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- July 1992 Release 0.1
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- Installation Notes
- for
- 386BSD Release 0.1
-
- William Jolitz
- Lynne Jolitz
-
-
- 386BSD Release 0.1:
-
- Welcome to 386BSD Release 0.1, the second edition of
- the 386BSD operating system created by William and Lynne
- Jolitz. Like its predecessor, 386BSD Release 0.0, Release
- 0.1 comprises an entire and complete UNIX-like operating
- system for the 80386/80486-based AT Personal Computer.
-
- 386BSD Release 0.1 is an enhanced version of the origi-
- nal release done by William F. Jolitz, the developer of
- 386BSD. 386BSD Release 0.0 was based on the Networking
- Software, Release 2 from the University of California at
- Berkeley EECS Department, and included much of the 386BSD
- work done earlier by Bill and contributed by us to the
- University. The latest release, 386BSD Release 0.1, con-
- tains new work by the developer and many new items which
- have been freely contributed by other software developers
- for incorporation into 386BSD (see the file CONTRIB.LIST).
- These contributions have increased the functionality and
- made it more robust. As a courtesy to the developer and the
- many people who have generously contributed these software
- enhancements, we request that users abide by and properly
- maintain all attributions, copyrights, and copylefts con-
- tained within this release.
-
- 386BSD is intended to foster new research and develop-
- ment in operating systems and networking technology by pro-
- viding this base technology in a broadly accessible manner.
- As such, like its predecessor, 386BSD Release 0.1 is freely
- redistributable and modifiable.
-
- Features of 386BSD Release 0.1
-
- 386BSD Release 0.1 is intended to be widely used by
- those interested in "pushing the envelope" towards the for-
- mation and development of innovative ideas in computer tech-
- nology. As such, we have spent considerable time developing
- a system which is simple to partition and install and
- emphasizes stability and completeness.
-
- The objective of this release is to allow anyone
- interested to quickly obtain and install 386BSD, so that the
- time is spent using the system and not on arcane system
- administrative details.
-
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- 386BSD INSTALLATION NOTES 1 Copyright (C) 1992 TeleMuse
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- July 1992 Release 0.1
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- Among the many new features of 386BSD:
-
- * New "Tiny 386BSD" System Installation Floppy
-
- * Simplified installation procedures.
-
- * 386BSD partitioning for use on an MS-DOS system.
-
- * Compressed, multivolume CPIO dump format
- binary/source/other distribution sets on MS-DOS flop-
- pies.
-
- * 387 emulation.
-
- * SCSI support.
-
- * CD-ROM support.
-
- * NFS, TCP/IP and full networking.
-
- * New 386BSD "Fix-It" System Maintenance Floppy.
-
- * New "Additional User Software" MS-DOS floppy dump.
-
- We hope that while you browse through 386BSD Release 0.1,
- you will take a moment to look at the CONTRIB.LIST file to
- see the many people who have made this release possible.
-
- 386BSD Documentation and Sources of Information
-
- 386BSD is intended for research, development, educa-
- tion, and just plain exploration. Source, Binary, Installa-
- tion, and Fix-It floppies are available at a large number of
- sites. There are many user groups, support groups, computer
- societies and individuals who are supplying and running
- 386BSD and they are good sources of information and support.
-
- Installation procedures, release-specific items, and
- simple trouble-shooting are contained in the following sec-
- tions.
-
- For users who wish to understand the internals of the
- 386BSD system developed by William F. Jolitz from 1989 to
- the present, the most immediate and available reference is
- our feature series entitled "Porting UNIX to the 386",
- appearing in Dr. Dobbs Journal, USA (January 1991 to July
- 1992) and UNIX Magazine, Germany (June 1991 to present). For
- inquiries on the article series (including reprints), con-
- tact the magazines for information.
-
- A book discussing the internals of 386BSD, entitled
- 386BSD From the Inside-Out, will be available late 1992.
-
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- 386BSD INSTALLATION NOTES 2 Copyright (C) 1992 TeleMuse
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- July 1992 Release 0.1
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- For information and questions on 386BSD seminars,
- tutorials, and materials, contact:
-
- Jim Joyce
- The Gawain Group
- 139 Noe Street
- San Francisco, California 94114 USA
- 1-415-626-7581
-
-
- In the meantime, we can recommend some other books on
- the UNIX system that we have found useful.
-
- 1. For a good general presentation on UNIX system design,
- we recommend Maurice J. Bach's The Design of the UNIX
- Operating System (Prentice-Hall Software Series, 1986,
- 471pp). Although it is now obsolete in some areas, it
- still provides the best discussion of key system areas
- such as the buffer cache.
-
- 2. For a more theoretical viewpoint of operating systems
- design, we suggest Per Brinch Hansen's Operating System
- Principles (Prentice-Hall Series in Automatic Computa-
- tion, 1973, 366pp).
-
- 3. For an understanding of the roots of all UNIX-like
- operating systems, one should obtain Elliot I.
- Organick's The Multics System: An Examination of Its
- Structure (MIT Press, 1972, 392 pp).
-
- 4. Of course, every serious student of computer science
- should have Donald E. Knuth's three-volume set The Art
- of Computer Programming (Addison-Wesley Series in Com-
- puter Science and Information Processing, 1975).
-
- 5. The UNIX Time-Sharing System by D.M. Ritchie and K.
- Thompson, Communications of the ACM, 17, No. 7 (July
- 1974). This is the classic paper on the UNIX system
- which (we feel) set the tone for all future work with
- UNIX-like systems:
-
- The success of UNIX lies not so much in new in-
- ventions but rather in the full exploitation of
- a carefully selected set of fertile ideas, and
- especially in showing that they can be keys to
- the implementation of a small yet powerful
- operating system
-
-
- 6. On the 386-side, it's best to go to the source, with
- John H. Crawford and Patrick P. Gelsinger's book Pro-
- gramming the 80386 (Sybex, 1987, 773pp). There are many
- other 386/486 books available as well.
-
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- 386BSD INSTALLATION NOTES 3 Copyright (C) 1992 TeleMuse
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- July 1992 Release 0.1
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- For general information on how-to-use UNIX-like sys-
- tems, C++, GNU software, and so forth, there are a number of
- good books available from any technical bookstore, with more
- arriving daily. In addition, an on-line manual is available
- (in the binary distribution set). It contains specific
- information on the use of UNIX utilities and commands. Type
- "man man" for information on the online manual.
-
- There are many newsgroups forming which discuss 386BSD.
- One should check out M&T Online (the DDJ newsgroup), Com-
- puserve, and BIX for 386BSD discussion forums.
-
- On the INTERNET/USENET, we are hoping to establish our
- own newsgroup called "comp.os.386bsd". This newsgroup would
- reside alongside the "comp.os.mach" and "comp.os.linux"
- newsgroups. Already there are over 100,000 copies of Release
- 0.0, and we hope to add to this number with the new and
- improved Release 0.1. Please help us to establish this
- newsgroup devoted to the "freely available" 386BSD system,
- by asking your news coordinator to subscribe to it. We do
- not recommend using comp.unix.bsd, since 386BSD, like linux
- and mach, is not a "comp.unix" system.
-
- There are a number of 386BSD special interest groups
- forming, including those interested in discussing shared
- libraries, filesystems, networking, windowing systems, giga-
- bit networking, and so forth. Also, a number of projects are
- getting underway focussing on improvements in the kernel and
- utilities. If you are interested in learning about any of
- these groups, please fill out and send in the REGISTRATION
- form and we will put you on the SIG mailing list (along with
- the general 386BSD mailing list).
-
- We can be contacted via Compuserve email (CIS
- 76703,4266 or 76703.4266@compuserve.com), BIX (wjolitz), or
- via the internet at ljolitz@cardio.ucsf.edu, and through DDJ
- and UNIX Magazin (Europe). Please be patient with responses,
- as the 386BSD user group base is growing daily, and some-
- times responses are a bit delayed. However, we do want to
- hear from you.
-
- 386BSD Release 0.1 Contents:
-
- 386BSD Release 0.1 consists of:
-
- Tiny 386BSD: System Installation Floppy
- Tiny 386BSD is a single floppy 386BSD system on a
- high-density diskette. This completely standalone sys-
- tem manages to allow a potential 386/486 based PC to be
- qualified for use with 386BSD, simply by attempting to
- boot it as an ordinary floppy. It also can be used to
- simply partition, install, and load 386BSD on the hard
- disk. It contains complete installation information and
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- 386BSD INSTALLATION NOTES 4 Copyright (C) 1992 TeleMuse
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- July 1992 Release 0.1
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- networking facilities for obtaining the release via
- floppies, tape, CD-ROM, SLIP, and Ethernet.
-
- You can obtain the latest labeled copy of Tiny 386BSD
- directly from DDJ as part of their Careware Program. To
- obtain one from DDJ, just send a 1.2 MByte formatted
- and error-free high-density diskette and a self-
- addressed stamped diskette mailer to: Tiny 386BSD, Dr.
- Dobbs Journal, 411 Borel Avenue, San Mateo, CA. 94402
- USA and they will send you the latest copy with a great
- label. There is no charge for this service, but it
- would be great if you slip a dollar or two into the
- mailer for the kids helped by the Children's Support
- League of the East Bay as part of DDJ's Careware char-
- ity drive. We know the children will appreciate it.
- (See the CAREWARE.INFO file for more information on the
- Careware Program and the Children's Support League.)
-
- Binary Distribution
- A collection of high-density MS-DOS floppy disks (10
- 3.5-inch floppies or 12 5.25-inch floppies), also in
- compressed multi-volume CPIO form, containing the exe-
- cutable, data, and documentation files of a working
- 386BSD system, including C and C++ compilers and
- libraries. When extracted, the files occupy approxi-
- mately 30 MBytes of disk space. Note that at least 5
- MBytes of swap space, plus an operating reserve of
- another 10% of the total accumulated disk space men-
- tioned should be considered as minimum to operate this
- system. An additional 14 MBytes is necessary to hold
- the distribution prior to extraction. While 386BSD
- does not require MS-DOS for operation, MS-DOS floppies
- are used to simplify distribution of the release.
-
- Source Distribution
- A collection of high-density MS-DOS floppy disks (11
- 3.5-inch floppies or 13 5.25-inch floppies), which is a
- multi-volume compressed CPIO format archive of the
- source language files with which to recreate the sys-
- tem. When extracted, the files consume approximately
- 37 MBytes of space. In addition, at least 25 MBytes of
- space is taken up by the binary files created when
- recompiling. Please note that an additional 20 MBytes
- is necessary to hold the interim distribution to be
- loaded prior to release extraction. As mentioned
- above, 386BSD does not require MS-DOS for operation --
- MS-DOS floppies are used to simplify distribution of
- the release.
-
- Additional User Software Distribution
- A collection of high-density MSDOS floppy disks (17
- 3.5-inch floppies or 20 5.25-inch floppies), again in
- compressed multi-volume CPIO format, containing various
-
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- 386BSD INSTALLATION NOTES 5 Copyright (C) 1992 TeleMuse
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- July 1992 Release 0.1
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- public software packages that have been integrated into
- 386BSD, and are present both in source and binary in
- this distribution set. When extracted, the files con-
- sume approximately 51 MBytes of space. In addition,
- other files not necessary for system operation but con-
- venient for use with the system are present in this
- set. This distribution set is the fastest growing por-
- tion of 386BSD, and represents a considerable amount of
- work done by many dedicated contributors to 386BSD.
-
- 386BSD Fix-It System Maintenance Floppy
- This single high-density floppy contains the standalone
- system and the utilities required to diagnose, fix, and
- return to operation the system running on the hard
- disk. This floppy can also be used by experienced sys-
- tem administrators to manually partition and install
- 386BSD Release 0.1.
-
- A variety of online information notes regarding 386BSD
- is available and can be examined at any time. The
- INSTALL.NOTES file (this file) contains installation infor-
- mation. The REGISTRATION file contains the 386BSD user
- group registration form. Please complete and return it to
- receive updates and mailings about 386BSD. The list of
- major 386BSD contributors is contained in the CONTRIB.LIST
- file. The CAREWARE.INFO file in the base system contains
- information on the DDJ Careware program and Tiny 386BSD.
- The COPYRIGHT file contains the 386BSD copyright and condi-
- tions for use. In addition, complete checksum MANIFESTS for
- each category are also included.
-
- Software bugs and fixes should be reported using the
- BUGNFIX.FORM. Software contributors should refer to the
- SOFTWARE.FORM for information on how to contribute software
- for inclusion in future 386BSD releases.
-
- All distributions can be downloaded onto floppies. The
- Tiny 386BSD installation floppy should be obtained first,
- via a friend, DDJ, or by using kermit to snag the file
- dist.fs (a binary image 1.2 MByte floppy for either 3.5-inch
- or 5.25-inch high-density diskettes) and rawrite.exe (an
- MS-DOS utility to write the image on the high-density
- floppy). You can also use rawrite.exe to write the Fix-It
- floppy to a high-density floppy. The distribution sets
- (binary, source, additional software) are already set up for
- high-density MS-DOS floppies, and should not be used with
- rawrite.exe.
-
- Manifests
-
- The manifest files are extremely important to validate
- file and system integrity. These manifest files contain the
- checksum of every 386BSD file. Each file should have the
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- 386BSD INSTALLATION NOTES 6 Copyright (C) 1992 TeleMuse
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- same checksum number as listed in the manifest. If a file is
- corrupted or altered, the checksum number will not match the
- checksum number recorded in the manifest. If there is any
- difference whatsoever, or you suspect that a file and/or the
- manifest on a machine has been altered or corrupted, cross-
- check any discrepancies with the standard manifests and
- files on Compuserve for confirmation. DO NOT USE ANY 386BSD
- SOFTWARE WHICH DOES NOT CHECKSUM CORRECTLY WITH THE STANDARD
- MANIFESTS AND FILES.
-
- 386BSD should only be obtained from sites which provide
- the complete system as distributed. Incomplete or partial
- versions of 386BSD (such as source sans binary and documen-
- tation) are not recommended, since they cannot be satisfac-
- torily correlated with system checksum manifests to com-
- pletely validate file and system integrity. OBTAIN 386BSD
- ONLY FROM SITES WHICH OFFER THE COMPLETE AND VALIDATED
- BINARY, SOURCE, INSTALLATION FLOPPY AND ON-LINE DOCUMENTA-
- TION.
-
- If you find corrupted and/or altered 386BSD software,
- or incomplete or inaccurate representations of this system
- on a ftp or BBS site, please snapshot a copy for later exam-
- ination, notify the Sysop, send email to our address at Com-
- puserve, and use only the files on Compuserve until the
- problem is corrected.
-
- We do not recommend that any 386BSD software be
- obtained off of UUNET.
-
- Scope and Goals of 386BSD Releases:
-
- 386BSD Release 0.0 was made available via the network
- in March of 1992, and the response was overwhelming -- an
- estimated 100,000 copies were obtained by users in one month
- through the "grassroots" efforts of a large number of peo-
- ple. Dedicated network volunteers got it out to as many
- people as desired it. Systems programmers and software
- enthusiasts got it running on a variety of PC's and confi-
- gurations, and spent time and energy aiding others via user
- group meetings, postings and email. Finally, a large number
- of software contributions were made available for the next
- release.
-
- After four years of work, 386BSD finally became the
- generic research and educational platform we envisioned when
- we wrote "386BSD: A Modest Proposal", the software specifi-
- cation for 386BSD, back in mid-1989. Better still, our
- goals for doing 386BSD Release 0.0 were accomplished. 386BSD
- Release 0.0 was a minimalist version which demonstrated
- feasibility, provided accessibility, and assured our readers
- and supporters that this project would be finished and
- available to all, and not just appropriated by private
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- 386BSD INSTALLATION NOTES 7 Copyright (C) 1992 TeleMuse
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- July 1992 Release 0.1
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- concerns.
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- 386BSD Release 0.1, in the tradition of odd-numbered
- releases, is essentially a new-and-improved version of
- Release 0.0. It is far more robust and well-rounded than
- Release 0.0 and supports more functionality, such as SCSI
- support and 387 emulation. In sum, 386BSD Release 0.1 is now
- a comfortable system for those used to working with Berkeley
- UNIX. While 386BSD still contains some experimental
- software, it is satisfactory for the experienced programmer
- or dedicated student.
-
- Devices Supported in this Release:
-
- This release supports a 386/486 SX/DX ISA (ATBUS) sys-
- tem, with the traditional hard and floppy disk controller
- (MFM, ESDI, IDE, SCSI - Adaptec 1542, RLL). Also, the usual
- display adapters (MDA/CGA/VGA/HGC) are supported, along with
- the serial communications ports (COM1 and COM2) and parallel
- port (LPT1). Ethernet controllers supported are the Western
- Digital/SMC 8000/Elite series, Novell NE1000/NE2000, 3COM
- 3C503, and the ISOLAN ISOLINK. Clones also appear to work
- quite well. Tape drive support is available for QIC-02 and
- SCSI (Adaptec 1542) controllers as well, allowing use of 3M
- cartridges of QIC-60 through QIC-150 format (no QIC-40 or
- QIC-80 supported at this time). SCSI (Adaptec 1542) CD-ROM
- drives and CD-ROM ISO 9660 filesystem format is also sup-
- ported. The system supports either 287 or 387 coprocessor,
- but does not require one for operation.
-
- As configured on the binary distribution, the system
- minimally requires a hard disk and controller, floppy disk
- drive (either 5.25 or 3.5 high-density only), and display
- adapter. If the serial port or a Western Digital Ethernet
- card (port 0x280, IRQ 2, iomem 0xd000) is present, the sys-
- tem can make use of it as well. (See TABLE 1 for configura-
- tion information for adaptec scsi controller, serial ports,
- ethernet controllers and QIC-02).
-
- It is recommended that the system possess at least 2
- MBytes of memory, but more is definitely preferred. A 4
- MByte RAM system with a 200 MByte plus SCSI hard disk is a
- comfortable configuration, although by sharing the sources
- via NFS, networked systems with 40 MByte drives are quite
- useful.
-
- A Tour through the Tiny 386BSD Installation Floppy
-
- The Tiny 386BSD Installation floppy contains a complete
- 386BSD kernel with drivers and networking facilities to
- allow 386BSD to run on a broad number of PC platforms and
- facilitate loading of the rest of the system. By the clever
- use of space-saving techniques, approximately 1.6 MBytes of
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- 386BSD INSTALLATION NOTES 8 Copyright (C) 1992 TeleMuse
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- ____________________________________________________________
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- Adaptec 1542 SCSI Controller Configuration Information:
- as0 at isa? port 0x330 bio irq 11 drq 5 vector asintr
-
- Serial Port Configuration Information:
- com1 at isa? port "IO_COM1" tty irq 4 vector comintr
- com2 at isa? port "IO_COM2" tty irq 3 vector comintr
-
- Ethernet Controller Configuration Information:
-
- Western Digital/SMC 8000/Elite series:
- we0 at isa? port 0x280 net irq 2 iomem 0xd0000 iosiz 8192 vector weintr
- Novell NE1000/NE2000:
- ne0 at isa? port 0x300 net irq 2 vector neintr
- 3COM 3C503:
- ec0 at isa? port 0x250 net irq 2 iomem 0xd8000 iosiz 8192 vector ecintr
- ISOLAN ISOLINK:
- is0 at isa? port 0x280 net irq 10 drq 7 vector isintr
-
- QIC-02 Configuration Information:
- wt0 at isa? port 0x300 bio irq 5 drq 1 vector wtintr
- ____________________________________________________________
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- TABLE 1: Device Configuration Information
- ____________________________________________________________
-
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- software are contained on a 1.2 MByte floppy.
-
- The 386BSD kernel itself is only 400 KBytes -- consid-
- erably smaller than commercial UNIX-like system kernels with
- comparable abilities, yet it is a complete POSIX-compatible
- system with Internet protocols, NFS and multiple other
- filesystems, and numerous device drivers.
-
- The Tiny 386BSD floppy can be explored prior to
- proceeding with any further steps. You can insert it into
- any 386/486 AT PC and try to boot it up. (The floppy is
- read-only until the install procedure is actually run). You
- can then explore this mini-386BSD system at your own pace,
- by looking at files and running commands such as ls, pwd,
- and cd.
-
- If you decide you would rather run Tiny 386BSD off of a
- fast hard disk instead of a slow floppy, you can setup a new
- partition (using the MS-DOS fdisk command) and install the
- base system at any time. (You can also easily deinstall the
- base system by simply deleting the partition).
-
- Tiny 386BSD contains automated facilities to qualify,
- partition, install, download, and extract the rest of the
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- 386BSD INSTALLATION NOTES 9 Copyright (C) 1992 TeleMuse
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- system easily. Among the downloading facilities supported
- on Tiny 386BSD are via Ethernet, slip, modems, CD-ROM (SCSI
- only), QIC-02 and SCSI interface tape, and floppies. The
- downloading facilities have been compressed to save space
- and are uncompressed upon installation of the base system
- onto the hard disk.
-
- Tiny 386BSD has squeezed onto it a remarkable number of
- items, but due to space limitations, it contains only a very
- tiny fraction of what appears in 386BSD Release 0.1. The
- real 386BSD release is a complete development environment.
- You can do real OOP, leverage the software control manage-
- ment (RCS) utilities, use a plethera of editors, compilers,
- and huge number of utilities and related facilities, includ-
- ing networking -- and this doesn't even include the popular
- publicly available packages that have been ported by others.
- We cannot emphasize enough how much 386BSD actually contains
- -- and it is still growing!
-
- Finally, in addition to the binary, you can also obtain
- the publicly-available source code to work on areas which,
- until recently, required a working association with a
- research facility. 386BSD groups are working on shared
- libraries, windowing systems, high-speed networking,
- filesystems, operating systems -- and a whole lot more.
- Everyone with a good idea can become a part of this process.
-
- Booting Up Tiny 386BSD
-
- To boot up Tiny 386BSD, simply insert it in the floppy
- drive and type "CNTL/ALT/DEL". Be patient -- it takes a lit-
- tle time (approximately 1.5 minutes). Finally, a banner mes-
- sage should appear:
-
- 386BSD Release 0.1 by William and Lynne Jolitz.
- Copyright (c) 1989,1990,1991,1992 William F. Jolitz. All rights reserved.
- Based in part on work by the 386BSD User Community and the
- BSD Networking Software, Release 2 from UCB EECS Department.
-
-
- After this banner message, the devices that the system finds
- are listed: terminal devices, mass storage devices, and net-
- work devices.
-
- After the monitor and serial port are found, the next
- devices discovered should be the disk controller(s) (AT
- and/or Adaptec SCSI controllers). Then the system should
- attempt to locate (if present) any Ethernet controllers,
- floppy drives (1.2 MByte indicates a 5.25-inch floppy drive
- and 1.44 MByte indicates a 3.5-inch floppy drive),
- floating-point coprocessor, and QIC-02 (wt0) drive.
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- 386BSD INSTALLATION NOTES 10 Copyright (C) 1992 TeleMuse
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- After it finds these devices (if present), it then
- probes for the hard disk(s). However, if the geometry of the
- drive has not yet been installed (via the install or diskla-
- bel command), it will state "wd0 (or as0): cannot find label
- (no disk label)". (If this message is absent, no drive was
- found. In this case, the drive connections should be
- rechecked).
-
- When the "#" prompt appears, you are now ready to
- explore Tiny 386BSD. (To install the base system, consult
- the "Installation Procedures" further on in these notes).
-
- If any devices in the machine are not found, the PC
- should be examined for proper cabling and jumpering of
- drives. You should also check to make sure that the devices
- not found are ones which are actually documented here as
- supported on 386BSD systems. In the case of Ethernet con-
- trollers, the default case (using IRQ3) cannot be used. To
- use the controllers, they must be rejumpered (old boards) or
- reconfigured (using software supplied by the manufacturer)
- to use IRQ2 8-bit (translated to IRQ9 16-bit on the ISA bus
- and system software). See Table 1 in the "Devices Sup-
- ported" section for further information.
-
- Elements of Tiny 386BSD
-
- Before embarking on the installation procedures, it
- helps to understand how the Tiny 386BSD floppy is put-
- together. Basically, Tiny 386BSD contains the following
- major elements:
-
- 1. The operational 386BSD kernel itself, with networking
- and driver support.
-
- 2. The documentation files discussing installation and
- registration. Also, manifests, copyright, and other
- relevant items.
-
- 3. The device interfaces to the drivers (console, wd, as,
- etc.)
-
- 4 The install command, which facilitates automatic crea-
- tion of a 386BSD partition (if desired) and installa-
- tion of the base system onto the hard disk. It also
- places on the disk the facilities for loading the rest
- of the system on the disk.
-
- 5. Facilities for loading the rest of the system on the
- disk, via floppy, tape, networks or Compuserve (BBS)
- download (compressed).
-
- 6. The extract command, used with the base system on the
- hard disk once Tiny 386BSD has been installed, checks
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- 386BSD INSTALLATION NOTES 11 Copyright (C) 1992 TeleMuse
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- for the presence and correctness of all elements of the
- 386BSD system distribution (informing you of any
- discrepancies). If there are no discrepancies, it con-
- tinues and extracts the distribution and places it on
- the hard disk.
-
- Files of Tiny 386BSD
-
- Tiny 386BSD contains the following key files:
-
- / The main or "root" directory. 386BSD (the
- kernel itself), documentation files, and
- other directories are located here. The
- install utility, used only for installing
- the base system on the hard disk, also
- resides here.
-
- /bin stty sets the characteristics of the the
- console, baud rates for serial ports, and
- other parameters. sh is the shell command
- processor. Among the shell commands avail-
- able are the often used set, (set charac-
- teristics) echo, (obvious) pwd, (print work-
- ing directory and cd (change directory). ls
- lists the files in a directory.
-
- /dev Device interface files for all devices.
-
- /etc baselist.Z is a compressed file containing a
- list of the files copied onto the hard disk
- by install. To view this list, type:
-
- zmore baselist.Z
-
- baseutils.cpio.Z is a compressed file con-
- taining all the necessary downloading facil-
- ities used after the base system is
- installed on the hard disk. profile is the
- master configuration file for the shell
- (loaded before all others). In this case, it
- is used to specify the patch level of this
- floppy, and is consulted by all related pro-
- grams.
-
- /mnt Directory used to mount devices as files.
-
- /sbin init, the very first process run, is used to
- bootstrap the system after 386BSD is loaded
- and run. newfs is used by install to do the
- high-level formatting of the disk drive.
-
- /usr/bin More utilities relating to loading the dis-
- tribution. The distribution is in
-
-
- 386BSD INSTALLATION NOTES 12 Copyright (C) 1992 TeleMuse
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- July 1992 Release 0.1
-
-
- multivolume compressed CPIO format. cpio is
- the AT&T archive command, contributed to
- BSD, and consolidates the files of the dis-
- tribution (in CPIO format). The compress
- utilities: zcat, compress, and uncompress
- are based on the modified Lempel-Ziv
- compression algorithm. They reduce the size
- and hence the transfer or loading time of
- the distribution. more filename allows one
- to view a pagenated file.
-
- /usr/distbin This directory contains most of the commands
- for "doing" things. The mount and umount
- commands gain and terminate access to dev-
- ices as filesystems, for example
-
- mount /dev/wd01 /mnt
-
- (used by the install command). Mounting
- filestructures correspond to accessing "A:,
- ..." device directories in MS-DOS. 386BSD
- always operates relative to the device on
- which it operates. Therefor, if currently
- operating off the hard disk, one must type
-
- mount /dev/fd0a /mnt
- ls /mnt
- umount /mnt
-
- to list files on a floppy and then remove
- the association. The -i option of mount
- allows mounting of a CD-ROM device via SCSI.
- The -u option turns the default "read-only"
- root filesystem to "read-write". 386BSD
- improves filesystem access over MS-DOS by
- caching writes until necessary. The shutdown
- command (with no arguments) cleanly shuts
- down the system, so that the PC can be
- turned off without incident. The command
-
- shutdown -todos
-
- will cleanly shutdown 386BSD and make the
- MS-DOS partition "active". After shutdown
- completes, wait for a prompt to hit a
- return, and then the PC will boot up MS-DOS.
- To return from MS-DOS to 386BSD, simply run
- fdisk to make the 386BSD partition "active"
- and reset. Optionally, one can also make the
- 386BSD partition active by rebooting the
- Tiny 386BSD floppy and typing:
-
- shutdown -to386bsd
-
-
- 386BSD INSTALLATION NOTES 13 Copyright (C) 1992 TeleMuse
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- July 1992 Release 0.1
-
-
- removing the floppy, and hitting a return.
-
- Other typical utilities (reduced due to size
- constraints) include: mkdir (creates a
- directory, i.e. mkdir directoryname), rm
- (deletes a file, i.e. rm filename), mv
- (moves a file to a new location or renames
- it, i.e. mv oldfilename newfilename), cp
- (replicates a file, i.e. cp filename1
- filename2), and cat (catenate files, cat
- file1 file2 ..., or view a file, cat file).
-
- /usr/mdec Bootstraps for 386BSD (SCSI or
- AT/IDE/ESDI/MFM/RLL devices). The initial
- block bootstraps (asboot, wdboot) and the
- remaining bootstrap (bootas, bootwd) are
- invoked by install, which in turn load
- 386BSD itself.
-
- The baseutils.cpio.Z file
-
- The baseutils.cpio.Z file in the /etc directory is a
- compressed file containing all the necessary utilities
- required after the install command is run. It contains all
- facilities for downloading and completing the extraction of
- 386BSD Release 0.1. Since these items cannot be run on this
- floppy, they have been compressed to save space. When the
- base system is installed on the hard disk, these facilities
- are uncompressed and ready-for-use.
-
- To see a table-of-contents listing of what is contained
- within this file, type:
-
- zcpio -itv < baseutils.cpio.Z
-
- Some key items of interest include:
-
- / The extract utility, used only for validat-
- ing and extracting the release on the hard
- disk.
-
- /bin chmod changes the mode (read-write-execute
- permissions) of a file.
-
- /etc Configuration files used for network opera-
- tion; protocols and services. protocols
- determines which protocol is associated with
- with the number in the internet packet
- header (used by ftp). services contains the
- binding for well-known name services (also
- used by ftp).
-
-
-
- 386BSD INSTALLATION NOTES 14 Copyright (C) 1992 TeleMuse
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- July 1992 Release 0.1
-
-
- /sbin slattach associates a serial port (COM1 or
- COM2) with a SLIP packet driver (i.e. sl0)
- built into the system, turning it into a
- link-level interface to another system (i.e.
- slattach com1 2400 <a baud rate>). ifconfig
- initializes a network level address to a
- packet device For SLIP, both source and des-
- tination must be specified for a point-to-
- point connection. (i.e. ifconfig sl0
- 192.108.246.100 192.108.246.200, ifconfig
- we0 192.108.246.40). route manipulates the
- routing table (i.e. route add default
- 192.108.245.11).
-
- /usr/bin ftp (file transfer protocol) is used to
- retrieve the distribution via the network.
-
- /usr/distbin mknod creates device files for communica-
- tions. sync forces an immediate write to the
- disk. tip is used to connect via a modem to
- a remote system (i.e. tip /dev/com1).
-
- usr/local/bin Versions of rz (receive ZMODEM protocol com-
- mand) and mread (part of the mtools set;
- reads a MS-DOS floppy). The mread command
- should never be run off of the floppy --
- only off the hard disk (after the install
- procedure).
-
- /usr/sbin update syncs out filesystem every 30 seconds
- automatically. bad144 maps out bad sectors
- on the disk. See "Bad Sector Mapping" for
- more information.
-
- 386BSD Installation Procedures
-
- Now that you have had a tour of the Tiny 386BSD floppy,
- you can embark on the installation procedures for the rest
- of the system. We have considerably simplified the 386BSD
- installation procedures since the previous release, so you
- can get underway more quickly. However, if you feel uncom-
- fortable with the procedures outlined below, please look
- before you leap and ask your local PC-UNIX user group, elec-
- tronic discussion forum, or newsgroup for help. Already,
- there are people with experience on more machines than we
- can list. Leverage other people's knowledge and experience,
- but don't forget to share yours as well. That's how 386BSD
- gets better.
-
- While 386BSD does not require MS-DOS to run, it can now
- coexist with MS-DOS on the same disk in a separate partition
- (although you can also use the entire disk if you prefer).
- In any case, IF YOU WISH TO SAVE THE CONTENTS ON YOUR DISK
-
-
- 386BSD INSTALLATION NOTES 15 Copyright (C) 1992 TeleMuse
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- July 1992 Release 0.1
-
-
- FOR LATER USE, YOU MUST MAKE A BACKUP. (This is true no
- matter what system is used). You should also make a backup
- copy of the system and several copies of Tiny 386BSD and the
- Fix-It floppy and save them away. You should always have a
- working spare if system recovery procedures ever have to be
- implemented.
-
- Resizing MS-DOS and Creating a Partition
-
- Typically, a PC is purchased with MS-DOS on the entire
- drive. If you would like MS-DOS to remain on the system,
- you must first reduce the MS-DOS partition size so that free
- space will be made available to 386BSD.
-
- NOTE: If you intend to use the entire drive for 386BSD,
- you can ignore the following steps and proceed to the
- install procedure. If you intend to install the system manu-
- ally, using disklabel, newfs, etc., you must obtain these
- utilities from the "Fix-It" floppy and follow standard BSD
- installation procedures as documented in BSD administration
- references. Manual installation procedures are no longer
- discussed in these notes.
-
- First, backup any files you wish to save. MS-DOS stores
- information randomly all over the partition, so you will
- destroy your files if you resize. Then grab your MS-DOS
- floppy and boot it up.
-
- Next, using the MS-DOS fdisk command, delete the old
- partition, create a new smaller partition (saving at least
- 40 MBytes for 386BSD), and make it active. Then, you must
- high-level format the disk, using the MS-DOS format c:/s
- command. Finally, you must copy MS-DOS back into this parti-
- tion from the floppy, restoring any backup files. You are
- now ready to install 386BSD.
-
- If you are already using a fancy partitioning program
- such as "diskmanager", you should setup the 386BSD partition
- as type 0xa5 (decimal 165), with a minimum partition size of
- 40 MBytes to load and run the binary distribution set. (The
- complete source, binary, and other distribution sets are 120
- MBytes uncompressed and hence require at least a 200 MByte
- drive if you want to recompile the system and use the larger
- source/binary public packages.) The install program will
- then detect this dedicated partition and automatically
- install 386BSD within it. THIS IS INTENDED FOR SPECIAL
- APPLICATIONS, AND IS NOT INTENDED AS THE GENERAL PURPOSE WAY
- TO BRING UP 386BSD.
-
- Installing the 386BSD Base System
-
- Next, boot up the Tiny 386BSD distribution installation
- floppy and type
-
-
- 386BSD INSTALLATION NOTES 16 Copyright (C) 1992 TeleMuse
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- July 1992 Release 0.1
-
-
- install
-
- It will first query you as to how much space you wish to
- allocate to 386BSD. You should allocate at least 40 MBytes
- for the binary distribution.
-
- Once you have determined how much space you wish to
- dedicate to 386BSD, it will then query if you wish it to
- create a 386BSD partition. If you say no, it will query
- whether you want to place 386BSD on the entire drive. (Warn-
- ing: putting 386BSD on the entire drive will destroy all
- data currently on the disk.)
-
- Once you agree to either creating a new 386BSD parti-
- tion (if you did not create a 386BSD partition earlier) or
- putting it on the entire disk, a bootable image of the dis-
- tribution installation floppy will be installed. The system
- will then reboot and continue operation on the hard disk,
- freeing up the floppy for installation of the remainder of
- the distribution (if desired).
-
- If you wish to resize the partition after install has
- been run (but before continuing further), simply go back to
- MS-DOS (5.0 and later) and run the fdisk utility again to
- delete the old 386BSD partition. Then, return to Tiny 386BSD
- and run install again.
-
- If you wish to install 386BSD over the entire disk
- after install has been run (but before continuing further),
- simply run install again.
-
- If you wish to deinstall 386BSD after installation, go
- back to MS-DOS (5.0 and later) and run the fdisk utility
- again to delete the partition.
-
- To switch bootable systems (say, 386BSD to MS-DOS), use
- either a partition switcher bootstrap, the MS-DOS fdisk com-
- mand to make the partition active, or the shutdown command
- (see "Files of Tiny 386BSD" for more information on the
- shutdown command).
-
- To erase 386BSD from the dedicated disk, simply refor-
- mat the system. Some versions of MS-DOS require the master
- boot record to be rewritten as well, using the MS-DOS "fdisk
- /mbr" command.
-
- Other versions of MS-DOS require that the boot record
- lose its validity before being rewritten by fdisk. This is
- accomplished by cat'ing a file to the "raw" partition 'd' of
- the drive, "cat /386bsd >/dev/rwd0d", and then reformatting
- under MS-DOS. If you are using an old version of MS-DOS,
- you can use this technique to delete the 386BSD partition as
- well. This technique usually works (not always, however). As
-
-
- 386BSD INSTALLATION NOTES 17 Copyright (C) 1992 TeleMuse
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- July 1992 Release 0.1
-
-
- such, we strongly recommend that you obtain the most up-to-
- date version of MS-DOS (5.0 or better) and save yourself the
- headache.
-
- Bad Sector Mapping
-
- Sometimes, during the installation procedure, bad sec-
- tors are found on a ST-506 (MFM), RLL, or ESDI drive:
-
- "wd0: hard read error writing fsbn XXXXX (wd0 bn YYYYY; cn ZZZ, tn A, sn B)
-
- This message indicates that it is a wise idea to map out bad
- sectors before continuing further, using the bad144 utility.
- To initialize, type:
-
- bad144 wd0 0
-
- To map out a bad sector (the "bn" number YYYYY cited above)
- found by install, type:
-
- bad144 -a wd0 YYYYY
-
-
- WARNING: bad144 is NEVER used with SCSI or IDE disks,
- since they have their own bad sector mapping functions.
- Since ESDI and IDE drives appear very similar, make sure
- before running this command that you have an ESDI drive and
- not an IDE drive. SCSI and IDE drives should never have
- "hard read error" messages. If you get these messages, the
- drive may be misconfigured, or you may require special
- assistance.
-
- Loading the 386BSD Binary Distribution
-
- Now that you have the 386BSD base system running on the
- hard disk, you can download the rest of the distribution
- sets, and then extract and install them. Each distribution
- set consists of a multivolume, compressed, CPIO format dump.
- All files must be present before extraction, and after suc-
- cessful extraction they should be removed to reclaim space.
-
- The distribution media range from floppies, 3M data
- cartridge tapes, 8MM Exabyte tape, to CDROM. You can down-
- load the distribution via the INTERNET network (via Ethernet
- or SLIP), or by using serial download using ZMODEM from ser-
- vices like M&T Online, Compuserve, and BIX. (Please note
- that the instructions for downloading from Internet sites
- assumes familiarity with the use of ftp)
-
- The complete distribution (binary, source, and addi-
- tional packages) is very large (greater than 40 MBytes
- compressed), so you should obtain it in increments (binary
- first, then source, then additional packages) and only from
-
-
- 386BSD INSTALLATION NOTES 18 Copyright (C) 1992 TeleMuse
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- July 1992 Release 0.1
-
-
- a large bandwidth network or a dense distribution medium.
- (The size and growth rate of 386BSD is bringing the spector
- of 100+ compressed floppy dumps closer every day).
-
- A. Loading the System From Floppies
- To load the 386BSD binary distribution, first change to
- the /tmp directory, where the files will be held. Type
-
- cd /tmp
-
- Now you are ready to download the distribution.
-
- To load the a set of 386BSD binary distribution flop-
- pies, insert one of the floppies in drive unit A (or 0)
- and type:
-
- loadfd
-
- Insert others until the entire distribution is loaded.
- Hit a CNTRL-C when all the floppies are loaded. (Dis-
- tribution floppies are kept in MS-DOS format floppies
- for ease of disk replication and the convenience of the
- PC user).
-
- The floppies can be loaded in any order. If an error
- occurs during loading (such as a bad spot on a floppy),
- only the floppy with the error need be reloaded (not
- necessarily from the same source). For example, if a
- single file fails to load from a floppy, that floppy can
- be obtained via serial download over a modem or the
- INTERNET network. You can then reload it by typing:
-
- mread "a:*.*" .
-
-
- B. Loading the System From Tape
- To load the 386BSD binary distribution from 3M cartridge
- tape, insert a QIC Cartridge (or 8mm tape) in the tape
- drive interfaced to either SCSI or QIC-02 (no QIC-40 or
- QIC-80 supported at this time). For a SCSI-interfaced
- tape drive, select the appropriate target device
- corresponding to the tape drive (example: target 2. dev-
- ice /dev/ras2a). Then type the command:
-
- cpio -iadm < /dev/ras2a
-
- For QIC-02 tape drives, select device /dev/rwt0, and
- type:
-
- cpio -iadm < /dev/rwt0
-
- In each case the files will be read in as with the flop-
- pies. If any of the files read in off the tape are
-
-
- 386BSD INSTALLATION NOTES 19 Copyright (C) 1992 TeleMuse
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- July 1992 Release 0.1
-
-
- corrupted or did not load correctly, extract will refuse
- to work until you correct the problem, possibly by a
- serial download of the affected file later, or by a
- floppy containing the affected file.
-
- C. Loading the System From CDROM
- To load the 386BSD binary distribution from SCSI CDROM,
- insert a ISO-9660 CDROM into the SCSI drive, and mount
- the CDROM by selecting the appropriate target device
- (example target 6 is /dev/as6c):
-
- mount -i /dev/as6c /mnt
-
- Then, locate the 386BSD release directory and execute
- the extract program from that directory. (Refer to the
- CDROM installation instructions for more information.)
-
- D. Loading the System via SLIP (Serial Line IP)
-
- To load the 386BSD binary distribution via a SLIP con-
- nection, attach a SLIP connection to the COM1 serial port.
- Use the slattach program at the desired baud rate to create
- a link layer connection to 386BSD and then enable the net-
- work layer with the ifconfig program (for example):
-
- slattach /dev/com1 2400
- ifconfig sl0 <386bsd hostnumber> <system connected to hostnumber>
-
- Use the route command to install the default route to the
- local gateway if you wish to download from one of the master
- distribution hosts on the INTERNET. (Note that you can only
- use numeric (e.g. 192.108.24.5) network addresses, not
- names).
-
- route add default <local gateway number>
-
- Then use the ftp utility to copy files down from a distribu-
- tion host, using binary mode ("bin") and the "mget" com-
- mand.
-
- ftp <distribution hostnumber>
-
-
- D. Loading the System via Ethernet
- To load the 386BSD binary distribution via an Ethernet
- connection, attach the Ethernet to a local network.
- (Note, if the system does not find the Ethernet card in
- the bootstrap manifest, this will not work). Enable the
- network (ifconfig <enet device> <386bsdhost>), and then
- follow the same procedures for ftp and routing as used
- in SLIP downloading.
-
-
-
- 386BSD INSTALLATION NOTES 20 Copyright (C) 1992 TeleMuse
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- July 1992 Release 0.1
-
-
- D. Loading the System via Modem
- To download the 386BSD binary distribution from Com-
- puserve or BBS services which feature serial download-
- ing, attach a modem to COM1. Using the tip program,
- type:
-
- tip com1<CR> (begin tip session via com1)
- ~CNTL-Z (suspend tip program)
-
- You should now have back your "#" prompt. Set the
- appropriate baud rate and other parameters for your
- modem, using the stty command and then fg (foreground)
- back to your serial session:
-
- stty 2400 </dev/com1 (set the baud rate on com1 to 2400)
- fg (go back to tip)
-
- Use tip to communicate with the modem, by using it to
- dial and connect to a remote host and login:
-
- tip com1 (back to session)
- ATDT 0005551212<CR> (type in phone number of remote host)
-
- CONNECTED
-
- Your remote system site banner message and login procedures
-
- Once you login to your download site, intitiate a ZMODEM
- file download. Then suspend tip as before to return to
- your host, and use the rz program to receive ZMODEM
- files that are pending on the wire.
-
- rz </dev/com1 >/dev/com1
-
- After downloading is completed, tip can be "unsuspended"
- to logoff the remote system, and break connection by
- hanging up the modem:
-
- +++ (get the modem's attention)
- OK
- ATH0<CR> (hang up the line)
- OK
- ~.<CR> (terminate tip session)
-
-
- Once a distribution set is loaded into the /tmp direc-
- tory by any of these mechanisms, it can then be extracted
- and loaded on the hard disk.
-
- Extracting and Loading the 386BSD Binary on the Disk
-
- Once the files are in place in the /tmp directory, the
- extract command is run. This command specifies which
-
-
- 386BSD INSTALLATION NOTES 21 Copyright (C) 1992 TeleMuse
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- July 1992 Release 0.1
-
-
- distribution set is being extracted: binary (bin01), source
- (src01), or the additional software set (etc01).
-
- extract <distsetname>
-
- For example, the command
-
- extract bin01
-
- first checks the binary files. If all the elements of the
- set are present and verified, it then extracts and loads the
- final system onto the hard disk. DO NOT INTERRUPT THE
- EXTRACT PROCEDURE ONCE IT HAS BEGUN.
-
- If extract finds files missing or corrupted, it will
- list the problem files:
-
- "File bin01.XX is corrupt"
- "File bin01.YY is missing"
-
- stop the extraction procedure, and return with a "#" prompt.
- If you wish to stop your work at this point of the extrac-
- tion procedure to retrieve new copies of the problem files,
- you can use the shutdown command to safely shut down the
- system, saving your work. Once you reload the missing files
- (via any of the methods outlined above), run the extract
- command again.
-
- If the set is complete and valid, extract announces it
- is extracting the distribution, extracts the files, and
- loads them into final position. This procedure takes approx-
- imately 15-20 minutes. ONCE THE EXTRACT PROCEDURE IS BEGUN,
- IT MUST NOT BE INTERRUPTED OR BAD THINGS WILL HAPPEN!
- REALLY! DO NOT INTERRUPT HAPPY EXTRACT COMMAND. DO NOT
- TAUNT HAPPY EXTRACT COMMAND.
-
- Should the impossible happen and you trip over your
- power cord (for example) while the extract command is
- extracting the system on the hard disk, boot the Tiny 386BSD
- Installation floppy and start the installation procedure
- over from the beginning. We do not advise attempting BSD
- system recovery procedures at this point, as the filesystem
- may be inconsistent.
-
- At the end of the extract procedure, you will be
- prompted for your computer system name. If you have a
- fully-qualified Internet domain name assigned to your PC,
- you must type it here. If you do not have an Internet domain
- name (the common case), type a name which you wish to call
- your computer (i.e. "havoc", "daisy", "gremlin", etc. -- the
- name is only limited by your imagination).
-
-
-
- 386BSD INSTALLATION NOTES 22 Copyright (C) 1992 TeleMuse
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- July 1992 Release 0.1
-
-
- When the extraction process is complete, it will say
- "extraction successful" and return with a "#" prompt. At
- this point, you may also download and extract the source
- and/or other software distribution sets (src01, etc01). How-
- ever, please be aware that these sets are very large and
- require an additional 200-300 MBytes to recompile and use
- comfortably.
-
- Once you have completed the extraction process and
- obtained the distribution sets you desire, you can now run
- the complete 386BSD Release 0.1 binary system off of your
- hard disk. Type
-
- shutdown
-
- Note: once you reboot the system, anything saved in /tmp is
- wiped away. To save any files, you must save them in another
- directory or off the disk to other media.
-
- Congratulations! You now have a complete 386BSD binary
- release. Login as "root" and get to work!
-
- Now that we've gotten through all this, please remember
- to join the 386BSD User Community and send us your REGISTRA-
- TION form!
-
- DES Encryption
-
- 386BSD incorporates software (such as NFS) which has
- been done by researchers in other countries. As a conse-
- quence, DES encryption and Kerberos have purposely been left
- off all 386BSD releases to allow for international use. This
- precludes password encryption for accounts. 386BSD is not a
- secure system, and should not be used as configured when a
- secure system is required.
-
- A Personal Perspective
-
- Life often goes in cycles, so they say. Ten years or so
- ago, another system developed Bill (also unfunded, by the
- way) went out the door -- the 2.8 BSD release for the PDP-
- 11. (At that time, the PDP-11 was the "inexpensive" com-
- puter of choice for universities and research groups). 2.8
- BSD was the first complete BSD operating system and utili-
- ties release for the PDP-11, and it was very successful.
- However, the PDP-11 architecture was eventually superceded
- by other faster machines such as the VAX.
-
- By choosing such a popular platform as the 386/486 PC,
- we had hoped that 386BSD would go even further than 2.8 BSD
- ever could. We have already seen how a "populist" system on
- an inexpensive platform could excite interest and new work,
- and we hoped that 386BSD would reignite a new era of
-
-
- 386BSD INSTALLATION NOTES 23 Copyright (C) 1992 TeleMuse
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- July 1992 Release 0.1
-
-
- innovation.
-
- As we look back over the last two decades, we feel it
- is important to remind everyone of some of the history of
- BSD development, so you can understand why we feel that mak-
- ing 386BSD available and accessible, and evolving it in new
- directions, is so very important. Perhaps Dennis Ritchie and
- Ken Thompson expressed it best when they discussed their
- perspective on UNIX in their now-classic The UNIX Time-
- Sharing System paper presented to the ACM in 1974. It is
- perhaps fitting that words written over 18 years ago by the
- Developers of UNIX should still be relevant to us using
- 386BSD today:
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- Perhaps paradoxically, the success of the UNIX sys-
- tem is largely due to the fact that it was not
- designed to meet any predefined objectives. The
- first version was written when one of us (Thompson),
- dissatisfied with the available computer facilities,
- discovered a little-used PDP-7 and set out to create
- a more hospitable environment. This (essentially
- personal) effort was sufficiently successful to gain
- the interest of the other author and several col-
- leagues, and later to justify the acquisition of the
- PDP-11/20, specifically to support a text editing
- and formatting system. When in turn the 11/20 was
- outgrown, the system had proved useful enough to
- persuade management to invest in the PDP-11/45, and
- later in the PDP-11/70 and Interdata 8/32 machines,
- upon which it developed to its present form. Our
- goals throughout this effort, when articulated at
- all, have always been to build a comfortable rela-
- tionship with the machine and to explore ideas and
- inventions in operating systems and other software.
- We have not been faced with the needs to satisfy
- someone else's requirements, and for this freedom we
- are thankful.
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- We hope that the existence and growth of 386BSD will quash
- the cynical notion, cultivated over the last decade, that
- the individual is irrelevant to progress. That was, and has
- always been, nonsense. It is only through the creativity of
- unencumbered minds that new ideas will develop and flourish.
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- We realize that Release 0.1 still has far to go. How-
- ever, we are very proud of what we, with the aid of our
- dedicated user base, have accomplished so far.
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- The Future of 386BSD: It's up to You
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- 386BSD Release 0.0 has met with tremendous enthusiasm
- and support, and we hope that 386BSD Release 0.1, a stable
- robust version of 386BSD with enhanced functionality, will
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- allow more people to try 386BSD.
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- But ironically, the very success of 386BSD has made it
- impossible for us to continue doing out-of-pocket personal
- releases. Complete releases such as we are doing are
- demanding, time-consuming, and expensive. It has been most
- frustrating to us that while the vision, the will, the
- experience, and the leadership are all present, the practi-
- cal constraints have become too great for us to ignore.
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- Over the course of these releases, many people have
- become confused as to what 386BSD actually is. As such, we
- feel is important to underscore the basic differences
- between a commercial release and a research release such as
- 386BSD. While both are extremely costly to develop,
- engineer, and release, they actually have very different
- agendas.
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- Commercial releases efforts are defined by well-
- established customer demands, prior product releases, and
- (occasionally) strategic marketing directions. In addition,
- if something needs to be added, it can be "tossed in" to
- satisfy immediate needs (the old "give the customer what he
- thinks he wants" mentality). Long-term objectives are gen-
- erally given short shrift.
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- Unlike commercial releases, releases targeted to the
- research and educational communities are much more demanding
- in that the developer must possess a broad understanding of
- long-term technological trends and objectives and incor-
- porate them into each release, while still maintaining func-
- tionality. As a consequence, research releases and new work
- are generally done only under the appropriate supervision
- and auspices of a well-funded University project.
-
- However, we have discovered that any group selected to
- shape these releases must demonstrate leadership, vision,
- good judgment, and a devotion to ethical behavior in all
- their dealings. A development group chosen merely on the
- basis of convenience and cynicism (i.e. a "political" solu-
- tion) will result in the immediate desecration of these
- goals.
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- If new research directions are to be fully explored and
- developed using 386BSD, then 386BSD itself must evolve.
- These first two releases, historic though they may be, are
- just the beginning of this process, and not an end in them-
- selves.
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- Over the course of our 386BSD series in DDJ, we have
- occasionally touched upon many areas of new technology with
- which 386BSD and other UNIX-like operating systems must con-
- tend, such as symmetric multiprocessing, multimedia
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- applications, and gigabit networks. We are fully aware of
- how to focus 386BSD to head in these directions, and we have
- spoken to many others in the research community who want to
- work on and share in this vision.
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- However, if the benefits which 386BSD offers are to be
- "claimed" by the entire research and educational community,
- the costs must be borne by all of us as well.
-
- Quite frankly, if 386BSD is to have any future, it will
- require considerable resources and assistance, as well as
- the continued goodwill and enthusiasm of its user base. Your
- interest, involvement, and support of 386BSD and its goals
- will ultimately determine the future of 386BSD and succes-
- sive releases.
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