Mailing List Archive

GNAP 1.8 Release (Gentoo Network APpliance)
OK guys, the beast is out...

GNAP is a Gentoo-based Network Appliance building system. It allows to
build LiveCDs or bootable disks with a customized network appliance
configuration in seconds. This is especially useful to quickly install
Gentoo on small-CPU hosts to use them as routers, firewalls, VPN boxen...

Starting point :
http://embedded.gentoo.org/gnap.xml

This version includes new features, more stability in the build
environment (thanks to a reduced portage snapshot shipped with the
package) and a comprehensive new set of docs.

New GNAP Core and remastering Features :

* New feature to automate configuration changes backup (bug #86241). See
the RW_SYNC option in overlay.conf, which replaces the RW_OVERLAY option
(deprecated)
* GNAP kernel now supports n_hdlc line discipline to use with
synchronous PPP (bug #99115), and vfat filesystems as r/w overlays
* Support to specify account password initialization (chpasswd) and
services to start (services_start) as files on the target filesystem
* Support for customizable baudrate on the serial console
* Possibility to use genkernel-built packages (minkernpackage,
modulespackage) as GNAP extensions
* The rrdtool backend, which was a standard core feature, has been moved
to a standard extension. Use gnap_remaster -e rrdtool to rebuild the
core with that extension included
* 20050808 portage snapshot compatibility, including zlib security fixes
* GNAP now uses udev as its device manager, anticipating devfs removal
in future kernels

New GNAP build features :

* gnap_make now starts from Portage snapshot files rather than requiring
a Catalyst snapshot stage. A reduced Portage snapshot is now shipped in
the gnap-dev package to facilitate GNAP rebuild
* Easier filesystem customization using root_overlay/ in gnap_make
* Support for distcc building, in case you have uclibc-powered systems
to use as build partners...

New documentation :

* User Guide has been rewritten and split into two separate guides. The
new user guide (http://embedded.gentoo.org/gnap-userguide.xml) now
covers everything you need to know to produce and customize GNAP systems.
* The new Advanced User Guide
(http://embedded.gentoo.org/gnap-advancedguide.xml) gives information
for power users that want to further customize and modify what their
GNAP systems can do. You should be familiar with GNAP systems and Gentoo
systems in general before reading this guide.

So "emerge gnap" and start to play ! Ask me on IRC (#gentoo-gnap or
#gentoo-embedded) for any questions you may have.

For bugs/patches/enhancement requests, use the Bugzilla "Embedded"
component and assign bugs to me. Thank you.

--
Thierry Carrez (Koon)