[Fedora-livecd-list] PATCH: Disk (appliance) creator tool

[Douglas McClendon]

Daniel P. Berrange wrote:
> This patch adds support for another installation variant. The livecd-creator
> produces ISO images which boot using syslinux. The image-creator creates a
> single file containing a filesystem in which the OS is installated. This patch
> adds a new disk-creator, which creates a single file containing a partitioned
> disk with potentially many filesystems in which the OS is installed. Furthermore
> it installs grub in the boot sector, so this image is immediately bootable in
> a virtual machine.

FWIW, I advocate, (and my VirOS projects already uses), a system where 
such a virtual appliance is a mandatory phase of livecd creation.  I 
don't expect any buy-in to convert livecd-creator to this, but this 
seems an appropriate time to advocate the design choice-

Basically, I see it as useful to look at the process as

distro_config

--(phase1process)-->

virtual_appliance_disk_image

--(phase2process)-->

livecd_image

Where an alternate phase2process plugin could be for example - network 
push deploy to physical host.  Or, instantiate to virtual host.

Basically it seems like since what livecd-creator uses internally, is 
already _so close_ to an appliance image like this new disk-creator 
creates already, why not just go ahead and do it (also, theoretically 
for QA turnaround time, testing new stuff as virtappliance_diskimage is 
much quicker than waiting for full livecd mksquashfs processing)

Another reason why I like that pipeline breakdown, is because the sorts 
of things that go on in phase2process can even be largely distribution 
agnostic.  Combined with alternate phase1process plugins that support 
other distributions, and you get quite a flexible provisioning tool.

$0.02...

-dmc