Date: Fri, 18 Jun 1999 08:29:45 -0300 From: "Adrian Mugnolo" <adrian@mugnolo.com> To: <freebsd-small@freebsd.org> Subject: Q: Minimal floppy mounted (rw) FreeBSD for SAH client Message-ID: <000101beb97d$e2330e80$0100a8c0@pulpo>
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Hello,
I want to build a minimal, floppy based (rw), FreeBSD setup for running
SETI@home's client. These are the features I need from it:
1) Can be one or two floppies. I would really like to understand the "magic"
behind FreeBSD distribuition's standard "mfsroot" disk. I would like to know
how to just replace it for example.
2) Must be able to recognize most PCI network cards. I plan to use a bunch
of powerful desktop PCs (most Pentium IIs and IIIs) to contribute some good
CPU power to the SAH project. They usually have at least four different NIC
types (Intel, 3Com, TI). Windoze screensaver client is a tort(ure|oise)
running so I would like to have a massive BSD installation without using
hard disk storage (I will be using them at night). This will help with SAH's
OS statistics too... ;-)
3) Must be able to get a DHCP address lease so it should have the BPF driver
compiled in. I don't want to maintain individual rc files ("laziness is a
virtue", Larry Wall dixit).
4) Must be able to store files in the floppy drive. A typical SAH directory
requires 481 KB of storage for the working unit data and status files
altogether. I don't want to loose a 90% finished working unit when someone
presses [control+alt+delete].
5) Doesn't really need init, neither users, neither multiuser mode, neither
command shell. I can think in the following startup sequence:
[power on]
[boot kernel]
dhclient
setiathome
[power off]
I know this can be done. I know how to build such kernel and the tools (this
"init" replacement, for example) but how to fit them on floppies, hmmm?... I
have been using FreeBSD for a couple if years now. In all this time I
couldn't find really good, simple, straight forward documentation on the
bootdisk process. I wish [flame mode off] building a custom bootable kernel
was as simple as LINUX's "make zdisk"... :-)
BTW, is PicoBSD the shortest path for this minimal requirement?
TIA. Regards, -AM
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