In message <20031201090832.33f406c7.cube@NetBSD.org>, you write: 

-> The part I really want to commit is the change to machdep.c that turns
-> on the error LED once the system can be shut off.  I also added on my
-> box a small rc.d script that echoes "F2S0,2A0;1W1;0W1L0,0" (ahem, blink
-> 3 times with a clock running at 5Hz [1]) once sshd has started so I can
-> know when it is ok to login.

[...a slight aside...]

I also have a box at home with embedded LEDs and an LCD display and what
I found most useful was the following:
	(0) At poweron, the LED is red by default (the hardware does
	    this).
	(1) On driver init, the LED goes into reg/green blink at some
	    rate (it's a two-color LED obviously :-) to indicate it's
	    still doing autoconfiguration and the like.
	(2) Early in the rc sequence, I set the LED to solid green so
	    I can tell it's reached userland.
	(3) On shutdown, I set it to blinking red once it's OK to power
	    off.

Step (2) is just done via 'echo <stuff to turn it green> > /dev/led';
steps (1) and (3) are done by the kernel, obviously.

--rafal

----
Rafal Boni                                                     rafal@pobox.com
  We are all worms.  But I do believe I am a glowworm.  -- Winston Churchill