DrakLive

DrakLive is a live distribution mastering tool.
draklive builds a live distribution according to a configuration file, creates a master image, and optionally installs it on a device.
Why a new live mastering tool?
Mandriva Move
The Move1/Move2 technology is quite deprecated now, it was about loading writable files in RAM, and using dnotify to monitor file modifications and copy the modified files on the USB key.
It required a specific boot process, and a complex mastering process. It is better replaced by something like unionfs, which allows transparent filesystem overlay (and makes possible files removal).
mklivecd
mklivecd already allows to create live distributions, but its not easy to keep it in sync with latest hardware or technical updates. mklivecd needs its own long initrd script (linuxrc), as well as a new rc.sysinit file. It makes the boot very complicated, and its not easy to maintain all these three programs (linuxrc, rc.sysinit, mklivecd) together.
linux-live / Slax
The linux-live scripts are quite similar, but they also requiresome additional library in the initrd, and they dont provide a good hardware drivers list in their initrd.
Advantages
draklives philosophy is to keep the live distribution as close as possible to a normal Mandriva Linux distribution. All specific live tweaks are done in a very tiny initrd script. Since this one is generated on the fly, its very small, and gets quite easy to debug.
The list of drivers included in the initrd is adjusted during the live distribution creation, according to the medium type. draklive uses the DrakX libraries to have an up-to-date drivers list.
Once the initrd script is done booting, the root device will be used transparently by the distribution, without any additional tricks.
Hardware detection is done with harddrake, providing a reliable integration.
Main features:
- live CD
- live distribution on USB key
- easy to test over NFS
- uses the Mandriva installer to create the live system
- fully read-write live system (using unionfs)
- automatic hardware configuration (using harddrake)
- generic code structure to make new technical choices usable quickly