🚀 go-pugleaf

Grahame M. Kelly wrote:
> 
> Hi All,
> 
> I am trying to get a single diskette bootable Linux system that will
> allow my students to telnet from each pc to the Linux server.
> 
> The telnet packages under ms windows crap's out too often, and a DOS
> telnet for novelle network / servers appears hard to get reliable.
> 
> I know that Linux works well (even better than the Novelle system)
> so I what to get a bootable linux diskette system.
> 
> Any suggestions ???

I've done such a floppy:
	o because I was getting fed up with slackwares disks.
	o to install Linux on different PCs on the Network from a remote
	  tape drive.
	o to restore my server if it crashes. You never know.

You need a small ext2 filesystem (max 3Mb) on which you put a minimal
LINUX. You can do that with a loopdevice, which is pretty cool because
you don't have to add partitions on your disk. Then, compile a customized
kernel for your PCs with the ramdisk support. A few 'dd's and 'rdev's and 
you get a single Linux bootable floppy.

Check out: 
	The Linux Bootdisk HOWTO 
	/usr/src/linux/Documentation/ramdisk.txt

My fs contains:
	- ELF binaries.
	- e2fs progs, lilo
	- bash, tr, grep, etc.
	- tar, dd.
	- telnet, ftp, rsh, portmap (for NFS)
	- no perl :( it's just to big to fit in.

The network configuration is customized with a reserved IP address.
In your case, your IP address should be different each time a student 
boots a PC with a such a floppy. I guess you could do that with a 
bootp client and a patched bootpd that does dynamic IP.

The compressed fs file is about 1Mb. If anyone is interested, I could 
drop it somewehere by ftp.

-- 
Cedric LE GOATER                          Civil Aviation 
legoater@cenatls.cena.dgac.fr             TAHITI, French Polynesia
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         "Ne libre, j'entends vivre librement!!" Hugo Pratt