Subject: Re: Unattended booting
To: Donald Lee <donlee_ppc1@icompute.com>
From: Henry B. Hotz <hotz@jpl.nasa.gov>
List: port-macppc
Date: 09/15/2002 13:07:01
At 12:09 PM -0500 9/15/02, Donald Lee wrote:
>  >At 9:59 AM -0500 9/12/02, Donald Lee wrote:
>>>I'm wanting to upgrade my production server to something a little faster,
>>>and I'm looking at the "new world" macs.  (B&W, G4)
>>>
>>>Currently, my server is an OF 1.x machine, which I can reboot with one
>>>button press.  Can the OF 3.x machines be
>>>made so they boot NetBSD unattended?  I suppose leaving a CD in the
>>>drive would count....
>>>
>>>I'd like my root on the internal (faster) drive, of course.
>>
>>Shouldn't be a big deal.  Once you know how to boot into netbsd you 
>>just can the settings into the environment variables.
>>
>  >OF 3 used by the new machines doesn't have the space limitations 
>that OF 1 machines have.  Also they can (need to?) boot off of a 
>MacOS partition so install accordingly.
>
>I have seen postings here that indicate that there are wrinkles, though.
>
>For instance, if OF 3.x _needs_ to boot from HFS, and it is hard to get
>a disk formatted for NetBSD with *both* HFS and Netbsd partitions, might
>I not have to do something odd, like leave a CD in the drive specifically
>for booting?
>
>My understanding is that HFS partitions need Apple's tools to create them,
>and they insist on some "magic" partitions "up front".  NetBSD tools trash
>the "magic" partitions sometimes, so you can do it, but you have to be
>(as Elmer Fudd would say) "vewwy, vewwy carefuw.... heh heh heh"
>
>I've read the threads on doing this, and the process sounds slightly
>twisted, and not really supported. ;->

Haven't done it all the way through but the thing you have to worry 
about is sysinst blowing away the Apple Partition Map in favor of a 
BSD one.  This means you do an "update" type install, and maybe a few 
steps by hand.

If you use the Apple tools to begin with then you will already have 
all the "magic" partitions "up front".  Just don't let any BSD tools 
change partitioning and you should be fine.

>Have people out there done this with reasonable success and without
>undue pain?

Certainly.

My information may be a touch out of date and perhaps there are some 
aids to installation that I don't know about.  The basic process is 
pretty straightforward as I recall though.
-- 
The opinions expressed in this message are mine,
not those of Caltech, JPL, NASA, or the US Government.
Henry.B.Hotz@jpl.nasa.gov, or hbhotz@oxy.edu