Automated installers - custom package selections - kickstart

[John]

Andy Rabagliati wrote:
> Folks,
> 
>   I have a minor distro I developed, maintain, and use that performs
>   the task of dialup and firewall, with mail (exim/courier) and a web
>   proxy server (wwwoffle) with UUCP as the primary transport.
> 
>   Most of the packages are available from Ubuntu.
> 
>   What I need is a replacement for kickstart, the dandy redhat
>   python-based installer.
> 

Why not see Componetized Linux from Progeny? Uses Anaconda/kickstart on 
Debian.

Shouldn't be hard to put together a component seeded from U packages. If 
I were going to roll out Ubuntu systems by the thousand I would look 
very closely indeed.


>   Really, I just need to install a list of packages on top of a
>   Base install, and run a monster 100K shell script that sets up
>   configuration and preloads an LDAP directory.
> 
>   I like the look of the ubuntu minimal install, and for political
>   reasons am investigating a shift from whitebox linux to something
>   debian-based.
> 
>   Is the Ubuntu installer scriptable in this fashion ?
> 
>   Where would I start looking ?

the Ubuntu installer is Debian-installer on Steroids. I don't know how U 
has done it, but d-i looks to me a little fragile in that espect.