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I searched on Google about creating Fully Automated Installer for Debian. My aim is to have an ISO file, make it bootable in pendrive. So if I plug this pendrive in a computer, power on the physical button then it will boot this iso, automatically it will prepare a Debian installation for me, it creates LUKS partition, configure Debian username password and at the end I will be presented with a full working OS (no installation interaction). From an offline computer, with just one button power on the computer, waiting and I get the full working Debian 10.

I saw this awesome FAI (Fully Automated Installer) from this site https://fai-project.org/, reading from documentation it has all what I need. But the documentation did not give any examples how do I setup this especially for LUKS partition. Where should I create the config file initially ? How do I build the installation structure ?

There is a FAI CD that is already packed with the installation config where we can download that or we can build our own but the site configuration is limited which doesn't cover how to create LUKS partition and put extra bash script to install other things (which the feature said it is possible).

I hope if somebody could guide me as the documentation looks a bit horrible to me.

Kalib Zen
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  • See https://www.debian.org/releases/stable/amd64/apbs04.en.html – Jiri B Mar 19 '21 at 02:52
  • Sorry I'm not looking for the Debian preeseed config where you still need to boot the normal OS and supplied the config (still have interaction). This is different from FAI. Do you mean that the config can be used to automated with FAI? Confused. – Kalib Zen Mar 19 '21 at 03:19
  • I don't understand, you boot your iso, iso has bootloader (isolinux probably), you load kernel/ramdisk with kernel params `url=` and it would install on local disk. This is not what you want? – Jiri B Mar 19 '21 at 03:24
  • What are you suggesting is I still need to supply the preeseed config during installation and using the normal ISO Debian? What I want is, boot the computer with the ISO, it will have its own grub menu (countdown) and do automated install.. I don't have to touch anything.. no command needed, then at the end I will be presented with full working Debian and it has presetup LUKS partition as well.. – Kalib Zen Mar 19 '21 at 03:27
  • The FAI project site has a web-based script to generate this ISO but it doesn't mention how to setup LUKS partition. The web-based script has limited option. Also they provided the built-in pre-config ISO but those also don't have LUKS partition configured. I need to understand how to put this LUKS paritition config in FAI ISO. With your suggestion the preeseed thing that might be able to configure the LUKS partition, maybe we can supply in ISO? How do I put this in the FAI installation. – Kalib Zen Mar 19 '21 at 03:29
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    You would copy your own preseed to the iso. – Jiri B Mar 19 '21 at 03:31
  • Thanks.. but how do I do that .. the documentation is horrible. – Kalib Zen Mar 19 '21 at 03:35
  • Extract iso content, add your files, repack. See https://wiki.debian.org/RepackBootableISO – Jiri B Mar 19 '21 at 03:37
  • But I want to use FAI – Kalib Zen Mar 19 '21 at 04:44

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