I can't address all this issues, but I might be able to offer some 
insight on some of them.

On Saturday, July 20, 2002, at 04:41 AM, Hauke Fath wrote:

> # Sysinst offers to upgrade the root ffs; this is probably not 
> appropriate
> for mac68k. Does the booter understand the current FFS? The MacOS 
> installer
> tooldefinitely doesn't, and the upgrade cannot be undone.

The filesystems created with Mkfs/Installer are "old" type; the 
filesystems created with sysinst are "new" type.  I believe the Booter 
only knows about "new" type filesystems, but the two filesystems are 
similar enough that the Booter works on "new" filesystems that are kept 
fairly small.  This has been discussed on the port-mac68k list in the 
past.  I don't think the filesystem is converted during an upgrade, so 
I'm not sure why this is even an issue for an upgrade.  As for a full 
install this issue is covered in the INSTALL documentation that was 
recently committed.  Preliminary copies were made available for download 
and this was posted on the port-mac68k list.

> --> Skip this message (for the root ffs at least) on mac68k.
>
> # Message "...first part... is finished. Sysinst has written a 
> disklabel to
> the target disk, ..." is bogus and annoying for mac68k.

The message is in the MI portion of sysinst and isn't necessary totally 
bogus.  Since the disklabel for the mac68k port is dynamically 
constructed from the Apple Disk Partition Map which could have been 
modified by the sysinst process, the message is mostly correct.

> # In the FTP menu, I got control sequences from the cursor keys, and a
> messed up screen. A ^L did not help. (Cursor keys worked elsewhere; over
> the 15 or so re-iterations of the process, problem did not reoccur.)

This is an MI problem.  There are a number of PRs written against 
sysinst and some cover subjects like this.

> # The dhcp client option is not working ('dhclient failed').

Sysinst has in the past had problems configuring and handling the 
network connection. This isn't a mac68k issue though since it happens in 
many of the other ports as well.  The dhcp option was working for the 
person who tested it on the mac68k port though.

> # xbase.tgz could not be unpacked, because the directories
> /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/rstart/commands/{x,x11} could not be removed.  I had 
> the
> option of installing the remaining sets, then the upgrade was aborted, 
> and
> sysinst told me to manually reinstall the missing set(s).
> I tried that, and the reinstall was aborted because of a missing
> /etc/fstab. Right -- the previous attempt had dropped everything on the
> floor because of a missing xbase.tgz, leaving a half-done /etc.

This sounds like an MI problem with sysinst.

> # Since sysinst had left the disk in an unknown state, I had to start 
> the
> upgrade procedure from scratch. Shell prompt, mount sd0a, restore etc,
> unmount. Start upgrade procedure. Upgrade aborted unconditionally 
> because
> sysinst cannot move /usr/X11R6/bin/X (a symlink!) to X.old. Excuse me?

I think this is caused by not having the right option on the "pax" 
command.  We found a situation like this in the MD part of sysinst and 
fixed it so I assume this is in the MD part.

> # If for whatever reason a fscked partition was unclean, the install
> aborts. Having sysinst unconditionally quit on me because I forgot to
> unmount a partition... has bitten me a hundred times, and still hurts 
> like
> the first time.

Probably a MI issue.  Sysinst has gotten better with things like this 
though.

> # sysinst fscked /dev/sd0d, had it marked clean and then aborted the
> install -- repeatedly. Worked again after yet another reboot; happened
> again later with /dev/sd0a.

Haven't a clue.

> # sysinst 'Full Installation' defaults to _not_ installing a kernel 
> during
> an upgrade. Reboot and be surprised.

This has been fixed in -current and 1.6 although you shouldn't have been 
surprised since there was an error generated that your system didn't 
have a kernel.  You probably blew past that like I did when it first 
happened to me.

> # Mis-type the target dir path for an ftp install, and you have to start
> from scratch.
>
> # sysinst remembers domain name, hostname, IP address and netmask from a
> network setup, but not the nameserver and gateway IPs.
>
> # Why does "install additional sets" unconditionally re-make devices and
> mess with /etc?

> # Why does 'umount -a' need /etc/fstab around? What is unclear about 
> 'all'?
>
> # US kbd layout on a non-US kbd _and_ no cli editor is just too much of 
> a PITA.
>
> --> For the not floppy-size-constrained install kernels, add command 
> line
> history in sh, and add switchable key maps.
>
> # For installation via ftp, show|check available space on local
> filesystems. Let me recover from disk space shortage.
>
> # Treat /usr/X11R6/lib/X11 like /etc, don't just overwrite its contents.
>
> # Factor out actions like transition a.out -> elf, upgrading /etc or
> /usr/X11R6/lib/X11, and make them available in a menu.
>
> # INSTALL.mac68k has nothing about /etc/postinstall or 
> /usr/sbin/etcupdate.
> postinstall does not even have a manpage.

The 1.6D INSTALL docs were not up to date.  Changes were committed a few 
days ago and preliminary documentation was available for download.

> # How does /etc/postinstall relate to the sysinst /etc upgrade 
> procedure?
> Looks like you can do one, or the other.
>
>
> Overall impression: While sysinst has become quite polished in some 
> areas,
> its structure is still very rigid and unforgiving. Stroll from the Right
> Path, and you're done for.
>
> At this point, I'd advise to ignore sysoinst and upgrade the traditional
> way: Boot with the new kernel to single user, unpack the tarballs, 
> upgrade
> /etc with /etc/postinstall and /usr/sbin/etcupdate.