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Distinguish between OS images and overlay images in documentation

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Signed-off-by: Jonathon Anderson <janderson@ciq.com>
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Jonathon Anderson
2026-03-18 08:10:49 -06:00
parent 1fd8b65ebf
commit 7909598a3d
20 changed files with 89 additions and 87 deletions
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25
userdocs/getting-started/glossary.rst
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@@ -12,13 +12,7 @@ External services
configures a DHCP server (either ISC DHCP or dnsmasq) and a TFTP server.
Image
The node images that Warewulf manages and provisions. Images may be imported
from OCI image registries, OCI image archives, Apptainer sandboxes, and
manual chroot directories.
Warewulf images are maintained as an uncompressed "virtual node file system"
(VNFS, sometimes also referred to as a "chroot"). These virtual file systems
are then built as single-file images which may be used to provision a node.
See "Operating System (OS) Image" or "Overlay Image."
Kernel
In addition to an image, Warewulf also requires a kernel (typically a Linux
@@ -42,6 +36,14 @@ nodes.conf
This file is sometimes referred to as the "nodes database" or "node
registry."
Operating System (OS) Image
An operating system image (or OS image) contains a bootable operating
system. When provisioning a cluster node, Warewulf combines the OS image
with the node's overlay images to provision the complete, configured image.
OS images may be imported from OCI image registries, OCI image archives,
Apptainer sandboxes, and manual chroot directories.
Overlay
Warewulf overlays provide customization for the provisioned image. Overlays
may be configured on nodes or profiles, as either **system** or **runtime**
@@ -56,6 +58,15 @@ Overlay
Warewulf includes a number of **distribution overlays**; but additional
**site overlays** can be added to a Warewulf environment.
Overlay Image
An overlay image contains the rendered contents of multiple overlays for a
given cluster node. Nodes have a "system overlay" image and a "runtime
overlay" image, based on the system and runtime overlays associated with each
node.
Overlay images are not managed directly, but are built by the ``wwctl
overlay build`` command.
Profile
Warewulf profiles are abstract nodes that carry the same configuration
attributes but do not provision any specific node. Warewulf nodes may then