Release Notes:
grml 0.8 - codename Funkenzutzler (20060813)
About
grml is a Debian-based Live-CD. It includes a collection of GNU/Linux software especially for users of texttools and system administrators. grml provides automatic hardware detection. You can use grml for example as a rescue system, for analyzing systems/networks or as a working environment. It is not necessary to install anything to a harddisk, you don't even need a harddisk to run it. Due to on-the-fly decompression grml includes about 2.1 GiB of software and documentation on the CD.
Bugfixes
Fixed several bugs and issues reported on grml_0.7 @ grml-wiki.
New features
Several improved, updated and extended configuration files.
New grml-scripts (some selected ones):
- blacklist: blacklist module via module-init-tools (/etc/modprobe.d/grml)
- unblacklist: remove blacklisted module from /etc/modprobe.d/grml
- install-packages-useful: a script which installs useful software on your grml system. This script is similar to Ubuntu's EasyUbuntu and EasyBreezy
- grml-policy-rc.d: a wrapper script for invoke-rc.d to avoid automatical startup of init scripts via invoke-rc.d; take a look at 'man grml-policy-rc.d' for more details
- osd_server.py: listen for incoming messages on a specific port and print them via osd_cat; run 'grml-tips osd' for more details (thanks to Ulrich Dangel, Alexander Bernauer and Rico Schickel)
- myip: return IP address of running system on stdout
- grml-tpm: set up a system for use with TPM technology
- grml-resolution: change X resolution via a simple menu frontend (script based on work by Florian Keller)
- grml-hostname: set hostname of system
New bootparameters/cheatcodes (some selected ones):
- splash: text based bootsplash (based on contribution by Florian Keller)
- noblank: disable console blanking
grml2hd (install grml to harddisk):
- partition selector (just invoke grml2hd without any further options)
- added support for setting hostname via grml-hostname
- grml-setlang: set language system-wide on grml system. Set $LANG, $LC_ALL, $COUNTRY,... in /etc/default/locale (formerly known as /etc/environment)
- grml-setkeyboard: set keyboard layout system-wide on grml system via /etc/sysconfig/keyboard (Notice: Does not affect the currently used keyboard layout, use grml-lang instead to temporarly change settings)
- reworked grml2hd-utils
See grml.org/grml2hd/ for more details regarding grml2hd.
Special new features:
- updated to X.org 7.0
- using Lat15-Terminus16 as default console font (disable via bootoption 'nodefaultfont')
- text based bootsplash (see bootoption 'splash'), based on contribution by Florian Keller
- switched from kaffe to jikes and jamvm
- added window managers fvwm-crystal and dwm
- added support for UMTS vodafone cards (austrian providers like A1, T-Mobile and 3 work out-of-the-box) - see 'grml-tips umts'
- added /etc/rc{0..6}.d/ /etc/rcS.d directories with important_notice to inform users about file-rc
- /etc/init.d/boolocal.{pre,middle,post}: add your own commands/stuff to bootup sequence, see "man grml-autoconfig" for more details
- setup of files in /boot/grub/ to be able to install grub; provide sample menu.lst for use with grml2hd - see 'grml-tips grub'
- run 'zsh-help' for some hints regarding the best shell on earth
Kernel
Based on vanilla kernel 2.6.17.7 including several patches (Reiser4, Speakup, Squashfs,...) and additional modules:
acerhk, acx100, adp94xx, bcm5700, cowloop, dazuko, drbd0.7, et131x, exmap, ipw3945, ivtv0.7, kqemu, linux-wlan-ng, lufs, madwifi, ndiswrapper, nozomi, openafs, pcan, pwc, qc-usb, realtime-lsm, rt2x00, rt2400, rt2500, rt2570, sl-modem, snd-bt-sco, spca5xx, sysprof, thinkpad, tidev, truecrypt, vaiostat, zd1211
Notice: some more modules (for example fglrx and nvidia) are not pre-installed but available through the grml-repository.
See grml.org/kernel/ for more details regarding the grml-kernel.
Important Changes
The software RAID devices like /dev/md0 aren't created by default anymore. See /etc/udev/mdadm.rules and #381181 for the reason. If you need /dev/md*-devices just run the following command (you will find this tip in 'grml-tips mdadm' as well):
cd /dev && MAKEDEV md
There might be problems running DRI with current X.org. Check whether DRI/3d-support works for you via running:
% glxinfo | grep direct direct rendering: Yes
If it does not return 'Yes' the following command might solve your problem:
apt-get install libgl1-mesa-dri/experimental libgl1-mesa-glx/experimental
Packages / Software
Details about shipped packages and their versions on grml are available at the Debian section.
Updates
Updated all packages to Debian Unstable branch by 20060811.
Removed 114 packages [please notice that some of them are available under different names/in different packages]:
*2.6.16-grml* lib* 3ware-3dm2-old-binary acx100-firmware aget aide antlr apache apache-common apachetoolbox apachetop apticron automake1.6 ccdv cdrecord-prodvd-binary cpm cpp-4.0 cpudyn cron-apt dahb-txt dbconfig-common dchroot debfoster eagle-usb-data eagle-usb-utils ecj-bootstrap edictionary fastjar fcheck fftw2 fglrx-control figfonts fonts-ttf-west-european ftester g++-4.0 gcc-4.0 gcc-4.0-base gcj-4.0-base giftrans gij-4.0 gjdoc gramofile grml-splash hgrep httpf ices2 installwatch ipac-ng ipsc ipw2100-firmware ipw2200-firmware ipython-common isdnutils-xtools kaffe kaffe-common kaffe-pthreads lbxproxy m-tx magma maradns mod-chroot-common musepack-decoder musepack-encoder musepack-replaygain musixtex mwcollect mysql-client-4.1 nbsmtp newsflash nis ntp-server ntp-simple numlockx ooo2dbk pekwmsvn php5-common pipemeter postgresql-common proftpd proftpd-common prospect proxymngr python-id3lib python-pymad python2.3-apt python2.3-bsddb3 python2.3-crypto python2.3-elementtree python2.3-eyed3 python2.3-fuse python2.3-id3lib python2.3-ipython python2.3-profiler python2.3-zopeinterface python2.4-celementtree python2.4-elementtree qtparted queue scavr shunit sslwrap tasksel tiger torsmo tripwire update-apt vncserver xfonts-base-transcoded xfree86-driver-synaptics xfwp xlibmesa-dri xlibs-data xmon xprint xprint-common xserver-common
Added 117 new packages (exluding lib*, xserver-xorg-* and *2.6.17-grml*):
3ware-3dm2-binary 3ware-cli-binary acpi-support aircrack-ng ajaxterm btscanner cdck cdpr cedet-common classpath classpath-common cmospwd cpp-4.1 cpuid cpulimit crywrap cupsys-common curlftpfs debdelta debian-goodies dwm eieio emcast facter freeglut3 fusesmb fvwm fvwm-crystal-minimal g++-4.1 gcc-4.1 gconf2-common grep-dctrl grml-policyrcd habak id3 ipmitool ipw-firmware ipw3945-ucode ipw3945d jamvm jikes lame latexmk linuxlogo lspowertweak madwifi-doc magicrescue mesa-utils mktemp modconf mp3val mrb mrxvt mrxvt-common mysql-client-5.0 ndisc6 ndiswrapper-common ndiswrapper-utils-1.1 ndiswrapper-utils-1.7 ndiswrapper-utils-1.8 nethogs ntfs-3g num-utils open-iscsi p3nfs pcopy pekwm pktstat policyrcd-script-zg2 powertweak-gtk powertweakd prism54-firmware pymacs python-celementtree python-central python-elementtree python-minimal python-mode python-support remind snmp sudoku syrep tdb-dev tetrinet-client thc-ipv6 tinysnmp-tools tpm-tools trayer trousers tshark twolame txt2pdbdoc tzdata unclutter unionfs-tools uswsusp vbindiff vobcopy vsftpd weechat weechat-scripts wikipediafs wireshark wireshark-common wyrd xbitmaps xclip xcursor-themes xfonts-biznet-100dpi xfonts-biznet-75dpi xfonts-biznet-base xfonts-encodings xfonts-utils xkb-data xorg xutils-dev
Upgrade notes
As usual you can upgrade your grml harddisk system to the latest grml version running 'apt-get update; apt-get install grml'. Take a look at the upgrading webpage in the grml-wiki as well. Notice: If you are using grml in a productive environment and/or use a grml2hd installation we strongly recommend to subscribe to the grml-user mailinglist!
Changes since release 0.7 (20060410)
- grml on linuxdays graz and vienna 2006
- grml in the German LinuxUser magazine.
- Planet grml available.
- Timo Boettcher joined the grml-team.
Known issues
Take a look at grml_0.8 @ grml-wiki. Please report problems using information on grml.org/bugs/.
Download grml 0.8
grml 0.8 can be downloaded from mirrors listed on grml.org/download/.
Feedback
Your comments, bug reports, patches, and suggestions will help fix bugs and improve future releases. If you find a problem with the release please check grml_0.8 @ grml-wiki and report problems using information on grml.org/bugs/. Please send your feedback, feature requests and bug reports to the grml-team!
Thanks
Many thanks in this release go to Florian Keller for his code contributions, to Jörg Müller for the releasename, to Ulrich Dangel, Alexander Bernauer and Rico Schickel for osd_server.py, to Thomas Konrad for the wallpaper and CD-Cover and of course to all those who have sent feedback since the last release!
Thanks a lot for all the donations! Special thanks go to IBM/Lenovo Austria for providing us a x305 server which will serve as buildsystem in the near future. While working on the grml-trusted project (details will follow soon) we also got a Thinkpad T60 laptop for about 3 months. Thanks a lot!
More Information
You can find out more about grml on our website, IRC channel, and wiki.
To sign up for future grml announcements, please subscribe to grml's announcement list.