Finnix 89.0 release notes

Finnix, the LiveCD for system administrators

Image:Finnix-89.0-banner.png

Contents

Vitals

  • Linux 2.6.18 (based on Debian 2.6.18-4)
  • Debian testing (2007-01-14)
  • Unionfs 1.4
  • Squashfs 3.1-r2
  • Packages: x86 (366 packages), PowerPC (359 packages)
  • Development codename: Oshkosh

Download

Filename Arch Size Released
finnix-89.0.iso x86 108MiB 2007-01-22
finnix-ppc-89.0.iso PowerPC 119MiB 2007-01-22

MD5 checksums

eef8d884cf006d8d9c94b12bb20d3dcd  finnix-89.0.iso
0b3a9004261d7fea3ed442d0dd8eed80  finnix-ppc-89.0.iso

GPG signatures

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finnix-ppc-89.0.iso

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Major new features

AMD64 support

An AMD64 kernel is now included on the Finnix x86 CD. To use this kernel on an AMD64/EM64T machine, type "finnix64" at the boot prompt. While the Finnix userland is still 32-bit, using an AMD64 kernel on a supported platform yields several advantages:

  • More than 4GB memory can be utilized natively.
  • Statically-compiled AMD64 applications can be executed.
  • You can chroot into native 64-bit AMD64 filesystems.

This addition gives a total of 6 supported kernel environments: x86, AMD64, PowerPC, PPC64, User Mode Linux, and Xen.

Netboot support

Finnix can now be booted via a network. A NFS server export is set up with the Finnix files in it, and the kernel and initrd are served to the user via TFTP. Detailed instructions are available at Netboot. Additionally, the Finnix CD contains a utility called finnix-netboot-server, which allows one Finnix instance to serve as a NFS/TFTP server for a Finnix netboot instance.

RAID/LUKS autodetection

Previous Finnix installations would detect and automatically set up LVM volumes. Finnix 89.0 goes two steps further with autodetection for md-based software RAID arrays, and LUKS-based dm-crypt encrypted partitions. Software RAID arrays are set up automatically if all array parts are found, while LUKS partitions are set up if the user types in a valid decryption password for each partition.

Known issues

  • "finnix testcd" on the PowerPC is broken. This will be fixed in the next point release.

Changes

88.0 -> 89.0

  • dist-upgrade
  • Boot options:
    • Added NFS/PXE boot support: nfsroot, nfsif, nfsip, nfsnetmask, nfsvers
    • Added emergency USB HID support: usbhid
    • Added union module selection: unionmod (unionfs or aufs, default unionfs)
    • Made strace boot option less intrusive
    • Changed toram and testcd back to "classic" file-based operations
    • Added temporary "memtest165" boot option for "classic" Memtest86+ 1.65
  • Packages:
    • Added nfs-user-server, tftpd-hpa, finnix-netboot, grepcidr, stress
    • Removed initrd-tools
  • Kernel:
    • Upgraded kernels to 2.6.18-4-finnix
    • Added AMD64 kernel (finnix64)
    • Moved kernel config file to /boot within image
  • Added udev support, removed hotplug
  • Changed default mirror from mirrors.kernel.org to ftp.osuosl.org
  • inittab files for UML/XenU created automatically from finnix-autoconfig
  • Moved finnix-autoconfig from rcS.d directly to inittab
  • Replaced FreeDOS ODIN with Balder
  • Added dm-crypt/LUKS autodetection
  • Added md RAID autodetection
  • Added proper /dev/shm and /dev/pts
  • Added "Finnixized" sshd initscript as properly diverted
  • Upgraded Memtest86+ to version 1.70
Retrieved from "http://www.finnix.org/Finnix_89.0_release_notes"
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