doc: Add a "System Installation" node.

* doc/guix.texi (Installation): Add cross-ref to "System Installation".
  (System Installation): New section.
  (System Configuration): Remove disclaimer.
master
Ludovic Courtès 2014-07-15 00:43:04 +02:00
parent 8f297d422a
commit 5af6de3e67
1 changed files with 172 additions and 4 deletions

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@ -126,6 +126,11 @@ GNU Guix is available for download from its website at
software requirements of Guix, as well as how to install it and get
ready to use it.
Note that this section is concerned with the installation of the package
manager, which can be done on top of a running GNU/Linux system. If,
instead, you want to install the complete GNU operating system,
@ref{System Installation}.
The build procedure for Guix is the same as for other GNU software, and
is not covered here. Please see the files @file{README} and
@file{INSTALL} in the Guix source tree for additional details.
@ -2598,6 +2603,7 @@ For information on porting to other architectures or kernels,
@xref{Porting}.
@menu
* System Installation:: Installing the whole operating system.
* Installing Debugging Files:: Feeding the debugger.
* Package Modules:: Packages from the programmer's viewpoint.
* Packaging Guidelines:: Growing the distribution.
@ -2609,6 +2615,172 @@ For information on porting to other architectures or kernels,
Building this distribution is a cooperative effort, and you are invited
to join! @ref{Contributing}, for information about how you can help.
@node System Installation
@section System Installation
This section explains how to install the complete GNU operating system
on a machine. The Guix package manager can also be installed on top of
a running GNU/Linux system, @ref{Installation}.
@ifinfo
@c This paragraph is for people reading this from tty2 of the
@c installation image.
You're reading this documentation with an Info reader. For details on
how to use it, hit the @key{RET} key (``return'' or ``enter'') on the
link that follows: @ref{Help,,, info, Info: An Introduction}. Hit
@kbd{l} afterwards to come back here.
@end ifinfo
@emph{This section documents work-in-progress. The system lacks
features and may be buggy. You've been warned. But more than a
disclaimer, this is an invitation to report issues (and success
stories!), and join us in improving it. @xref{Contributing}, for more
info.}
@subsection USB Stick Installation
An installation image for USB sticks can be downloaded from
@url{ftp://alpha.gnu.org/gnu/guix/gnu-usb-install-@value{VERSION}.@var{system}.xz},
where @var{system} is one of:
@table @code
@item x86_64-linux
for a GNU/Linux system on Intel/AMD-compatible 64-bit CPUs;
@item i686-linux
for a 32-bit GNU/Linux system on Intel-compatible CPUs.
@end table
This image contains a single partition with the tools necessary for an
installation. It is meant to be copied @emph{as is} to a large-enough
USB stick.
To copy the image to a USB stick, follow these steps:
@enumerate
@item
Decompress the image using the @command{xz} command:
@example
xz -d gnu-usb-install-@value{VERSION}.@var{system}.xz
@end example
@item
Insert a USB stick of 1@tie{}GiB or more in your machine, and determine
its device name. Assuming that USB stick is known as @file{/dev/sdX},
copy the image with:
@example
dd if=gnu-usb-install-20140629.x86_64 of=/dev/sdX
@end example
Access to @file{/dev/sdX} usually requires root privileges.
@end enumerate
Once this is done, you should be able to reboot the system and boot from
the USB stick. The latter usually requires you to get in the BIOS' boot
menu, where you can choose to boot from the USB stick.
@subsection Preparing for Installation
Once you have successfully booted the image on the USB stick, you should
end up with a root prompt. Several console TTYs are configured and can
be used to run commands as root. TTY2 shows this documentation,
browsable using the Info reader commands (@pxref{Help,,, info, Info: An
Introduction}).
To install the system, you would:
@enumerate
@item
Configure the network, by running @command{dhclient eth0} (to get an
automatically assigned IP address from the wired network interface
controller), or using the @command{ifconfig} command.
The system automatically loads drivers for your network interface
controllers.
Setting up network access is almost always a requirement because the
image does not contain all the software and tools that may be needed.
@item
Unless this has already been done, you must partition and format the
target partitions.
The installation image includes Parted (@pxref{Overview,,, parted, GNU
Parted User Manual}), @command{fdisk}, and e2fsprogs, the suite of tools
to manipulate ext2/ext3/ext4 file systems.
@end enumerate
Once that is done, mount the target root partition under @file{/mnt}.
@subsection Proceeding with the Installation
With the target partitions ready, you now have to edit a file and
provide the declaration of the operating system to be installed. To
that end, the installation system comes with two text editors: GNU nano
(@pxref{Top,,, nano, GNU nano Manual}), and GNU Zile, an Emacs clone.
It is better to store that file on the target root file system, say, as
@file{/mnt/etc/config.scm}.
A minimal operating system configuration, with just the bare minimum and
only a root account would look like this:
@example
(use-modules (gnu))
(operating-system
(host-name "foo")
(timezone "Europe/Paris")
(locale "en_US.UTF-8")
;; Assuming /dev/sdX is the target hard disk, and /dev/sdX1 the
;; target root file system.
(bootloader (grub-configuration (device "/dev/sdX")))
(file-systems (list (file-system
(device "/dev/sdX1")
(mount-point "/")
(type "ext4")))))
@end example
@noindent
For more information on @code{operating-system} declarations,
@xref{Using the Configuration System}.
Once that is done, the new system must be initialized (remember that the
target root file system is mounted under @file{/mnt}):
@example
guix system init /mnt/etc/config.scm /mnt
@end example
@noindent
This will copy all the necessary files, and install GRUB on
@file{/dev/sdX}, unless you pass the @option{--no-grub} option. For
more information, @xref{Invoking guix system}. This command may trigger
downloads or builds of missing packages, which can take some time.
Once that command has completed---and hopefully succeeded!---you can
unmount @file{/mnt} and boot into the new system. Cross fingers, and
join us on @code{#guix} on the Freenode IRC network or on
@file{guix-devel@@gnu.org} to share your experience---good or not so
good.
@subsection Building the Installation Image
The installation image described above was built using the @command{guix
system} command, specifically:
@example
guix system disk-image --image-size=800MiB gnu/system/install.scm
@end example
@xref{Invoking guix system}, for more information. See
@file{gnu/system/install.scm} in the source tree for more information
about the installation image.
@node Installing Debugging Files
@section Installing Debugging Files
@ -3079,10 +3251,6 @@ reason.
@node System Configuration
@section System Configuration
@emph{This section documents work-in-progress. As such it may be
incomplete, outdated, or open to discussions. Please discuss it on
@email{guix-devel@@gnu.org}.}
@cindex system configuration
The GNU system supports a consistent whole-system configuration
mechanism. By that we mean that all aspects of the global system