1libguestfs-make-fixed-applianVcier(t1u)alization Sulpipbogrutestfs-make-fixed-appliance(1)
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NAME

6       libguestfs-make-fixed-appliance - Make a "fixed appliance" for
7       libguestfs
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SYNOPSIS

10        libguestfs-make-fixed-appliance [--options] OUTPUTDIR
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12        libguestfs-make-fixed-appliance [--options] --xz
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DESCRIPTION

15       libguestfs-make-fixed-appliance lets you make a pre-built binary
16       appliance for libguestfs.
17
18       Note that ordinary users should not need to run this tool.
19
20       Some reasons why you might want to use this include:
21
22       ·   You want to make a self-contained libguestfs appliance that can be
23           copied to another machine or platform that doesn't support
24           supermin(8).
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26       ·   You have multiple users on the same machine and want to avoid the
27           storage duplication and start-up overhead of having multiple cached
28           copies of the appliance.
29
30       ·   You want to have very predictable performance from libguestfs (see
31           guestfs-performance(1)).
32
33       For deeper understanding of why you might need this tool, read the
34       section "FIXED APPLIANCE" below.
35
36       Instead of running this tool, you can download fixed appliances from
37       http://libguestfs.org/download/binaries/appliance/.  These appliances
38       were made using this tool.
39
40       There are two ways to use this tool.
41
42       ·   Specify an output directory, for example:
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44            libguestfs-make-fixed-appliance /usr/local/lib/guestfs/appliance
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46           The output directory is created if it does not exist.  Four files
47           are created in this directory:
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49            <OUTPUTDIR>/kernel
50            <OUTPUTDIR>/initrd
51            <OUTPUTDIR>/root
52            <OUTPUTDIR>/README.fixed
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54           Note that "OUTPUTDIR/root" is a sparse file, so take care when
55           copying it.
56
57           You can then run libguestfs (possibly after copying this directory
58           to another machine) by setting the environment variable
59           LIBGUESTFS_PATH to "OUTPUTDIR".
60
61       ·   The alternative method is to use the --xz option to create a
62           compressed tarball:
63
64            libguestfs-make-fixed-appliance --xz
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66           This creates a tarball in the current directory called:
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68            appliance-<VERSION>.tar.xz
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70           (where "VERSION" is the version of libguestfs).  The tarball
71           contains the four files:
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73            appliance/kernel
74            appliance/initrd
75            appliance/root
76            appliance/README.fixed
77
78           Note that "appliance/root" is a sparse file, so take care when
79           copying it.
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OPTIONS

82       --help
83           Display short usage information and exit.
84
85       -V
86       --version
87           Display the version number and exit.
88
89       --xz
90           Instead of creating the appliance in an output directory, create a
91           compressed tarball of the appliance in the current directory called
92           "appliance-VERSION.tar.xz" where "VERSION" is the version of
93           libguestfs.
94
95           Using --xz can take some time.  If working normally, the tool is
96           completely silent when it is running.
97

FIXED APPLIANCE

99       When libguestfs (or libguestfs tools) are run, they search a path
100       looking for an appliance.  The path is built into libguestfs, or can be
101       set using the "LIBGUESTFS_PATH" environment variable.
102
103       Normally a supermin appliance is located on this path (see "SUPERMIN
104       APPLIANCE" in supermin(8)).  libguestfs reconstructs this into a full
105       appliance by running supermin-helper(8).
106
107       However, a simpler "fixed appliance" can also be used.  libguestfs
108       detects this by looking for a directory on the path containing four
109       files called "kernel", "initrd", "root" and "README.fixed" (note the
110       "README.fixed" file must be present as well).
111
112       If the fixed appliance is found, libguestfs skips supermin entirely and
113       just runs qemu with the kernel, initrd and root disk from the fixed
114       appliance.
115
116       Thus the fixed appliance can be used when a platform or Linux distro
117       does not support supermin.  You build the fixed appliance on a platform
118       that does support supermin, and copy it over, and use that to run
119       libguestfs.
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LICENSING

122       The fixed appliance is a complete Linux binary distro.  If you
123       distribute it, you may need to distribute corresponding source files to
124       remain in legal compliance with the licenses of the software in the
125       appliance (such as the GNU General Public License).
126

EXIT STATUS

128       libguestfs-make-fixed-appliance returns 0 if the appliance was built
129       without errors.
130

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

132       For the full list of environment variables which may affect libguestfs,
133       please see the guestfs(3) manual page.
134

SEE ALSO

136       guestfs(3), supermin(8), supermin-helper(8), xz(1),
137       http://libguestfs.org/, http://qemu.org/.
138

AUTHORS

140       Richard W.M. Jones ("rjones at redhat dot com")
141
143       Copyright (C) 2009-2013 Red Hat Inc.
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LICENSE

146       This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
147       under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the
148       Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your
149       option) any later version.
150
151       This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
152       WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
153       MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
154       General Public License for more details.
155
156       You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
157       with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
158       51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA.
159

BUGS

161       To get a list of bugs against libguestfs, use this link:
162       https://bugzilla.redhat.com/buglist.cgi?component=libguestfs&product=Virtualization+Tools
163
164       To report a new bug against libguestfs, use this link:
165       https://bugzilla.redhat.com/enter_bug.cgi?component=libguestfs&product=Virtualization+Tools
166
167       When reporting a bug, please supply:
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169       ·   The version of libguestfs.
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171       ·   Where you got libguestfs (eg. which Linux distro, compiled from
172           source, etc)
173
174       ·   Describe the bug accurately and give a way to reproduce it.
175
176       ·   Run libguestfs-test-tool(1) and paste the complete, unedited output
177           into the bug report.
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181libguestfs-1.20.11                2013-08-27libguestfs-make-fixed-appliance(1)
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