Michael Chus
64ae1c0ff0
grub-efi/grub.cfg: add KMS+GSP=off entry (was in isolinux, missing in GRUB) isolinux/live.cfg.in: add full standard param set to all entries (net.ifnames=0 biosdevname=0 mitigations=off transparent_hugepage=always numa_balancing=disable nowatchdog nosoftlockup) to match grub-efi bible-local/docs/iso-build-rules.md: add bootloader sync rule documenting that grub-efi and isolinux must be kept in sync manually, listing canonical entries and standard param set, and noting the grub-pc/grub-efi history. Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
98 lines
4.3 KiB
Markdown
98 lines
4.3 KiB
Markdown
# ISO Build Rules
|
||
|
||
## Verify package names before use
|
||
|
||
ISO builds take 30–60 minutes. A wrong package name wastes an entire build cycle.
|
||
|
||
**Rule: before adding any Debian package name to the ISO config, verify it exists and check its file list.**
|
||
|
||
Use one of:
|
||
- `https://packages.debian.org/bookworm/<package-name>` — existence + description
|
||
- `https://packages.debian.org/bookworm/amd64/<package-name>/filelist` — exact files installed
|
||
- `apt-cache show <package>` inside a Debian bookworm container
|
||
|
||
This applies to:
|
||
- `iso/builder/config/package-lists/*.list.chroot`
|
||
- Any package referenced in bootloader configs, hooks, or overlay scripts
|
||
|
||
## Bootloader sync rule
|
||
|
||
The ISO has two independent bootloader configs that must be kept in sync manually:
|
||
|
||
| File | Used by |
|
||
|------|---------|
|
||
| `config/bootloaders/grub-efi/grub.cfg` | UEFI (all modern servers) |
|
||
| `config/bootloaders/isolinux/live.cfg.in` | CSM / legacy BIOS (syslinux) |
|
||
|
||
live-build does NOT derive one from the other. Any new boot entry, kernel parameter
|
||
change, or new mode added to one file must be manually mirrored in the other.
|
||
|
||
**Canonical entry list** (both files must have all of these):
|
||
|
||
| Label | Key params |
|
||
|-------|-----------|
|
||
| normal (default) | `nomodeset bee.nvidia.mode=normal` + full param set |
|
||
| load to RAM | `toram nomodeset bee.nvidia.mode=normal` + full param set |
|
||
| GSP=off | `nomodeset bee.nvidia.mode=gsp-off` + full param set |
|
||
| KMS | no `nomodeset`, `bee.nvidia.mode=normal` + full param set |
|
||
| KMS + GSP=off | no `nomodeset`, `bee.nvidia.mode=gsp-off` + full param set |
|
||
| fail-safe | `nomodeset bee.nvidia.mode=gsp-off noapic noapm nodma nomce nolapic nosmp` |
|
||
|
||
**Full standard param set** (append after `@APPEND_LIVE@` / `nomodeset` flags):
|
||
```
|
||
net.ifnames=0 biosdevname=0 mitigations=off transparent_hugepage=always
|
||
numa_balancing=disable pcie_aspm=off intel_idle.max_cstate=1 processor.max_cstate=1
|
||
nowatchdog nosoftlockup
|
||
```
|
||
(fail-safe is the exception — it deliberately uses minimal params.)
|
||
|
||
**Historical note:** `grub-pc/` was mistakenly used instead of `grub-efi/` until v8.25.
|
||
live-build reads `config/bootloaders/grub-efi/` for UEFI because the build is
|
||
configured with `--bootloaders "grub-efi,syslinux"`. Directory `grub-pc` is ignored.
|
||
|
||
## Memtest rule
|
||
|
||
Do not assume live-build's built-in memtest integration is sufficient for `bee`.
|
||
We already tried that path and regressed again on 2026-04-01: `lb binary_memtest`
|
||
ran, but the final ISO still lacked memtest binaries and menu entries.
|
||
|
||
For this project, memtest is accepted only when the produced ISO actually
|
||
contains all of the following:
|
||
|
||
- `boot/memtest86+x64.bin`
|
||
- `boot/memtest86+x64.efi`
|
||
- a memtest entry in `boot/grub/grub.cfg`
|
||
- a memtest entry in `isolinux/live.cfg`
|
||
|
||
Rules:
|
||
|
||
- Keep explicit post-build memtest validation in `build.sh`.
|
||
- Treat ISO reader success as a separate prerequisite from memtest content.
|
||
If the reader cannot list or extract from the ISO, that is a validator
|
||
failure, not proof that memtest is missing.
|
||
- If built-in integration does not produce the artifacts above, use a
|
||
deterministic project-owned copy/extract step instead of hoping live-build
|
||
will "start working".
|
||
- Do not switch back to built-in-only memtest without fresh build evidence from
|
||
a real ISO.
|
||
- If you reference memtest files manually, verify the exact package file list
|
||
first for the target Debian release.
|
||
|
||
Known bad loops for this repository:
|
||
|
||
- Do not retry built-in-only memtest without new evidence. We already proved
|
||
that `lb binary_memtest` can run while the final ISO still has no memtest.
|
||
- Do not assume fixing memtest file names is enough. Correct names did not fix
|
||
the final artifact path.
|
||
- Do not assume `chroot/boot/` contains memtest payloads at the time hooks run.
|
||
- Do not assume source `grub.cfg` / `live.cfg.in` are the final writers of ISO
|
||
bootloader configs.
|
||
- Do not assume the current `config/hooks/normal/9100-memtest.hook.binary`
|
||
timing is late enough to patch final `binary/boot/grub/grub.cfg` or
|
||
`binary/isolinux/live.cfg`; logs from 2026-04-01 showed those files were not
|
||
present yet when the hook executed.
|
||
- Do not treat a validator warning as ground truth until you have confirmed the
|
||
ISO reader actually succeeded. On 2026-04-01 we misdiagnosed another memtest
|
||
regression because the final ISO was correct but the validator produced a
|
||
false negative.
|