Skip to content

Latest commit

 

History

History
60 lines (38 loc) · 3.53 KB

installation_flow.md

File metadata and controls

60 lines (38 loc) · 3.53 KB
Raw

Although the installer for Dell recovery media is the same as standard Ubuntu (ubiquity), the installation flow varies.

Standard Ubuntu installation

A standard Ubuntu installation from a USB key only has one installation phase. The user is prompted for installation options such as disk, timezone, keyboard and username and installation runs in the background.

When the install is complete, upon rebooting the machine they are brought to a Ubuntu login screen and can use the computer.

Standard OEM installation

A standard OEM Ubuntu installation will be preseeded to operate in an automated fashion. Any questions that are not answered in the preseeding process will be prompted by the GUI. After installation is finished, the system will either be shut down or rebooted into OEM-Config mode.

In OEM-Config mode the user will be prompted for questions that might not be the same as those preseeded. For example, Keyboard layout, Timezone or Language.

After completing OEM-Config, the user is brought to an Ubuntu login screen.

Dell OEM installation

The Dell OEM installation is split across three distinct phases. It is split this way to be able to support an archicture with a factory recovery partition on the hard disk. This factory recovery partition is used both for Dell manufacturing as well as for customer based recovery.

Phase 1: Prepare partitions and content

The first phase prepares the disk and loads the recovery partition content onto it. This can be approached from 3 different methods.

Dell factory

  1. In the Dell factory we integrate with existing manufacturing tools, and these tools create initial partition layout (ESP and Recovery partition) and load the content onto the disk.

  2. Other manufacturing tools also configure next boot (BootOrder/BootNext variables)

  3. Other manufacturing tools control reboot cycle.

  4. On the next boot we’ll boot directly into phase 2.

Customer USB recovery

  1. If customer boots up USB recovery disk, it will come to a prompt selecting which disk to use to install to.
  2. Customer presses next, and disk is wiped, content copied to ESP and recovery partition
  3. Boot variables set for next boot
  4. System automatically reboots into phase 2.

Customer HDD recovery

  1. GUI tool is offered in OS that will change grub next boot option to a recovery option we left to boot recovery partition.
  2. Customer can also interrupt GRUB silent menu to select this option.
  3. Customer agrees to wipe content.
  4. System continues to phase 2.

Phase 2: Install Ubuntu

This part of the installation is fully automated. The OS is booted from the recovery partition and the Ubiquity installer will launch.

Ubiquity will create additional partitions to install into, and all files will be copied in. Any applicable drivers and updated packages distributed in /debs of the recovery partition will be installed by Ubiquity and dell-recovery plugins.

After Ubiquity finishes, a set of post-install scripts provided by Dell in the /scripts directory of the recovery partition will run to complete the install.

When this phase is run during manufacturing, the system will return to Dell manufacturing process.

Phase 3: Out of box experience

In a Dell manufactured machine, this is the first phase that a customer will actually see.

As with standard OEM installation, the customer will select the Language, Timezone, Keyboard Layout, a username and a password.

However specific to the Dell OEM install an additional page will prompt to create USB recovery media to use in the event of a failure.