[SATLUG] Re: Decision-based ISOs

[Thomas King]

>
>I see where you're coming from with this.  The first problem is that it
>would be very inefficient to build the iso on the web server and then serve
>it up to the client.  If you have several users connecting at the same 
>time,
>you'd have multiple isos being built/downloaded simultaneously.  Unless the
>web server is some beefy machine, it will grind to halt eventually.  Also, 
>a
>lot of the server disk space would be taken up since the server would have
>to wait for the download to complete before removing the file from the
>system.  Another thing is that if the iso is created dynamically, a user 
>who
>loses the connection to the website can't simply resume the download -- the
>user has to start over with answering all the questions again and building
>the iso again.
>
>A better solution would be a multi-step process.  From the web site, you 
>can
>download a CD of the absolute minimal stuff to install Linux.  Go about the
>install, and once the minimal system is loaded, you could be taken into 
>some
>sort of "further configuration utility."  Here, you can select all of the
>additional software you want and all of the repositories to use.
>
>Once you have the first machine up and going, you can create a local
>repository based on the packages you've downloaded.  You can then create a
>CD based on the local repository on this system.  Now, armed with the
>minimal CD and your personalized "updates" CD, you have all you need to do 
>a
>complete install on another system with only the packages you want.  This
>process doesn't buy you anything if you're just doing a single install.
>But, this is a lifesaver if you'll be doing multiple identical installs or
>need to install on a machine with a slow or non-existant internet
>connection.
Apologies for thread readers.

OK, this is going to show my ignorance, so please bear with me.

Why does each ISO have to be re-compiled? If I am thinking correctly, most 
distros have the applications and kernels already compiled and have some 
packaging in the installer to "move" the application into the installation, 
whether during or after full installation. The maintainer would first have 
each application already optimized for each kernel offering if need be (or 
simply keep one, like 2.4 or 2.6 if it would prevent further headaches), 
then the server would simply pull those applications and dependencies as 
needed from the user's responses then build the ISO from there.

Basically, why would it need to remain in source?

I do agree with it bogging down the server. Perhaps a two-step process: 
First, give me what you want in the ISO. I'll send you an email when it's 
ready to download, probably from a different server than where the 
submission is made. Intensive, I know.

Flex my mind here, a lot for a relative newbie (over 1 year old. ;)  ).

Tom

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