Book review: Live Linux CDs: Building & Customizing Bootables
by Jon Benedict
Normally, a computer has an operating system installed on the hard drive. When the computer powers up, the hard drive reads the operating system, loads it into memory, and the system is ready to go.
With a live CD, the operating system is on the CD-ROM, and the system boots from that, completely bypassing the hard drive.
Why would someone want to do such an unorthodox thing? Here are a few reasons:
- The OS on the hard drive could be damaged, infected, or otherwise corrupt. A live CD provides a sterile, stable environment to make repairs.
- The live CD may represent an operating system that the user wants to test out, without disturbing the operating system that is already installed on the hard drive.
- The computer may not have a hard drive at all.
There are many more possible uses for a live CD, and after reading this book the reader is encouraged to find some new uses for it.
Live Linux CDs is organized into three sections: Beginning with Bootable Live Linuxes, Creating a Custom Bootable Linux, and Making a Specialized Bootable Linux. As the sections progress, so does the level of difficulty. A Linux newcomer should be able to get through Section 1, but may need the occasional life-line in the remaining chapters. Concepts are well explained and directions are clear. Included is a DVD that contains the 10 live Linux distributions described in the book.
Section One starts off with an introduction to live Linux CDs that is well suited for the beginner. A little background and some beginner’s tips are included. Although a Linux user may have a slight edge, a strictly Windows user shouldn’t have to worry too much. After all, this is a great way to try out Linux. The rest of Section One is devoted to helping a user get the most out of the live Linux distributions that are included on the DVD.
Section Two dives right into how a live Linux distribution works. How it boots, how it detects hardware, and how it operates are described in detail. From there, the chapters focus on three specific distributions to customize — Knoppix, Fedora, and Gentoo. I took the time to work through the steps for each of these, and although my current resources prevented a successful Gentoo customization, my Knoppix and Fedora live CDs worked flawlessly.
Section Three rounds out the book with tutorials that walk the reader through making specialized live CDs. Some of the examples include making a live CD Firewall for security and a live CD Cluster for redundancy. These last chapters answer the question “Where do I take it from here” quite well.
If there is a downside to this book, it’s that customizing a live Knoppix CD is already covered in Knoppix Hacks. This leaves some potential overlap in the reader’s library. However, the coverage of Fedora and Gentoo live distributions is unique, accurate, and useful. There is plenty here to inspire the experienced as well as spark the interest of the beginner.
January 19th, 2007 at 12:45 am
Hi Jon, Good on ya. I know this is a life line of Linux servers. I had encountered many times server creshes. Without Knoppix I couldn’t recover the valuable data.
I am trying to customize my kernel do you know if there is any tool, sort of anakonda?
Cheers
Pushkar Bhatkoti
Sydney, Australia
January 22nd, 2007 at 1:55 am
Please anyone tell me how to create a bootable RHEL4 CDs. I had copied all the files of the CD1 to the hard drive and then i could not make bootable cd#1.
I would be very thankful to you
January 22nd, 2007 at 3:58 am
Pushkar,
Most of what you want to know about customizing the kernel can be found in “Understanding the Linux Kernel”, an O’Reilly book, or a linux.org.
jb
January 24th, 2007 at 6:36 pm
HI.. Can u give me a link wherein i get more details of the live CD and also if possible download a copy of the CD..
hope to hear from you..
thanks
kk
January 25th, 2007 at 2:23 am
Hi,
Good book. Can anyone tell me a pdf link for this book. I am in urgent need of this book.
Thanks in advance.
Good day!
January 25th, 2007 at 3:48 am
Krishna,
Outside of buying the book, I don’t know where to get the DVD with all of the distributions on it.
Here are some Live-CD links though:
http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Kadischi
http://www.knopper.net/knoppix/index-en.html
jb
January 25th, 2007 at 3:52 am
Deependra,
I don’t know of any PDF’s available for this book. You can buy it used on Amazon.com for about $19, or new for $23.
jb
January 27th, 2007 at 3:51 pm
Jon,
Great review, thanks! I’ve just staggered through creating a bootable USB thumb drive. One would think it easy to make the transistion to creating a CD, but I’ll buy the book thanks.
Linux is more than an OS – its an attitude.
January 31st, 2007 at 4:45 pm
Chingsubam,
This may get you going:
m $BUILD_LOC/$BUILD_NAME.iso
cd $BUILD_LOC/Disk1
mkisofs -o ../$BUILD_NAME.iso -V $BUILD_NAME -b isolinux/isolinux.bin -c isolinux/boot.cat -no-emul-boot -boot-load-size 4 -boot-info-table -R -J -T .
Then use your favorite image burning software.
January 31st, 2007 at 7:14 pm
hi,
I wan’t to make my own live linux cd, can u please help me in this, do mail me on. vasishta.nikhil@gmail.com. waiting for a positive response. Thanq
February 1st, 2007 at 3:48 am
I purchased this book, it is an excellent starting point. Unfortunately, its coverage of Fedora is limited. Anyone interested in creating Fedora live CDs should look at
http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FedoraLiveCD/LiveCDHowTo
February 11th, 2007 at 9:24 pm
can some share a linux cd and documentation. am new in linux.
February 14th, 2007 at 9:41 am
i wanna to make a RHEL-4 live cd can u tell me how i can make…….
February 16th, 2007 at 7:27 am
To build a RHEL LiveCD, please have a look at
http://linux.web.psi.ch/livecd
http://linux.web.psi.ch/livecd/build.html
August 7th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
good
September 18th, 2008 at 11:22 am
I want a Linux free CD. Please send me a free CD.
October 1st, 2008 at 2:08 pm
Required a free cd of Linux
October 15th, 2008 at 10:24 am
I need as soon as posible a live cd
Thanks you
October 15th, 2008 at 11:44 pm
require a free live cd..
November 27th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
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http://www.connectiongate.com
December 23rd, 2008 at 11:10 pm
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January 2nd, 2009 at 1:25 am
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January 6th, 2009 at 7:29 am
I want a Red Hat Linux free CDs.Please send me a Free CDs. Thank You.
Rgds,
Amartya Sinha
January 7th, 2009 at 11:05 am
How can i get free red hat linux cd? plz help me… waiting 4 ur response.