Hi,

A remaining bit from the discussion in https://salsa.debian.org/debian-
edu/debian-edu-install/-/merge_requests/13:

What should happen after the offline installation with the BD ISO image is
finished?

Current behaviour (13.7):
* The BD ISO image is listed as a `cdrom:[xxx]` entry

After debian-edu-config MR68 is merged:
* The BD ISO image is listed as a `file:///media/cdrom` entry.

As proposed by Mike in https://salsa.debian.org/debian-edu/debian-edu-
install/-/merge_requests/13#note_810760:
* During the first boot detect whether deb.debian.org is accessible, and if so
remove the cdrom line and reconfigure to use the online repository.

The reconfiguration cannot happen during the d-i, because the installation
instructions explicitly mention that the network cables should not be connected
(Main server installation scenarios, scenario 4).

However, there could be finish-install script in d-i (named e.g. 19switch-to-
online-sources) that checks whether the BD ISO was used for the installation
and ask the user whether to install the online repositories instead.

Or (less hacky): Re-enable the already existing 'Configure the package manager'
step in d-i when the BD image is used (currently that step is explicitly
disabled) (this can be seen when the priority is set to medium)

Alternatively: update the documentation that the file from
`/usr/share/doc/apt/examples/sources.list` can be used.

With kind regards,
Roland Clobus

Hi,

While working on #1150146, I noticed that there is already a udeb-include file for DebianEdu in the debian-cd repository (data/forky/debian-edu_udeb_include).
That file also activates the udeb 'choose-mirror' during priority=high, which asks for the nearest Debian mirror and the proxy (which I called 'Configure the package manager' in the initial text of the bug report), the topic of this bug report.

In the case of a BD installation this information is not used however (i.e. after reboot and during the installation /etc/apt/sources.list does not contain http://deb.debian.org entries, only the cdrom: entry)

I've created https://salsa.debian.org/images-team/debian-cd/-/merge_requests/64 to remove 'choose-mirror' initially, to have at least a solution for #1150146.

Meanwhile, I'll look for a suitable solution to use 'choose-mirror' appropriately.

As I understand it, there are several scenarios to cover when using a BD image:
A) Install a server (tjener). If the server will have an Internet connection (directly or via an DebianEduRouter), it would be wise to have at least the security fixed configured.
B) Install a workstation. The user installing the workstation is inside the DebianEdu network and should not be bothered with the mirror and proxy question. The settings for the mirror and proxy are dictated by tjener.
C) Install a stand-alone workstation. When inside the DebianEdu network tjener dictates the values, but outside the DebianEdu network the regular setup would make sense.

So scenarios A and C might ask the questions, whereas B must NOT ask them...

Then the netinst image:
In openQA, I used a kernel command line to preseed the proxy, because the questions of choose-mirror are not asked.
At the end of the installation of the server and stand-alone workstation, /etc/apt/sources.list contains the cdrom: entry disabled and the online entries for forky are present.
(In openQA I don't have the workstation scenario yet)

Currently, the questions of choose-mirror are asked before debian-edu-profile, so there is some tricky fix required of the questions should be posed to the user of d-i.
But if the questions do not need to be asked, but their values are available (as the netinst image scenarios suggest), the BD scenarios could configure the online apt sources similar to the netinst image.

If that's the desired solution, I'll prepare a MR for apt-setup, where the magic happens.

With kind regards,
Roland Clobus

Hi Roland,

Thanks for digging into this so deeply. It is much appreciated.

The overall idea of the Debian Edu installer compared to the Debian
installer is making it more usable by non-tech users. The Debian Edu
team has always focused on asking as few questions during D(E)-I as
possible.

IMHO, we should stick with this approach. That said, don't add/enable
extra questions during the run of D(E)-I. Let them be preseedable via
kernel cmdline, but no extra questions should be exposed to the
installer's dialogs.

Does my answer unblock you sufficiently for preparing that MR?

Cheers
Mike