[arch-releng] dual arch CDs [was: A TODO draft for next installation media]

[Aaron Griffin]

On Thu, Feb 18, 2010 at 9:25 PM, Gerardo Exequiel Pozzi
<vmlinuz386 at yahoo.com.ar> wrote:
> On 02/18/2010 09:09 PM, Gerardo Exequiel Pozzi wrote:
>>
>> On 02/18/2010 08:34 PM, Thomas Bächler wrote:
>>>
>>> Am 18.02.2010 21:04, schrieb Dan McGee:
>>>>
>>>> On Thu, Feb 18, 2010 at 1:14 PM, Thomas Bächler<thomas at archlinux.org>
>>>>  wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> That would leave us with:
>>>>> - kernel x86_64
>>>>> - initrd x86_64
>>>>> - kernel i686
>>>>> - initrd i686
>>>>> - packages core-any
>>>>> - packages core-i686
>>>>> - packages core-x86_64
>>>>> - squashfs base system i686
>>>>> - maybe overlay-any
>>>>
>>>> All 3 of the "packages" things can go in one big directory anyway- the
>>>> filenames are all unique since we put the architecture in the package
>>>> filenames. That would make the mounting process a lot less complex as
>>>> nothing would need to change between what kernel, processor, etc. you
>>>> are booting up on or want to install. Only the installer would care.
>>>
>>> I would create all those as squashfs images. After that, we can put them
>>> together for different ISOs, like core-i686, core-x86_64, core-any,
>>> netinstall-i686, netinstall-x86_64 - all by just modifying the isomounts
>>> file and (not) putting the appropriate squashfs images to the disc, no
>>> other remastering necessary.
>>>
>> sounds good, but.... booting x86_64 kernel with i686 userspace, kernel
>> modules are invalid, so maybe, should also add squashfs with only kernel
>> modules, /lib/modules, whn booting x86_64
>>
>> For overlay any, yes, but pacman.conf need to be parsed at startup,
>> (current pacman does not support $arch in .conf). Since overlay is just 8KB,
>> is not a space issue, can have for both archs with each pacman.conf.
>>
>> Another point, maybe can have a script that launch /sbin/init with linux32
>> wrapper, and using init=/the/script at kernel command line.
>>
> Maybe can go all in one CD 700MB CD
>
> *.any packages in core-pkg are just about 4MB not much.
>
> One interesting thing: doing a comparation of /usr/share between two
> root-images shows that:
>
> usr/share/{man,info,doc,kbd} differs, but only because files are gz, or ps
> or html.
> usr/share/groff/*/font/*/DESC in i686 default paper is A4 in x86_64 is
> letter.
>
> From currents isos:
> 9.4M    i686/boot (unused here: System26.map is about 1M)
> 211M   i686/core-pkgs.sqfs
> 143M   i686/root-image.sqfs
> 9.9M    x86_64/boot (unused here: System26.map is about 1M)
> 224M   x86_64/core-pkgs.sqfs
> 152M   x86_64/root-image.sqfs
>
> 10+212+144+11+225+153 = 755M
>
> 90M     work/iso/root-image.sqfs (i686) (no usr/share)
> 99M     work/iso/root-image.sqfs (x86_64) (no usr/share)
> 54M     work/iso/usrshare.sqfs
>
> 10+212+91+11+225+100+55 = 704 (ouch!)
>
> But removing (if not fit), manpages/infopages/docs (and not all are
> necessary to remove), will fit perfectly. ;)

mkarchiso originally removed all the docs and info pages, IIRC. We
removed that at some point, though