Finnix Blog

Finnix is a small, self-contained, bootable Linux CD distribution for system administrators, based on Debian testing. Today marks the release of version 92.0 for the x86/AMD64, PowerPC, and UML/Xen platforms.

Finnix 92.0 includes updated software (including a fix for the Debian OpenSSL security vulnerability), a Linux 2.6.25 kernel, and a new, graphical boot menu.

• Home page: http://www.finnix.org/
• Download: http://www.finnix.org/Download
• Release notes: http://www.finnix.org/Finnix_92.0_release_notes

Finnix 92.0 will be released soon. It will have a new 2.6.25 kernel, updated software, and, most visibly, a new boot menu.

There have been suggestions for a new boot menu for awhile now. I liked the idea in theory, but there were various problems with most implementations (no graphics; graphics, but no fallback to text mode; no easy way to add boot options, such as toram, testcd, etc; no way to default to 64-bit boot options). Debian’s recent announcement of debian-installer for lenny beta 2 introduced a new installer boot menu system based on bootmenu.c32, which looked very nice and solved most of the problems I mentioned. However, no default 64-bit option on multi-arch CDs, which the announcement mentioned and lamented.

I used Debian’s configs as a base for a Finnix test. The results were very nice, and I was ready to do as Debian did and accept that the improvements were worth the loss of 64-bit autodetection. However, an acquaintance encouraged me to look into it (”Sounds like it’s time for some OPEN SOURCE MAGIC”), and within a few hours, I had a working patch.

The debian-installer guys loved it and had the patch applied within an hour, and as well, it will be in Finnix 92.0. Here’s a development screenshot:

All versions of Finnix from 89.0 to 91.1 (inclusive) contain the Debian OpenSSL predictable RNG vulnerability. The fix will be included with the next scheduled (approximately quarterly) release of Finnix in the next few weeks. In the meantime, if you use any OpenSSL-related programs (openssl itself, ssh, openvpn, etc) on Finnix, be sure to do the following as soon as you boot Finnix:

apt-get update && apt-get install libssl0.9.8

Finnix does not include any pre-generated keys, but any keys generated on Finnix with a vulnerable OpenSSL will be vulnerable.

Finnix is a small, self-contained, bootable Linux CD distribution for system administrators, based on Debian testing. Today marks the release of version 91.1 for the x86/AMD64, PowerPC, and UML/Xen platforms.

Finnix 91.1 is a bugfix and maintenance release. Memtest86+ has been upgraded to 2.01, software RAID autodetection has been fixed, and finnix-thumbdrive has been fixed with udev support and support for drives over 1GB.

Finnix 91.1 also incudes an updated 2.6.24 kernel with the Linux vmsplice exploit fixed. If you use Finnix in any environment where untrusted users are allowed local access, please do not use Finnix 88.0 - 91.0, as these versions contain vulnerable kernels.

• Home page: http://www.finnix.org/
• Download: http://www.finnix.org/Download
• Release notes: http://www.finnix.org/Finnix_91.1_release_notes

Finnix is a small, self-contained, bootable Linux CD distribution for system administrators, based on Debian testing. Today marks the release of version 91.0 for the x86/AMD64, PowerPC, and UML/Xen platforms.

Finnix 91.0 includes a new Linux kernel (2.6.24), automatic 32-bit/64-bit detection on the x86 platform, stackable RAID/LUKS/LVM detection and setup, and several bug fixes.

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.

• Home page: http://www.finnix.org/
• Download: http://www.finnix.org/Download
• Release notes: http://www.finnix.org/Finnix_91.0_release_notes

On October 23, 2005, Finnix 86.0 was released, marking the revival of Finnix. Now, two years and 9 releases later, Finnix 90.0 has been released for the x86/AMD64, PowerPC, and UML/Xen platforms. Finnix is a small, self-contained, bootable Linux CD distribution for system administrators, based on Debian testing.

Finnix 90.0 includes a new Linux kernel (2.6.22), faster booting, and the ability to boot from SATA CD-ROM and DVD-ROM devices, as well as updated Debian system software and bug fixes.

New Linux kernel

For the last 3 versions, Finnix has remained at kernel 2.6.18. After much delay, Finnix 90.0 includes Linux 2.6.22. Finnix 90.0’s kernel includes support for both UnionFS 2 and AUFS, with UnionFS as the default for stability reasons.

Faster booting

Finnix 90.0 will now boot even quicker, about 8 seconds quicker than Finnix 89.0!

SATA CD-ROM booting

Finnix 90.0 can now be booted using Serial ATA (SATA) CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drives. This is in addition to the many other existing ways to boot Finnix: Parallel ATA CD/DVD drive, SCSI CD/DVD drive, USB thumb drive, hard drive, netboot, or virtualized (User Mode Linux, Xen).

• Home page: http://www.finnix.org/
• Download: http://www.finnix.org/Download
• Release notes: http://www.finnix.org/Finnix_90.0_release_notes

Finnix is a small, self-contained, bootable Linux CD distribution for system administrators, based on Debian testing. Today marks the release of version 89.2 for the x86/AMD64, PowerPC, and UML/Xen platforms.

Finnix 89.2 is a maintenance release. Base system has been dist-upgraded to Debian’s testing 2007-07-26. A new kernel was planned for this release, but was not released due to problems between Finnix and available union filesystems. Because of this, 89.2 still comes with kernel 2.6.18, but has a few backported drivers.

• Home page: http://www.finnix.org/
• Download: http://www.finnix.org/Download
• Release notes: http://www.finnix.org/Finnix_89.2_release_notes

Hi all. I haven’t had the desire to work on Finnix much lately because of personal health issues, but hopefully there will be a release within a few weeks. Not much in terms of major changes, but just as a warning, the x86 CD will most likely be about 120MiB. 89.0 was released after Debian froze for the etch release, and 89.1 was released right after the etch release itself. That means that all libraries were finalized and there was very little overhead. Now that Debian lenny development is in full force, there are many cases of multiple version of libraries in Finnix, with some packages using older libraries and some using newer. That, combined with normal size creep means Finnix will be a little big these days. The kernel will most likely be based on 2.6.21, since there are some problems I haven’t resolved yet with 2.6.22 and SquashFS. This version will probably also be the switch from UnionFS to AUFS, but I have a lot of testing to do before I’m comfortable with that migration. This is all behind the scenes of course, nothing should look different once you’re booted into Finnix. The version will probably be 89.2, since again, nothing ground-breaking in the Finnix development itself.

On the trademark front, everything is now complete! Finnix is now a registered trademark. I’ll be updating graphics on the site where appropriate.

The Finnix trademark has been published in the Official Gazette, a USPTO weekly publication for the purpose of announcing new trademark applications and allowing the public to file oppositions against them if so needed. (Hopefully Finnix is in the clear in that regard.) At this point, Finnix should be a registered trademark within about 12 weeks if everything goes right.

You can download the 113MB PDF here if you want, but here’s the relevant screenshot:

Finnix is a small, self-contained, bootable Linux CD distribution for system administrators, based on Debian testing. Today marks the release of version 89.1 for the x86/AMD64, PowerPC, and UML/Xen platforms.

Finnix 89.1 is a maintenance and bugfix release. Base system has been dist-upgraded to Debian’s 2007-04-03, the day etch was marked stable. “testcd” boot option has been fixed on the PowerPC platform. The ipcalc package has been added, and the finnix-3ware-install package has been upgraded to 9.4.1. ssh-agent is now started at boot-time, and is shared among all VTs.

• Home page: http://www.finnix.org/
• Download: http://www.finnix.org/Download
• Release notes: http://www.finnix.org/Finnix_89.1_release_notes