Making less

Cybertime Hostmaster hostmaster at cybertime.net
Fri Dec 12 15:13:33 PST 2003


> Try looking at
>   http://www.neon1.net/
>
> There are two areas that you will find interesting.  One is the
> "miniBSD" project, which was to do what you've been talking about
> (reducing the FreeBSD footprint).
>
> The second is "m0n0BSD", which builds on the above to create a
> FreeBSD suitable for embedded systems booting off Compact Flash.


I have already looked at both in the last weeks.

MiniBSD has the issue of compile everything, then remove what you do not
need.  As noted before, my prototyping system has a 2 GB HD, and this
process runs it out of space.

The MiniBSD document even comments on this problem, "So here's a guide on
how to start if you're looking for the same thing. I assume that you
already have enough knowledge about FreeBSD to decide on your own, for
example, which device files or binaries you need. Note also that this is
not a complete guide, and once you're done with it you'll still need to
customize your miniBSD to render it useful. I assume you're trying to
achieve the same goal - installing FreeBSD on a net4501 - but with a few
changes this guide also applies to other installations (e.g. on CD-ROM,
hard disk, ...)."

I do not know what is needed, and not needed, so the FAQ does not apply
very well to me.  However, when I went through it, I did find it useful
for learning how to PXE boot.

The m0n0(wall|BSD) systems have the issue that they are built on 4.x,
which does not have Atheros chipset support.  They also do not offer much
practical information for compiling a smaller FreeBSD install, but they do
cover a smaller kernel very nicely.

This is why I am looking for some reference to cutting down BSD before
compile, especially one that is applicable to 5.x.

--Eric



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