VirOS::Docs::F.A.Q.

The following is list of frequently asked questions about the VirOS(tm) open-source system imaging toolset. Though actually at the moment, it is more like a placeholder for the lack of formal documentation.

Q: Is VirOS some kind of hacker virus building tool that will help the terrorists?

Uh... No, not quite. Though the difference in spelling between VirOS(tm) and virus by one letter, is not a coincidence either. The reason I chose the name VirOS for a tool that generates LiveCD Operating System distributions, is because of the way I want my users to generate them. Perhaps a lot like the way I would imagine Dr. Evil would go about making his/her terrorist biological viral weapon. I.e. Virii, and lifeforms, have a tiny tiny blueprint for themselves, that consists of a collection of many genes or traits. Each of which describes a particular feature of the organism. I.e. one trait for sharp claws, one trait for grey fur, etc... In the same way, as a Computer Engineer and Unix System Administrator, the many computers I have managed, have all been describable in terms of such a blue print. I.e. a system might have the trait of being an email server configured in a specific way, the trait of running a webcam surveillance program in a specific way, utilizing some particular security hardening mechanism or another, etc...

Thus, you should think of VirOS as a tool for managing lots of systems with varying configurations, all reproducable from one very small library of genes/traits, and a DNA-like configuration for each system that is a mix and match collection of those traits. Then, from just a backup of such a tiny tiny blueprint, at any point you can easily reconstruct/redeploy the system as a LiveCD/USB that can easily be installed to one or more permanent hosts. As opposed to keeping a backup of the entire system OS.

Oh, and obviously, I want to make the process so simple, and arguably even fun, that a young aspiring child could easily use VirOS(tm) to generate their very own customized personalized Operating System Distribution, and scoff at their lack of dependence on the real Dr. Evil - Bill Gates (just kidding :)

Q: Is VirOS actually useful, or is it just some kind of playground for your Toy Operating System Ideas?

While VirOS absolutely is, without a doubt, a playground for my toy operating system ideas, you may actually find it useful, if you understand that it is currently a very very young project. Before downloading VirOS, you should read this wonderful description of another open source project, which keep in mind, is much more mature than VirOS already. The basic warning is this - VIROS HAS NOT YET BEEN VETTED BY MULTIPLE PEER REVIEWERS, OR EVEN MET THE STANDARD OF CODE QUALITY THAT I WOULD EXPECT IN ANY SOFTWARE I WOULD USE IN A BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT.

I do expect however, that in the coming year, that will change, and VirOS will become a very solid and useful tool. If the above scares you (and it really should unless you are a seasoned alpha software tester who knows what you are doing), then please just check back in a few months. Otherwise, I thank you for participating and testing my software, such that it can reach the point where such warnings can be removed.

Q: How is VirOS different from Fedora(tm)'s livecd-creater / livecd-tools ?

VirOS, like livecd-creator, can be used to generate an installable livecd distribution based on Fedora(tm). Unlike livecd-creator, VirOS does not require root privileges to run. This is achieved through some interesting use of miniature virtual appliances, via the included smirfgen and qfakeroot tools. This feature will also add some interesting benefits in the near future as VirOS matures. Oh, and also, did you read that part above about the fun name and making the process so easy a child could do it?

But obviously, there is nothing wrong with livecd-creator. It is a great tool that is much more mature than VirOS. But wait till the day when you can create a livecd with VirOS that includes multiple boot options that are derivatives of Fedora(tm), CentOS(tm), and Ubuntu(tm), that boot quite a bit faster than their ancestors... Bwa Ha Ha Ha....

Q: You've got to be kidding me, hours, neigh days, to build a LiveCD/DVD?

If speed is what you want, VirOS is not the tool for your job. VirOS sacrifices speed in the name of not exposing the build system to the danger of running hundreds of package installation scripts as root, under the limited protection of a chroot environment. I believe that in the long run, this feature, and the rest of what VirOS will bring to the table in terms of ease of use, and quality of output, will make it a compelling alternative to livecd-creator, and traditional livecd remastering scripts. Note, that the qfakeroot infrastructure that enables VirOS to do its thing without root privileges, is so cool that if you run it as root, it will do the same stuff in a non-virtualized chroot, but given the alpha nature of VirOS, I would STRONGLY advise against doing that, unless you just can't resist being amazed by how cool qfakeroot is (if it happens to not eat your system).

Note, that I am a skilled systems engineer when it comes to optimzing performance. I did speed up the Fedora LiveCD/USB anaconda installer by 50% or so for the Fedora-8 release. So rest assured, that once I've polished the functionality I want in VirOS, I strongly suspect I'll be able to make it much much faster than it is now. But being even nearly as fast as livecd-creator has never been, and never will be a serious goal of the VirOS project.

Do you remember those tutorials back in the late nineties about recompiling your linux kernel. That step that involved "order a pizza and wait for the results"? Well I imagine that in a couple years, I'll have optomized VirOS enough, and computers will have increased performance enough, that that suggestion will have a nice place in my tutorial :) Who knows, a couple years later, when the VirOS build process also includes a recompilation from source of every single binary program in the resulting output distribution... Well, maybe it'll take more than a couple years for laptop performance to increase that much...