These instructions are deprecated! Use the VC4 build instructions instead.

Vyatta uses Git as its source code control system. You can access Vyatta's source code repository using a git client or with a web browser at http://suva.vyatta.com/git. Anonymous public browsing is supported but all check-ins must be from authorized developers. To checkout the main Vyatta repository, type "git-clone git://suva.vyatta.com/ofr.git".

Building and Running Vyatta Bootable CD from Scratch
This page will show you how to build the bootable Vyatta live CD from sources; run the system that you have built; as well as how to maintain modified source code. Note that the build dependencies and requirements may shift. If you find a problem with these instructions and determine a workaround, please leave a comment at the bottom of this page.

There are two host systems that you can use to build the Vyatta software. One is Ubuntu 6.06 LTS (Long Term Support), which is what we use for our nightly build system. The other is Debian's latest release ("etch"). Of the two environments, Debian is the less problematic since Vyatta is based on this release. But, more importantly, further down this page is a link to a shell script to automate this process assuming a bare Debian install. The script executes the whole download and build process.

We strongly suggest that if you are planning on building the system on a regular basis that you subscribe to the svn mailing list. This list will keep you informed as to what is being checked into the source tree. The status of the nightly build is also sent to this list and should give you an idea as when to pull a new copy of the tree.

1. Select the Host Hardware for a Clean Install
Just about any modern PC compatible system with 5 or 10Gbytes of disk space will do. It must have internet access. You can use a virtual machine (such as VMware) as well, although on the bare hardware the build will be faster--it can take as little as an hour or two.

2. Install Debian "etch"
Download the CD-ROM image #1 for Debian 4.0 "etch" from the Debian archive: http://cdimage.debian.org/debian-cd/4.0_r1/i386/iso-cd/debian-40r1-i386-CD-1.iso . Assuming you are going to reformat the hard drive, you can specify all of the defaults, with one exception: choose No for the Use network mirror? question. The reason for not selecting the network mirror is that the resultant system will be a minimal system. This will make for the quickest system install. Installing additional packages would not necessarily prevent the build; it will just result in a system configuration which we have not tested. After the system is installed, the system will reboot. Make sure the CD is removed from the drive during this reboot.

3. Get Vyatta's Automation Script
Re-insert the "etch" CD. Log in and change to a directory with at least 2GBytes. You should also have .5Gbytes on /opt (or an additional .5Gbytes free on / if you don't have /opt). Save the following link in this directory: etch-dnld-and-build or download this link using the command: wget http://www.vyatta.org/files/etch-dnld-and-build

4. Run the Automation Script
su
Password:
sh ./etch-dnld-and-build
Various debian packages will be installed; the repositories and sources will be downloaded. You may be prompted a few times while the script is running. After a period of time, you will have built the system.

5. Start Vyatta
A symlink to the CD-ROM image will be in the file ofr/livecd/livecd.iso . You can burn it to a CD with your favorite burner program or run it on a virtual machine. This is a bootable "live" CD, which means that the Vyatta software will boot from the CD and run as a usable router. If you wish to install Vyatta to hard disk or flash (a good idea if you want to maintain the configuration), then do the following:
login: root
Password: vyatta

# install-system

6. Keeping Current with Vyatta Sources
The Vyatta software uses git as its source repository. Your "etch" system now contains a full copy ("clone") of our repositories.