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improve reinstallation docs

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Daniel Barlow 2024-07-12 18:38:04 +01:00
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@ -174,32 +174,31 @@ Caveats
.. _levitate:
Levitate - Reinstalling a running system (any filesystem)
*********************************************************
Reinstalling on a running system
********************************
Liminix is initially installed from a monolithic
:file:`firmware.bin` - and unless you're running a system on which
:command:`liminix-rebuild` is available, the only way to update it is
to build and install a whole new :file:`firmware.bin`. This makes it desirable to
be able to install a new firmware over the top of a running system -
and preferably without having to remove it from its installation site,
unplug it from the network and stick serial cables in it all over
again.
:file:`firmware.bin` - and unless you're running a writable
filesystem, the only way to update it is to build and install a whole
new :file:`firmware.bin`. However, you probably would prefer not to
have to remove it from its installation site, unplug it from the
network and stick serial cables in it all over again.
It is not (generally) safe to install a new firmware onto the flash
partitions that the active system is running on. To address this we
have :command:`levitate`, which a way for a running Liminix system to
"soft restart" into a ramdisk running only a limited set of services,
so that the main partitions can then be safely flashed.
For this we have :command:`levitate`. The problem is that you cannot
safely flash a new firmware over the top of a running system if the system
is running from the same partition as you're flashing onto. Levitate provides
a way for a running Liminix system to "soft restart" into a ramdisk
running only a limited set of services, so that the main
partitions can then be safely flashed.
Configuration
=============
*It needs to be configured when you create the initial system* to
specify which services/packages/etc to run in maintenance mode - you
will probably want a network interface and an sshd for example so that
you can login to reflash it.
Levitate *needs to be configured when you create the initial system*
to specify which services/packages/etc to run in maintenance
mode. Most likely you want to configure a network interface and an ssh
for example so that you can login to reflash it.
.. code-block:: nix