[PATCH] lpia configuration changes to allow d-i to run

[Michael Casadevall]

On 04/01/2009 09:15 AM, Steve Conklin wrote:
> On 03/31/2009 04:47 PM, sonicmctails at gmail.com wrote:
>> From: Michael Casadevall<mcasadevall at ubuntu.com>
>>
>> The attached patch changes the configuration of the lpia kernel to allow
>> d-i to both successfully detect installation media, and being able to auto-
>> partition using the ext2-4 file systems.
>>
>> Michael Casadevall (1):
>>    UBUNTU: [lpia] Change ATA, SCSI, SD, ext2-4 modules into compiled-in
>>      components
>>
>>   debian/abi/2.6.28-11.37/modules.ignore |   62 ++++++++++++++++
>>   debian/config/lpia/config              |  122 ++++++++++++++++----------------
>>   2 files changed, 123 insertions(+), 61 deletions(-)
>>   create mode 100644 debian/abi/2.6.28-11.37/modules.ignore
>>
>>
>
> These look pretty sane, but I'd like to know why the debian installer fails if
> these drivers aren't built in. Does it not provide a initramfs? I'm just curious,
> can you explain it?
>
d-i does provide an initrd, and can load kernel modules (it for instance loads 
modules for all filesystems in d-i/modules/fs-core-modules). The installer 
loads up with a base RAMdisk which contains the installer, and a few kernel 
modules like usb_storage. It them attempts to mount the installation media on 
/cdrom, and then load any udebs it can find on said media. For the first bit 
to work, d-i would have to be told to load that udeb into the initial ramdisk 
so it could find the CD (the storage-core-modules are currently loaded onto 
the RAMdisk, the pata/sata modules would also have to be added).

Unlike LiveCDs however, the only modules available are ones present in a udeb. 
If we add the necessary modules to the udebs it should work, but this is a 
larger change, and it would no longer be an lpia specific change. I'm willing 
to make the necessary changes to have the modules loaded into udebs (I believe 
I can just add the necessary modules to existing udebs vs. having to make any 
new ones).

With this config, d-i is know to successful work on lpia with both a USB 
pendisk and a CD-ROM.
Michael