Finnix 91.0 release notes

Finnix, the LiveCD for system administrators

Contents

Vitals

  • Linux 2.6.24 (based on Debian 2.6.24-1)
  • Debian testing (2008-01-21)
  • Packages: x86, PowerPC
  • Development codename: Seymour

Download

Filename Arch Size Released
finnix-91.0.iso x86 118MiB 2008-01-28
finnix-ppc-91.0.iso PowerPC 131MiB 2008-01-28

MD5 checksums

9a2c6e19da28c3aa33b34ad0ad31aa0a  finnix-91.0.iso
86abba2f3f786db90f65466f497dd9a2  finnix-ppc-91.0.iso

GPG signatures

finnix-91.0.iso

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finnix-ppc-91.0.iso

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Known issues

  • If a software RAID array is detected, booting will go into an endless cycle. If this occurs, boot as "finnix noraid" or "finnix64 noraid".

Major new features

Automatic 32-bit/64-bit detection (x86)

If you press "enter" at the boot screen of Finnix 91.0 x86, the boot loader will now detect if you have a 64-bit capable CPU, and will load the appropriate kernel. You can still force 32-bit or 64-bit by entering the "finnix" or "finnix64" boot profiles. Note that this is for the x86 Finnix CD only; PowerPC G5 users will still have to enter the "finnix64" boot profile manually, as the yaboot boot loader does not have this capability.

Stackable RAID/LUKS/LVM

While RAID, LUKS (encryption) and LVM detection have been in Finnix for awhile now, they were loaded in a certain order, and some configurations were not detected as a result. With Finnix 91.0, most configurations should be detected. For example, an encrypted LVM set on top of two RAID disks should be set up automatically.

Bug fixes

While not a "major new feature", several bug fixes were made for Finnix 91.0, including LVM/LUKS fixes, and multiple-level /dev block device detection corrections.

Changes

90.0 -> 91.0

  • dist-upgrade
  • initrd: migrated from classic initrd model to initramfs
    • Moved /sbin/init to /init
    • Upgraded to BusyBox 1.8.2 (needed for switch_root)
    • Replaced pivot_root init code with switch_root
  • initrd: new default nameservers for non-DHCP NFS name booting
  • Removed hard drive (non-initrd) installation capability
  • Support booting from vanilla-supplied paravirt Xen (2.6.23 and beyond)
  • Fixed automatic LUKS/LVM detection
  • Added stackable RAID/LUKS/LVM detection
  • Added packages: ntfs-3g
  • Removed packages: unzsplit, zsplit, scrub (not maintained by Debian, abandoned upstream, functionality fulfilled by other packages)
  • Subdirectory block devices (/dev/cciss, etc) fixed in several places
  • Kernel upgrade, 2.6.24-1-finnix
  • Upgraded isolinux, added default64 syslinux option
Retrieved from "http://www.finnix.org/Finnix_91.0_release_notes"
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