Latest revision as of 23:19, 16 April 2009

Luca Casagrande: luca.casagrande@gmail.com; http://ominiverdi.org

Introduction

What is a LiveCd

As Wikipedia reports, Livecd is a "generic term for an operating system distribution that is executed upon boot, without installation on a hard drive. Typically, it is stored on bootable media such as a CD-ROM (Live CD), DVD (Live DVD), USB flash drive (Live USB), among others." By using this technology, users can get a "taste" of a full GNU/Linux box without fighting with any setup or installation. Once the LiveCd has been booted, everything is loaded in RAM, keeping the hard disk safe. Of course, once the machine shuts down, every change is lost.

Applications

There are many applications that can be satisfied through the use of a livecd:

Running your favorite system anywhere you can find a PC. With a Pen Drive to save your data, you will have a perfect survival kit.
For teaching purposes: During a workshop, your audience can have anything you think is appropriate to increase the learning process.
Using an old machine: liveCd can be run on an old machine and also without a HD!
Spreading data: it's a very cool way to distribute your work. You deliver your work (for example output of complex elaboration) and all applications needed, configured to appreciate it best!

Limitations of a Livecd

Inside a livecd we have the kernel, drivers, WM, and all the applications required for a working environment. Of course, it is rather impossible to put all the drivers that would suit all the machines that have been created. It can happen that, during boot, the CD stops or something else goes wrong (e.g. missing lan detection). Thanks to the work of a lot of people (in primis Knoppix) we have very good software that detects hardware during boot but, like every software application, there can still be bugs. As you can understand, the idea of having a universal machine is a high expectation and the road to achieving this is still long.

On the other hand, no information is saved while working in the LiveCd environment. If this is a favorable aspect (e.g. keeping your hard disk safe), it can be tedious from another point of view. A solution is to use a Storage Device (like a USB HD, for example) to store all your output. This approach can also be used to save configuration files, so that you can keep your settings after rebooting.

LiveCd and open source geospatial software

LiveCd can be a valid tool if applied to open source geospatial software.

An example of an application of liveCd and GIS FLOSS is to run a workstation that will allow users to explore data inside it or, for example, in a remote Postgis DB. Old machines can be used to make access points to the database and can be set up with a viewer that is always available (as Internet Points do with a browser), allowing the saving of data on a storage device.

During the FOSS4G 2007 at Lausanne, we used 2 LiveCds during seminars (ka-Map and Grass 3d). We also allowed participants to immediately test what they had just see in the slideshow. Once the workshop ended, they were able to keep their liveCd and use it at home or at their office. This is a good example of the great potential of a liveCd deployed for Educational purposes.

Ominiverdi Livecd

Objective

Our liveCd will always try to offer users the following:

Up to date software with every main official release
Included guides, documents and tutorials
Good hardware compatibility

Tecnical development

We decided to use Catalist: the same tool that the Gentoo Release Engineering Team uses.

This choice is based on 2 main reasons:

To use a system that will keep the updating stage fast and safe
To allow the customization of everything inside the CD

Desktop 2007.0

Our first release for 2007 contains this software:

QGIS 0.8
GRASS 6.2.1
PostgreSQL 8.1.5
PostGIS 1.1.4
GDAL 1.3.2

The system runs a 2.6.18 Linux kernel and uses GNOME as a Desktop Manager.

While writing this abstract, we are waiting for the release of the 2007.1 Qgis 0.8.1.

Future Development and Tasks

Our goal is to keep the CD updated by creating new versions on a regular schedule, or at least as soon as major updates or included software will be released.

At the moment we are working on two tasks:

An Installer for the livecd
A server edition with mapserver and some webgis applications

LiveCD installer

The installer will be accessible through an icon on the desktop. The installation process will guide the user to the setup of the GNU/Linux distribution on his/her computer. Hard disk installations will allow better performance and the possibility to update all packages, thanks to the core of the Gentoo Linux ( http://www.gentoo.org/ )system.

Server Edition

The server edition will target a server machine with minimal graphical support but with a fully-featured set of applications to offer OCG Web Services and UMN Mapserver frontends (ka-Map, Open Layers, p.Mapper, ecc.).

More Info

Ominiverdi Livecd Project: http://livecd.ominiverdi.org
Gentoo Catalyst Project: http://www.gentoo.org/proj/en/releng/catalyst/

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 :http://ominiverdi.org
-=Introducition=
+=Introduction=
-==What is a Livecd==
-As wikipedia report, livecd is a "is a generic term for an operating system distribution that is executed upon boot, without installation on a hard drive. Typically, it is stored on bootable media such as a CD-ROM (Live CD), DVD (Live DVD), USB flash drive (Live USB), among others". using this kind of application user can get a "taste" of a full linux box without fighting with any setup. Once the machine with the livecd inside it, has been booted, the os is been loaded in the RAM and nothing is writen on the hard disk. Of course, just because all operation are made using ram inside of hard disk, all information are lost once the machine it's been shut down.
-==Task==
-There are many aplication that can be stisfied by a livecd:
-#Using your favourite application anyone you can found a pc
+==What is a LiveCd==
-#Teaching purpose: people can have machine with the needed software in a boot time
-#
-==Limitation of a Livecd==
+As Wikipedia reports, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livecd Livecd] is a "generic term for an operating system distribution that is executed upon boot, without installation on a hard drive. Typically, it is stored on bootable media such as a CD-ROM (Live CD), DVD (Live DVD), USB flash drive (Live USB), among others." By using this technology, users can get a "taste" of a full GNU/Linux box without fighting with any setup or installation. Once the LiveCd has been booted, everything is loaded in RAM, keeping the hard disk safe. Of course, once the machine shuts down, every change is lost.
-I always talked about "machine" as the way for botting the livecd. Nothing has been said about the configuration. Once the cd has been bootted, it loads tool that detect the used hardware and configure everything to run smooth. This is easier to say (or write ) then to be done. There are a lot of differents kind of hardware and sometimes the configuration process can go wrong. This can sound as a big problem, but people should remember that every hardware come with its driver packages. In a livecd, all come inside a cd..Os,Driver and Application :)
+==Applications==
-The other thing that should be remembered is that every works that is been done inside a livecd, is lost as soon as the machine its shout down.To avoid this you could use a usb sotrage device to save all your works.
-=Livecd and open source geospatial software=
+There are many applications that can be satisfied through the use of a livecd:
+#Running your favorite system anywhere you can find a PC. With a Pen Drive to save your data, you will have a perfect survival kit.
+#For teaching purposes: During a workshop, your audience can have anything you think is appropriate to increase the learning process.
+#Using an old machine: liveCd can be run on an old machine and also without a HD!
+#Spreading data: it's a very cool way to distribute your work. You deliver your work (for example output of complex elaboration) and all applications needed, configured to appreciate it best!
+==Limitations of a Livecd==
-The
+Inside a livecd we have the kernel, drivers, WM, and all the applications required for a working environment. Of course, it is rather impossible to put all the drivers that would suit all the machines that have been created. It can happen that, during boot, the CD stops or something else goes wrong (e.g. missing lan detection). Thanks to the work of a lot of people (in primis [http://www.knoppix.net/ Knoppix]) we have very good software that detects hardware during boot but, like every software application, there can still be bugs. As you can understand, the idea of having a universal machine is a high expectation and the road to achieving this is still long.
-==Choice==
-==Descrizione tecnica==
+On the other hand, no information is saved while working in the LiveCd environment. If this is a favorable aspect (e.g. keeping your hard disk safe), it can be tedious from another point of view. A solution is to use a Storage Device (like a USB HD, for example) to store all your output. This approach can also be used to save configuration files, so that you can keep your settings after rebooting.
-For building the livecd, we decided to use Catalyst, tool used by Gentoo release team.
+=LiveCd and open source geospatial software=
-this tool allow the creation of "high customization livecd" both about architecture and about softwares.
-Catalyst uses a text file that contains infomration about how creating the livecd:
--Architecture to use
--Softare to add
-Each application can be built with a custom configuration, adding or removing item from default configuration infomration:
- [..]
- sci-libs/gdal -png gif
- [..]
-This mean that gdal will be built using default configuration without  and gif support, but not with
+LiveCd can be a valid tool if applied to open source geospatial software.
+An example of an application of liveCd and GIS FLOSS is to run a workstation that will allow users to explore data inside it or, for example, in a remote Postgis DB. Old machines can be used to make access points to the database and can be set up with a viewer that is always available (as Internet Points do with a browser), allowing the saving of data on a storage device.
+During the FOSS4G 2007 at Lausanne, we used 2 LiveCds during seminars (ka-Map and Grass 3d). We also allowed participants to immediately test what they had just see in the slideshow. Once the workshop ended, they were able to keep their liveCd and use it at home or at their office. This is a good example of the great potential of a liveCd deployed for Educational purposes.
-Once the application list is read the softwares are installed using the configuration information described inside a file called packages.use
-=Future Development and task=
+=Ominiverdi Livecd=
+==Objective==
+Our liveCd will always try to offer users the following:
+#Up to date software with every main official release
+#Included guides, documents and tutorials
+#Good hardware compatibility
+==Tecnical development==
+We decided to use [http://www.gentoo.org/proj/en/releng/catalyst/ Catalist]: the same tool that the Gentoo Release Engineering Team uses.
+This choice is based on 2 main reasons:
+#To use a system that will keep the updating stage fast and safe
+#To allow the customization of everything inside the CD
+==Desktop 2007.0==
+Our first release for 2007 contains this software:
+* QGIS 0.8
+* GRASS 6.2.1
+* PostgreSQL 8.1.5
+* PostGIS 1.1.4
+* GDAL 1.3.2
+The system runs a 2.6.18 [http://www.kernel.org/ Linux kernel] and uses [http://www.gnome.org/ GNOME] as a Desktop Manager.
+While writing this abstract, we are waiting for the release of the 2007.1 Qgis 0.8.1.
+=Future Development and Tasks=
+Our goal is to keep the CD updated by creating new versions on a regular schedule, or at least as soon as major updates or included software will be released.
+At the moment we are working on two tasks:
+# An Installer for the livecd
+# A server edition with mapserver and some webgis applications
+===LiveCD installer===
+The installer will be accessible through an icon on the desktop. The installation process will guide the user to the setup of the GNU/Linux distribution on his/her computer.
+Hard disk installations will allow better performance and the possibility to update all packages, thanks to the core of the Gentoo Linux ( http://www.gentoo.org/ )system.
+===Server Edition===
+The server edition will target a server machine with minimal graphical support but with a fully-featured set of applications to offer OCG Web Services and UMN Mapserver frontends (ka-Map, Open Layers, p.Mapper, ecc.).
+===More Info===
+* Ominiverdi Livecd Project: http://livecd.ominiverdi.org
+*Gentoo Catalyst Project: http://www.gentoo.org/proj/en/releng/catalyst/
+[[Category: Live-demo]]

Difference between revisions of "Newsletter Volume 1 Livecd"