How to PROPERLY install FreeBSD?

Chris_H

Chris_H

Greetings, all.
I've been tracking -STABLE all these years, and currently all the servers are on RELENG_8 (8.4).
The STANDARD procedure IMHO was as follows:
1) boot the install media
2) choose minimum install (least amount to boot FreeBSD)
When asked to browse the ports collection:
2) choose cvsup-without-x11
3) bounce the box, into the newly installed system
4) copy /usr/share/examples/cvs/stable-supfile and /usr/share/examples/cvs/ports-supfile to ~/
and edit:
Code: 
*default host=cvsup<0-9>.FreeBSD.org
*default release=cvs tag=RELENG_<MY_VERSION_NUMBER>
placing the desired values within <...>.
5) cvsup -g -L 2 ~/stable-supfile
6) cvsup -g -L 2 ~/ports-supfile
7) editing a copy of GENERIC to properly reflect my hardware.
8) cd /usr/src && make buildworld
9) make build kernel KERNCONF=<MY_KERNEL_NAME>
10) make install kernel KERNCONF=<MY_KERNEL_NAME>
...
I have 3: TYAN Thunder LE-T S2518's collecting dust. So I thought I'd turn one of them into POINTYHAT so I could use it to build any of the systems I wanted/needed to; amd64,i386,and the myriad of MIPS based embedded hardware I build kernels for. So. I downloaded a copy of dvd1, for 8.4, burnt it to a DVD, and booted/installed it. I performed/used the same proceedure above. But couldn't proceed to step 4, because cvsup() is no longer supported. How does/can somebody use the procedure described above, in insure a current, secure copy of STABLE? I thought the handbook would take one into updating, right after finishing install instructions. But that wasn't the case. :(

Thank you for all your time, and consideration.

--Chris
 
Greetings, @SirDice, and thank you for the reply.
I had read http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO885 ... k/svn.html Following the instructions, and accepting the defaults for all the options during the make() process, required me to download half the internet, just to satisfy the dependencies. This does not seem a very good approach to installing, or maintaining a new copy of FreeBSD. There should not be any significant amount of dependencies to get a maintainable version of FreeBSD, IMHO. While I'm aware that freebsd-update is considered by most to be the official approach to keeping your system up to date. If you have any intention of building ports with your own choice of options, or doing anything outside the "norm", freebsd-update is probably not for you. Isn't there anything close to cvsup() that was the previously chosen official means of maintaining FreeBSD? Isn't there a section in the handbook for maintaining FreeBSD, the way there was when cvsup() was the official approach? Why is there no discussion on the correct approach to building/installing svn() to properly maintain a FreeBSD system? If there is, why is it not prominently listed in the download section, the handbook, or even better; in /usr/src/README, /usr/src/UPDATING?
Summary: Given the documentation http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO885 ... k/svn.html you are forced to install a potentially vulnerable system. As the "defaults" for the options require you to install a great many services that you should not be required to, just to keep and maintain a flexible, and secure FreeBSD system.

Thank you again, @SirDice, for taking the time to reply. :)

--Chris
 
Last edited by a moderator:
For the ports tree you can use portsnap(8). devel/subversion has very few dependencies.

Code: 
dice@molly:~> pkg info -d subversion
subversion-1.8.5:
        serf-1.3.2_1
        expat-2.1.0
        gettext-0.18.3.1
        apr-1.4.8.1.5.3
        sqlite3-3.8.1

If even that is too much you can use svnlite, which should be included in the base.
 
SirDice said:
For the ports tree you can use portsnap(8). devel/subversion has very few dependencies.

Code: 
dice@molly:~> pkg info -d subversion
subversion-1.8.5:
        serf-1.3.2_1
        expat-2.1.0
        gettext-0.18.3.1
        apr-1.4.8.1.5.3
        sqlite3-3.8.1

If even that is too much you can use svnlite, which should be included in the base.
Click to expand...

Excellent advice. Now if only it was documented in the post install, or the SVN page, quoted earlier. :)

Thank you for thoughtful response, @SirDice.

--Chris
 
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Oh, I just found that svnlite may not be part of 8.x or 9.x yet. It does exist on my 10-STABLE machines but not on 9-STABLE. Although the 9-STABLE machines are from the end of last year, it may have been added in the mean time.
 
@SirDice, thanks for the "heads up". But, just so you know. It was available when I performed a
Code: 
cd /usr/ports/devel/sub[tab]
After my initial use of portsnap() fetch && portsnap() extract.

Thanks again.

--Chris
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Just a note, the port devel/subversion should be available for all supported versions (since they all use the same ports tree). It's svnlite I'm not sure about. On 10-STABLE it's part of the base OS so you don't need to install a port to be able to SVN the sources and ports tree. It serves the same purpose (and a little more) as the old csup tool.
 
@@SirDice, @@wblock
I'm quite sure I saw svnlite in the directory listing after my initial portsnap fetch && portsnap extract
under /usr/ports/devel
It's gone now, now that I blew away /usr/ports just prior to performing a svn checkout.
Thanks for mentioning it.

@@pkubaj
net/svnup looks like just what I need for this server setup. I'll give it a try.
Thanks for taking the time to respond.

--Chris
 
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