Re: amd64 kernel, i386 userland

[Brian Buhrow <buhrow%nfbcal.org@localhost>]

        hello.  The solution I use for this problem is to install native amd64
userland binaries from the base distribution over the machine I want to use
with more  than 4GB of RAM.  I leav everything in usr/pkg and /usr/local as
32-bit and install the netbsd-32 compatibility libraries.  This gives me
64-bit  versions of commands like raidctl and pf or ipf, but allows me to
run my already working 32-bit packages.  I've used this trick a number of
times and the only snags I've run into are that very old i386 NetBSD-0.x
binaries won't run and there is a compatibility bug in the socket code
whereby 32-bit programs can't use local sockets to talk to other programs
via AF_LOCAL sockets.
        Other than those two items, I'm running machines with amd64 under
NetBSD-5.x with 64GB, 32GB and others with equally sized memory footprints
that could never be utilized under NetBSD/i386.
        The last caveat is that in order to build and install packages for
these systems, one must build the package on a native I386 platform and
then pkg_add(1) the binary package to the running AMD64 hybrid environment.
 You'll get warnings about incorrect platforms, but it works.

-Brian

On Jan 21,  9:14pm, Emmanuel Dreyfus wrote:
} Subject: Re: amd64 kernel, i386 userland
} Joerg Sonnenberger <joerg%britannica.bec.de@localhost> wrote:
} 
} > At least raidctl can be found in /rescue, which is statically linked.
} > That's likely easier to play with than any compat hacks.
} 
} Yes, but that does not solves the problem for ipf, for instance.
} 
} -- 
} Emmanuel Dreyfus
} http://hcpnet.free.fr/pubz
} manu%netbsd.org@localhost
>-- End of excerpt from Emmanuel Dreyfus