/method string raid
+ # Specify the disks to be partitioned. They will all get the same layout,
+ # so this will only work if the disks are the same size.
+ #d-i partman-auto/disk string /dev/discs/disc0/disc /dev/discs/disc1/disc
+ # Next you need to specify the physical partitions that will be used.
+ #d-i partman-auto/expert_recipe string \
+ #      multiraid ::                                         \
+ #              1000 5000 4000 raid                          \
+ #                      $primary{ } method{ raid }           \
+ #              .                                            \
+ #              64 512 300% raid                             \
+ #                      method{ raid }                       \
+ #              .                                            \
+ #              500 10000 1000000000 raid                    \
+ #                      method{ raid }                       \
+ #              .
+ # Last you need to specify how the previously defined partitions will be
+ # used in the RAID setup. Remember to use the correct partition numbers
+ # for logical partitions.
+ # Parameters are:
+ # &lt;raidtype&gt; &lt;devcount&gt; &lt;sparecount&gt; &lt;fstype&gt; &lt;mountpoint&gt; \
+ #          &lt;devices&gt; &lt;sparedevices&gt;
+ # RAID levels 0, 1 and 5 are supported; devices are separated using "#"
+ #d-i partman-auto-raid/recipe string \
+ #    1 2 0 ext3 /                                           \
+ #          /dev/discs/disc0/part1#/dev/discs/disc1/part1    \
+ #    .                                                      \
+ #    1 2 0 swap -                                           \
+ #          /dev/discs/disc0/part5#/dev/discs/disc1/part5    \
+ #    .                                                      \
+ #    0 2 0 ext3 /home                                       \
+ #          /dev/discs/disc0/part6#/dev/discs/disc1/part6    \
+ #    .
+ # This makes partman automatically partition without confirmation.
+ d-i partman-md/confirm boolean true
+ d-i partman/confirm_write_new_label boolean true
+ d-i partman/choose_partition \
+        select Finish partitioning and write changes to disk
+ d-i partman/confirm boolean true
+ </screen></informalexample>
+   </sect2>
    <sect2 id="preseed-time">
    <title>Clock and time zone setup</title>
-Line 800 
 earlier questions. You can optionally ad
+Line 1039 
 earlier questions. You can optionally ad
  #d-i apt-setup/security_host string
  # Additional repositories, local[0-9] available
- #d-i apt-setup/local0/comment string local server
+ #d-i apt-setup/local0/repository string \
- #d-i apt-setup/local0/source string \
  #       deb http://local.server/debian stable main
- # URL to the public key of the local repository
+ #d-i apt-setup/local0/comment string local server
+ # Enable deb-src lines
+ #d-i apt-setup/local0/source boolean true
+ # URL to the public key of the local repository; you must provide a key or
+ # apt will complain about the unauthenticated repository and so the
+ # sources.list line will be left commented out
  #d-i apt-setup/local0/key string http://local.server/key
  </screen></informalexample>
-Line 900 
 installation. The only questions asked c
+Line 1143 
 installation. The only questions asked c
  # if no other operating system is detected on the machine.
  d-i grub-installer/only_debian boolean true
- # This one makes grub-installer install to the MBR if if finds some other OS
+ # This one makes grub-installer install to the MBR if it also finds some other
- # too, which is less safe as it might not be able to boot that other OS.
+ # OS, which is less safe as it might not be able to boot that other OS.
  d-i grub-installer/with_other_os boolean true
  # Alternatively, if you want to install to a location other than the mbr,
  # uncomment and edit these lines:
- #d-i grub-installer/bootdev  string (hd0,0)
  #d-i grub-installer/only_debian boolean false
  #d-i grub-installer/with_other_os boolean false
+ #d-i grub-installer/bootdev  string (hd0,0)
+ # To install grub to multiple disks:
+ #d-i grub-installer/bootdev  string (hd0,0) (hd1,0) (hd2,0)
  </screen></informalexample>
    </sect2>
-Line 964 
 You can also choose to install no tasks,
+Line 1209 
 You can also choose to install no tasks,
  set of packages in some other way. We recommend always including the
  <userinput>standard</userinput> task.
+ </para><para>
+ If you want to install some individual packages in addition to packages
+ installed by tasks, you can use the parameter
+ <classname>pkgsel/include</classname>. The value of this parameter can be
+ a list of packages separated by either commas or spaces, which allows it
+ to be used easily on the kernel command line as well.
  </para>
  <informalexample role="example"><screen>
-Line 971 
 tasksel tasksel/first multiselect standa
+Line 1224 
 tasksel tasksel/first multiselect standa
  #tasksel tasksel/first multiselect standard, web-server
  #tasksel tasksel/first multiselect standard, kde-desktop
+ # Individual additional packages to install
+ #d-i pkgsel/include string openssh-server build-essential
  # Some versions of the installer can report back on what software you have
  # installed, and what software you use. The default is not to report back,
  # but sending reports helps the project determine what software is most
-Line 1064 
 xserver-xorg xserver-xorg/config/monitor
+Line 1320 
 xserver-xorg xserver-xorg/config/monitor
    </sect2>
   </sect1>
   <sect1 id="preseed-advanced">
   <title>Advanced options</title>
-   <sect2 id="preseed-shell">
+   <sect2 id="preseed-hooks">
-   <title>Shell commands</title>
+   <title>Running custom commands during the installation</title>
+ <para>
+ A very powerful and flexible option offered by the preconfiguration tools
+ is the ability to run commands or scripts at certain points in the
+ installation.
+ </para>
  <informalexample role="example"><screen>
  # d-i preseeding is inherently not secure. Nothing in the installer checks
-Line 1090 
 xserver-xorg xserver-xorg/config/monitor
+Line 1354 
 xserver-xorg xserver-xorg/config/monitor
  </screen></informalexample>
    </sect2>
+   <sect2 id="preseed-seenflag">
+   <title>Using preseeding to change default values</title>
+ <para>
+ It is possible to use preseeding to change the default answer for a
+ question, but still have the question asked. To do this the
+ <firstterm>seen</firstterm> flag must be reset to <quote>false</quote> after
+ setting the value for a question.
+ </para>
+ <informalexample><screen>
+ d-i foo/bar string value
+ d-i foo/bar seen false
+ </screen></informalexample>
+   </sect2>
    <sect2 id="preseed-chainload">
    <title>Chainloading preconfiguration files</title>
-Line 1104 
 settings for certain configurations in o
+Line 1386 
 settings for certain configurations in o
  </para>
  <informalexample><screen>
- # More that one file can be listed, separated by spaces; all will be
+ # More than one file can be listed, separated by spaces; all will be
  # loaded. The included files can have preseed/include directives of their
  # own as well. Note that if the filenames are relative, they are taken from
  # the same directory as the preconfiguration file that includes them.
-Line 1121 
 settings for certain configurations in o
+Line 1403 
 settings for certain configurations in o
  #      string echo if [ "`hostname`" = bob ]; then echo bob.cfg; fi
  # Most flexibly of all, this downloads a program and runs it. The program
- # can use commands such as debconf-set to manupulate the debconf database.
+ # can use commands such as debconf-set to manipulate the debconf database.
+ # More than one script can be listed, separated by spaces.
  # Note that if the filenames are relative, they are taken from the same
  # directory as the preconfiguration file that runs them.
- d-i preseed/run string foo.sh
+ #d-i preseed/run string foo.sh
  </screen></informalexample>
+ <para>
+ It is also possible to chainload from the initrd or file preseeding phase,
+ into network preseeding by setting preseed/url in the earlier files.
+ This will cause network preseeding to be performed when the network comes
+ up.  You need to be careful when doing this, since there will be two
+ distinct runs at preseeding, meaning for example that you get another
+ chance to run the preseed/early command, the second one happening after the
+ network comes up.
+ </para>
    </sect2>
   </sect1>
  </appendix>

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