Skolelinux / Debian Edu CD release notes
This is a summary of the changes done between releases. It should include info on what is working and what is broken.
Test Releases using Debian/Etch
Test release candidate 3, 2007-06-XX
Highlights
- Improved support for ssh based installation by not changing the network settings at the end of the installation if working network is enabled.
- Modified the CD/DVD build system to include archtecture specific packages, and use this to include the kernels needed by LTSP on amd64 and powerpc.
- Fixed bug in code telling KDE to use esd on thin clients with sound enabled.
- Now install scribus and tuxpaint by default in desktop installs.
- Enabled sound and local device access on thin clients by default.
- Added Hebrew and Japanese support.
- Removed the free Flash implementation Gnash, because it is not ready for production use.
- Provide the amd64 version as well as a multi arch dvd and a cd (i386)
- When installed with the multi arch dvd on amd64 and i386 ltsp environment is created so old hardware could be used with new terminal server.
Test release candidate 2, 2007-06-09
This is the second release candidate of debian-edu etch. We plan to release RC3 before the final release. So please file bugs at http://bugs.skolelinux.org/ now, if you see problems. Even if you dont have available hardware to test on, you can still help with testing in qemu. The url http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/HowTo/TestCDinstall will help you get started.
We plan RC3 on June 16nd and Debian-Edu etch on June 23th.
Highlights
- New script debian-edu-fsautoresize to make it easier to resize LVM volumes
- Changed LTSP network swap location from /tmp/ to it's own lvm volume /var/opt/ltsp/swapfiles
- Scripts to clean up leftover ltsp swap files and processes from abnormal shutdowns of clients and server.
- Fixed local device access in Standalone installs.
- Fixed network-manager access for the initial user in Standalone installs.
- Samba used scripts from wlus to update ldap when joining the domain. Fixed by including the script in our configuration package.
- Made sure the client part of LTSP local device support (ltspfsd) is installed on the clients.
- Changed the pam_group config to add all users loggin in to the fuse group, to try to get local device access working out of the box when enabled in LTSP.
- Removed some obsolete code in the installer used on woody and sarge.
- Munin on main-server will now monitor all hosts reporting to sitesummary automatically.
- Removed unused code and obsolete comments from dhcpd.conf.
- Modified code generating self-signed certificate for the LDAP server to make the public key available on the web, and added a boot script to download this key to all clients the first time they boot.
- Fixed code to make admin users get a link to the web site with admin tools and information on their desktop.
The dvd ISO image is 4.4 GiB large. To download it, use either of these methods:
ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/debian-edu_etch-i386-DVD-rc2.iso
http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/debian-edu_etch-i386-DVD-rc2.iso rsync ftp.skolelinux.org::skolelinux-cd/debian-edu_etch-i386-DVD-rc2.iso
or for the netinstall cd you can download
ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/debian-edu_etch-i386-netinst-rc2.iso
http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/debian-edu_etch-i386-netinst-rc2.iso rsync ftp.skolelinux.org::skolelinux-cd/debian-edu_etch-i386-netinst-rc2.iso
The [ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/etch-test-powerpc powerpc] and [ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/etch-test-amd64 amd64] ports are still under development, and are currently not officially a supported part of Debian-Edu. Both architectures have been reported to work.
Test release candidate 1, 2007-05-20
The Debian-Edu/Skolelinux project is pleased to announce that the next test release of "Debian-Edu/Skolelinux 3.0, codename 'terra'" is ready. This is the fifth test release based on Debian/Etch. It is available to download using FTP, HTTP and rsync.
This is the first release candidate of debian-edu etch. After that we will release RC2 and RC3 with shorter delays in between and then we will release. So please file bugs at http://bugs.skolelinux.org/ now, if you see problems. Even if you dont have available hardware to test on, you can still help with testing in qemu. The url http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/HowTo/TestCDinstall will help you get started.
test4 was one day late, so we shifted the release schedule: we now plan to release RC2 on May 27h, RC3 on June 3nd and Debian-Edu etch on June 10th. We might cut RC2 and RC3, as we want to release at the end of May.
Highlights
- Firefox is now installed by default, with a few much used translations. Due to legal reasons firefox is called iceweasel in Debian.
- The hostname is now correctly set based on DNS name.
- This release reintroduces the CD. It will grab the packages that did not fit on the first cd from network.
- debian-edu-doc is a new package containing all documentation. Currently it lacks update of the information for etch and translation. Help welcome!
slbackup-php is now installed as default. Test it with http://tjener.intern/slbackup-php
- Checks in place to avoid installing the standalone profile together with any of the others.
The ISO image is 4.4 GiB large. To download it, use either of these methods:
ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/debian-edu_etch-i386-DVD-rc1.iso
http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/debian-edu_etch-i386-DVD-rc1.iso rsync ftp.skolelinux.org::skolelinux-cd/debian-edu_etch-i386-DVD-rc1.iso
or for the netinstall cd you can download
ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/debian-edu_etch-i386-netinst-rc1.iso
http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/debian-edu_etch-i386-netinst-rc1.iso rsync ftp.skolelinux.org::skolelinux-cd/debian-edu_etch-i386-netinst-rc1.iso
The [ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/etch-test-powerpc powerpc] and [ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/etch-test-amd64 amd64] ports are still under development, and are currently not officially a supported part of Debian-Edu.
Test release 4, 2007-05-13
The Debian-Edu/Skolelinux project is pleased to announce that the next test release of "Debian-Edu/Skolelinux 3.0, codename 'terra'" is ready. This is the fourth test release based on Debian/Etch. It is available to download using FTP, HTTP and rsync.
This will be the last test-release of debian-edu etch. After that we will release RC1, RC2 and RC3 with shorter delays in between and then we will release. So please file bugs at http://bugs.skolelinux.org/ now, if you see problems. Even if you dont have available hardware to test on, you can still help with testing in qemu. The url http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/HowTo/TestCDinstall will help you get started.
We plan to release RC1 on May 19th, RC2 on May 26th, RC3 on June 2nd and Debian-Edu etch on June 9th. We might cut RC2 and RC3, as we want to release at the end of May.
Highlights
- Fix handling of USB and other hotplug devices.
- Framework for selecting languages during installation is now working again.
- LTSP default keyboard layout now uses the one selected during installation.
- LTSP network swap is enabled by default.
- CPU frequency scaling is enabled on all machines supporting it. Will increase battery lifetime and reduce power bill.
slbackup-php is available on the DVD, install it with aptitude -y install slbackup-php. And test it with http://tjener.intern/slbackup-php
- all the other highlights from the previous test-releases
The ISO image is 4.4 GiB large. To download it, use either of these methods:
ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/debian-edu_etch-i386-test04.iso
http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/debian-edu_etch-i386-test04.iso rsync ftp.skolelinux.org::skolelinux-cd/debian-edu_etch-i386-test04.iso
Test release 3, 2007-04-21
The Debian-Edu/Skolelinux project is pleased to announce that the next test release of "Debian-Edu/Skolelinux 3.0, codename 'terra'" is ready. This is the third test release based on Debian/Etch. It is available to download using FTP, HTTP and rsync.
Highlights
- Based on the recently released Debian 4.0 Etch.
- Released as a DVD image, with a lot more translations and applications available.
- Includes ltspfs for local device access from thin clients.
- Improved laptop support.
- And a lot more...
The ISO image is 4.4 GiB large. To download it, use either of these methods:
ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/debian-edu_etch-i386-test03.iso
http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/debian-edu_etch-i386-test03.iso rsync ftp.skolelinux.org::skolelinux-cd/debian-edu_etch-i386-test03.iso
Test release 2, 2006-11-23
Highlights
- Installer support encrypting disks and partitions
- Added flash web plugin support using gnash
- Added the adept graphical package manager
- Added much used package ktuberling
- Added sitesummary system to make it easier to keep track of a lot of machines in the network.
- Fixed the NTP configuration.
- ltsp 0.99debian8 (supports encrypted swap and on-demand network swap)
- KDE upgraded from version 3.5.4 to 3.5.5
- New artwork (boot splash and KDE wallpaper)
- Audio device access should work out of the box.
- X.org upgraded from version 7.0 to 7.1.
Some new features which are not yet fully working, but the framework is already in place:
- Kiosk mode
Some features are still not working as they should. We are aware of these at the moment:
- No LDAP user admin tool yet
- Hotplugging USB disks do not work
- Dropped gcompris and gperiodic to save space.
Test release 1, 2006-09-24
After months of hard work, a new Skolelinux CD image is ready. This is the first test CD preparing for a debian/etch based release. It is available from FTP, HTTP and rsync. The image size is 695 MiB.
There are a lot of changes since the last CD release based on Sarge. Here are some highlights
- Ported the installer to etch using d-i beta3
- Linux kernel 2.6.17
- KDE 3.5.4
- New versions of educational software and improvements in the package choice
- LTSP 0.93debian1
- Now support resizing of LVM volumes without umounting
- Improved laptop support (hybernate, extra keys, wireless configuration)
- The installer now support encrypted file systems
- New debian-edu-expert mode with new profile and manual partitioning to enable a bare-bone system without any services, for single-service installs
- Debian-Edu bootsplash during the boot process
- Custom kdm and kde artwork
Some features are still not working as they should. We are aware of these at the moment:
- LTSP server is not set up during installation. It can be set up manually after the installation.
- LVM partitioning fail if an existing LVM partition is found on the hard drive. A workaround is to boot with boot param 'linux debian-edu-expert' to get the manuall partitioning. This will be fixed in the next version of debian-installer.
- Clock sync config with NTP client/server is not correct.
To download it, use either of these methods:
ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/debian-edu_etch-i386-test01.iso
http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/debian-edu_etch-i386-test01.iso rsync ftp.skolelinux.org::skolelinux-cd/debian-edu_etch-i386-test01.iso
Next developer meeting is tomorrow. More information available from [http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/Meeting]
Announcing new releases
New releases are sent to debian-edu at lists.debian.org, linuxiskolen at skolelinux.no, distro at distrowatch.com, admin-discuss at skolelinux.org, user at skolelinux.de, bruker at skolelinux.no and debian-edu-french at lists.debian.org.