How to use downloaded SUSE Studio appliances

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LINUX users | Next steps after the download

Instructions for Windows(TM) users...

How to extract compressed files with Linux?

• Normally the GUI (Gnome or KDE) will provide an easy extraction via a right-click onto the file in the file manager.
• In the console you can use gunzip

LiveCD/DVD

• Extension of downloaded file: .iso

• How to use with a LINUX system
  • It is a compressed filesystem, no extraction is necessary
  • Burn the .iso file with a burning application (e.g. Gnome- or KDE-tool) to a media
  • You will receive a bootable CD or DVD with a SUSE Live-System
  • Check your BIOS if your machine will not boot via CD
• SUSE Studio does not support the creation of ISOs for SLE10.

Disk Image (USB or Harddisk)

• Extension of downloaded file: .oem.tar.gz
• After extraction you will see one new file: .raw

• How to with in a LINUX system
  • The GUI way:
    • Search for kiwi-tools-imagewriter at http://software.opensuse.org/search and use the one-click-install button.
      You can also download the rpm via the search result list.
    • You can then run imagewriter as root and write your chosen image to your chosen USB device.
  • The dd way:
    • Copy the .raw image with dd to the disk or usb stick (place link here)
      Be careful when using 'dd'. You can lose your data!
    • Based on some experience with defect USB sticks we recommend to check the MD5SUM
    • Check the BIOS of your system if it does not boot via USB

VMware Image

• Extension of downloaded file: .vmx.tar.gz
• After extraction you will see a new subdirectory with 2 files: .vmdk and .vmx

• How to with in a LINUX system
  • You will need the VMware Player to start this image. Download it here
  • If this tool is installed, the .vmx should be associated with it and start with one click.

Xen image

• Extension of downloaded file: .xen.tar.gz
• After extraction you will see a new subdirectory with 2 files: .raw and .xenconfig

• How to with in a LINUX system
  • You will need a Xen server system. This is a machine running the Xen domain 0 kernel. In other words the machine must be booted with a xen kernel. To check this run the command:xm list The result should be at least one line starting with Domain-0
  • On this Xen server the following command needs to be called to activate the guest system:

    xm create -c file-with-suffix.xenconfig

  • Please note not all Xen kernel versions and guest/Domain-0 combinations work well. So far we recommend to use SLE11 Xen servers along with SLE11 Xen guests

Windows(TM) users | Next steps after the download

Recommendations for Windows(TM) users:
The SUSE Studio appliance builder will produce products based on SUSE Linux.
If you want to download, extract and test image files with a Windows system we recommend to use the formats

• LiveCD/DVD
• VMware Image

Of course you can also create a bootable USB stick and hard disk with Windows, but you will need advanced knowledge to handle the dd-copy tool.

How to extract compressed .tar.gz files with Windows
By default Windows is not able to extract .tar.gz files. Perhaps you can use 7-zip. It is available in many languages and it is under the GNU LGPL license.

• The extraction of the .tar.gz file will work in two steps:
  • First: from .tar.gz to .gz
  • Second: from .gz to .raw or new subdirectory with files

LiveCD/DVD

• Extension of downloaded file: .iso

• How to use with a Windows system
  • It is a compressed filesystem, no extraction is necessary
  • Burn the .iso file with a burning application to a media. In most cases the .iso extension is associated with the correct application via double-click
  • You will receive a bootable CD or DVD with a SUSE Live-System
  • Check your BIOS if your machine will not boot via CD

VMware Image

• Extension of downloaded file: .vmx.tar.gz
• After extraction you will see a new subdirectory with 2 files: .vmdk and .vmx

• How to use with a Windows system
  • You will need the free VMware Player to start this image.
  • If this tool is installed, the .vmx-file should be associated with it and your appliance will start with a double-click.

Disk Image (USB or Harddisk)

• Extension of downloaded file: .oem.tar.gz
• After the extraction process you will see one new file: .raw

• How to use with a Windows system
  • You will need and additional tool in your Windows system to copy the raw image file in a special way to an USB stick or a hard disk.
    The dd for windows can do this
  • Be aware: In difference to the other ways (LiveCD/DVD and VMware image) you can damage your system if you make a mistake
  • Follow this instructions for advanced users...