Install extra packages with preseed

[MAFoElffen]

If you look at the installation logs, is it even reading the preseed file? for instance if you did something else in a overtly purposeful off manner, does it follow the script? That just seems so odd... Because from I hear you saying, it should be working. I think may it might be "me" that is missing or not seeing what is going on... because what you are describing should be working.

Yes, I hear you and I and have to re-look at these details, personally, for my own opensource project, The Ama-gi LiveCD... Where I am facing having come up with my own LiveCD Installation scripts, or using something else, liek SystemBack... where I can just copy/clone, what I have in DEV, and run post-install scripts for the leftover details. So ys, I sort of have a vested interest in this, in a round about way. I can't do that like I have in the past by doing PXE boots, or booting from a USB drive for installations of clients. I have to come up with my own LiveCD ISO. It's a lot easier when you "have" control over what is being installed and you know what it is being installed on. LOL

Is the initial install except for that working? Such as the partitioning and encryption?If it does, then maybe the best would be a post-install script for setting the differing and distinct details, such as a suite of applications being installed, and prompts for filling in the hostname, username and passwords... Or such. One thing that always bugged me was installing a default user and passwords during a mass install, and having them as leftovers on a system, after the deployment... Having to clean those up, later.

Easier? LOL... It just recently got a lot "different. The whole installer system just got changed into sometime else now, and the new one has issues to work through before 22.04.. i'm thinking what I might end up having to do on my own LiveCD project, is having to write my own installation scripts, at that level, but not much is well documented on this new live installer system for that yet...

[jbygden2]

If you look at the installation logs, is it even reading the preseed file? for instance if you did something else in a overtly purposeful off manner, does it follow the script? That just seems so odd... Because from I hear you saying, it should be working. I think may it might be "me" that is missing or not seeing what is going on... because what you are describing should be working.

I'd say that finding these lines in /var/log/installer/syslog would indicate that it's at least reading the preseed config:

Oct 12 18:26:55 ubuntu kernel: [    0.000000] Command line: BOOT_IMAGE=/casper/vmlinuz file=/cdrom/preseed/custom.seed auto=true priority=critical boot=casper automatic-ubiquity quiet splash noprompt noshell ---
Oct 12 18:26:55 ubuntu kernel: [    0.067562] Kernel command line: BOOT_IMAGE=/casper/vmlinuz file=/cdrom/preseed/custom.seed auto=true priority=critical boot=casper automatic-ubiquity quiet splash noprompt noshell ---
Oct 12 18:26:55 ubuntu kernel: [    0.994447]     file=/cdrom/preseed/custom.seed
Oct 12 18:28:04 ubuntu localechooser: info: debian-installer/locale preseeded to 'en_US' (seen: true)
Oct 12 18:28:38 ubuntu /install.py: keeping packages due to preseeding:

However I'd expected to find more lines than only those about preseeding when doing:

fgrep preseed /var/log/installer/*

But those are the only lines containing 'preseed'...

[jbygden2]

It does setup my sources.list using the Swedish mirror (se.archive.ubuntu.com) that I configure in the preseed, and it uses the 'r00tme' password for root that's also in the preseed.
So - it does do some parts of it.

[jbygden2]

I'd say that what I have now with the preseed, where the installer asks me for hostname, luks password and presents me with a "Create User" dialog is as close to perfect for my needs as I could hope to get. I guess I have to finish the setup with puppet, but I'd really like the preseed to install some extra packages, including puppet-agent.

[jbygden2]

It does setup my sources.list using the Swedish mirror (se.archive.ubuntu.com) that I configure in the preseed, and it uses the 'r00tme' password for root that's also in the preseed.
So - it does do some parts of it.

Hmm, I was wrong.

It doesn't setup the Swedish mirror and it doesn't set the root password.

It does however follow the preseed when it comes to volume setup:

d-i partman-auto/method string crypto

will ask for, and use, a luks password, whereas

d-i partman-auto/method string lvm

does not.

I'm really confused by this now...

[jbygden2]

It's also "respecting" the setting for hostname:

d-i netcfg/get_hostname string unassigned-hostname

[jbygden2]

It's definitely reading the preseed-file.
I tested to put my preseed.cfg on a web server and pointed the boot to it, and it's reflected in /var/log/installer/syslog after setup that it's read that file.

I'm getting more and more confused here...

[jbygden2]

So, is autoinstall the way to go instead? Or is that 'server only', and will only confuse me even more?
I've now read on mulitple places that as of 20.04 the 'old' debian-installer is no longer in use (or even supported) for installing...

[jbygden2]

Found the Kickseed stuff on Launchpad, which apparently was supposed to be used as a preseed replacement for kickstart, but it's not been touched since February 2014 - so I'm guessing it's not really relevant any more...

[jbygden2]

Is there really no-one that has a working config for mass deployment (not really that 'mass' either) of Ubuntu hosts - other than imaging, which I'd prefer not to use?