Installation preparation questions

[Ross Gohlke]

>> What is "this particular case"? Xserve? G4? OFW version?
>
> Your case of doing things remotely :-)
>
>> Just to clarify:
>> If I log in via ssh and issue shutdown -r now, will the machine come
>> back
>> up without someone being physically at the machine's keyboard?
>
> Yes, it will. But if FreeBSD hangs hard or you have a power failure,
> someone will have to be on-site to press the power button.

Great news!
My downtime will still be less with FreeBSD under the hood, even if I have
to pay someone to visit the cage in person a handful of times a year.
I haven't had a power failure in years, and in my experience FreeBSD will
not hang unless I do something wrong (maybe ppc will be different - we
shall see!)

Just to clarify, if:
A) FreeBSD stops working (power is on but I can't log in via ssh)
B) Power is cut (cord unplugged, backup battery dies)
the only way to recover is to hit the power button.
Is OFW/single user login also required?

>> If I use Remote Reboot (power cycle) through my provider, I assume
>> it will
>> not come back up, correct?
>
> Correct.
>
>> This is disheartening news. My goal is to build a server that can be
>> completely controlled remotely. I have had STELLAR success with
>> FreeBSD on
>> i386.
>
> The problem with FreeBSD on Apple hardware is that we don't have a
> driver for the power management unit. The PMU needs to be programmed
> every time on reboot so that the machine will power-up after a power
> failure. We can't do this yet. I consider it a flaw in the hardware,
> but such is the state of affair.
>
> A hardware solution is called for...

Any chance of Apple releasing such a driver, or any point in lobbying them
to do so?
Without FreeBSD thousands of quality computers with plenty of life left
will become obsolete; Apple has moved on, NetBSD is too hard to install,
and Linux is, well, you know...

My six year-old TiBook is still more reliable (and better outfitted) than
some recent i386 laptops I've used. I can't wait to give it to my Mom as a
starter Internet terminal - as soon as I can install PC-BSD on it!

Plenty of Xserves are also destined for the garbage bin, which is a pitty.
They run like tops.

>> The Xserve is still a heck of a box. Is there any hope this
>> situation will
>> be remedied in a near-future release?
>
> Well, I started working on this but fail to have time. Others have
> done some work as well. Bottom line: I have no idea when this will
> be implemented.

Understood. Put me down as a non-counting vote to prioritize this
functionality. Is it important for anyone else?

I will also research freebsd.org for information about offering monetary
bounties for such requests.

Thanks for your help and hard work.

FreeBSD rocks!

Ross Gohlke