[SoaS] [Announce] Rebuild/Refresh a custom SoaS iso from a running stick

[Frederick Grose]

Announcing: SoaS-remix

SoaS-remix is a bundle of edit-liveos.py and supporting scripts to make
testing and use easier.

SoaS-remix includes a late alpha version of edit-liveos.py with a
launcher named 'livecd-disk-to-iso', and temporary versions of fs.py,
live.py, creator.py (pending livecd-tools acceptance).

The SoaS-remix bundle will inject itself into the image, unbundle itself
into /tmp, launch edit-liveos.py (with editable options), then cleanup
/tmp on completion.

The Sugar Clone extensions are now in a Sugar on a Stick repository
clone at http://git.sugarlabs.org/~FGrose/soas/sugar-clone-extensions.

Get the SoaS-remix bundle:

  wget http://people.sugarlabs.org/fgrose/SoaS-remix

See more about the project and a usage recipe at:
http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Sugar_on_a_Stick/Sugar_Clone

Testing would be appreciated.

     --Fred

On Fri, Jan 28, 2011 at 4:07 AM, Frederick Grose <fgrose at gmail.com> wrote:

> We are a good ways closer to being able to
> "Support cloning of a customized SoaS image directly from that running
> image", which is the SoaS spin F15 feature proposal #4 on this page,
> http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Features/Soas_V5/
>
> If your SoaS machine has 4+ GiBytes disc space (as is commonly available on
> an attached hard drive that you could mount in your SoaS instance), then
> this alpha version python script, edit-liveos.py,
> http://people.sugarlabs.org/fgrose/edit-liveos
>
> (based on the livecd-tools, edit-livecd), and a copy or rsync will let you
> build a new, custom installation .iso file from your running SoaS instance.
>
> I've tested the script on SoaS in F13 and F14, and with some filesystem
> hacks (this is my first python project), it will run to completion.
>
> I've booted the F14 version and confirmed that the system overlay file was
> refreshed and the system and user customizations had transferred. See this
> screenshot of 'About my Computer':
> http://people.sugarlabs.org/fgrose/My%20computer.png
>
> Customization of SoaS spins have been a long-sought goal of the project.
>  See, for example,
> http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Features/Feature_SoaS_customization, and all
> the work Satellit has contributed toward the Sugar Creation Kit,
> http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Sugar_Creation_Kit
>
> There remain many supporting tasks to be completed before we have an
> integrated product.
>
> 1. The edit-liveos.py script depends on rsync, which has to be
>    installed on SoaS first.
> 2. The livecd-iso-to-disk script needs to be amended to transfer the
>    home.img file from the new source.iso
> 3. Other supporting installation scripts and a Sugar Activity are
>    needed to simplify the use of the onboard image builder.
>
> Some of the above are addressed in Sugar Clone,
> http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Sugar_on_a_Stick/Sugar_Clone
> which is a quick way to achieve customization without any disc resources
> beyond those on the Sugar Stick itself.
>
> I imagine that further refinements of these tools will allow us to
> automatically monitor the system overlay consumption and advise the Learner
> to "run a refresh" rebuilds their personal system or provides a fresh one
> from the School Server.
>
> Please see the Sugar Clone page to see the project goals and plans, and
> please help test the new, edit-liveos script!
>
>        --Fred
>
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