For stores where the Branch Server is running only the Point of Service infrastructure (that is, the Branch Server is running no additional applications), the Branch Server can be deployed as a control terminal running on Point of Service hardware.
To build a POSBranch image with xscr, you must complete the following steps:
These steps are discussed in the following sections.
For more information on this process, see Section 9.3, Getting Ready to Build Images with xscr.
xscr builds images using a specific file system directory structure known as the Image Description Tree. The Image Description Tree provides the XML documents, scripts, configuration files, and other components required to build client images for Point of Service systems.
To create a POSBranch image, you can use any of the client Image Description Trees provided with Novell Linux Point of Service (Minimal, Java, Browser, or Desktop). The Image Description Trees are located at /opt/SLES/POS/system/image_name-version/.
To maintain a standardized source tree and simplify the upgrade process, we recommend you maintain the default Image Description Trees provided with Novell Linux Point of Service as master copies. To build a POSBranch image, you can clone one of the default Image Description Trees, then modify the cloned tree.
When you clone an Image Description Tree using xscr, you can define the image distribution as NLD or SLES (--dist nld|sles). POSBranch images require the SLES distribution. When you define the image distribution as SLES, xscr adds a child document (image_name-sles.xml) to the parent Image Specification Document that includes the SLES RPMs in the image.
NOTE:NLD is the default distribution type. Therefore, if you do not specify the image distribution when cloning the Image Description Tree, xscr defaults to NLD.
The basic syntax to clone an Image Description Tree to create a POSBranch image is as follows:
xscr --create image_name-version --image image_name-version --dist sles
For example, the following command clones the Desktop-2.0.21 Image Description Tree to create a new SLES-based Image Description Tree named myImage-1.1.1:
xscr --create myImage-1.1.1 --image desktop-2.0.21 --dist sles
The new Image Description Tree is located at /opt/SLES/POS/system/myImage-1.1.1. You can then modify the cloned Image Description Tree as required to create the POSBranch image. For a description of the individual Image Description Tree components, see Section 9.2.1, Image Description Tree and Section B.0, Novell Linux Point of Service Files and Directory Structure.
Image Specification Documents contain XML elements that define the structure, configuration, and other components required to build images for Point of Service terminals. In general, a master Image Specification Document (or parent document) defines general image parameters and individual image subcomponents such as add-on features, custom applications, and so forth are defined in sub-documents referred to as child documents.
The default Image Description Trees provided with Novell Linux Point of Service have a parent Image Specification Document at the root of the tree. After you clone the tree you want to use to build the POSBranch image, you must add branch.xml as a child document in the IncludeSpecificationList element within the parent Image Specification Document.
The syntax to include the branch.xml document in the IncludeSpecificationList element is as follows:
<IncludeSpecificationList>
<IncludeSpecification URI="/opt/SLES/POS/system/templates/support
/branch.xml"/>
</IncludeSpecificationList>
The branch.xml document provides the following Branch Server components:
The POSBranch image must be deployed on a bootable CD. This requires that you generate the POSBranch image with a CDBoot image.
Novell Linux Point of Service provides a default Image Description Tree (/opt/SLES/POS/system/cdboot-version) and Image Specification Document (/opt/SLES/POS/system/templates/support/cdboot.xml) for CDBoot images. You can use these components to generate the CDBoot image.
You must also create a config.image file. ImageBuilder uses the parameters defined in this file to build the CDBoot and POSBranch images. For information on creating the config.image file, see Section 10.1.3, Creating the config.image File.
To build the CDBoot image, you must use ImageBuilder’s CD boot feature. This feature requires the CD setup directory as a parameter so ImageBuilder can locate the config.image file. It then uses the parameters defined in the file to create the CDBoot image. When you generate the CDBoot image, ImageBuilder also builds the client image designated in the config.image file’s IMAGE parameter.
IMPORTANT:You must designate the POSBranch image in the config.image file’s IMAGE parameter.
The syntax to generate the CDBoot and POSBranch images is as follows:
xscr --prepare --build --image image_name-version --feature boot_cd:config=CD_setup_directory --destdir directory
For example, the following command creates the CDboot and client images as specified in the config.image file in the /tmp/cdsetup directory and saves the images to /tmp/mycd.
xscr --prepare --build --image cdboot-2.0.21 --feature boot_cd:config=/tmp/cdsetup --destdir /tmp/mycd
After the CDBoot and client images are generated, you are ready to create the final ISO image. For instructions on this procedure, see Section 10.1.5, Creating the CD ISO Image.