NetBSD Live CDs

NetBSD Live CDs

Jan Schaumannjschauma@netbsd.org
PGP: 136D 027F DC29 8402 7B42 47D6 7C5B 64AF AF22 6A4C

Jan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006

NetBSD Live CDs

Focus on NetBSD
The first NetBSD Live CD:
developed by Jörg Braunbased on NetBSD/i386 1.5.2
included KDE, Koffice etc.

Jan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006

NetBSD Live CDs

Focus on NetBSD
The first NetBSD Live CD:
developed by Jörg Braunbased on NetBSD/i386 1.5.2
included KDE, Koffice etc.
sysutils/mklivecd
set of scripts to allow you to build your own custom NetBSD Live CD
written by Juan Romero Pardines

Jan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006

NetBSD Live CDs

Focus on NetBSD
The first NetBSD Live CD:
developed by Jörg Braunbased on NetBSD/i386 1.5.2
included KDE, Koffice etc.
sysutils/mklivecd
set of scripts to allow you to build your own custom NetBSD Live CD
written by Juan Romero Pardines
NeWBIE:
based on NetBSD/i386 3.0
caters to desktop users
contains tools for web browsing, chat, entertainment, etc

Jan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006

NetBSD Live CDs

Why only NetBSD?

<insert obligatory shameless advocacy here>

Jan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006

NetBSD Live CDs

Why only NetBSD?
Mmmmm, NetBSD...
one of the oldest open source operating systems
most portable operating system in the world
possibilities for specialized Live CDs are endless:embedded market (firewalls, routers etc.)
desktops on commodity hardware
server market (think NetBSD/xen Live CDs, kickstart etc.)

Jan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006

NetBSD Live CDs

Why only NetBSD?
Mmmmm, NetBSD...
one of the oldest open source operating systems
most portable operating system in the world
possibilities for specialized Live CDs are endless:embedded market (firewalls, routers etc.)
desktops on commodity hardware
server market (think NetBSD/xen Live CDs, kickstart etc.)
Clearly the greatest thing since:

Jan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006

NetBSD Live CDs

Why only NetBSD?

Jan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006

NetBSD Live CDs

But...
Can’t we all get a long?
NetBSD can learn from other people’s mistakes “experiences”.
<insert friendly smiley here>

NetBSD is not so different from the other BSDs:
all BSDs share and exchange code
all BSDs lack market shareadvocacy for one flavor of BSD could help the others as well
Kumbaya!

Jan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006

*BSD Live CDs*BSD Live CDs

Jan Schaumannjschauma@netbsd.org
PGP: 136D 027F DC29 8402 7B42 47D6 7C5B 64AF AF22 6A4C

Jan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006

*BSD Live CDs*BSD Live CDs
Nowadays we have:
FreeBSD based:
FreeSBIE (Desktop, test-run + installation)
Frenzy (“portable system administrator toolkit”)
NetBSD based:
NeWBIE (Desktop oriented)
OpenBSD based:
Anonym.OS (anonymity/security focused desktop)
Olivebsd (general purpose desktop)...and of course many others.

Jan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006

*BSD Live CDs

Common traits
Most *BSD Live CDs share certain features:target audience overlapping
lots of third-party applications
maintained by separate groups of people

Jan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006

*BSD Live CDs

Common traits
Most *BSD Live CDs share certain features:target audience overlapping (we’re trying to bait *BSD novices)lots of third-party applications
maintained by separate groups of people

Jan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006

*BSD Live CDs

Common traits
Most *BSD Live CDs share certain features:target audience overlapping (we’re trying to bait *BSD novices)lots of third-party applications (of varying usefulness)maintained by separate groups of people

Jan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006

*BSD Live CDs

Common traits
Most *BSD Live CDs share certain features:target audience overlapping (we’re trying to bait *BSD novices)lots of third-party applications (of varying usefulness)maintained by separate groups of people (a result of the above)

Jan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006

*BSD Live CDs

Common traits
Most *BSD Live CDs share certain features:target audience overlapping (we’re trying to bait *BSD novices)lots of third-party applications (of varying usefulness)maintained by separate groups of people (a result of the above)
This looks a lot like...

Jan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006

*BSD Live CDs“You know what would be great..?”Jan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006

Live CDs

Live CDs

Jan Schaumannjschauma@netbsd.org
PGP: 136D 027F DC29 8402 7B42 47D6 7C5B 64AF AF22 6A4C

Jan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006

Live CDs

Kinds of Live CDs

Jan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006

Live CDs

Kinds of Live CDs

Jan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006

Pondering Live CDs

Linux Live CDs
All together now:

Jan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006

Pondering Live CDs

Linux Live CDs
All together now:

Jan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006

Pondering Live CDs

Linux Live CDs
All together now:

Knoppix!

Jan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006

Pondering Live CDs

Linux Live CDs
All together now: Knoppix!
Sure, but what else?
Kanotix
WHAX
Mutagenix
Morphix
Phaeronix
Burnix...

Jan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006

Pondering Live CDs

Linux Live CDs?

Jan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006

Pondering Live CDs

Types of a Live CD
Regardless of OS:
Install CDs
Desktop oriented CDs“Swiss Army Knife”
Focus on Security
Fixed or specialized environment
any combination of the above

Jan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006

Pondering Live CDs

Install CDs
Actually a specialized environment:boot OS from read-only media
provide a set of tools to install the OS
can be used as a “rescue” CDtightly integrated into OS release engineering process

Usually very generic in nature, but might
be extended to do unattended installs or mass-installation
be customized according to a System Administrator’s preferences

Jan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006

Pondering Live CDs

Desktop oriented Live CDs
The quintessential Live CD:targeted towards novice users
used as a marketing toolsimulates a “full installation”
lets users test the OS without committing to an installation
more and more Live CDs allow the user to install the environment to the disk
shwag value: almost as high as t-shirts (yowza!)

Jan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006

Pondering Live CDs

Desktop oriented Live CDs
Requirements for a desktop Live CD:
wide range of hardware supported in the kernel
automatically detect and configure X Window Systemlarge number of third-party applications
installation and configuration
maintenance overheadcompressed filesystem support
needs to be updated frequently
new release of OS
updates of installed add-ons

Jan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006

Pondering Live CDs

Desktop oriented Live CDs
Requirements for a desktop Live CD:
wide range of hardware supported in the kernel
automatically detect and configure X Window Systemlarge number of third-party applications
installation and configuration
maintenance overheadcompressed filesystem support
needs to be updated frequently
new release of OS
updates of installed add-ons=> Almost impossible to maintain in project internal release engineering process!

Jan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006

Pondering Live CDs“Swiss Army Knife”

Jan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006

Pondering Live CDs“Swiss Army Knife”

Jan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006

Pondering Live CDs“Swiss Army Knife” Live CD
A useful tool for System Administrators.
can be brought on a plane!
no X required
a number of applications to troubleshoot system failures or network problems
native binaries for a number of different operating systems
private keys to access specific systems
custom tools and programs

Jan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006

Pondering Live CDs“Swiss Army Knife” Live CD
A useful tool for System Administrators.
can be brought on a plane!
no X required
a number of applications to troubleshoot system failures or network problems
native binaries for a number of different operating systems
private keys to access specific systems
custom tools and programs=> Most useful if customized to match specific setup.

Jan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006

Pondering Live CDs

Focus on security
Just as with a full OS, many different applications:embedded firewall
instant routerdata analysis or forensics
variations of the “swiss army knife”
secure desktop environment

Jan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006

Pondering Live CDs

Fixed Environment
Provide a temporary and specialized environment with certain restrictions andpossibilities.
Examples:“internet kiosk”
anonymous browsing stations
integrate machines with a different OS into a (temporarily) shared resource
ensure an identical restricted competition environment

Jan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006

Pondering Live CDs

Fixed Environment
Provide a temporary and specialized environment with certain restrictions andpossibilities.
Examples:“internet kiosk”
anonymous browsing stations
integrate machines with a different OS into a (temporarily) shared resource
ensure an identical restricted competition environment=> Heavy customization required.

Jan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006

Pondering Live CDs

Are Live CDs different?
Let’s compare Live CDs to your regular Operating System:
All existing OS installations target a specific purpose.
To be really useful, all OS installations require some level of customization.
Users have different ideas on how to use an OS installation.
Imagine an OS installation that only comes in one of a few flavors, or let’s you do
only one of a few specific tasks!

Jan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006

Pondering Live CDs

Are Live CDs different?
Let’s compare Live CDs to your regular Operating System:
All existing Live CDs target a specific purpose.
To be really useful, all Live CDs require some level of customization.
Users have different ideas on how to use a Live CD.
Imagine a Live CD that only comes in one of a few flavors, or let’s you do only oneof a few specific tasks!

Jan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006

Pondering Live CDs

Are Live CDs different?
Let’s compare Live CDs to your regular Operating System:
All existing Live CDs target a specific purpose.
To be really useful, all Live CDs require some level of customization.
Users have different ideas on how to use a Live CD.
Imagine a Live CD that only comes in one of a few flavors, or let’s you do only oneof a few specific tasks!
Then why do we treat Live CDs differently?

Jan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006

*BSD Live CDs*BSD Live CDs

Jan Schaumannjschauma@netbsd.org
PGP: 136D 027F DC29 8402 7B42 47D6 7C5B 64AF AF22 6A4C

Jan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006

*BSD Live CDs

A consistent and coherent environment!
The BSDs have always taken pride inhigh code quality
providing a complete operating systemproviding a coherent environment
consistent release engineeringa single “vendor”

Jan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006

*BSD Live CDs

Creating Live CDs
Considerations for creating Live CDs:
Live CDs are most valuable if they provide the same flexibility as the basic
Operating System.
Live CDs have the highest marketing value if they are up to date.
There is no “One Size Fits All” solution.

Jan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006

*BSD Live CDs

Creating Live CDs
Considerations for creating Live CDs:
Live CDs are most valuable if they provide the same flexibility as the basic
Operating System.
Live CDs have the highest marketing value if they are up to date.
There is no “One Size Fits All” solution.
Implications:provide a framework to create a generic Live CD
let release engineering produce these generic Live CDs
let third parties use the framework and extend the generic Live CDJan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006

*BSD Live CDs

NetBSD Live CDs

Jan Schaumannjschauma@netbsd.org
PGP: 136D 027F DC29 8402 7B42 47D6 7C5B 64AF AF22 6A4C

Jan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006

*BSD Live CDs

Focus on NetBSD
In NetBSD, we need to consider:
platforms that support booting from CD
tools available on those platforms
integration of the installer into the Live CD
small footprint => possibilities to extend installer
support for larger images via vndcompress(1) (“cloop2” format)
next big thing: NetBSD/xen Live CD for buzzword value

Jan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006

*BSD Live CDs...

/* ... */??

Jan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006

*BSD Live CDs

Thanks!

Jan Schaumann

BSDCan 2006