Re: Accessing BIOS Partition from NetBSD

[Matthias Petermann <mp%petermann-it.de@localhost>]

Hi,


Am 10.11.21 um 21:27 schrieb evil cRaftKnife:
> Hi
>
> I am currently planning the install of NetBSD on my new notebook. My 
> plan is to install the OS onto the first BIOS partition and use a second 
> partition to be /home on ZFS.
>
> I created the two partitions at install time in my practice run but 
> couldn't find any comprehensive instructions on how to access the second 
> BIOS partition or even what it's device name is under /dev.

If the notebook is new enough to support EFI, I would boot in EFI mode 
and install to GPT instead of BIOS partitions. This is relatively easy 
with NetBSD 9.2. I would first configure via sysinst only the EFI system 
FAT (512 MB), root FFS (>= 16GB)- and the swap partition, leaving the 
space at the end of the disk unconfigured.

I would perform the installation according to documentation. After 
installation, the remaining space can be allocated to another GPT 
partition and initialized as ZFS pool. The following steps roughly 
describe what should be done next:

1) Make sure ZFS is started on boot

```
# echo 'zfs=YES' >> /etc/rc.conf
```

2) Create GPT partition (assuming drive is wd0)

```
# gpt add -l tank -a 1m -t fbsd-zfs wd0
```

3) Create pool and dataset for home (use dk device resulting from step 2)

```
# zpool create tank /dev/dk<...>
# zfs create tank/home
```

4) Optional: migrate home directory

```
# cp -R -v /home/* /tank/home
```

5) Set mountpoint for new home (will overlay existing /home)

```
# zfs set mountpoint=/home tank/home
```

This setup works fine with NetBSD 9.2 on my Thinkpad from 2013.

Kind regards
Matthias