Lecture Capture Agent Bootstrap

This directory contains a Docker-ised script to build our custom Ubuntu image for a Lecture Capture Agent.

Short version

$ docker run --rm -v $PWD/images:/images $(docker build -q .)

After some time a new lecture capture agent image is available at images/lc-agent.iso.

Source

The contents of this repository were originally based on the core-process/linux-unattended-installation repository. The original README contains some more details.

Changing image name

By default, the script writes the output image to /images/lc-agent.iso. The basename of this file is configurable via the IMAGE_NAME environment variable. So, with IMAGE_NAME=my-image, the script writes the image to /images/my-image.iso.

Deploy keys

The list of keys which can log in as root for deploying the boxes is contained in the deploy-keys.pub file. The private halves of those keys can be found in the DevOps Division's secrets store.

BIOS configuration

Existing PCs have possibly been configured with legacy (BIOS) boot enabled. Going forward (and now necessary for the Dell Optiplex 7060's with NVMe SSDs) we should be using UEFI booting.

The following BIOS settings are for Dell PC's but similar options should be available on other hardware.

Press F2 to enter BIOS on boot.

• General
  • Boot Sequence
    • Boot List Option = UEFI
  • Advanced Boot Options
    • Enable Legacy Option ROMs = unchecked
  • UEFI Boot Path Security
    • Always, Except Internal HDD
• System Configuration
  • SATA Operation
    • AHCI [1]
• Secure Boot
  • Secure Boot Enable
    • Disabled [2]

[1] - Necessary for unattended installation boot media to see the NVMe in a Dell Optiplex 7060.

[2] - To allow use of unsigned Intel network driver

For PCs in the wild, the Admin Password should also be enabled under Security to prevent tampering.

Booting from USB

If the internal disk already has bootable partitions then these may be higher in the boot order than the USB drive. Rather than change the ordering in the BIOS, it is easier to just press F12 during boot to bring up a boot menu where the USB device can be selected.