SSH and the Ubuntu Server

[Mathias Gug]

Excerpts from Colin Watson's message of Thu Nov 18 18:39:33 -0500 2010:
> On Thu, Nov 18, 2010 at 12:34:58PM -0600, Robbie Williamson wrote:
> > On Thu, 2010-11-18 at 16:22 +0000, Colin Watson wrote: 
> > > On Thu, Nov 18, 2010 at 10:08:47AM -0600, Robbie Williamson wrote:
> > > > What if the Server team maintained the 2nd stage?  Then we'd be making
> > > > life easier for you, right? ;)
> > > 
> > > Er. :-)
> > > 
> > > (In seriousness, any good-quality second stage would require some level
> > > of cooperation from the first stage.  We tried that and it was awful.)
> > 
> > So I see the 1st stage as just installing the minimal server, then we
> > boot to a login prompt...user logs in and can either do his/her business
> > as desired or launch the 2nd stage (which they are told about in a 1st
> > boot motd-type message).
> 
> The problem is that doing task selection in the second stage, for a CD
> installer, requires keeping copies of a bunch of packages because it's
> quite plausible that the user ejected the CD.  The code necessary for
> this was horrific, and I think the problems with it are fundamental.
> 

Good point. I'd suggest to keep on the -server iso only the packages
that are required to create a minimal/lean install. The assumption is
that upon reboot the system will have access to an archive via the
network (which is different from having access to the Internet).

> It's really much better to do the whole installation in one go, IMO.

Agreed. And there is only one choice for the whole installation: a
minimal/lean install (as the tasksel screen would be removed from the
installer - or replaced with a message suggesting that system can be
configured for certain roles (with a list of examples) once it has
rebooted).

-- 
Mathias Gug
Ubuntu Developer  http://www.ubuntu.com