MKLNIM(1) General Commands Manual MKLNIM(1)NAME
mklnim - make Linux Netinstall Image
SYNOPSIS
mklnim outputfile [path-to-cdrom]
DESCRIPTION
mklnim is a shell script that takes a SuSE, TurboLinux or a RedHat CDROM, or equivalent disk directory, and creates a network bootable
image (NBI) that can be used with Etherboot (http://etherboot.sourceforge.net/) or Netboot (http://www.han.de/~gero/netboot.html). This
NBI, when booted via the network, will make the target computer behave just as if a CDROM boot (TurboLinux), or a floppy boot (RedHat and
SuSE) had been selected. A conventional install can be done from this point onwards.
There are several occasions when this technique is useful: 1. It can be used to quickly boot a target computer when the floppy loading is
very slow. 2. In the case of TurboLinux, it loads the CDROM initial ramdisk which does not require any further floppy loading. In the case
of RedHat, it only loads the floppy initial ramdisk which does not contain the material in the supplementary floppy, and may require more
floppy insertion. 3. It can start the install from a floppy of any size, not just 1.4 MB, or even from a floppyless machine, if one has a
boot ROM (providing no further floppy access is required). 4. It could be used as part of an automatic installation process.
Naturally, all this assumes that the infrastructure for diskless booting (bootp and tftp servers) has been set up.
BUGS
If supplementary floppies are required, this script doesn't include that material in the network boot image. Please feel welcome to fix
this problem.
SEE ALSO
Etherboot tutorial at http://etherboot.sourceforge.net/
COPYRIGHT
mklnim is under the GNU Public License
AUTHOR
Ken Yap (ken_yap@users.sourceforge.net)
DATE
Version 0.4 April 2000
25 April 2000 MKLNIM(1)
Check Out this Related Man Page
MKRESCUE(8) System Manager's Manual MKRESCUE(8)NAME
mkrescue - make rescue floppy or CD
SYNOPSIS
/sbin/mkrescue makes a bootable rescue floppy or CD using the default kernel specified in lilo.conf.
DESCRIPTION
mkrescue takes its specifation for the kernel from the default image specified in /etc/lilo.conf. If the actual default is an other= spec-
ification, then use the first image= specification. Any associated initial ramdisk (initrd=), and append= options will also be used. The
root directory will be taken to be the current root. A bootable floppy or CD-image will be created using LILO version 22.5.5 or later.
mkrescue normally requires no options, unless a CD-image is desired (--iso).
OPTIONS --append <string>
Override any append= options taken from the default image. If there is any doubt about whether the lilo.conf options are correct,
then specify no kernel parameters by providing the null string (--append "").
--debug
Provide verbose output of the operation of mkrescue, pausing to allow the setting of internal operating parameters to be viewed.
<CR> must be hit to proceed from these pauses.
--device <device>
Make the floppy on a device other than /dev/fd0. The floppy disk will always be made to boot on BIOS device code 0x00 (A: drive),
without regard to the drive on which it is created.
--fast Use a faster method of creating the boot floppy. This involves first creating a file of --size 1k blocks (default is 1440) mounted
using a loopback device, creating the bootable floppy, then copying the entire file to the disk.
--fs [ ext2 | msdos | minix ]
Specify the type of filesystem to create on the drive. ext2 is the default, but msdos and minix allow slightly more disk sectors
for really big kernels.
--help Print a short usage synopsis, including a list of command options.
--image <label>
Specifies the label or alias of the particular image from which the append, initial ramdisk, root, keytable, and kernel information
is to be taken.
--initrd <filepath> and --kernel <filepath>
These options, which must be used together, allow specification of an arbitrary kernel file and initial ramdisk file to be used on
the created boot floppy. Be sure you know what you are doing before you use these options. If no inital ramdisk is needed with a
particular kernel, then you MUST specify --initrd "", meaning a null pathname.
--install [ text | menu ]
Allows overriding the default human interface used with the rescue bootloader (configuration file "install=" option). text is the
default on 1.2MB and 1.44MB floppy disks, and menu is the default on 2.88MB floppies and HD emulation on CD-R media.
--iso Create an ISO-9660 bootable CD image (El Torito Format) suitable for burning to a CD-R or CD-RW. The --device specification
defaults to the filename rescue.iso, and the --size defaults to 2880. A utility such as "wodim" may be used to burn the ISO file to
a recordable CD medium. With this ISO option, the --size HD option is allowed.
--nocompact
For faster kernel loading from a floppy, LILO map compaction is normally enabled. This option will disable map compaction by omit-
ting the lilo -c switch.
--noformat
Suppresses creation of a new filesystem on the boot floppy. This option may be used ONLY when you know that the floppy you will be
writing upon is formatted with the same filesystem as specified by --fs XXX (default is ext2).
--root <device>
Specify the root filesystem for the kernel on the boot floppy. The currently mounted root is taken as the default specification.
--size [ 1440 | 1200 | 2880 | HD ]
The default floppy disk size is 1440, meaning a 1.44MB floppy. When --iso is specified, the default size is 2880. Allowed specifi-
cations are 1200, 1440, or 2880, meaning a 1.2MB, 1.44MB or 2.88MB floppy, respectively. No other floppy disk sizes are supported.
The HD specification, meaning "hard disk", may only be used with the --iso option, to indicate a 16MB hard disk is to be generated
for emulation. This allows for very large kernel/initial ramdisk combinations on CD-R. The hard disk image is created using loop-
back devices /dev/loop0 and /dev/loop1, which must be free to utilize this size option.
--version
Print the version number of mkrescue, then terminate.
SEE ALSO cdrecord(1), dd(1), wodim(1), lilo.conf(5), lilo(8), mkfs(8), mkinitrd(8), mkisofs(8), mount(8)
6 Mar 2011 MKRESCUE(8)