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proxyd43 avatar Server

Preseeding debian 11 fully unattended (get rid of questions)

cn flag
proxyd43

I'm trying to preseed debian 11 netinstall fully automated. I read many of the documentation here :

Here is my boot line (from a grub.cfg)

set default="autoinstall"
set timeout=3

menuentry "Debian 11 Fully Automated UEFI LVM LUKS BTRFS Remote Decrypt DEBUG TTY4" --id autoinstall {
        set background_color=black
        linux    /debian-installer/amd64/linux auto=true url=tftp://192.168.1.100/preseed/debseed11_crypt.cfg net.ifnames=0 biosdevname=0 ipv6.disable=1 language=en locale=en_US.UTF-8 keymap=fr vga=788 noprompt DEBCONF_DEBUG=5 --- quiet
        initrd   /debian-installer/amd64/initrd.gz
}

Here is my preseed file :

#### Preseed preconfiguration file (for Debian buster)
### Partman early command
### Kernal parameter
#d-i debian-installer/add-kernel-opts string net.ifnames=0 biosdevname=0 hostname=unassigned-hostname domain=unassigned-domain
#d-i debconf/priority critical

#d-i debian-installer/add-kernel-opts string net.ifnames=0 biosdevname=0 console=ttyS0,19200n8
### Localization
d-i debian-installer/locale string en_US
d-i debian-installer/language string en
d-i debian-installer/country string US
#d-i debian-installer/locale string en_US.UTF-8 fr_FR.UTF-8
d-i localechooser/supported-locales multiselect en_US.UTF-8, fr_FR.UTF-8

### Keyboard selection
d-i keyboard-configuration/xkb-keymap select fr

###  Network configuration

# Netcfg choisira une interface connectée si possible. Cela empêchera
# # d'afficher une liste s'il y a plusieurs interfaces.
d-i netcfg/choose_interface select auto

#d-i netcfg/choose_interface select eth0
d-i netcfg/use_dhcp string true
d-i netcfg/link_wait_timeout string 10
d-i netcfg/dhcp_timeout string 60

#d-i netcfg/disable_autoconfig boolean true

d-i netcfg/dhcp_failed note
#d-i netcfg/dhcp_options select auto

#Configure network manually
# IPv4 Static network configuration
#d-i netcfg/get_ipaddress string 192.168.1.120
#d-i netcfg/get_netmask string 255.255.255.0
#d-i netcfg/get_gateway string 192.168.1.1
#d-i netcfg/get_nameservers string 192.168.1.1
#d-i netcfg/confirm_static boolean true

# Set a hostname
#d-i netcfg/get_hostname string zhurong
#d-i netcfg/get_domain string planet.mars
# Force a hostname
#d-i netcfg/hostname string zhurong.planet.mars
# Disable that annoying WEP key dialog
d-i netcfg/wireless_wep string


d-i netcfg/get_hostname unassigned-hostname 
d-i netcfg/get_domain unassigned-domain
d-i netcfg/get_hostname seen true
d-i netcfg/get_domain seen true

### Mirror settings
d-i mirror/country string manual
d-i mirror/http/hostname string httpredir.debian.org
d-i mirror/http/directory string /debian
d-i mirror/http/proxy string

### Account setup
# Skip creation of a normal user account
d-i passwd/make-user boolean false
# Set root password
# or encrypted using a crypt(3)  hash.
d-i passwd/root-password-crypted password $6$47Cx5oMpkh66eYNI$LV76xupgkvZ3rHJCq1NgXKzp3bBDv6g0FmMiSvmUp1jqaIkTEz5F6eA.SRhBzyPReVQEnzZWwFWSdKGBBn.tE1

### Clock and time zone setup
# Set hardware clock to UTC
d-i clock-setup/utc boolean true
# Set timezone
d-i time/zone string Europe/Paris
# Use NTP clock during installation
d-i clock-setup/ntp boolean true

### Partitioning
# LVM LUKS method

# Inhibit partman to fill the disk with random data 
d-i partman-auto-crypto/erase_disks boolean false

#d-i partman/early_command \
#       string dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=512 count=1
d-i partman-auto/method string crypto
d-i partman-lvm/device_remove_lvm boolean true
d-i partman-md/device_remove_md boolean true
d-i partman-lvm/confirm boolean true
d-i partman-auto-lvm/guided_size string max
d-i partman-auto-lvm/new_vg_name string debian
d-i partman-auto/disk string /dev/vda
d-i partman-auto/choose_recipe select boot-crypto
d-i partman-crypto/passphrase       password  aaabbbccc
d-i partman-crypto/passphrase-again password  aaabbbccc
d-i partman-auto/expert_recipe string \
boot-crypto :: \
  1024 1024 1024 ext4 \
          $primary{ } $bootable{ } \
          method{ format } format{ } \
          use_filesystem{ } filesystem{ ext4 } \
          mountpoint{ /boot } \
  . \
  8192 8192 8192 linux-swap \
          $lvmok{ } lv_name{ swap } \
          in_vg { debian } \
          method{ swap } format{ } \
  . \
  80896 80896 1000000 btrfs \
          $lvmok{ } lv_name{ root } \
          in_vg { debian } \
          method{ format } format{ } \
          use_filesystem{ } filesystem{ btrfs } \
          mountpoint{ / } \
   . \

#d-i partman-basicfilesystems/no_mount_point boolean false
d-i partman-partitioning/confirm_write_new_label boolean true
d-i partman/choose_partition select finish
d-i partman/confirm boolean true
d-i partman/confirm_nooverwrite boolean true

d-i partman-md/confirm boolean true
d-i partman-partitioning/confirm_write_new_label boolean true
d-i partman/choose_partition select finish
d-i partman/confirm boolean true
d-i partman/confirm_nooverwrite boolean true

### Apt setup
d-i apt-setup/cdrom/set-first boolean false
d-i apt-setup/cdrom/set-next boolean false
d-i apt-setup/cdrom/set-failed boolean false
d-i apt-setup/services-select multiselect security, updates
d-i apt-setup/security_host string security.debian.org
### Package selection
tasksel tasksel/first multiselect standard
# Individual additional packages to install
d-i pkgsel/include string openssh-server vim tmux tcpdump dropbear-initramfs cryptsetup-initramfs python3.9
d-i pkgsel/upgrade select full-upgrade
d-i pkgsel/update-policy select none
d-i pkgsel/updatedb boolean true
popularity-contest popularity-contest/participate boolean false


### GRUB STUFF
d-i grub-installer/only_debian boolean true
d-i grub-installer/bootdev  string default

# Note: options passed to the installer will be added automatically. 
#d-i debian-installer/add-kernel-opts string nousb

# Optional password for grub, either in clear text
# #d-i grub-installer/password password r00tme
# #d-i grub-installer/password-again password r00tme
# # or encrypted using an MD5 hash, see grub-md5-crypt(8).
# #d-i grub-installer/password-crypted password [MD5 hash]
#
# # Use the following option to add additional boot parameters for the
# # installed system (if supported by the bootloader installer).
# # Note: options passed to the installer will be added automatically.
# #d-i debian-installer/add-kernel-opts string nousb
#
# ### Finishing up the installation
# # Avoid that last message about the install being complete.
d-i finish-install/reboot_in_progress note


d-i preseed/late_command string \
  mkdir -p -m 700 /target/root/.ssh; \
  echo "ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3NzaC1lZDI1NTE5AAAAIJEe3gF//znGIzq30frI6O9qDn5eM6uqEZZlx7mR5SiS" > /target/root/.ssh/authorized_keys; \
  in-target chown --recursive root:root /root/.ssh; \
  in-target chmod 0644 /root/.ssh/authorized_keys; \
  in-target update-alternatives --set editor /usr/bin/vim.basic; \
  in-target passwd --expire root; \
  in-target echo 'ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3NzaC1lZDI1NTE5AAAAIJEe3gF//znGIzq30frI6O9qDn5eM6uqEZZlx7mR5SiS' > /etc/dropbear-initramfs/authorized_keys; \
  in-target sed -i '/*PasswordAuthentication*/c\PasswordAuthentication no' /etc/ssh/sshd_config; \
  in-target sed -i '/*PasswordAuthentication*/c\PasswordAuthentication no' /etc/ssh/sshd_config; \
  in-target systemctl enable --now sshd; \
  in-target sed -i '/*DROPBEAR_OPTIONS=*/c\DROPBEAR_OPTIONS="-I 300 -j -k -p 22 -s -c /bin/cryptroot-unlock "' /etc/dropbear-initramfs/config; \
  in-target sed -i '/*IP=*/c\IP="dhcp"' /etc/initramfs-tools/initramfs.conf; \
  in-target update-initramfs -u;
#

For the moment i got the debien installer asking me for :

  • hostname
  • domain name

I'm just trying to get rid of those questions. Here is what i tried :

  • I tried to play with priority=critical in command line kernel options on pxe server.
  • i configured my dhcpd sever to manage hostname domain name of this specific hosts.
host curiosity {
hardware ethernet 12:34:45:12:34:56;
fixed-address 192.168.1.90;
option host-name "curiosity";
option domain-name "planet.mars";
}

I know i can setup the hostname/domain variables and all it will be alright but i want to make a very universal preseed to deploy on multiple servers.

Some help or clues would be very appreciated.

In advance thank you.

EDIT : Resolved :

By the way the first preseed was not perfect. If someone's interested here is a better one.

It does Fully automated Debian 11 UEFI LUKS BTRFS Remote Decrypt via ssh DEBUG TTY4

#### Preseed preconfiguration file (for Debian bullseye)

# Debian 11 Fully Automated UEFI LVM LUKS BTRFS Remote Decrypt via ssh DEBUG # TTY4


### Partman early command
### Kernel parameter
#d-i debian-installer/add-kernel-opts string net.ifnames=0 biosdevname=0 hostname=unassigned-hostname domain=unassigned-domain
#d-i debconf/priority critical

#d-i debian-installer/add-kernel-opts string net.ifnames=0 biosdevname=0 console=ttyS0,19200n8
### Localization
d-i debian-installer/locale string en_US
d-i debian-installer/language string en
d-i debian-installer/country string US
#d-i debian-installer/locale string en_US.UTF-8 fr_FR.UTF-8
d-i localechooser/supported-locales multiselect en_US.UTF-8, fr_FR.UTF-8

### Keyboard selection
d-i keyboard-configuration/xkb-keymap select fr

###  Network configuration

# Netcfg choisira une interface connectée si possible. Cela empêchera
# # d'afficher une liste s'il y a plusieurs interfaces.
d-i netcfg/choose_interface select auto

#d-i netcfg/choose_interface select eth0
d-i netcfg/use_dhcp string true
d-i netcfg/link_wait_timeout string 10
d-i netcfg/dhcp_timeout string 60

#d-i netcfg/disable_autoconfig boolean true

d-i netcfg/dhcp_failed note
#d-i netcfg/dhcp_options select auto

#Configure network manually
# IPv4 Static network configuration
#d-i netcfg/get_ipaddress string 192.168.1.120
#d-i netcfg/get_netmask string 255.255.255.0
#d-i netcfg/get_gateway string 192.168.1.1
#d-i netcfg/get_nameservers string 192.168.1.1
#d-i netcfg/confirm_static boolean true

# Set a hostname
#d-i netcfg/get_hostname string zhurong
#d-i netcfg/get_domain string planet.mars
# Force a hostname
#d-i netcfg/hostname string zhurong.planet.mars
# Disable that annoying WEP key dialog
d-i netcfg/wireless_wep string

#d-i netcfg/get_hostname=install
d-i netcfg/get_hostname unassigned-hostname 
d-i netcfg/get_domain unassigned-domain
d-i netcfg/get_hostname seen true
d-i netcfg/get_domain seen true

### Mirror settings
d-i mirror/country string manual
d-i mirror/http/hostname string httpredir.debian.org
d-i mirror/http/directory string /debian
d-i mirror/http/proxy string

### Account setup
# Skip creation of a normal user account
d-i passwd/make-user boolean false
# Set root password
# or encrypted using a crypt(3)  hash.
d-i passwd/root-password-crypted password $6$47Cx5oMpkh999YNI$XG76xupgkvZ3rHJCq1NgXKzp3bBfIuj0FmMiSvmUp1jqaIkTEz5F6eA.SRhBzyPReVQEnzZWwFWSdYGCBn.tE1

### Clock and time zone setup
# Set hardware clock to UTC
d-i clock-setup/utc boolean true
# Set timezone
d-i time/zone string Europe/Paris
# Use NTP clock during installation
d-i clock-setup/ntp boolean true

### Partitioning
# LVM LUKS method

# Inhibit partman to fill the disk with random data 
d-i partman-auto-crypto/erase_disks boolean false

#d-i partman/early_command \
#       string dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=512 count=1

# Force UEFI booting ('BIOS compatibility' will be lost). Default: false.
d-i partman-efi/non_efi_system boolean false
# Ensure the partition table is GPT - this is required for EFI
d-i partman-partitioning/choose_label string gpt
d-i partman-partitioning/default_label string gpt

d-i partman-auto/method string crypto
d-i partman-lvm/device_remove_lvm boolean true
d-i partman-md/device_remove_md boolean true
d-i partman-lvm/confirm boolean true
d-i partman-auto-lvm/guided_size string max
d-i partman-auto-lvm/new_vg_name string debian
d-i partman-auto/disk string /dev/sda
d-i partman-auto/choose_recipe select boot-crypto
d-i partman-crypto/passphrase       password  aabbcc
d-i partman-crypto/passphrase-again password  aabbcc
d-i partman-auto/expert_recipe string \
boot-crypto :: \
  512 50 512 fat32 \
          $primary{ } $bootable{ } \
          method{ efi } format{ } \
          mountpoint{ /boot/efi } \
  . \
  1024 1024 1024 ext4 \
          $primary{ } $bootable{ } \
          method{ format } format{ } \
          use_filesystem{ } filesystem{ ext4 } \
          mountpoint{ /boot } \
  . \
  8192 8192 8192 linux-swap \
          $lvmok{ } lv_name{ swap } \
          in_vg { debian } \
          method{ swap } format{ } \
  . \
  80896 80896 1000000 btrfs \
          $lvmok{ } lv_name{ root } \
          in_vg { debian } \
          method{ format } format{ } \
          use_filesystem{ } filesystem{ btrfs } \
          mountpoint{ / } \
  . \

#d-i partman-basicfilesystems/no_mount_point boolean false
d-i partman-partitioning/confirm_write_new_label boolean true
d-i partman/choose_partition select finish
d-i partman/confirm boolean true
d-i partman/confirm_nooverwrite boolean true

d-i partman-md/confirm boolean true
d-i partman-partitioning/confirm_write_new_label boolean true
d-i partman/choose_partition select finish
d-i partman/confirm boolean true
d-i partman/confirm_nooverwrite boolean true

### Apt setup
d-i apt-setup/cdrom/set-first boolean false
d-i apt-setup/cdrom/set-next boolean false
d-i apt-setup/cdrom/set-failed boolean false
d-i apt-setup/services-select multiselect security, updates
d-i apt-setup/security_host string security.debian.org
### Package selection
tasksel tasksel/first multiselect standard
# Individual additional packages to install
d-i pkgsel/include string openssh-server vim tmux tcpdump dropbear-initramfs cryptsetup-initramfs python3.9
d-i pkgsel/upgrade select full-upgrade
d-i pkgsel/update-policy select none
d-i pkgsel/updatedb boolean true
popularity-contest popularity-contest/participate boolean false


### GRUB STUFF
d-i grub-installer/only_debian boolean true
d-i grub-installer/bootdev  string default

# Note: options passed to the installer will be added automatically. 
#d-i debian-installer/add-kernel-opts string nousb

# Optional password for grub, either in clear text
# #d-i grub-installer/password password r00tme
# #d-i grub-installer/password-again password r00tme
# # or encrypted using an MD5 hash, see grub-md5-crypt(8).
# #d-i grub-installer/password-crypted password [MD5 hash]
#
# # Use the following option to add additional boot parameters for the
# # installed system (if supported by the bootloader installer).
# # Note: options passed to the installer will be added automatically.
# #d-i debian-installer/add-kernel-opts string nousb
#
# ### Finishing up the installation
# # Avoid that last message about the install being complete.
d-i finish-install/reboot_in_progress note


d-i preseed/late_command string \
  mkdir -p -m 700 /target/root/.ssh; \
  echo "ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3NzaC1lZDI1NTE5AAAAIJEe3gF//znGIzq30frI6O9qDn5eM6uqEZZlx7mR5SiS" > /target/root/.ssh/authorized_keys; \
  in-target chown --recursive root:root /root/.ssh; \
  in-target chmod 0644 /root/.ssh/authorized_keys; \
  in-target update-alternatives --set editor /usr/bin/vim.basic; \
  

d-i preseed/late_command string \
  mkdir -p -m 700 /target/root/.ssh; \
  echo "ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3NzaC1lZDI1NTE5AAAAIJEe3gF//znGIzq30frI6O9qDn5eM6uqEZZlx7mR5SiS" > /target/root/.ssh/authorized_keys; \
  in-target chown --recursive root:root /root/.ssh; \
  in-target chmod 0644 /root/.ssh/authorized_keys; \
  in-target update-alternatives --set editor /usr/bin/vim.basic; \
  echo 'ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3NzaC1lZDI1NTE5AAAAIJEe3gF//znGIzq30frI6O9qDn5eM6uqEZZlx7mR5SiS' > /target/etc/dropbear-initramfs/authorized_keys; \
  echo 'PasswordAuthentication no' >> /target/etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/setup; \
  echo 'PermitRootLogin prohibit-password' >> /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/setup; \
  echo 'auto eno1' >> /target/etc/network/interfaces; \
  sed -i 's/eth0/eno1/g' /target/etc/network/interfaces; \
  in-target systemctl enable --now sshd; \
  echo 'DROPBEAR_OPTIONS="-I 300 -j -k -p 22 -s -c /bin/cryptroot-unlock"' >> /target/etc/dropbear-initramfs/config; \
  echo 'IP="dhcp"' >> /target/etc/initramfs-tools/initramfs.conf; \
  in-target update-initramfs -u;

#  in-target passwd --expire root; \

RESOLVED !

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Score:4
proxyd43 avatar Server
cn flag
proxyd43

I found a way to do it ! Thanks to this post on the opposite problem

I just added two parameters to my boot line in grub.cfg

netcfg/get_hostname=install netcfg/get_domain=install

It is now fully automated and not asking for any question.

0 + 0
anx avatar
fr flag
anx
Be a shame if someone *finally* added the list of parameters needed to the [release notes](https://www.debian.org/releases/bullseye/amd64/ch05s03.de.html), before more of the d-i tooling support is lost to less portable approaches like *subiquity*.
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proxyd43 avatar
cn flag
proxyd43
Isn't subiquity for Ubuntu ?
0
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anx avatar
fr flag
anx
Yup. Now we got two systems as broken as before, as badly documented as before, but at least the efforts in fixing that are duplicated between the Ubuntu universe and other Debian-derived distros..
0
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proxyd43 avatar
cn flag
proxyd43
You're ablolutely right ! TO be franck it was hard to me to setup my pxe correctly. At work i need to deploys ubuntu 20.04 as workstations and the autoinstall/d-i/subiquity mix is a total mess. This [discussion](https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/please-test-autoinstalls-for-20-04/15250/220) is full of dissapointed admins and i do agree.
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