Subject: Re: guix installation why internet connection required?

From: Giovanni Biscuolo <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 05 Feb 2024 18:33:03 +0100

Hi Maxim and [email-masked],

I'm including [email-masked] to keep track of the discussion on
this feature request (Add the ability to install GuixSD offline)

Maxim Cournoyer <[email-masked]> writes:

> [email-masked] writes:
>
>> x86 x64 gnu guix system 1.4.0 iso requires internet connection in order to get
>> installed. Same goes for i686 iso.
>>
>> Why is that so? Why is there no
>> iso option for installing off line? Thanks.
>
> There's this ticket about the same: #43049.  If I remember correctly it
> may be related by the Guix binary inside the ISO image being from the
> Guix package of the Guix used to generate it, perhaps.

Sorry I don't understand the problem, could you expand please?

The guix (and daemon) versione are those of the channel used when
creating the install .iso image; booting the 1.40 installer we get a
"guix version" and "guix describe" value of 989a391...

Also, the /gnu/store (755MB on 1.4.0 installer image) have all the
software needed to run the installer; when installing the (same) linux
kernel on the target disk, for example, why the daemon would download
the same substitute when it's already in the store?

Obviously the connection to a substitute server is needed if the user
choose to install some software not already in the store, so the point
should "just" be to have all the software the installer allows the user
to be installed.

> That seems like a tricky problem to solve.

...I feel like I'm missing something important here :-)

Thanks! Gio'

-- 
Giovanni Biscuolo

Xelera IT Infrastructures