
   #Using Debian From Scratch Using Debian From Scratch Getting DFS

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Introduction to DFS

   Table of Contents
   DFS Features
   Getting DFS
   History of DFS

   Welcome to Debian From Scratch (DFS). DFS is really two systems: 1) a
   bootable CD for repairing Linux systems or installing Debian; and 2)
   the program that generates the CDs that are used for #1. Most of this
   manual focuses on #1. A wide variety of DFS CDs can be made using the
   DFS build tools. This manual will refer to CDs made using the default
   configuration.

DFS Features

   You can expect the following from your DFS CD:

     * Bootable CD featuring the GNU Grub bootloader. Can be used to boot
       hard disk partitions even if no hard disk bootloader is present.
     * Kernel and userland support for all major filesystems, including
       ext2, ext3, JFS, XFS, ReiserFS, FAT, VFAT, NTFS, ISO9660, CramFS,
       tmpfs, and more. Userland support for Reiser4.
     * Kernel and userland support for different disk layout schemes
       including standard partitioning, Logical Volume Manager 2 (LVM2),
       software RAID, etc.
     * Full recovery tools runnable directly from CD, including:
          + Filesystem utilities for all major filesystems, including
            undeletion tools for ext2
          + Partition editors (fdisk, cfdisk, parted)
          + Text editors (nano, joe, vim, emacs)
          + C, Perl, Python, and OCaml development environments. Enough
            to configure and compile a new kernel and build basic .debs.
            Kernel 2.6.6 sources included on CD.
          + Full networking support, including PPP and various Ethernet
            cards and DHCP
          + Network tools including FTP clients, Web client, ssh, telnet,
            NFS, smbclient, tcpdump, netcat, etc.
          + Backup restoration tools such as rdiff-backup, dump/restore,
            tar, cpio, amanda client, afbackup client, etc.
          + CD and DVD burning tools
          + Basic printing tools (cat for local printers, rlpr for remote
            ones, and netcat for Jetdirect, plus unix2dos for text files
            and Ghostscript for emergency conversions)
          + Mail reader (mutt)
     * Base systems for multiple versions of Debian installable directly
       from CD, including: sarge, etch, and sid (stable, testing, and
       unstable).
     * Hybrid amd64 support: A single i386/amd64 hybrid CD provides
       enough to install or fix either an i386 or an AMD64 system.
       Includes 64-bit kernel with 32-bit emulation (to run the 32-bit
       userland on the CD). Also includes 64-bit packages for
       bootstrapping a new AMD64 support. In short, you can boot a 64-bit
       kernel and be treated as a first-class citizen in almost all
       respects.
     * Easy porting to other architectures. Existing ports to Alpha and
       PowerPC.
     * i386 or x86_64 (amd64) kernels bootable directly from initial boot
       menu.
     * DFS generation scripts support custom kernels, packages, mirrors,
       compressed ISO images, and a high degree of flexibility.

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