Should ask to eject at the end of install instead of just ejecting

[Jorge Castro]

Binary package hint: eject-udeb

Currently at the end of a server install it ejects the CD.

In the case where someone is doing a remote install, you want to confirm that the system has been installed correctly, if the installer ejects the CD then there's no way for the sysadmin to correct a problem without calling someone locally or driving out to the datacenter to slide the CD back into the server.

If eject doesn't eject the CD then the sysadmin has the option of booting off the local disk and confirming that things work and/or booting off the CD in the case where the install failed.

[Flavio daCosta (flav)]

I've had this issue when working via an IPKVM and configuring a fakeraid device. Had a bit of an issue installing grub and had to submit support tickets every time I needed the CD door closed.

[Adam Buchbinder (adam-buchbinder)]

eject is functioning properly; the question is whether or not the installer is calling it as it should. Changing package to debian-installer.

[Colin Watson (cjwatson)]

The relevant installer component is cdrom-detect.

While I recognise the awkwardness here, it's not clear to me that all systems will be able to boot off local disk if the CD is still inserted at the end of a remote install (will you necessarily be able to get to the bootloader)

I suspect that netboot installs are a better option for most remote install scenarios.

[Flavio daCosta (flav)]

In my particular case, as the title suggests, simply having the option to eject would have been nice. With hot hands, it was easier/faster for me to have them insert a CD than setting up a netboot environment.

I have IPKVM access, so, it's possible to disable the CD in the bios after install thus resulting in a boot off the local disk.

It's not the end of the world as new installs are not that common, however it could save on install time when having issues as with the fakeraid and per incident calls at the colo just to close a CD door.

thanks.

[Colin Watson (cjwatson)]

Note that you can preseed cdrom-detect/eject to false (e.g. by passing the boot parameter cdrom-detect/eject=false) to avoid the eject. I think it's unlikely that we'll explicitly ask the user this, given the generally very firm downward pressure on the number of questions we ask.

[Flavio daCosta (flav)]

Was unaware of the boot param to avoid the eject. That is a perfect solution for my use case. Thanks!