Trying to build 8.0 Headless Installation Disk

[Martin McCormick]

Tim Judd writes:
> ^^^  mkisofs needs to have the boot record
> -b boot/cdboot -no-emul-boot
> 
> 
> And as another option, you might look at mfsBSD, it runs off mfs (RAM)
> disks with sshd being enabled by default.  Once it boots (kernel
> starts probing), the cd can be ejected.

This could be a game changer if I could somehow get the
FreeBSD8.0 installation CD to run remotely via this method.

	The problem is that some of the systems that I am
upgrading are 150 miles away. We have people there who are not
comfortable with Unix but who are certainly able to install and
remove CDROM's on request. If I could get the sysinstall
application to talk to me over the network, I don't care if it
is a serial line or not.

	If we could get this down to 1 or two CD's, a major
millstone will be removed from my neck.

	As a computer user who happens to be blind, the serial
console is extremely useful and I usually make whatever version
of FreeBSD  we are using in to a serial console disk so it comes
up serial, even if it is right next to me. It just makes things
go more smoothly if one doesn't have to hunt up a keyboard and
hope this or that box still has a sounder so you can hear any
beeps.

	I have even put a portable radio on top of a server and
listened for activity because that was the only way to tell if
it was booting or in Lala Land. Just for the record, a steady
sound usually means Lala Land and a sound like whales competing
FOR territory and female attention means something is happening.

	Anyway, not needing to modify the installation disk,
itself would be nice.

	In closing, I love FreeBSD and nothing said here is a
gripe or complaint. FreeBSD is Unix and therefore accessible.
Utilities like installation disks and rescue applications are
always a little tricky because they deal with the system at a
very low level.

Martin McCormick WB5AGZ  Stillwater, OK 
Systems Engineer
OSU Information Technology Department Telecommunications Services Group