Anaconda Web UI
by gius db
Hi.
Without controversy, developers and maintainers have every right to do
things their own way and refuse requests.
I my case, the installer's first problem isn't the interface, it's the lack
of functionality, functions that have been blocked, the inability to bypass
limits.
In my case, it lacks the ability to upgrade/install over an existing
installation, install over already existing empty partitions, use gparted,
etc. .
My feeling when using the installer is that I am a prisoner of a closed
system without having enough advantages.
gdb
3 months, 2 weeks
anaconda web UI
by Thomas Sanden
Hi,
I wrote the following as a comment in fedora magazine 6 days ago.
Please, please, add a way to create partitions on my own with
filesystems, i do prefer.
What should I do, if my system has crashed an I have a separate home
partition?
With Fedora 37, it’s no problem to leave the partition layout and the
home partition untouched.
Now, i looked behind and found that the anaconda web UI is started by a
kernel parameter.
Delete the kernel parameter and the old version of anaconda appeares.
If this is the way for future all is good. Anybody who needs a quick
install of fedora may use the web UI,
and the others can use the old version of anaconda.
Last, no least, thank you very much for your work!
Thomas Sanden
P.S.: Don't look at my english
3 months, 3 weeks
Future of BIOS RAID support in the installer
by Vojtech Trefny
Hi, I am planning to change how we support BIOS RAID (sometimes also
called Firmware or Fake RAID) in the installer in the future. I plan
to go through the official Fedora change process for Fedora 38, but
I'd like to get some feedback first.
We are currently using dmraid to support these types of RAIDs in
blivet[1] (storage library the Anaconda installer uses) and we would
like to replace it with mdadm. The main reason is that dmraid is no
longer actively maintained, but it will also mean one less dependency
for the installer (we use mdadm for the software RAID support) and one
less service running during boot (dmraid-activation.service).
The potential issue here is that mdadm doesn't support all BIOS RAID
types. mdadm supports only Common RAID Disk Data Format standard[2]
(DDF) and Intel Matrix Storage Technology (IMSM) so by switching to
mdadm we would remove support for some of the older formats that
existed before DDF was standardized. I am not sure how many people are
still using these older RAIDs and the main reason for sending this
email is to find out. So if you are using a BIOS RAID on your system,
can you check what kind? You can find out simply by checking the
filesystem type on the underlying disk(s) reported by for example
`lsblk -f`. Types supported by mdadm are "ddf_raid_member" and
"isw_raid_member". Types supported only by dmraid are
"adaptec_raid_member", "hpt***_raid_member", "jmicron_raid_member",
"lsi_mega_raid_member", "nvidia_raid_member",
"silicon_medley_raid_member" and "via_raid_member". So if you have one
of the latter ones and you'd be impacted by this change, please let me
know so we can reconsider this change. Note that this would affect
only the installation process, I know some external and NAS drives use
BIOS RAID and these won't be affected, dmraid is not being removed
from the repositories (at least I am not aware of this right now, some
distributions are already planning to remove dmraid completely).
[1] https://github.com/storaged-project/blivet
[2] https://www.snia.org/tech_activities/standards/curr_standards/ddf
Regards
Vojtech Trefny
vtrefny(a)redhat.com
3 months, 3 weeks
isomd5sum > isoshasum
by Pappas, John W
Hello, I am wondering if there is a limitation on the size of hash that can be used to embed and validate. IE, why has this not moved to a more resilient hash?
Thanks so much!
John
--
John Pappas
DSO Engineer, C2BMC (RMS: Rotary and Mission Systems)
Colorado Springs, CO (COS)
(O) 719-277-5377
(M) 720-254-1442
3 months, 3 weeks
Re: Feedback on Webui Anaconda ISO
by Jiri Konecny
Hi Phil,
thanks for the explanation. Honestly, I don't think that running the ISO
on Cockpit should make any difference. These virtualization technologies
(and Cockpit is using KVM AFAIK) should behave the same way. Thanks for
the info, we will look on that.
Adding Katerina from Cockpit team just in case she would have better
insight than me.
Best Regards,
Jirka
Dne 26. 11. 22 v 18:56 Phil Reese napsal(a):
> Hi Jirka,
>
> I appreciate you took the time to reply! You probably have many
> letters of feedback!
>
> To clarify, instead of using virsh and Virtual Machine Manager for
> making and using KVMs in Fedora, I primarily use the Cockpit tool It
> is described here:
> https://fedoramagazine.org/reconfiguring-virtual-machines-with-cockpit/
> and whose web site is: https://cockpit-project.org/
>
> Given that your project goal seems to be to make the install of Fedora
> easier, it would make sense to also have it work well with another
> tool whose purpose is to make Linux system admin and VM creation and
> management easier for the newer Linux user to handle.
>
> When I mentioned VNC viewer I'm not referring to remote installations
> but rather a tool on the host system using Cockpit, which shows the
> console of a VM while it boots and/or installs the OS, via Anaconda.
> See pict below for more context
>
>
>
> Thanks very much for your efforts to make Fedora a strong and easy to
> use distribution.
>
> Phil
>
>
> On 11/26/22 5:54 AM, Jiri Konecny wrote:
>>
>>> The second install using Cockpit was a bust. As has been with other
>>> F36 ISO installs in Cockpit. The major issue is that the many
>>> changed window sizes that the Anaconda process uses didn't work out
>>> well with the VNC viewer. The initial Language suggestion screen
>>> couldn't be used as the 'Next' box couldn't be clicked on, nor was
>>> it obvious that TAB stepped through all the options available
>>> (though I could be wrong, as I could only see the smallest top
>>> sliver of the blue box.)
>>
>> Not sure what exactly you mean by "using Cockpit". Could you please
>> explain this in bigger detail. Do you mean remote installations?
>
3 months, 3 weeks
Feedback on Webui Anaconda ISO
by Phil Reese
Hi,
I've tried out your ISO on two systems. One was a USB install while the
other was using the Cockpit tool.
The USB install went well but seems too dumbed down. No real option for
disk configuration. On a 2560x1440 screen there were ACRES of white space
and I literally had to turn my head to read from one end to the other of
the line. While not ideal for your theme, it might make sense to box the
install screen to a modest size and center it in black space. The install
was successful and I was able to create an account in the little forced
step through process (Note this 'Tour' was boxed in, surrounded by other
window space and was much easier to read and interact with.)
The second install using Cockpit was a bust. As has been with other F36
ISO installs in Cockpit. The major issue is that the many changed window
sizes that the Anaconda process uses didn't work out well with the VNC
viewer. The initial Language suggestion screen couldn't be used as the
'Next' box couldn't be clicked on, nor was it obvious that TAB stepped
through all the options available (though I could be wrong, as I could only
see the smallest top sliver of the blue box.)
Nice look but it seems to give up too many configuration option that the
current Anaconda offers and doesn't work well (or at all) with Cockpit.
Phil Reese
3 months, 3 weeks
Translation
by Man Doel
Some parts of the installer remain in English after modifying language.
The parts I've been affected are:
* The 'next' button
* The 'quit' button
* The 'Choose a language' info box
* Some parts of the descriptions while installing the system
I've included screenshots of the places where I've noticed this problem
happening.
3 months, 3 weeks
Feedback for the new Anaconda installer
by Marco Sgobino
Hello to all developers, testers and Fedora People,
I tested on GNOME Boxes the new Anaconda installer user interface, from
webui_latest_install ISO as in the Fedora Magazine article
instructions.
The installer interface is amazing: really polished, good-looking and
functional. Even though the previous interface was simple enough, this
one is even more welcoming, and I really enjoy the fact that now the
installation process is completely linear, one page after the other,
and there is no main page from which the user is expected to navigate
to other sections. I also love how the installation progress is
performed, which shows actual steps instead of a unique, long progress
bar. The new installer is really great!
Still, I have a few observations to make regarding the overall
experience. Please, don't take the following as criticisms, since I am
just a regular user which tried the new installer for the first time.
1. In the first page, Anaconda correctly identifies Italian as my
language, at least in GNOME Boxes. However, when reselecting the same
language again, the entire user interface completely reloads, leaving
the screen completely blank for a fraction of time. I would simply
expect the language to change without reloading the page, even with a
small, noticeable, delay.
2. Moreover, in the same page I would also add the usual 'test the
keyboard layout' box in which one can type its own accent characters,
such as those required to write in Italian, and similar glyphs.
3. In the second page, I see no options to specify custom disks and
partitions layout. In particular, I would like to see a page dedicated
to custom layouts, that can of course be skipped if an automatic
partitioning is specified, such as in the previous Anaconda.
4. Before installing, the previous Anaconda showed a list of the
partitions and disks that were going to be erased and created during
the installation. The new version only shows a warning that the
selected disks will be erased: it would be great if a 'show more'
button was available for advanced user to see what's going to happen.
The overall process was still buttery smooth, with the exception of the
'reboot' phase that hanged with a '[terminated]' message for an
unspecified amount of minutes.
4 months
