kvm installation test update + NixOS installation archive

You can run the kvm nixos installation test by:
  nix-build --no-out-link tests/test-nixos-install-from-cd.nix
It boots the installed system.
It still fails sshd isn't started (yet)

adding nixos-bootstrapping-archive:
You can install NixOS easily using any live cd now.
See README-BOOTSTRAP-NIXOS

svn path=/nixos/trunk/; revision=18950

modules/installer/cd-dvd/installation-cd-minimal-test-insecure.nix

@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ in
 
   boot.loader.grub.timeout = doOverride 0; 
   boot.loader.grub.default = 2;
+  boot.loader.grub.version = doOverride 2;
 
   # FIXME: rewrite pam.services the to be an attr list
   # I only want to override sshd

modules/installer/cd-dvd/test-nixos-install-from-cd-config.nix

@@ -4,11 +4,11 @@
 {pkgs, config, ...}: {
 
   # make system boot and accessible:
-  require = [ ../modules/installer/cd-dvd/installation-cd-minimal-test-insecure.nix ];
+  require = [ ./installation-cd-minimal-test-insecure.nix ];
 
   boot.loader.grub = {
     device = "/dev/sda";
-    copyKernels = true;
+    copyKernels = false;
     bootDevice = "(hd0,0)";
   };
 

modules/installer/tools/installer2/nixos-bootstrap.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,134 @@
+#! @shell@
+# runs in chroot
+# creates mandatory directories such as /var
+# finally runs switch-to-configuration optionally registering grub
+set -e
+
+usage(){
+  cat << EOF
+  script --install [--fast] [--no-grub]
+
+  --no-pull:  don't do a nix-pull to get the latest Nixpkgs
+              channel manifest
+
+  --no-grub:  don't install grub ( you don't want this ..)
+
+  --debug:    set -x
+
+  -j n   : will be passed to nix-env = number of build tasks done simultaniously
+
+  Description:
+  This scripts installs NixOS and should be run within the target chroot.
+
+  The minimal nix system must have been installed previously.
+  Eg nixos-prepare-install.sh does this for you.
+
+  Probably this script is distributed along with the minimal nix closure used
+  for bootstrapping
+EOF
+  exit 1
+}
+
+die(){ echo "!>> " $@; exit 1; }
+
+check(){
+  [ -e "$1" ] || die "$1 not found $2"
+}
+WARN(){ echo "WARNING: $@"; }
+INFO(){ echo "INFO: " $@; }
+
+# == configuration ==
+
+HOME=${HOME:-/root}
+NIXOS=${NIXOS:-/etc/nixos/nixos}
+NIXPKGS=${NIXPKGS:-/etc/nixos/nixpkgs}
+NIXOS_CONFIG=${NIXOS_CONFIG:-/etc/nixos/configuration.nix}
+NIXOS_PULL=${NIXOS_PULL:-1}
+NIXOS_INSTALL_GRUB=${NIXOS_INSTALL_GRUB:-1} 
+
+ps="with-prepared-chroot.sh"
+
+check "$NIXOS_CONFIG"
+check "$NIXOS/modules"  "nixos repo not found"
+check "$NIXPKGS/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix"  "nixpgks repo not found"
+for d in /dev /sys /proc; do
+  check "$d" "It should have been mounted by $ps"
+done
+
+# try reusing binaries from host system (which is most likely an installation CD)
+if [ -d /host-system/nix ]; then
+  export NIX_OTHER_STORES=/host-system/nix${NIX_OTHER_STORES:+:}$NIX_OTHER_STORES
+else
+  WARN "/host-system/nix not found. It should have been --bind mounted by $ps.
+  I won't be able to take binaries from the installation media.
+  "
+fi
+
+# == configuration end ==
+
+INSTALL=
+
+for arg in $@; do
+  case $arg in
+    --no-pull) NIXOS_PULL=0;;
+    --install) INSTALL=1;;
+    --no-grub) NIXOS_INSTALL_GRUB=;;
+    --debug)   set -x;;
+    -j*)       NIX_ENV_ARGS="$NIX_ENV_ARGS $arg";;
+    *)         usage;
+  esac
+done
+
+if [ "$INSTALL" != 1 ]; then
+  usage
+fi
+
+
+# We don't have locale-archive in the chroot, so clear $LANG.
+export LANG=
+
+export PATH=@coreutils@/bin
+
+mkdir -m 01777 -p /tmp
+mkdir -m 0755 -p /var
+
+# Create the necessary Nix directories on the target device, if they
+# don't already exist.
+mkdir -m 0755 -p \
+    /nix/var/nix/gcroots \
+    /nix/var/nix/temproots \
+    /nix/var/nix/manifests \
+    /nix/var/nix/userpool \
+    /nix/var/nix/profiles \
+    /nix/var/nix/db \
+    /nix/var/log/nix/drvs
+
+# Do a nix-pull to speed up building.
+if test -n "@nixpkgsURL@" -a ${NIXOS_PULL} != 0; then
+    @nix@/bin/nix-pull @nixpkgsURL@/MANIFEST || true
+fi
+
+# Build the specified Nix expression in the target store and install
+# it into the system configuration profile.
+INFO "building the system configuration..."
+@nix@/bin/nix-env \
+    -p /nix/var/nix/profiles/system \
+    -f "$NIXOS" \
+    --arg configuration "import $NIXOS_CONFIG" \
+    --set -A system \
+    $NIX_ENV_ARGS
+
+# Mark the target as a NixOS installation, otherwise
+# switch-to-configuration will chicken out.
+touch /etc/NIXOS
+
+# Grub needs an mtab.
+ln -sfn /proc/mounts /etc/mtab
+
+
+# Switch to the new system configuration.  This will install Grub with
+# a menu default pointing at the kernel/initrd/etc of the new
+# configuration.
+INFO "finalising the installation..."
+export NIXOS_INSTALL_GRUB
+/nix/var/nix/profiles/system/bin/switch-to-configuration boot

modules/installer/tools/installer2/nixos-prepare-install.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,227 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+
+# prepare installation by putting in place unless present:
+# /etc/nixos/nixpkgs
+# /etc/nixos/nixos
+# /etc/nixos/configuration.nix
+
+
+set -e
+
+usage(){
+  cat << EOF
+  script options [list of actions]
+
+  actions:
+
+    guess-config:     run nixos-hardware-scan > T/configuration.nix
+    copy-nix:         copy minimal nix system which can bootstrap the whole system
+                      This creates the $mountPoint/bin/sh symlink
+                      If you're bootstrapping from an archive store paths are registered valid only
+    copy-nixos-bootstrap:
+                      copy the nixos-bootstrap script to /nix/store where it will be
+                      garbage collected later
+    copy-sources:     copy repos   into T/
+    checkout-sources: svn checkout official repos into T/
+
+
+    where T=$T
+      and repos = $ALL_REPOS
+
+  options:
+    --force: If targets exist no action will taken unless you use --force
+             in which case target is renamed before action is run
+    --dir-ok: allow installing into directory (omits is mount point check)
+
+    --debug: set -x
+
+
+  default list of actions: $DEFAULTS
+EOF
+  exit 1
+}
+
+
+INFO(){ echo "INFO: " $@; }
+
+# = configuration =
+
+FORCE_ACTIONS=${FORCE_ACTIONS:-}
+ALL_REPOS="nixpkgs nixos"
+mountPoint=${mountPoint:-/mnt}
+
+if [ -e $mountPoint/README-BOOTSTRAP-NIXOS ]; then
+  INFO "$mountPoint/README-BOOTSTRAP-NIXOS found, assuming your're bootstrapping from an archive. Nix files should be in place"
+  FROM_ARCHIVE=1
+  DEFAULTS="guess-config copy-nix"
+else
+  FROM_ARCHIVE=0
+  DEFAULTS="guess-config copy-nixos-bootstrap copy-nix copy-sources"
+fi
+
+backupTimestamp=$(date "+%Y%m%d%H%M%S")
+SRC_BASE=${SRC_BASE:-"/etc/nixos"}
+SVN_BASE="https://svn.nixos.org/repos/nix"
+MUST_BE_MOUNTPOINT=${MUST_BE_MOUNTPOINT:-1}
+T="$mountPoint/etc/nixos"
+
+NIX_CLOSURE=${NIX_CLOSURE:-@nixClosure@}
+
+die(){ echo "!>> " $@; exit 1; }
+
+## = read options =
+# actions is used by main loop at the end
+ACTIONS=""
+# check and handle options:
+for a in $@; do
+  case "$a" in
+    copy-nix|copy-nixos-bootstrap|guess-config|copy-sources|checkout-sources)
+      ACTIONS="$ACTIONS $a"
+    ;;
+    --dir-ok)
+      MUST_BE_MOUNTPOINT=false
+    ;;
+    --force)
+      FORCE_ACTIONS=1
+    ;;
+    --debug)
+      set -x
+    ;;
+    *)
+      echo "unkown option: $a"
+      usage
+    ;;
+  esac
+done
+[ -n "$ACTIONS" ] || ACTIONS="$DEFAULTS"
+
+
+if ! grep -F -q " $mountPoint " /proc/mounts && [ "$MUST_BE_MOUNTPOINT" = 1 ]; then
+    die "$mountPoint doesn't appear to be a mount point"
+fi
+
+# Get the store paths to copy from the references graph.
+storePaths=$(@perl@/bin/perl @pathsFromGraph@ @nixClosure@)
+# = utils =
+
+backup(){
+  local dst="$(dirname "$1")/$(basename "$1")-$backupTimestamp"
+  INFO "backing up: $1 -> $dst"
+  mv "$1" "$dst"
+}
+
+# = implementation =
+
+# exit status  = 0: target exists
+# exti status != 0: target must be rebuild either because --force was given or
+#                   because it didn't exist yet
+target_realised(){
+  if [ -e "$1" ] && [ "$FORCE_ACTIONS" = 1 ]; then
+      backup "$1"
+  fi
+
+  [ -e "$1" ] && {
+    INFO "not realsing $1. Target already exists. Use --force to force."
+  }
+}
+
+createDirs(){
+  mkdir -m 0755 -p $mountPoint/etc/nixos
+  mkdir -m 1777 -p $mountPoint/nix/store
+}
+
+
+realise_repo(){
+  local action=$1
+  local repo=$2
+
+  createDirs
+
+  if [ "$action" == "copy-sources" ]; then
+
+    local repo_sources="${repo}_SOURCES"
+    rsync -a -r "${SRC_BASE}/$repo" "$T"
+
+  else
+
+    INFO "checking out $repo"
+    svn co "$SVN_BASE/$repo/trunk" "$T/$repo"
+
+  fi
+
+}
+
+# = run actions: =
+for a in $ACTIONS; do
+  case "$a" in
+
+    guess_config)
+      local config="$T/configuration.nix"
+      target_realised "$config" || {
+        INFO "creating simple configuration file"
+        nixos-hardware-scan > "$config"
+        echo
+        INFO "Note: you can start customizing $config while remaining actions will are being executed"
+        echo
+      }
+    ;;
+
+    copy-nixos-bootstrap)
+      createDirs
+      # this script will be garbage collected somewhen:
+      cp @nixosBootstrap@/bin/nixos-bootstrap $mountPoint/nix/store/
+    ;;
+
+    copy-nix)
+      if [ -n "$FROM_ARCHIVE" ]; then
+        NIX_CLOSURE=${mountPoint}@nixClosure@
+      else
+        INFO "Copy Nix to the Nix store on the target device."
+        createDirs
+        echo "copying Nix to $mountPoint...."
+        for i in $storePaths; do
+            echo "  $i"
+            rsync -a $i $mountPoint/nix/store/
+        done
+
+      fi
+
+      [ -e "$NIX_CLOSURE" ] || die "Couldn't find nixClosure $NIX_CLOSURE anywhere. Can't register inital store paths valid. Exiting"
+
+      # Create the required /bin/sh symlink; otherwise lots of things
+      # (notably the system() function) won't work.
+      mkdir -m 0755 -p $mountPoint/bin
+      ln -sf @shell@ $mountPoint/bin/sh
+
+      INFO "registering bootstrapping store paths as valid so that they won't be rebuild"
+      # Register the paths in the Nix closure as valid.  This is necessary
+      # to prevent them from being deleted the first time we install
+      # something.  (I.e., Nix will see that, e.g., the glibc path is not
+      # valid, delete it to get it out of the way, but as a result nothing
+      # will work anymore.)
+      # TODO: check permissions so that paths can't be changed later?
+      chroot "$mountPoint" @nix@/bin/nix-store --register-validity < $NIX_CLOSURE
+
+    ;;
+
+    copy-sources|checkout-sources)
+
+      for repo in $ALL_REPOS; do
+        target_realised "$T/$repo" || realise_repo $a $repo
+      done
+
+    ;;
+  esac
+done
+
+if [ -e "$T/nixos" ] && [ -e "$T/nixpkgs" ] && [ -e "$T/configuration.nix" ]; then
+  cat << EOF
+    To realise your NixOS installtion execute:
+
+    run-in-chroot "/nix/store/nixos-bootstrap --install"
+EOF
+else
+  for t in "$T/configuration.nix" "$T/nixpkgs" "$T/configuration.nix"; do
+    INFO "you can't start because $t is missing"
+  done
+fi

modules/installer/tools/installer2/run-in-chroot.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,93 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+# helper script preparing chroot by mounting /dev /proc /sys etc
+
+set -e
+
+usage(){
+  cat << EOF
+  $SCRIPT OPTS or cmd
+  OPTS:
+  --prepare    : only mount
+  --unprepare  : only unmount
+  --debug      : set -x
+
+  requisites: perl
+
+  $SCRIPT --prepare:   prepare chroot only
+  $SCRIPT --unprepare: unprepare chroot only
+  $SCRIPT command:     run /bin/sh command in chroot
+
+  usage example run a shell in chroot:
+    $SCRIPT path-to-sh
+
+EOF
+  exit 1
+}
+
+die(){ echo "!>> " $@; exit 1; }
+INFO(){ echo "INFO: " $@; }
+
+# this is no longer needed because umount -l unmounts rescursive --rbound mounts as well
+#umountUnder() {
+#    local dir="$1"
+#    for i in $(grep -F " $dir" /proc/mounts \
+#        | perl -e 'while (<>) { /^\S+\s+(\S+)\s+/; print "$1\n"; }' \
+#        | sort -r);
+#    do
+#        echo umount $i || true
+#    done
+#}
+
+
+prepare(){
+  INFO "Enable networking: copying /etc/resolv.conf"
+  mkdir -m 0755 -p $mountPoint/etc
+  touch /etc/resolv.conf 
+  cp /etc/resolv.conf $mountPoint/etc/
+
+  INFO "mounting /proc /sys /dev and / to /host-system"
+  mkdir -m 0755 -p $mountPoint/{dev,proc,sys,host-system}
+  mount --bind /dev $mountPoint/dev
+  mount --bind /proc $mountPoint/proc
+  mount --bind /sys $mountPoint/sys
+  mount --rbind / $mountPoint/host-system
+}
+
+unprepare(){
+  INFO "unmounting /proc /sys /dev and removing /host-system if empty"
+  for d in $mountPoint/{host-system,dev,proc,sys}; do
+    umount -l "$d"
+  done
+  # no -fr !!
+  rmdir $mountPoint/host-system
+}
+
+run_cmd(){
+  prepare
+  trap "unprepare" EXIT
+  chroot $mountPoint $@
+}
+
+
+SCRIPT="$(basename "$0")"
+mountPoint=${mountPoint:-/mnt}
+
+[ -d $mountPoint ] || die "$mountPoint is not a directory"
+
+while [ "$#" > 0 ]; do
+  case $1 in
+
+    --debug)     shift; set -x;;
+
+    -h|--help)   shift; usage;;
+
+    --prepare)   shift; prepare;;
+
+    --unprepare) shift; unprepare;;
+
+    *)
+      run_cmd "$@"
+      exit 0
+    ;;
+  esac
+done

modules/installer/tools/nixos-bootstrap-archive/README-BOOTSTRAP-NIXOS

@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+HOWTO install NixOS from a bootstrap archive
+=============================================
+
+export mountPoint=$target # defaults to /mnt
+tar xfj $ARCHIV -C $mountPoint 
+
+bash $mountPoint/nix/store/nixos-prepare-install # see --help
+
+$EDITOR $mountPoint/etc/nixos/configuration.nix
+
+# you can replace --install by --help to get more info
+bash $mountPoint/nix/store/run-in-chroot "/nix/store/nixos-bootstrap --install"
+
+
+This archive is create by
+nix-build $NIXOS -A config.system.build.minimalInstaller

modules/installer/tools/nixos-bootstrap-archive/default.nix

@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+args: with args;
+
+# TODO  add revision number or such
+runCommand "nixos-bootstrap-archive" { } ''
+  PATH=${perl}/bin:${coreutils}/bin:${gnutar}/bin:${bzip2}/bin
+  storePaths=$(perl ${pathsFromGraph} ${nixClosure})
+
+  s(){ echo -C $(dirname $1) $(basename $1); }
+
+  mkdir $out
+  tar cf tmp.tar ${nixClosure} $storePaths 
+  cp ${./README-BOOTSTRAP-NIXOS} README-BOOTSTRAP-NIXOS
+  tar --append -f tmp.tar README-BOOTSTRAP-NIXOS
+  tar --append -f tmp.tar --transform 's@^@/nix/store/@' \
+      $(s ${nixosPrepareInstall}/bin/nixos-prepare-install ) \
+      $(s ${runInChroot}/bin/run-in-chroot ) \
+      $(s ${nixosBootstrap}/bin/nixos-bootstrap )
+      
+  cat tmp.tar | bzip2 > $out/nixos-install-archive.tar.bz2
+''

modules/installer/tools/nixos-install.sh

@@ -60,6 +60,8 @@ mount --bind /proc $mountPoint/proc
 mount --bind /sys $mountPoint/sys
 mount --rbind / $mountPoint/mnt
 
+# Note: probably umount -l is enough. It umounts recursive mount points having been mounted by --rbind!
+# Probably umountUnder can be removed ?
 umountUnder() {
     local dir="$1"
     for i in $(grep -F " $dir" /proc/mounts \

modules/installer/tools/tools.nix

@@ -53,6 +53,47 @@ let
       "cp refs $out";
   };
 
+  # rewrite of nixosInstall: each tool does exactly one job.
+  # So they get more useful.
+  installer2 =
+  let nixClosure = pkgs.runCommand "closure"
+        {exportReferencesGraph = ["refs" config.environment.nix];}
+        "cp refs $out";
+
+      nix = config.environment.nix;
+  in rec {
+
+    nixosPrepareInstall = makeProg {
+      name = "nixos-prepare-install";
+      src = ./installer2/nixos-prepare-install.sh;
+
+      inherit (pkgs) perl pathsFromGraph;
+      inherit nix nixClosure nixosBootstrap;
+    };
+
+    runInChroot = makeProg {
+     name = "run-in-chroot";
+       src = ./installer2/run-in-chroot.sh;
+    };
+
+    nixosBootstrap = makeProg {
+      name = "nixos-bootstrap";
+      src = ./installer2/nixos-bootstrap.sh;
+
+      inherit (pkgs) coreutils;
+      inherit nixClosure nix;
+
+      # TODO shell ?
+      nixpkgsURL = config.installer.nixpkgsURL;
+    };
+
+    # see ./nixos-bootstrap-archive/README
+    minimalInstaller = import ./nixos-bootstrap-archive {
+      inherit (pkgs) stdenv runCommand perl pathsFromGraph gnutar coreutils bzip2;
+      inherit nixosPrepareInstall runInChroot nixosBootstrap nixClosure;
+    };
+  };
+
   nixosRebuild = makeProg {
     name = "nixos-rebuild";
     src = ./nixos-rebuild.sh;
@@ -79,7 +120,15 @@ in
       nixosRebuild
       nixosHardwareScan
       nixosGenSeccureKeys
+
+      installer2.runInChroot
+      installer2.nixosPrepareInstall
     ];
 
-  system.build = { inherit nixosInstall; };
+  system.build = {
+    inherit nixosInstall;
+
+    # expose scripts
+    inherit (installer2) nixosPrepareInstall runInChroot nixosBootstrap minimalInstaller;
+  };
 }

tests/test-nixos-install-from-cd.nix

@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ let
     # passed system = systom of iso 
     (isos.iso_minimal_test_insecure { inherit system; }).iso;
 
-  configuration = /pr/system_nixos_installer/nixos/tests/test-nixos-install-from-cd-config.nix;
+  configuration = ../modules/installer/cd-dvd/test-nixos-install-from-cd-config.nix;
 
   eval = import ../lib/eval-config.nix {
     inherit system nixpkgs;
@@ -46,6 +46,8 @@ let
   # the iso is only build when this suceeds (?)
   systemDerivation = builtins.addErrorContext "while building system" config.system.build.toplevel;
 
+  # TODO test both: copyKernels = true and false. true doesn't work ?
+
 in
 
 rec {
@@ -57,69 +59,133 @@ rec {
     # Would using uml provide any advantages?
     pkgs.runCommand "nixos-installation-test" { inherit systemDerivation; } ''
 
+    INFO(){ echo $@; }
+
+    die(){ echo $@; exit 1; }
+
+    if ${pkgs.procps}/bin/ps aux | grep -v grep | grep sbin/nmbd ; then
+      die "!! aborting: -smb won't work when host is running samba!"
+    fi 
+
+    [ -e /dev/kvm ] || die "modprobe a kvm-* module /dev/kvm not present. You want it for speed reasons!"
+
     for path in ${pkgs.socat} ${pkgs.openssh} ${qemu_kvm}; do
       PATH=$path/bin:$PATH
     done
 
-    echo "creating image file"
-    qemu-img create -f qcow2 image 512M
+    # without samba -smb doesn't work
+    PATH=${pkgs.samba}/sbin:$PATH
 
     # install the system
 
     export DISPLAY=localhost:0.0
 
+    SOCKET_NAME=65535.socket
+
+    # creating shell script for debugging purposes
     cat >> run-kvm.sh << EOF
-    #!/bin/sh
-    qemu-system-x86_64 -m 620 \
+    #!/bin/sh -e
+    # maybe swap should be used ?
+    exec qemu-system-x86_64 -m 2048 \
         -no-kvm-irqchip \
-        -net nic -net user -smb \
+        -net nic,model=virtio -net user -smb /nix \
         -hda image \
-        -cdrom $(echo ${isoFile}/iso/*.iso) \
+        -redir tcp:''${SOCKET_NAME/.socket/}::22 \
         "\$@"
     EOF
     chmod +x run-kvm.sh
 
-    SOCKET_NAME=65535.socket
-
-    # run qemu-kvm in a background process
-    { ./run-kvm.sh -boot d -redir tcp:''${SOCKET_NAME/.socket/}::22 \
-      || { echo "starting kvm failed, exiting" 1>&2; pkill -9 $$; }
-    } &
-    
-    # check that vm is still running
-    checkVM(){ [ -n "$(jobs -l)" ] || { echo "kvm died!?"; exit 1; }; }
+    RUN_KVM(){
+      INFO "launching qemu-kvm in a background process"
+      { ./run-kvm.sh "$@" \
+        || { echo "starting kvm failed, exiting" 1>&2; kill -9 $$; }
+      } &
+    }
 
     waitTill(){
       echo $1
-      while ! eval "$2"; do sleep 1; checkVM; done
+      while ! eval "$2"; do sleep 1; done
     }
 
     SSH(){
-      ssh -v -o UserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null \
+      ssh -o UserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null \
         -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no \
         -o ProxyCommand="socat stdio ./$SOCKET_NAME" \
         root@127.0.0.1 \
         "$@";
     }
+    SSH_STDIN_E(){ { echo "set -e;"; cat; } | SSH; }
+
+    SHUTDOWN_VM(){
+      SSH 'shutdown -h now';
+      INFO "waiting for kvm to shutown"
+      wait
+    }
 
     # wait for socket
 
-    waitTill "waiting for socket in $TMP" '[ ! -e ./$SOCKET_NAME ]'
-    waitTill "waiting for sshd job" "SSH 'echo Hello > /dev/tty1'"
+    waitForSSHD(){
+      waitTill "waiting for socket in $TMP" '[ ! -e ./$SOCKET_NAME ]'
+      waitTill "waiting for sshd job" "SSH 'echo Hello > /dev/tty1' &> /dev/null"
+    }
+
+
+
+    ### test installting NixOS: install system then reboot
+
+
+    INFO "creating image file"
+    qemu-img create -f qcow2 image 2G
+
+    RUN_KVM -boot d -cdrom $(echo ${isoFile}/iso/*.iso)
+    
+    waitForSSHD
 
     # INSTALLATION
-    echo "installation should take place"  
+    INFO "creating filesystem .."
+    SSH_STDIN_E << EOF
+      parted /dev/sda mklabel msdos
+      parted /dev/sda mkpart primary 0 2G
+      while [ ! -e /dev/sda1 ]; do
+        echo "waiting for /dev/sda1 to appear"
+        sleep 1;
+      done
+      mkfs.ext3 /dev/sda1
+      mount /dev/sda1 /mnt
+      mkdir -p /mnt/nix-on-host
+      mount //10.0.2.4/qemu -oguest,username=nobody,noperm -tcifs /mnt/nix-on-host
+    EOF
 
-    # REBOOT 
-    echo "rebooting should take place"  
 
-    # CHECK
-    echo "verify system is up and running"  
+    SSH_STDIN_E << EOF
+      # simple nixos-hardware-scan syntax check:
+      nixos-hardware-scan > /tmp/test.nix
+    EOF
 
-    # SHUTDOWN
-    SSH "shutdown -h now"
+    INFO "copying sources and Nix, preparing configuration, starting installation"
+    SSH_STDIN_E << EOF
 
-    echo waiting for kvm to shutdown..
-    wait
+      nixos-prepare-install
+
+      # has the generated configuration.nix file syntax errors?
+      nix-instantiate --eval-only /tmp/test.nix
+
+      # NixOS sources are in /etc/nixos, copy those configuration files.
+      cp /etc/nixos/nixos/modules/installer/cd-dvd/test-nixos-install-from-cd-config.nix /mnt/etc/nixos/configuration.nix
+      # the configuration file is referencing additional files:
+      cp -r /etc/nixos/nixos/modules/installer/cd-dvd/*.nix /mnt/etc/nixos/
+      export NIX_OTHER_STORES=/nix-on-host
+      run-in-chroot "/nix/store/nixos-bootstrap --install"
+      #nixos-install
+    EOF
+
+    SHUTDOWN_VM
+
+    INFO "booting installed system"
+    RUN_KVM -boot c
+    waitForSSHD
+    SHUTDOWN_VM
+
+    echo "$(date) success" > $out
   '';
 }

tests/test-nixos-installer2.nix

@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+# A test script is created testing the installer2 scripts
+# This can't be a build job because chroot is required - sudo is used
+# 
+# # build test script:
+# nix-build tests/test-nixos-installer2.nix -A test
+# 
+# # run:
+# sudo result/bin/test
+
+{ nixos ? ./..
+, nixpkgs ? ../../nixpkgs
+, services ? ../../nixos/services
+, system ? builtins.currentSystem
+, configPath ? ./test-nixos-install-from-cd.nix
+}:
+
+let
+
+  isos = (import ../release.nix) { inherit nixpkgs; };
+
+  # using same configuration as ased by kvm test.
+  configuration = ../modules/installer/cd-dvd/test-nixos-install-from-cd-config.nix;
+
+  eval = import ../lib/eval-config.nix {
+    inherit system nixpkgs;
+    modules = [ configuration ];
+  };
+
+
+  inherit (eval) pkgs config;
+
+  inherit (pkgs) qemu_kvm;
+
+  # prebuild system which will be installed for two reasons:
+  # build derivations are in store and can be reused
+  # the iso is only build when this suceeds (?)
+  systemDerivation = builtins.addErrorContext "while building system" config.system.build.toplevel;
+
+
+  tools = config.system.build;
+
+in
+
+rec {
+
+  test = pkgs.writeScriptBin "test"  ''
+    #!/bin/sh -e
+    # DEBUG can be set to --debug to force set -x in scripts
+
+    export mountPoint=''${mountPoint:-`pwd`/mountPoint}
+    if [ -e "$mountPoint" ]; then
+      echo "mountPoint $mountPoint exists, delete? [y] | other key: continue"
+      read -n1 delete
+      if [ "$delete" == "y" ]; then
+        rm -fr $mountPoint
+      fi
+    fi
+    mkdir -p $mountPoint
+
+    set -x
+
+    ${tools.nixosPrepareInstall}/bin/nixos-prepare-install $DEBUG --dir-ok copy-nixos-bootstrap copy-nix copy-sources
+
+    cp ${configuration} $mountPoint/etc/nixos/configuration.nix
+
+    # at least one of those files is referenced. So copy all - they don't hurt
+    cp -r ${builtins.dirOf (builtins.toString configuration)}/* $mountPoint/etc/nixos
+
+    ${tools.runInChroot}/bin/run-in-chroot $DEBUG "/nix/store/nixos-bootstrap $DEBUG --install --no-grub"
+  '';
+}