Subject: Re: ZIP drive problems
To: der Mouse <mouse@Holo.Rodents.Montreal.QC.CA>
From: Paul Kranenburg <pk@cs.few.eur.nl>
List: port-hp300
Date: 01/22/1997 00:43:46
> Yeah, NetBSD/sparc - at least last time I looked at the code - doesn't
> understand native NetBSD disklabels, only SunOS-style disklabels.  IMO
> this is a lose (you need a SunOS-style label on your boot disk, but not
> on any others, unless they're shared with non-NetBSD OSes).

NetBSD/sparc has always understood native NetBSD labels.

One thing that has changed (since 1.2) is that writing disklabels is always
done by encapsulating the native NetBSD label within a SunOS-style label,
and writing that composite out to the disk. When reading back that same
composite, NetBSD will use the information in the native label, discarding
the outer SunOS layer, while SunOS will happily use _it's_ native label
format, discarding the inner NetBSD label.

Of course, to retain congruence, the SunOS restriction of starting
partitions on cylinder boundaries still applies.

-pk