[pve-devel] [PATCH docs 2/7] installation: prepare medium: revise subchapter

[Alexander Zeidler <a.zeidler@proxmox.com>]

* Consistently use "medium" (singular), as only one is needed for
  installation (filename "pve-installation-media.adoc" not renamed)

* Revise the introduction:
** Remove CD-ROM (too little storage space) but keep DVD
** Copy to it the installer attributes from subchapter "Using the {pve}
   Installer" (will get removed there in a follow-up patch)
** Rephrase slightly

* Revise "Prepare a USB Flash Drive as Installation Medium":
** Update minimum required flash drive storage space to 2 GB
** Mention explicitly that data get overwritten on installation media
** Rearrange the two admonitions according their importance and for
better reading flow

* Revise "Instructions for GNU/Linux":
** Rearrange the steps so that they correspond to the actual sequence
** Mention the likely required root privilege
** Use `cp` instead of `dd`, as it is used in the Debian docs nowadays
[0], the difference in speed appears to be negligible, and for beginners
it is also less complex and easier to understand/type

[0] https://www.debian.org/releases/bookworm/amd64/ch04s03.en.html

* Revise "Instructions for macOS", warn about overwriting the wrong disk
* Slightly rephrase "Instructions for Windows"
* Revise the wiki-only section "Boot your Server from the USB Flash
  Drive" and point to possible boot problems
* Add the `diskutil eject` command to safely unplug the USB device

Signed-off-by: Alexander Zeidler <a.zeidler@proxmox.com>
---
 pve-installation-media.adoc | 127 +++++++++++++++++++++++-------------
 pve-installation.adoc       |   2 +-
 2 files changed, 83 insertions(+), 46 deletions(-)

diff --git a/pve-installation-media.adoc b/pve-installation-media.adoc
index a1c9402..1a18ea6 100644
--- a/pve-installation-media.adoc
+++ b/pve-installation-media.adoc
@@ -1,74 +1,97 @@
 [[installation_prepare_media]]
-Prepare Installation Media
+Prepare Installation Medium
 --------------------------
 ifdef::wiki[]
 :pve-toplevel:
 endif::wiki[]
 
-Download the installer ISO image from: {website}en/downloads/proxmox-virtual-environment/iso
+To boot the recommended interactive installer, start by downloading
+the latest installer ISO from:
 
-The {pve} installation media is a hybrid ISO image. It works in two ways:
+{website}en/downloads/proxmox-virtual-environment/iso
 
-* An ISO image file ready to burn to a CD or DVD.
+It includes the following:
 
-* A raw sector (IMG) image file ready to copy to a USB flash drive (USB stick).
+* Complete operating system (Debian GNU/Linux, 64-bit)
+
+* {pve} Linux kernel with KVM and LXC support
+
+* Complete toolset for administering virtual machines, containers,
+the host system, clusters and all necessary resources
+
+* Web-based management interface
+
+Since the installer ISO is a hybrid image, it can be written directly
+to a USB flash drive (USB stick) or a DVD. Using a USB flash drive is
+the recommended way since it is the faster and more frequently
+available option these days.
 
-Using a USB flash drive to install {pve} is the recommended way because it is
-the faster option.
 
 Prepare a USB Flash Drive as Installation Medium
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
-The flash drive needs to have at least 1 GB of storage available.
+The flash drive needs to have at least 2 GB of storage space.
 
-NOTE: Do not use UNetbootin. It does not work with the {pve} installation image.
+IMPORTANT: Existing data on the USB flash drive will be overwritten.
+Therefore, make sure that it does not contain any still needed data
+and unmount it afterwards again before proceeding.
 
-IMPORTANT: Make sure that the USB flash drive is not mounted and does not
-contain any important data.
+NOTE: Using 'UNetbootin' may not work with the Proxmox installer ISO.
+Use instead one of the described methods below.
 
 
 Instructions for GNU/Linux
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
-On Unix-like operating system use the `dd` command to copy the ISO image to the
-USB flash drive. First find the correct device name of the USB flash drive (see
-below). Then run the `dd` command.
+On Unix-like operating systems, the USB flash drive can usually be
+prepared as follows and requires `root` privileges.
 
-----
-# dd bs=1M conv=fdatasync if=./proxmox-ve_*.iso of=/dev/XYZ
-----
+Find the Correct USB Device Name
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 
-NOTE: Be sure to replace /dev/XYZ with the correct device name and adapt the
-input filename ('if') path.
+There are two ways to find out the current name (e.g., `sdX`) of the
+USB flash drive. The first one is to compare the last lines of the
+`dmesg` command output before and after plugging in the flash drive.
+The second way is to compare the output of the `lsblk` command:
 
-CAUTION: Be very careful, and do not overwrite the wrong disk!
+Detach the flash drive, then open a terminal and run:
 
+----
+# lsblk
+----
 
-Find the Correct USB Device Name
-^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
-There are two ways to find out the name of the USB flash drive. The first one is
-to compare the last lines of the `dmesg` command output before and after
-plugging in the flash drive. The second way is to compare the output of the
-`lsblk` command. Open a terminal and run:
+Now plug in your USB flash drive and run the command again:
 
 ----
 # lsblk
 ----
 
-Then plug in your USB flash drive and run the command again:
+A new device (e.g., `sdX`) appeared. This is the one you want to use
+in the next step. To be on the extra safe side, check if the reported
+size matches your USB flash drive.
+
+Write Data to USB Device
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+CAUTION: Be especially careful with the `cp` command, as overwriting
+the wrong disk will lead to permanent data loss!
+
+Adapt the two paths, so that the downloaded ISO file is copied to the
+identified whole-disk device (e.g. `sdX`, not a partition like
+`sdX1`).
 
 ----
-# lsblk
+# cp /home/user/Downloads/proxmox-ve_*.iso /dev/sdX
 ----
 
-A new device will appear. This is the one you want to use. To be on the extra
-safe side check if the reported size matches your USB flash drive.
+Finally, run `sync` and wait until the command finished. The USB
+device can now be unplugged.
 
 
 Instructions for macOS
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
-Open the terminal (query Terminal in Spotlight).
+Open the terminal (query 'Terminal' in Spotlight).
 
 Convert the `.iso` file to `.dmg` format using the convert option of `hdiutil`,
 for example:
@@ -77,31 +100,40 @@ for example:
 # hdiutil convert proxmox-ve_*.iso -format UDRW -o proxmox-ve_*.dmg
 ----
 
-TIP: macOS tends to automatically add '.dmg' to the output file name.
+TIP: macOS tends to automatically add `.dmg` to the output file name.
 
-To get the current list of devices run the command:
+While the USB flash drive is detached, run the following command to
+get the current list of devices:
 
 ----
 # diskutil list
 ----
 
 Now insert the USB flash drive and run this command again to determine which
-device node has been assigned to it. (e.g., /dev/diskX).
+device node has been assigned to it (e.g., /dev/diskX).
 
 ----
 # diskutil list
 # diskutil unmountDisk /dev/diskX
 ----
 
-NOTE: replace X with the disk number from the last command.
+CAUTION: Be especially careful with the next command, as overwriting
+the wrong disk will lead to permanent data loss!
+
+Before writing data to disk with the `dd` command, replace the `X` of
+`rdiskX` with the previously determined disk number.
 
 ----
 # sudo dd if=proxmox-ve_*.dmg bs=1M of=/dev/rdiskX
 ----
 
-NOTE: 'rdiskX', instead of 'diskX', in the last command is intended. It will
+NOTE: Using `rdiskX` instead of `diskX` is intended, as it will
 increase the write speed.
 
+Finally, run `diskutil eject /dev/diskX` so that you can safely unplug
+the USB device.
+
+
 Instructions for Windows
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
@@ -116,17 +148,22 @@ Using Rufus
 
 Rufus is a more lightweight alternative, but you need to use the *DD mode* to
 make it work. Download Rufus from https://rufus.ie/. Either install it or use
-the portable version. Select the destination drive and the {pve} ISO file.
+the portable version. Select the destination drive and the downloaded
+{pve} ISO file.
 
-IMPORTANT: Once you 'Start' you have to click 'No' on the dialog asking to
-download a different version of GRUB. In the next dialog select the 'DD' mode.
+IMPORTANT: Once you click 'Start', you have to click 'No' on the
+dialog asking to download a different version of GRUB. In the next
+dialog, select the mode 'DD Image'.
 
-ifdef::wiki[]
-Boot your Server from the USB Flash Drive
-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
-Connect the USB flash drive to your server and make sure that booting from USB
-is enabled (check your servers firmware settings). Then follow the steps in the
-xref:chapter_installation[installation wizard].
+ifdef::wiki[]
+Boot from the Installation Medium
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+Insert the created USB flash drive (or DVD) into your server and make
+sure that booting from it is enabled in the server's firmware
+settings. Then start using the
+xref:chapter_installation[interactive installer], possible boot
+problems are also described there.
 
 endif::wiki[]
diff --git a/pve-installation.adoc b/pve-installation.adoc
index 223bb71..d320cfc 100644
--- a/pve-installation.adoc
+++ b/pve-installation.adoc
@@ -467,7 +467,7 @@ https://www.youtube.com/proxmoxve[{pve} YouTube Channel]
 See Also
 --------
 
-* link:/wiki/Prepare_Installation_Media[Prepare Installation Media]
+* link:/wiki/Prepare_Installation_Media[Prepare Installation Medium]
 
 * link:/wiki/Install_Proxmox_VE_on_Debian_12_Bookworm[Install Proxmox VE on Debian 12 Bookworm]
 
-- 
2.39.5



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