[syslinux] Manually copy over ldlinux.sys

[Ryan Kuba]

Well the machines in the field are Ubuntu 8.04 32 bit. And I am unable
to make any partition changes to them as the rootfs needs to stay
mounted throughout the upgrade process as it will contain the tarball
for the files. I mean I could get fancy and move the stuff to a tempfs
or reboot multiple times for the upgrade but it feels like it would
get messy.

The current process is:

extract all files including new kernel, initramfs, extlinux.conf, and
squashfs file
modify initramfs to contain software raid entries and re-zip it up
copy over user designated config files into a new folder that are
symlinks in the squashfs
write the mbr.bin to all drives
run extlinux --raid --install
set the primary partitions active
reboot
On successful reboot wipe the os files from the now mounted elsewhere
old / parition.

The squashfs is not an installer it is our new production OS and is
loaded into ram on boot using the debian-live package.

As I am pushing around a 250 Meg file here I will just have to build
the extlinux package from source for 8.04 and bundle it, unless
someone knows of a deb that has already been built for hardy?

This seems like the easiest option. When I initially asked this
question I did not realize the VBR was so machine/hard drive specific.

I appreciate the suggestions.

On Sat, May 19, 2012 at 7:19 PM, Dwight Schauer <dschauer at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Thu, May 17, 2012 at 12:39 PM, Ryan Kuba <ryankuba at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Hello,
>>
>> I am working on a remote upgrade that will utilize a squashfs to boot
>> off the hard drive.
>
> Why not make an iso image that has the installer/install image. This
> can be booted from a partition. (you can use isohybrid --partok to
> patch the iso image to make this possible). My install script that
> gets run off from the iso image runs an extlinux update on the on the
> target partition after the new filesystem image is copied to the
> target.
>
> I do remote installs that way, but your situation may be a bit different.
>
>> I have everything worked out and functioning, except I see installing
>> extlinux as an unecesarry step. The only thing I use the command for
>> is to install the ldlinux.sys file to the /boot/extlinux/ folder.
>>
>> The rest of it is just a file copy.
>>
>> What manual step can I take to avoid the installation of
>> extlinux/syslinux on the target machine.
>>
>> I would simply like to copy the ldlinux.sys file to that directory and
>> ensure it is linked to the correct inode.
>>
>> Does anyone know how I can achieve this using standard posix tools?
>
> Booting an iso image that has the squashfs image eliminates the need
> for all that.
> Just a suggestion, I don't know exactly how your upgrade process actually works.
>
> Dwight
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