[cobbler] cobbler 2.4.0 and problems booting Ubuntu 12.10 desktop 64bit

[Zack Perry]

I have been testing 2.4.0 from epel-testing. So far, I have been successful in PXE booting Ubuntu-12.04.1-server, 64bit. Since I am off today, so this afternoon I decided to try to PXE boot Ubuntu 12.10 desktop.

Setting up cobbler as usual, watching the initrd.gz and linux file retrieved successfully. Now, upon Download installer component, I got a window that displays:

"The installer failed to download a file from the mirror. This may be a problem with your network, or with the mirror. You can choose to retry the download, select a different mirror, or cancel and choose another installation method.

Downloading a file failed:
Retry
Change mirror
Cancel

Alt-F4 into the logging vt, I saw (manually transcribed):


[...]
Nov 15 23:13:34 choose-mirror[3541]: INFO: suite/codename set to: quantal/quantal
Nov 15 23:13:34 choose-morror[3541]: DEBUG: command wget -q http://192.168.1.3:80/cblr/ks_mirror/ubuntu-12.10-desktop-x86_64/dists/quantal/main/binary-amd64/Release -O - | grep ^Architecture
Nov 15 23:13:34 anna-install: Queueing udeb quantal-support for later installation
Nov 15 23:13:34 main-menu[384]: DEBUG: resolver (libc-udeb): package doesn't exist (ignored)
Nov 15 23:13:34 main-menu[384]: DEBUG: resolver (libnewt0.52): package doesn't exist (ignored)
Nov 15 23:13:34 main-menu[384]: INFO: Menu item 'download-installer' seelected
Nov 15 23:13:34 main-menu[384]: gpgv: Signature made Wed Oct 17 18:36:03 2012 UTC using DSA Kkey ID FBB75451
Nov 15 23:13:34 net-retriever: gpgv:
Nov 15 23:13:34 net-retriever: Good signature from "Ubuntu CD Image Automatic Signing key <cdimage at ubuntu.com>"
Nov 15 23:13:34 net-retriever:
Nov 15 23:13:34 anna[3566]: cat: can't open '/tmp/net-retriever-3570-deduplicate/*': no such files or directory

I double checked the cobbler server's Apache access_log and error_log, no clues so far. Would appreciate a hint or two as to how to go from here.

Regards,

-- Zack

[Zack Perry]

I think that I have some clues now. See the following two find results:

[root at cobbler ks_mirror]# cd ubuntu-12.04.1-x86_64/
[root at cobbler ubuntu-12.04.1-x86_64]# find . -name "*installer*"
./dists/precise/restricted/debian-installer
./dists/precise/main/debian-installer
./pool/main/g/grub-installer
./pool/main/g/grub-installer/grub-installer_1.68ubuntu5_amd64.udeb
./pool/main/b/base-installer
./pool/main/b/base-installer/base-installer_1.122ubuntu7.1_all.udeb
./pool/main/n/net-retriever/download-installer_1.29ubuntu1_all.udeb
./pool/main/libd/libdebian-installer
./pool/main/libd/libdebian-installer/libdebian-installer4_0.79ubuntu2.1_amd64.deb
./pool/main/d/debian-installer-utils
./install/netboot/ubuntu-installer
[root at cobbler ubuntu-12.04.1-x86_64]# cd ../ubuntu-12.10-desktop-x86_64/
[root at cobbler ubuntu-12.10-desktop-x86_64]# find . -name "*installer*"
./install/netboot/ubuntu-installer

Nothing!

James, I know this is not cobbler's job to ensure that a distro is ready for PXE boot, but perhaps it's still a good idea to put in a check just to ensure that necessary essentials are available? Do you need me to open an issue on cobbler github?

Regards,

-- Zack

[Andrew Hamilton]

Post by Zack Perry
[root at cobbler ks_mirror]# cd ubuntu-12.04.1-x86_64/
[root at cobbler ubuntu-12.04.1-x86_64]# find . -name "*installer*"
./dists/precise/restricted/debian-installer
./dists/precise/main/debian-installer
./pool/main/g/grub-installer
./pool/main/g/grub-installer/grub-installer_1.68ubuntu5_amd64.udeb
./pool/main/b/base-installer
./pool/main/b/base-installer/base-installer_1.122ubuntu7.1_all.udeb
./pool/main/n/net-retriever/download-installer_1.29ubuntu1_all.udeb
./pool/main/libd/libdebian-installer
./pool/main/libd/libdebian-installer/libdebian-installer4_0.79ubuntu2.1_amd64.deb
./pool/main/d/debian-installer-utils
./install/netboot/ubuntu-installer
[root at cobbler ubuntu-12.04.1-x86_64]# cd ../ubuntu-12.10-desktop-x86_64/
[root at cobbler ubuntu-12.10-desktop-x86_64]# find . -name "*installer*"
./install/netboot/ubuntu-installer
Nothing!
James, I know this is not cobbler's job to ensure that a distro is ready
for PXE boot, but perhaps it's still a good idea to put in a check just to
ensure that necessary essentials are available? Do you need me to open an
issue on cobbler github?
Here is a relevant Ask Ubuntu entry that seemed to have helped the user

though it looks like you have found the same issue.

http://askubuntu.com/questions/204786/unable-to-install-12-10-with-pxe

Basically like you found you need to mirror the ubuntu-installer directory
for this to work.

The Ubuntu Desktop CD is usually assumed to be the CD you won't use if you
want to netboot things. Most would go with the server install or the
alternative CD for such a task.

Regards,

Andrew

Post by Zack Perry
Regards,
-- Zack
_______________________________________________
cobbler mailing list
cobbler at lists.fedorahosted.org
https://lists.fedorahosted.org/mailman/listinfo/cobbler

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[Zack Perry]

Hi Andrew,
Thanks for the pointer!  I found it too and spotted an oddity: It seems that Ubuntu has introduced a new utility: cobbler-ubuntu-import that handles importing Ubuntu ISO files correctly.  If so, perhaps we should take a look of it and James, perhaps we should incorporate it?  
See also this: http://voices.canonical.com/shang.wu/2011/08/31/oneiric-ubuntu-orchestra-server-provision-server-setup/
I am going to download Ubuntu cobbler package and check it out.  Will report back to the list.
Regards,
-- Zack
[...]
Here is a relevant Ask Ubuntu entry that seemed to have helped the user though it looks like you have found the same issue.
http://askubuntu.com/questions/204786/unable-to-install-12-10-with-pxe


Basically like you found you need to mirror the ubuntu-installer directory for this to work.
The Ubuntu Desktop CD is usually assumed to be the CD you won't use if you want to netboot things. Most would go with the server install or the alternative CD for such a task.

Regards,
Andrew [...]
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[Zack Perry]

Hi Andrew and James,
Found it: http://packages.ubuntu.com/quantal/all/cobbler/filelist
/usr/bin/cobbler-ubuntu-import
I will read the source and see what it does.  James, do you think that we need to open an issue about this?  
Regards,
-- Zack

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[Zack Perry]

My cobbler 2.4.0 test install of Ubuntu 12.10 desktop x86_64 and server x86_64 both failed at "Install the system step".
For desktop: the complain is a corrupted Packages.gz.  The complain persisted even after I mounted the original iso, and copied the Packages.gz to the /var/www/cobbler/ks_mirror/ubuntu-12.10-desktop-x86_64/dists/quantal/main/binary-amd64
For server: the complain (from reading Alt-F4) are the following:
[...][...] main-menu[380]: INFO: Menu item 'live-installer' selected[...] base-installer: error: Could not find any live images[...] main-menu[380]: WARNING **: Configuring 'live-installer' failed with error code 1[...] main-menu[380]: WARNING **: Menu item 'live-installer' failed.
Getting Ubuntu to PXE boot seems to be a black art with the regular cobbler, as new as 2.4.0.
Perhaps one way to do it is to install Ubuntu's cobbler (2.2.2), run its cobbler-ubuntu-import bash shell script, create the /var/www/cobbler/ks_mirror/ubuntu-12.10-{desktop,server}-x86_64 subdirectories, and then scp the resulting subdirectory to my SL 6.3 based cobbler server running 2.4.0!
If anyone who has succeeded PXE booting Ubuntu 12.10, whether desktop or server, it would be great if you could outline what you did to get things going.  
Regards,
-- Zack
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[James Cammarata]

Post by Zack Perry
My cobbler 2.4.0 test install of Ubuntu 12.10 desktop x86_64 and server
x86_64 both failed at "Install the system step".
For desktop: the complain is a corrupted Packages.gz. The complain
persisted even after I mounted the original iso, and copied the Packages.gz
to the
/var/www/cobbler/ks_mirror/ubuntu-12.10-desktop-x86_64/dists/quantal/main/binary-amd64

That is a known issue with the x86_64 ISO currently available (date of
10/17 I believe). I think Jorgen had a workaround that he shared on the
mailing list, beyond that it's broken on Ubuntu's end.
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[Zack Perry]

Hi James,

Thanks for your response.

You meant what Jorgen said in http://www.mail-archive.com/cobbler at lists.fedorahosted.org/msg08100.html? quoted "downloading an daily cdrom image and use the kernel/initrd from that."?

So far, I have consistent success using cobbler import loop mounted ubuntu-12.04.1-server-x86_64.iso without needing anything from the Ubuntu daily cdrom image site. I will try to PXE boot 12.04.1 alternative CD tomorrow evening. If I succeed again, I will test Fedora and RHEL. Once I am done with these, I will come back to 12.10.

Post by James Cammarata
That is a known issue with the x86_64 ISO currently available (date
of 10/17 I believe). I think Jorgen had a workaround that he shared
on the mailing list, beyond that it's broken on Ubuntu's end.

Regards,

-- Zack

[James Cammarata]

Post by Zack Perry
Hi James,
Thanks for your response.
You meant what Jorgen said in http://www.mail-archive.com/cobbler at lists.fedorahosted.org/msg08100.html? quoted "downloading an daily cdrom image and use the kernel/initrd from that."?
So far, I have consistent success using cobbler import loop mounted ubuntu-12.04.1-server-x86_64.iso without needing anything from the Ubuntu daily cdrom image site. I will try to PXE boot 12.04.1 alternative CD tomorrow evening. If I succeed again, I will test Fedora and RHEL. Once I am done with these, I will come back to 12.10.

Post by James Cammarata
That is a known issue with the x86_64 ISO currently available (date
of 10/17 I believe). I think Jorgen had a workaround that he shared
on the mailing list, beyond that it's broken on Ubuntu's end.

Yes, I have only run into this issue with 12.10-amd64. The .04/.04.1
images work fine, as do the .10-i386 images.

[Andrew Hamilton]

Post by Zack Perry

Post by Zack Perry
Hi James,
Thanks for your response.
You meant what Jorgen said in

http://www.mail-archive.com/cobbler at lists.fedorahosted.org/msg08100.html?
quoted "downloading an daily cdrom image and use the kernel/initrd from
that."?

Post by Zack Perry
So far, I have consistent success using cobbler import loop mounted

ubuntu-12.04.1-server-x86_64.iso without needing anything from the Ubuntu
daily cdrom image site. I will try to PXE boot 12.04.1 alternative CD
tomorrow evening. If I succeed again, I will test Fedora and RHEL. Once I
am done with these, I will come back to 12.10.

Post by Zack Perry

Post by James Cammarata
That is a known issue with the x86_64 ISO currently available (date
of 10/17 I believe). I think Jorgen had a workaround that he shared
on the mailing list, beyond that it's broken on Ubuntu's end.

Yes, I have only run into this issue with 12.10-amd64. The .04/.04.1
images work fine, as do the .10-i386 images.

I played around with the 12.10 images today. I've been able to get past the
error that you were hitting by using the netboot kernel and ramdisk. The
desktop DVD also requires that you pull down the debian-intaller directory
as well.

The installation still fails as it goes to install the system. It ends up
looking for a "live image" and since it's a netboot it can't find any. This
only happens when netbooting and using a mirror that is simply a rsync of
the DVD. If you point the installation to a full mirror such as
http://mirrors.kernel.org/ubuntu the installation goes through without
issue. It looks like Ubuntu has changed the way that they are installing
the system no matter whether you are using a server or desktop DVD.

I'm stumped on whether or not there is any way to continue using the Ubuntu
CDs for starting mirrors with cobbler.

Regards,

Andrew

Post by Zack Perry
_______________________________________________
cobbler mailing list
cobbler at lists.fedorahosted.org
https://lists.fedorahosted.org/mailman/listinfo/cobbler

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[James Cammarata]

Post by Andrew Hamilton

Post by James Cammarata

Post by Zack Perry
Hi James,
Thanks for your response.
You meant what Jorgen said in
http://www.mail-archive.com/cobbler at lists.fedorahosted.org/msg08100.html?
quoted "downloading an daily cdrom image and use the kernel/initrd from
that."?
So far, I have consistent success using cobbler import loop mounted
ubuntu-12.04.1-server-x86_64.iso without needing anything from the Ubuntu
daily cdrom image site. I will try to PXE boot 12.04.1 alternative CD
tomorrow evening. If I succeed again, I will test Fedora and RHEL. Once I
am done with these, I will come back to 12.10.

Post by James Cammarata
That is a known issue with the x86_64 ISO currently available (date
of 10/17 I believe). I think Jorgen had a workaround that he shared
on the mailing list, beyond that it's broken on Ubuntu's end.

Yes, I have only run into this issue with 12.10-amd64. The .04/.04.1
images work fine, as do the .10-i386 images.

I played around with the 12.10 images today. I've been able to get past the
error that you were hitting by using the netboot kernel and ramdisk. The
desktop DVD also requires that you pull down the debian-intaller directory
as well.
The installation still fails as it goes to install the system. It ends up
looking for a "live image" and since it's a netboot it can't find any. This
only happens when netbooting and using a mirror that is simply a rsync of
the DVD. If you point the installation to a full mirror such as
http://mirrors.kernel.org/ubuntu the installation goes through without
issue. It looks like Ubuntu has changed the way that they are installing the
system no matter whether you are using a server or desktop DVD.
I'm stumped on whether or not there is any way to continue using the Ubuntu
CDs for starting mirrors with cobbler.

That's interesting, it would be nice if they would be considerate and
push a DVD image instead that would work as expected.

[Andrew Hamilton]

Post by Zack Perry

Post by Andrew Hamilton

Post by James Cammarata

Post by Zack Perry
Hi James,
Thanks for your response.
You meant what Jorgen said in

http://www.mail-archive.com/cobbler at lists.fedorahosted.org/msg08100.html?

Post by Andrew Hamilton

Post by James Cammarata

Post by Zack Perry
quoted "downloading an daily cdrom image and use the kernel/initrd

from

Post by Andrew Hamilton

Post by James Cammarata

Post by Zack Perry
that."?
So far, I have consistent success using cobbler import loop mounted
ubuntu-12.04.1-server-x86_64.iso without needing anything from the

Ubuntu

Post by Andrew Hamilton

Post by James Cammarata

Post by Zack Perry
daily cdrom image site. I will try to PXE boot 12.04.1 alternative CD
tomorrow evening. If I succeed again, I will test Fedora and RHEL.

Once I

Post by Andrew Hamilton

Post by James Cammarata

Post by Zack Perry
am done with these, I will come back to 12.10.

Post by James Cammarata
That is a known issue with the x86_64 ISO currently available (date
of 10/17 I believe). I think Jorgen had a workaround that he shared
on the mailing list, beyond that it's broken on Ubuntu's end.

Yes, I have only run into this issue with 12.10-amd64. The .04/.04.1
images work fine, as do the .10-i386 images.

I played around with the 12.10 images today. I've been able to get past

the

Post by Andrew Hamilton
error that you were hitting by using the netboot kernel and ramdisk. The
desktop DVD also requires that you pull down the debian-intaller

directory

Post by Andrew Hamilton
as well.
The installation still fails as it goes to install the system. It ends up
looking for a "live image" and since it's a netboot it can't find any.

This

Post by Andrew Hamilton
only happens when netbooting and using a mirror that is simply a rsync of
the DVD. If you point the installation to a full mirror such as
http://mirrors.kernel.org/ubuntu the installation goes through without
issue. It looks like Ubuntu has changed the way that they are installing

the

Post by Andrew Hamilton
system no matter whether you are using a server or desktop DVD.
I'm stumped on whether or not there is any way to continue using the

Ubuntu

Post by Andrew Hamilton
CDs for starting mirrors with cobbler.

That's interesting, it would be nice if they would be considerate and
push a DVD image instead that would work as expected.

Yeah I totally agree. It did find a set of DVDs but they only contain the
sources for the release which won't help us.

Regards,

Andrew

Post by Zack Perry
_______________________________________________
cobbler mailing list
cobbler at lists.fedorahosted.org
https://lists.fedorahosted.org/mailman/listinfo/cobbler

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[Zack Perry]

Hi James and Andrew,

Thanks for your two's follow-up. Looks like it's probably a good idea to file a bug report upstream to Ubuntu to Debian's Installation Team? Personally, I think what Ubuntu has done qualifies as a "bug".

Post by Andrew Hamilton
I played around with the 12.10 images today. I've been able to
get past the error that you were hitting by using the netboot
kernel and ramdisk. The desktop DVD also requires that you pull
down the debian-intaller directory as well.
The installation still fails as it goes to install the system.
It ends up looking for a "live image" and since it's a netboot
it can't find any. This only happens when netbooting and using
a mirror that is simply a rsync of
the DVD.

Yes. I got that one too!

Post by Andrew Hamilton
If you point the installation to a full mirror such as
http://mirrors.kernel.org/ubuntu the installation goes through
without issue. It looks like Ubuntu has changed the way that they
are installing the system no matter whether you are using a server
or desktop DVD.
I'm stumped on whether or not there is any way to continue using
the Ubuntu CDs for starting mirrors with cobbler.

Post by James Cammarata
That's interesting, it would be nice if they would be considerate
and push a DVD image instead that would work as expected.

Yeah I totally agree. It did find a set of DVDs but they only
contain the sources for the release which won't help us.
Regards,
Andrew 

Gentlemen, please give me a few days. I still have a couple of ideas
to try out before we give up on Ubuntu 12.10 and later completely. I
have a couple of other ideas to try out. Will report back to the list.

Regards and have a great weekend,

-- Zack

[Zack Perry]

Hi James and Andrew,

[...]

Post by Zack Perry
Gentlemen, please give me a few days. I still have a couple
of ideas to try out before we give up on Ubuntu 12.10 and later
completely. [...] Will report back to the list.

[...]

I got some progress in PXE booting Ubuntu 12.10 x86_64, but still having an issue with installing the desktop UI.

Once that's resolved, IMHO cobbler 2.4.0's Ubuntu import support from DVD/CD support up to 12.10 can be considered quite good - without needing any Debian/Ubuntu specific additions (e.g. the cobbler-ubuntu-import bash script and other patches).

The lubuntu-12.10-alternate-amd64.iso provides netboot {initrd.gz, linux} that work OOTB for PXE booting with the server preseed that I created for Ubuntu 12.04.1 x86_64.

But so far, I haven't been able to get the default desktop to install.

The following are relevant d-i lines in my preseed file:

# Setup the installation source
d-i mirror/country string manual
d-i mirror/http/hostname string $http_server:$http_port
d-i mirror/http/directory string $install_source_directory
d-i mirror/http/proxy string
# Components to use for loading installer components (optional).
d-i mirror/udeb/components multiselect main, restricted
[...]
# You can choose to install restricted and universe software, or to install
# software from the backports repository.
d-i apt-setup/restricted boolean true
d-i apt-setup/universe boolean true
d-i apt-setup/backports boolean true
[...]
# Select which update services to use; define the mirrors to be used.
# Values shown below are the normal defaults.
d-i apt-setup/services-select multiselect security
d-i apt-setup/security_host string security.ubuntu.com
d-i apt-setup/security_path string /ubuntu

The first time, I tried to PXE boot the test netbook, it came up with just a text login window like the result for server. No graphical UI. So, I added in the following lines to see if I could trigger such an action:

d-i pkgsel/include string openssh-server \
lubuntu-artwork \
lubuntu-artwork-12-10 \
lubuntu-default-settings \
lubuntu-icon-theme \
lubuntu-lxpanel-icons \
lxmenu-data lxpanel \
lxsession \
lxsession-data
d-i pkgsel/language-pack-patterns string

I did so because Ubuntu 12.10 and its derivatives such as lubuntu no longer provide the ubunutu-desktop meta package that existed until 12.04.1's main/u/ubuntu-meta

But now the debian-installer complains (Alt-F4):

Nov 18 17:29:54 in-target: Package lubuntu-default-settings is not available, but is referred to by another package.
Nov 18 17:29:54 in-target: This may mean that the package is missing, has been obsolted, or
Nov 18 17:29:54 in-target: is only available from another source
Nov 18 17:29:54 in-target:
Nov 18 17:29:54 in-target: E
Nov 18 17:29:54 in-target: unable to locate package lubuntu-artwork
Nov 18 17:29:54 in-target: E: Unable to locate package lubuntu-artwork-12-10
Nov 18 17:29:54 in-target: E: Package 'lubuntu-default-settings' has no installation candidate
Nov 18 17:29:54 in-target: E: Unable to locate package lubuntu-icon-theme
Nov 18 17:29:54 in-target: E: Unable to locate package lubuntu-lxpanel-icons
Nov 18 17:29:54 in-target: E: Unable to locate package lxmenu-data
Nov 18 17:29:54 in-target: E: Unable to locate package lxpanel
Nov 18 17:29:54 in-target: E: Unable to locate package lxsession
Nov 18 17:29:54 in-target: E: Unable to locate package lxsession-data
Nov 18 17:29:54 main-menu[417]: WARNING **: Configurating 'pkgsel' failed with error code 100
Nov 18 17:29:54 main-menu[417]: WARNING **: Menu item 'pkgsel' failed.

But, upon examing the loop mounted lubuntu-12.10-alternate-amd64.iso, all of them are available!

[root at cobbler l]# pwd
/mnt/pool/universe/l
[root at cobbler l]# ls
lame lubuntu-artwork lxinput lxsession
ldm-ubuntu-themes lubuntu-default-settings lxkeymap lxshortcut
leafpad lubuntu-meta lxlauncher lxtask
lightdm-gtk-greeter lubuntu-software-center lxmenu-data lxterminal
linux-wlan-ng lxappearance lxpanel
loudmouth lxappearance-obconf lxrandr

I think that I enabled the universe in my preseed. So, why the debian-installer was complaining? IMHO if we can figure out a way to trigger the installation of the lubuntu desktop, then we can close this chapter.

Regards,

-- Zack

[Andrew Hamilton]

Hi,

Post by Zack Perry
Hi James and Andrew,
[...]

Post by Zack Perry
Gentlemen, please give me a few days. I still have a couple
of ideas to try out before we give up on Ubuntu 12.10 and later
completely. [...] Will report back to the list.

[...]
I got some progress in PXE booting Ubuntu 12.10 x86_64, but still having
an issue with installing the desktop UI.
Once that's resolved, IMHO cobbler 2.4.0's Ubuntu import support from
DVD/CD support up to 12.10 can be considered quite good - without needing
any Debian/Ubuntu specific additions (e.g. the cobbler-ubuntu-import bash
script and other patches).
The lubuntu-12.10-alternate-amd64.iso provides netboot {initrd.gz, linux}
that work OOTB for PXE booting with the server preseed that I created for
Ubuntu 12.04.1 x86_64.
But so far, I haven't been able to get the default desktop to install.
# Setup the installation source
d-i mirror/country string manual
d-i mirror/http/hostname string $http_server:$http_port
d-i mirror/http/directory string $install_source_directory
d-i mirror/http/proxy string
# Components to use for loading installer components (optional).
d-i mirror/udeb/components multiselect main, restricted
[...]
# You can choose to install restricted and universe software, or to install
# software from the backports repository.
d-i apt-setup/restricted boolean true
d-i apt-setup/universe boolean true
d-i apt-setup/backports boolean true
[...]
# Select which update services to use; define the mirrors to be used.
# Values shown below are the normal defaults.
d-i apt-setup/services-select multiselect security
d-i apt-setup/security_host string security.ubuntu.com
d-i apt-setup/security_path string /ubuntu
The first time, I tried to PXE boot the test netbook, it came up with just
a text login window like the result for server. No graphical UI. So, I
d-i pkgsel/include string openssh-server \
lubuntu-artwork \
lubuntu-artwork-12-10 \
lubuntu-default-settings \
lubuntu-icon-theme \
lubuntu-lxpanel-icons \
lxmenu-data lxpanel \
lxsession \
lxsession-data
d-i pkgsel/language-pack-patterns string
I did so because Ubuntu 12.10 and its derivatives such as lubuntu no
longer provide the ubunutu-desktop meta package that existed until
12.04.1's main/u/ubuntu-meta
Nov 18 17:29:54 in-target: Package lubuntu-default-settings is not
available, but is referred to by another package.
Nov 18 17:29:54 in-target: This may mean that the package is missing, has been obsolted, or
Nov 18 17:29:54 in-target: is only available from another source
Nov 18 17:29:54 in-target: E
Nov 18 17:29:54 in-target: unable to locate package lubuntu-artwork
Nov 18 17:29:54 in-target: E: Unable to locate package
lubuntu-artwork-12-10
Nov 18 17:29:54 in-target: E: Package 'lubuntu-default-settings' has no
installation candidate
Nov 18 17:29:54 in-target: E: Unable to locate package lubuntu-icon-theme
Nov 18 17:29:54 in-target: E: Unable to locate package
lubuntu-lxpanel-icons
Nov 18 17:29:54 in-target: E: Unable to locate package lxmenu-data
Nov 18 17:29:54 in-target: E: Unable to locate package lxpanel
Nov 18 17:29:54 in-target: E: Unable to locate package lxsession
Nov 18 17:29:54 in-target: E: Unable to locate package lxsession-data
Nov 18 17:29:54 main-menu[417]: WARNING **: Configurating 'pkgsel' failed
with error code 100
Nov 18 17:29:54 main-menu[417]: WARNING **: Menu item 'pkgsel' failed.
But, upon examing the loop mounted lubuntu-12.10-alternate-amd64.iso, all
of them are available!
[root at cobbler l]# pwd
/mnt/pool/universe/l
[root at cobbler l]# ls
lame lubuntu-artwork lxinput lxsession
ldm-ubuntu-themes lubuntu-default-settings lxkeymap lxshortcut
leafpad lubuntu-meta lxlauncher lxtask
lightdm-gtk-greeter lubuntu-software-center lxmenu-data lxterminal
linux-wlan-ng lxappearance lxpanel
loudmouth lxappearance-obconf lxrandr
I think that I enabled the universe in my preseed. So, why the
debian-installer was complaining? IMHO if we can figure out a way to
trigger the installation of the lubuntu desktop, then we can close this
chapter.

You might want to check the dists folder and make sure that you have a
"universe" folder in there so that it is able to get package listings.

I played with this a bit this weekend as well. I ended up getting a minimal
mirror of the Ubuntu packages needed setup but it requires a bit of work to
get going.

First I downloaded the quantal dists folders from a mirror. Then, I had to
create a package list of the squashfs image on the installation disk as
well as a list of packages that failed to install during a test
installation. It isn't ideal but it is a possibility for getting 12.10 up
with a subset of the repository (thought I've only tested the server
install so I can't really help you with the desktops issues here). If
anyone is interested I can send out instructions on what I did.

Regards,

Andrew

Post by Zack Perry
Regards,
-- Zack

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[James Cammarata]

Post by Andrew Hamilton
You might want to check the dists folder and make sure that you have a
"universe" folder in there so that it is able to get package listings.
I played with this a bit this weekend as well. I ended up getting a minimal
mirror of the Ubuntu packages needed setup but it requires a bit of work to
get going.
First I downloaded the quantal dists folders from a mirror. Then, I had to
create a package list of the squashfs image on the installation disk as well
as a list of packages that failed to install during a test installation. It
isn't ideal but it is a possibility for getting 12.10 up with a subset of
the repository (thought I've only tested the server install so I can't
really help you with the desktops issues here). If anyone is interested I
can send out instructions on what I did.

I'm grabbing the 12.10 desktop ISO now, which I'll test with the master branch.

[Zack Perry]

Post by James Cammarata

Post by Andrew Hamilton
You might want to check the dists folder and make sure that you
have a "universe" folder in there so that it is able to get
package listings.

In my case, the loop mounted lubuntu-12.10-alternate-amd64.iso does show such directories:

[root at cobbler quantal]# pwd
/mnt/dists/quantal
[root at cobbler quantal]# ls
main multiverse Release Release.gpg restricted universe

Post by James Cammarata

Post by Andrew Hamilton
I played with this a bit this weekend as well. I ended
up getting a minimal mirror of the Ubuntu packages needed
setup but it requires a bit of work to get going.

In my case, a simple cobbler import of the loop mounted
lubuntu-12.10-alternate-amd64.iso is sufficient to get it going. Of course, you need to update the distro object to set the initrd.gz
and linux to the pair in the netboot subdirectory, and some updates
to the profile as well.

Post by James Cammarata

Post by Andrew Hamilton
First I downloaded the quantal dists folders from a
mirror. Then, I had to create a package list of the squashfs
image on the installation disk as well as a list of packages
that failed to install during a test installation. It
isn't ideal but it is a possibility for getting 12.10
up with a subset of the repository (thought I've only tested
the server install so I can't really help you with the
desktops issues here). If anyone is interested I
can send out instructions on what I did.

Please see the outline of what I did. It's quicker and simpler.

Ubuntu's documentation is pretty messy, and I take many of them with
a big grain of sale. For example:

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Repositories/Ubuntu states that
"The Ubuntu Install CDs contain software from the "Main" and "Restricted" components of the repositories. Once your system
is made aware of the Internet-based locations for these repositories,
many more software programs are available for installation."

But as evident from my directory listing above, loop mounted
lubuntu-12.10-alternate-amd64.iso does show such directories.

Post by James Cammarata
I'm grabbing the 12.10 desktop ISO now, which I'll test with
the master branch.

James, please note that I used the lubunbu alternate amd64 iso, not ubuntu-12.10-desktop-amd64.iso!

Regarding the desktop issue, if I can't get it installed using regular preseed, I have the following two approaches that should work:

0. Use the d-i preseed/late_command, perhaps writing a new snippet
1. Replace the /etc/apt/sources.list with a copy that consists of the regular Ubuntu repos, and then combine with a firstboot script to get the UI installed.

Still, lacking a common meta package name such as ubuntu-desktop makes even both the above a small challenge.

Regards,

-- Zack

[Andrew Hamilton]

Post by Zack Perry

Post by James Cammarata

Post by Andrew Hamilton
You might want to check the dists folder and make sure that you
have a "universe" folder in there so that it is able to get
package listings.

[root at cobbler quantal]# pwd
/mnt/dists/quantal
[root at cobbler quantal]# ls
main multiverse Release Release.gpg restricted universe

Post by James Cammarata

Post by Andrew Hamilton
I played with this a bit this weekend as well. I ended
up getting a minimal mirror of the Ubuntu packages needed
setup but it requires a bit of work to get going.

In my case, a simple cobbler import of the loop mounted
lubuntu-12.10-alternate-amd64.iso is sufficient to get it going. Of
course, you need to update the distro object to set the initrd.gz
and linux to the pair in the netboot subdirectory, and some updates
to the profile as well.

Post by James Cammarata

Post by Andrew Hamilton
First I downloaded the quantal dists folders from a
mirror. Then, I had to create a package list of the squashfs
image on the installation disk as well as a list of packages
that failed to install during a test installation. It
isn't ideal but it is a possibility for getting 12.10
up with a subset of the repository (thought I've only tested
the server install so I can't really help you with the
desktops issues here). If anyone is interested I
can send out instructions on what I did.

Please see the outline of what I did. It's quicker and simpler.

This is true but is not a solutions for everyone.

If I ran Ubuntu in production I'd pull things directly from Ubuntu and
simply setup a full mirror locally. It's just kinda sucks to have to mirror
a huge repo when you only really need the basics. This also depends on what
your local policies are for mirrors and how often you will be setting up
systems.

Post by Zack Perry
Ubuntu's documentation is pretty messy, and I take many of them with
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Repositories/Ubuntu states that
"The Ubuntu Install CDs contain software from the "Main" and "Restricted"
components of the repositories. Once your system
is made aware of the Internet-based locations for these repositories,
many more software programs are available for installation."
But as evident from my directory listing above, loop mounted
lubuntu-12.10-alternate-amd64.iso does show such directories.

Post by James Cammarata
I'm grabbing the 12.10 desktop ISO now, which I'll test with
the master branch.

James, please note that I used the lubunbu alternate amd64 iso, not
ubuntu-12.10-desktop-amd64.iso!
Regarding the desktop issue, if I can't get it installed using regular
0. Use the d-i preseed/late_command, perhaps writing a new snippet
1. Replace the /etc/apt/sources.list with a copy that consists of the
regular Ubuntu repos, and then combine with a firstboot script to get the
UI installed.
Still, lacking a common meta package name such as ubuntu-desktop makes
even both the above a small challenge.
Regards,
-- Zack

Regards,

Andrew

Post by Zack Perry
_______________________________________________
cobbler mailing list
cobbler at lists.fedorahosted.org
https://lists.fedorahosted.org/mailman/listinfo/cobbler

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[James Cammarata]

Just getting back to this, due to some testing with Ubuntu 13.04. Digging
through the errors shown in the ALT+F4 window, I finally found a launchpad
bug that pointed me towards this option (formatted for use in cobbler's
sample.seed):

d-i live-installer/net-image string http://
$http_server/cobbler/links/$distro_name/install/filesystem.squashfs

Using this, I am able to netboot 12.10 and 13.04 without hitting that
screen that says the "Install the System" step failed. Hope that helps you
guys out.
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[Harry Hoffman]

I thought I added that to the wiki a while ago?

Post by James Cammarata
Just getting back to this, due to some testing with Ubuntu 13.04. Digging
through the errors shown in the ALT+F4 window, I finally found a launchpad
bug that pointed me towards this option (formatted for use in cobbler's
d-i live-installer/net-image string http://
$http_server/cobbler/links/$distro_name/install/filesystem.squashfs
Using this, I am able to netboot 12.10 and 13.04 without hitting that
screen that says the "Install the System" step failed. Hope that helps you
guys out.
_______________________________________________
cobbler mailing list
cobbler at lists.fedorahosted.org
https://lists.fedorahosted.org/mailman/listinfo/cobbler

[James Cammarata]

Post by Harry Hoffman
I thought I added that to the wiki a while ago?

Post by James Cammarata
Just getting back to this, due to some testing with Ubuntu 13.04. Digging
through the errors shown in the ALT+F4 window, I finally found a

launchpad

Post by James Cammarata
bug that pointed me towards this option (formatted for use in cobbler's
d-i live-installer/net-image string http://
$http_server/cobbler/links/$distro_name/install/filesystem.squashfs
Using this, I am able to netboot 12.10 and 13.04 without hitting that
screen that says the "Install the System" step failed. Hope that helps

you

Post by James Cammarata
guys out.

I really need to turn the wiki off... I don't check that anymore since I've
been putting info in the manual pages on the website. So yeah, that'd be my
bad.
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[Zack Perry]

More positive results 8-)

[...]

Post by Zack Perry
Regarding the desktop issue, if I can't get it installed
using regular preseed, I have the following two approaches
0. Use the d-i preseed/late_command, perhaps writing a new snippet
1. Replace the /etc/apt/sources.list with a copy that
consists of the regular Ubuntu repos, and then combine with
a firstboot script to get the UI installed.

1. worked flawlessly ;-) cobbler's built-in configuration management
capability is quite handy in this regard.

Post by Zack Perry
Still, lacking a common meta package name such as
ubuntu-desktop makes even both the above a small challenge.

Actually, the meta package ubuntu-desktop is there. I must correct
myself in this case.

The focus of my recent testing has been on cobbler 2.4.0 (from
epel-testing) CD/DVD import support for the latest x86_64 Fedora,
RHEL, and Ubuntu. This is the main reason why I have been trying
to accomplish everything with what's available directly from an
employed ISO file.

It seems that as long as a correct ISO image is selected, cobbler
2.4.0 from epel-testing is already doing a better-than-beta job.

Regards,

--Zack