Jails setup with binary packages only

[Tim Judd]

On 12/27/09, Guy Marcenac <guy at posteurs.com> wrote:
> I would like to use a freebsd system with binary packages only. I want
> to heavily use the jail concept. All the documentation about jails
> implies the use of buildworld into the jails.
>
> In order to avoid any compilation time, I installed a minimal base
> system for the host and I nullfs mounted read-only every system
> directory (bin, sbin, etc) into my jails. Then, in order to be able to
> install additional software inside the jails, I unionfs mounted
> read-write empty directories ontop of the nullfs read-only system
> directories.
>
> So I only have to freebsd-update the host and then freebsd-update each
> jail in order to keep updated.
>
> What about this kind of setup ? do I miss something ?


A binary jail install with packages is fine.  I don't know why it was
documented to do it from source other than the possibilities that it
jails were a technology only achievable by updating your source files
and installing (when jails were new).  Now that it's gone through a
release cycle, I've done several binary jails, with binary packages.
To get a system up quickly, I often do a binary jail install with
binary packages, and then run ports and a build to keep it maintained.
 Of course if I need an option not default in a port, it gets done by
ports.

Binary jail install,
freebsd-update,
pkg_add portaudit,
rehash && portaudit -Fa

Now it's a basic setup, things like timezone (in the jail) and other
odds-and-ends.


enjoy,

--Tim