On Thu, 15 Jul 2004 16:57:12 -0400, Christopher Schultz
<christopher.d.schultz@comcast.net> wrote:
> Andy,
> 
> > So if I have this correct, I would want to put a kernel called
> > vmlinux.gz in /nfsroot/boot on the nfs server, and then this should
> > "just work" similar to how the disk is laid out by the remote CD
> > install, correct?
> 
> I would this that this would be easier:
> 
>  >        2. Holding in all four cursor buttons while powering on boots
>  > the kernel /usr/games/.doug .
> 
> This does not require you to have a separate machine off of which you
> can netboot. It does require that you use all 4 buttons, though. Do you
> care?

It's a good point. I mean, the whole point of netbooting automatically
with the buttons is moot if you've got a serial console, but not
everyone has one. If you do, it's extremely trivial to just interrupt
the boot process and then tell it to boot somewhere else. I just
thought it would be cool to have some kind of stable install on disk
(as I have), and then netboot something else with the buttons to work
on that side of things. Holding down all 4 buttons could be
attractive, afterall it just boots a kernel from the local disk that
could easily netboot the rest of everything else. But I think it's
kind of nicer to have the entire thing on another server, that way you
don't have to put the kernel here while your userland is somewhere
else. Minor issues, but I think I'm going to pursue the 2 button thing
for my own purposes.

> 
> > I plan to make a little writeup of how to set up an nfs server, from
> > beginning to end, with a different version of NetBSD so it can be
> > tried over netboot.
> 
> AAh... that's why. Since you're going through all this trouble, you
> might even be able to work on a NetBSD-2.0 netbootable installation CD, too.
> 

Yeah, I haven't looked into how the restore CD was pulled off. I think
it's fairly well documented in the stuff that came with it though. But
how much easier would be be to have a script or install kernel, much
like Andrew Gillham describes in his email in the FAQ, that fixes up
the Linux side of the disk, and then does an install over the network
for the rest? If one could either netboot or load over the serial port
a kernel that did this, then with some minor mods the install kernel
could install over the network. Granted, this is one more install
kernel to maintain... Might be easier to just have someone maintain
the restore CD once in a while and then leave it to the person running
the thing to upgrade the OS. I think plenty of people here are happy
to run 1.6.1 from the restore CD. But, of course, I'm not which is why
I'm going through all of this.

Also, I think it doesn't make sense to make a new restore CD until we
get 2.0 released, but I suppose I could work on it if I can figure out
how it was done (and like I said previously, I'm slow so this might
take a while).

I'm thinking at this point it would be very easy to just prepare a
disk from somewhere else (some other NetBSD box) and install the OS on
it, then put it in this machine. For me, that's just as easy as doing
the restore CD install, and then trying to upgrade from there. In
fact, it's probably better because then I can get the partitioning
scheme I want which I think is not possible with the restore CD. I
think it just does what it does and installs, right?

Note, I'm not knocking the restore CD. It's super cool. I'm just
working on other stuff.

Andy