Linux CD Mastering - Tool Selection
Tool Selection

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For this example, we will be using a commercial tool from EMC called VmWare Workstation. Now, don't worry if you can't afford VmWare's price tag (around $170 U.S.), they offer a downloadable trial version that is good for 30 days. This is more than enough time to complete this exercise, and in the spirit of demo software, you may find that you like it enough to purchase a copy...I know that I did. VmWare is a cool program that lets you run multiple operating systems on a single computer at the same time. It accomplishes this by utilizing a host-guest relationship. Basically, the main operating system that the computer is running is termed the "host operating system". The VmWare application runs in the "host operating system" and provides a "virtual machine" in which you may run 1 or more "guest operating systems". For our example, we will be using Windows XP Professional as the host operating system, and will be developing and testing our newly remastered CD as a guest. Once we've completed the development, we'll burn the remastered image to a CD and test it out with a real reboot. Now, strictly speaking, you do not need to have VmWare to follow this example, but it does significanly simplify the process. If you already have another "Virtual Machine" package, you may use that as well, however the steps for setting up the "Virtual Machine" environment may vary slightly. Here is a diagram illustrating how VmWare is related to the host and guest operating systems.

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Here is a list of items that you will need to work through this example:
  • A computer running Windows XP with at least 10 GB free space and 256 MB Ram (the more the better)
    • We are using an AMD Athlon 2.8 Ghz running Windows XP Pro, 1GB Ram, 120GB Disk
  • A version of VmWare Workstation installed on the above computer
    • Download VmWare Workstation here
    • You may use comparable software here such as Virtual PC, etc.
  • A CD-ROM writer (required to burn the final CD, optional otherwise)
    • If you simply want to build and test an ISO image, a CD burner is not required
  • Your favorite CD-ROM burning software (must support ISO image burning)
  • An ISO version of linux to remaster, Knoppix Linux is used in this example. This may be burned on CD or used directly from the ISO itself (you'll learn more about this later)
    • Download Knoppix here, it is over 700MB so make sure that you have enough disk space and a fast enough internet connection before proceeding.
    • You may use a different distribution of Linux, however this tutorial is specific to Knoppix.
Now, let's get started setting up our environment.

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