Date: Sun, 28 Jan 2007 16:22:49 +0100 (CET) From: Oliver Fromme <olli@lurza.secnetix.de> To: freebsd-hackers@FreeBSD.ORG, volker@vwsoft.com Subject: Re: installing fbsd from foreign system Message-ID: <200701281522.l0SFMnZu093332@lurza.secnetix.de> In-Reply-To: <45BC973C.9040703@vwsoft.com>
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Volker wrote: > Probably I will be proud to have the chance to support one of > Europe's major players in root server hosting for deploying FreeBSD > as a target platform for their customers. We've done things like that before, too. > I need to find a way to integrate the FreeBSD install process into > their current deployment system. Currently their install process is > running from a Linux install system which does the partitioning, > make_fs etc. > > I found several options to integrate: > > 1) install a FAT partition, copy a bootable install system in it, > boot (bsdboot) an install kernel from FAT partition and begin > (unattended) installation (including fdisk, labeling, make_fs'ing). > > Any thoughts on that? I think this might be the best option. I don't think you can boot a FreeBSD system from a FAT file system. > 2) fdisk'ing, labeling and make fs from the Linux system if there > are any ported label + fs tools for Linux available - are they? No. > 3) create an ext2 partition and copy the fbsd install system into it > and boot from there to begin install process (same as 1 except > running from ext2fs). Does a FreeBSD kernel support booting from > ext2fs (using mdfs for root-fs)? If so, how? That _might_ work, but I haven't tried it myself. > Any better thoughts? Any hints on how to proceed with one of the 3 > options? PXE or anything else is not an option. I need to integrate > the install process into an existing deployment system. PXE would really be the cleanest and easiest way, and it's also very easy to maintain. If you can't do that, maybe you need to re-think your existing deplayment process and make it more flexible ...? Another possibility is to prepare a boot image, i.e. a file containing boot sector and a UFS root partition with wverything needed for bootstrapping (/boot/loader etc., kernel, base system). It doesn't have to cover the whole disk, it should be just large enough for a base system and some support software. It should contain a script which configures the rest of the disk when it's booted (e.g. set up remaining disk space, fetch packages from the net, whatever). >From within your Linux deployment process, simply copy the image to the beginning of the hard disk, then reboot. > I suspect to be the UFS problem to be the biggest one when it comes > to deal with that from a running Linux system. Right, Linux support for UFS is weak, not to mention UFS2. > Also as anything needs to run unattended, how do I set FreeBSD to > try DHCP on any local interface the kernel can find? The FreeBSD Handbook covers that topic (chapter 25.5). Best regards Oliver -- Oliver Fromme, secnetix GmbH & Co. KG, Marktplatz 29, 85567 Grafing b. M. Handelsregister: Registergericht Muenchen, HRA 74606, USt-Id: DE204219783 Any opinions expressed in this message are personal to the author and may not necessarily reflect the opinions of secnetix GmbH & Co KG in any way. FreeBSD-Dienstleistungen, -Produkte und mehr: http://www.secnetix.de/bsd "We, the unwilling, led by the unknowing, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We have done so much, for so long, with so little, we are now qualified to do anything with nothing." -- Mother Teresa
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