Date: Mon, 12 May 2008 21:39:59 -0500 (CDT) From: "Ross Gohlke" <ross@grinz.com> To: freebsd-ppc@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Installation preparation questions Message-ID: <50085.74.170.92.99.1210646399.squirrel@grinzport.grinz.com> In-Reply-To: <3A5B0AA7-34C1-45EA-89BC-C1CD4C75380C@mac.com> References: <4821C6AB.3080101@uchicago.edu> <4821C85A.7090605@freebsd.org> <4821C945.5030008@uchicago.edu> <4821C9DB.4080008@freebsd.org> <48221F56.5040900@uchicago.edu> <48262875.6020302@uchicago.edu> <50782.74.170.92.99.1210570005.squirrel@grinzport.grinz.com> <20AE25CE-43BF-4668-B8D5-EDDE16A66141@mac.com> <50757.74.170.92.99.1210609033.squirrel@grinzport.grinz.com> <3A5B0AA7-34C1-45EA-89BC-C1CD4C75380C@mac.com>
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>> What is "this particular case"? Xserve? G4? OFW version? > > Your case of doing things remotely :-) > >> Just to clarify: >> If I log in via ssh and issue shutdown -r now, will the machine come >> back >> up without someone being physically at the machine's keyboard? > > Yes, it will. But if FreeBSD hangs hard or you have a power failure, > someone will have to be on-site to press the power button. Great news! My downtime will still be less with FreeBSD under the hood, even if I have to pay someone to visit the cage in person a handful of times a year. I haven't had a power failure in years, and in my experience FreeBSD will not hang unless I do something wrong (maybe ppc will be different - we shall see!) Just to clarify, if: A) FreeBSD stops working (power is on but I can't log in via ssh) B) Power is cut (cord unplugged, backup battery dies) the only way to recover is to hit the power button. Is OFW/single user login also required? >> If I use Remote Reboot (power cycle) through my provider, I assume >> it will >> not come back up, correct? > > Correct. > >> This is disheartening news. My goal is to build a server that can be >> completely controlled remotely. I have had STELLAR success with >> FreeBSD on >> i386. > > The problem with FreeBSD on Apple hardware is that we don't have a > driver for the power management unit. The PMU needs to be programmed > every time on reboot so that the machine will power-up after a power > failure. We can't do this yet. I consider it a flaw in the hardware, > but such is the state of affair. > > A hardware solution is called for... Any chance of Apple releasing such a driver, or any point in lobbying them to do so? Without FreeBSD thousands of quality computers with plenty of life left will become obsolete; Apple has moved on, NetBSD is too hard to install, and Linux is, well, you know... My six year-old TiBook is still more reliable (and better outfitted) than some recent i386 laptops I've used. I can't wait to give it to my Mom as a starter Internet terminal - as soon as I can install PC-BSD on it! Plenty of Xserves are also destined for the garbage bin, which is a pitty. They run like tops. >> The Xserve is still a heck of a box. Is there any hope this >> situation will >> be remedied in a near-future release? > > Well, I started working on this but fail to have time. Others have > done some work as well. Bottom line: I have no idea when this will > be implemented. Understood. Put me down as a non-counting vote to prioritize this functionality. Is it important for anyone else? I will also research freebsd.org for information about offering monetary bounties for such requests. Thanks for your help and hard work. FreeBSD rocks! Ross Gohlke
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