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linux:distribution:debian:debian-10-preseed

Table of Contents

Debian 10 Preseed

Not much has changed since the Debian 9 preseed that I can tell.

This is a basic implementation of what is possible with preseeding.

Gathering Information

Investigating to see what can be preseeded was quite the learning experience! You quickly find out that there isn't much recent info readily available to figure these things out.

  • Start with the example preseed
  • You can run the following commands on an existing install for additional preseedable questions to browse:
    sudo debconf-get-selections --installer > filename
debconf-get-selections >> filename
  • A couple other files we can parse are located here on an existing install:
    • /var/log/installer/cdebconf/templates.dat
    • /var/log/installer/cdebconf/questions.dat

Filter Script

I created this script to help me sort through the dat files (and to test my awk and sed skills).

You can find it in my gitlab repo as well.

  • Create a directory:
    mkdir ~/preseed && cd ~/preseed
  • Download the script:
    wget https://gitlab.com/preseed/preseed-scripts/raw/master/filterdat
  • Make the script executable:
    chmod +x filterdat
  • Copy the files to the new directory:
    sudo cp /var/log/installer/cdebconf/*.dat ~/preseed
  • Change owner:
    sudo chown $USER ~/preseed/*.dat
  • Run the script:
    ./filterdat templates.dat
./filterdat questions.dat
  • Read the output:
    less ~/preseed/templates.dat.filtered
less ~/preseed/questions.dat.filtered
  • Here's the code:
    filterdat
    #!/usr/bin/env bash
 
outfile="$1.filtered"
 
# Only print the lines we want
filter_dat() {
  awk 'BEGIN { RS = "" ; FS = "\n" }
    {
      if ( $2 !~ /(text|error|note|title)/)
      { 
        print $1
        print $2
        print $3
        if ($4 !~ /UTF-8/) print $4
        if ($5 !~ /UTF-8/) print $5
        if ($6 !~ /UTF-8/) print $6
        if ($7 !~ /UTF-8/) print $7
      }
    }' $1
}
 
# Run filter_dat then pipe output to sed to strip all empty
# lines, then add one newline above Name and save it to a file
filter_dat $1 | sed '/^$/d; s/Name/\n&/g' > "$outfile"
 
printf '%s%s\n' 'Processing complete! The filtered file is: ' "$outfile"

Passwords

  • Set a cleartext password.
    d-i passwd/user-password insecure
d-i passwd/user-password-again insecure
  • You can expire the cleartext password at first login.
    # Expire it at the bottom of the file
d-i preseed/late_command string in-target passwd --expire chuck
  • Set the password encrypted within the preseed file itself.
    # Generate the password
mkpasswd -m sha-512 -S $(pwgen -ns 16 1) mypassword

# Set the password
d-i passwd/user-password-crypted password $6$UyIcAz99JRIjOF9d$R/x4Z6JgS0ICE5U/VhIyqKMMK29aPhlBfj1MXuFuww9i9ry9fLVy/LzfO4QPExAWAYZX97euihMU8yHtmF4wI0

Partitioning

Preseed partitioning is still a thorn in my side. Every time I think I have it figured out, it slaps me around for a few hours and puts me back in my place. I'll put all the links and info I've gathered below.

Please note that some of these links have moved on me from time to time and they were just a few clicks away from where I had originally bookmarked them.


You can also browse the default recipes located inside the installer.

  • Start a Debian install
  • Let it proceed for a little bit
  • Go to the shell with F2 or F3
  • Or Exit to the Menu: Press ESC
    • Select: Execute a Shell
  • ls /lib/partman/recipes-amd64-efi
    • 30atomic
    • 50home
    • 80multi
  • ls /lib/partman/recipes
    • 30atomic
    • 50home
    • 80multi
  • You can use the more command to read the contents.

Try performing the install over ssh which will allow you to select and copy the text to a file to your local machine

Installing Additional Applications

Here's a couple ways to install some additional programs.

  • In the ###Package Selection section:
    d-i pkgsel/include string firmware-amd-graphics \
  firmware-linux-nonfree firmware-misc-nonfree git intel-microcode libgl1-mesa-dri \
  linux-headers-amd64 mesa-utils openssh-server pulseaudio vim xorg
  • At the end:
    d-i preseed/late_command string \
  in-target apt-get install firmware-amd-graphics \
  firmware-linux-nonfree firmware-misc-nonfree git intel-microcode libgl1-mesa-dri \
  linux-headers-amd64 mesa-utils openssh-server pulseaudio vim xorg

I'm sure there are other ways, but those two are what has worked for me so far.

Running Commands

You can also run commands on the target system. Here's some examples: 

d-i preseed/late_command string \
  mkdir -p -m 700 /target/home/chuck/.ssh; \
  echo "ssh-ed25519 YOURxwxPUBLICxxxSSHxyxKEYxzx" > /target/home/chuck/.ssh/authorized_keys; \
  in-target chown --recursive chuck:chuck /home/chuck/.ssh; \
  in-target chmod 0644 /home/chuck/.ssh/authorized_keys; \
  in-target update-alternatives --set editor /usr/bin/vim.basic; \
  in-target passwd --expire chuck

Notes

  • The new filesystem is available at /target so you can copy/create/modify the files there:
    d-i preseed/late_command string mkdir -p -m 700 /target/home/chuck/.ssh
  • You can chroot into the system:
    d-i preseed/late_command string chroot /target <commands>
  • You can chain commands together using a semicolon ;
    • Make sure the last command does not have a semicolon.
  • If your commands fail, you can check why by viewing the log screen with F4.

Using the Preseed file

There's a few ways to use the preseed file.

I'll cover the first 2 for now.

Add it to the ISO

https://wiki.debian.org/DebianInstaller/Preseed/EditIso

I used the following packages to complete these steps:

  • xorriso
  • isolinux
  • zip
  • unzip

Steps

  • Download a Debian iso
  • Rename it to debian.iso
  • Make a directory to hold the extracted iso:
    mkdir isofiles
  • Extract ISO to the isofiles directory:
    xorriso -osirrox on -indev debian.iso -extract / isofiles
  • Add write permissions to initrd:
    chmod +w -R isofiles/install.amd
  • Unzip initrd:
    gunzip isofiles/install.amd/initrd.gz
  • Add preseed to the initrd:
    echo preseed.cfg | cpio -H newc -o -A -F isofiles/install.amd/initrd
  • Re-zip initrd:
    gzip isofiles/install.amd/initrd
  • Remove write abilities of initrd:
    chmod -w -R isofiles/install.amd
  • Enter isofiles directory:
    cd isofiles
  • If you want to have a “zero interaction” install, do the zero interaction steps first.
  • Generate new md5sum.txt:
    chmod 666 md5sum.txt
find -follow -type f -exec md5sum {} \; > md5sum.txt
chmod 444 md5sum.txt
  • Move back a directory:
    cd ..
  • Generate new iso:
    xorriso -as mkisofs \
-isohybrid-mbr /usr/lib/ISOLINUX/isohdpfx.bin \
-c isolinux/boot.cat \
-b isolinux/isolinux.bin \
-no-emul-boot \
-boot-load-size 4 \
-boot-info-table \
-eltorito-alt-boot \
-e boot/grub/efi.img \
-no-emul-boot \
-isohybrid-gpt-basdat \
-o preseed-debian.iso \
isofiles/


Script it!

After doing that a couple of times when making changes, it got a little old. I figured why not create a bash script to handle most of it for me? You can check it out at my git repo.

Install using the ISO

Take the generated iso (preseed-debian.iso if you’re using the commands from above) and write it to a USB jump drive or upload it to Proxmox.

Boot the computer/VM from it and at the menu, select Advanced Options > Automated Install.

Wait a few seconds and it should start the installation process!

If you don't feel like navigating the menu and selecting the Automated Install, follow the zero interaction steps!

Host it Locally

  • Move into the directory with your preseed file on the host pc:
    • cd ~/preseed/
  • Start a simple http server:
    • python3 -m http.server
  • Start an installation on the target pc
  • Two options:
    • Select Advanced Options > Automated Install
      • Set the ip and location of the file when prompted. Eg:
      • http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xx:8000/preseed.cfg
    • Press Esc
      • at the boot prompt:
      • auto url=xxx.xxx.xxx.xx:8000/preseed.cfg

Make sure your firewall ports are open to allow access to port 8000 (or whatever port you have the http.server set to). You should see the GET request on the computer hosting the file if it all worked out.

Zero Interaction

You can configure the iso file so all you have to do is boot the machine with the iso inserted.

It will automatically select the Automated Install option from the menu and proceed with the install.

Steps

This should be done before generating the md5sums in the above steps of adding the preseed to the iso.

  • Change permissions to allow writing of these files:
    chmod +w isofiles/isolinux/{gtk.cfg, isolinux.cfg}
  • Edit: vim isofiles/isolinux/gtk.cfg
    default auto
label auto
	menu label ^Automated install
        menu default
	kernel /install.amd/vmlinuz
	append auto=true priority=critical vga=788 initrd=/install.amd/initrd.gz --- quiet
  • Edit: vim isofiles/isolinux/isolinux.cfg
    # D-I config version 2.0
# search path for the c32 support libraries (libcom32, libutil etc.)
path 
include menu.cfg
default vesamenu.c32
prompt 0
timeout 1
autoselect auto
  • Reset permissions:
    • chmod -w isofiles/isolinux/{gtk.cfg, isolinux.cfg}
  • Continue with the above steps continuing from generating the md5sums.
linux/distribution/debian/debian-10-preseed.txt · Last modified: 2020/05/27 16:21 by chuck

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