|| X Configuration || Rel 2.1 Binary compatibility
Installation :
1. Read up the DARTNET PC Router Software page at MIT It contains some useful info about the specifics of the Dartnet distribution.
2. Read the FreeBSD install guide and the glance through the hardware guide on the FreeBSD web site, for general familiarity.
3. Familiarize yourself with your PC's hardware & setup. (Don't try to find out what ethernet card and why it does not work, while you are running the install). Run the PC setup on booting and familarize yourself with devices, hard disk info, and even ISA interrupts/ports available, if possible. If you have ISA cards installed or to install later, note down the interrupt, port & memory mappings they use. PCI cards will be auto configured.
eg. Our PC has an Intel Endeavour motherboard - PCI - Triton chipset based, and a DEC 21140 chipset based ethernet card. (SMC etherpower 10/100).
4. Get the following information : the PC's IP address, subnet mask, default router, and Name Server IP address info, the PC's fully qualified domain name, from the network sysadmin, and note it down for later use.
5. Ftp to the Dartnet distribution site. Download the boot.flp disk image, from the floppies/ directory, and install the image onto a 1.44 MB floppy disk. If you are on the PC, you can use the rawrite.exe on dos formatted disk. rawrite.exe is available in the tools/ directory at the same site. Under unix, you can use the 'dd' command.
If you have a copy of the boot.flp downloaded prior to June 11th 1996, download a fresh copy, and create the diskette again.
6. Connect the PC's ethernet card (any one, if you have more than one card), to you local ethernet. (or token ring). Ensure you have a route to the Internet from your network. (the default router info in 4.)
7. Boot the PC off the boot.flp floppy disk. The dartnet freeBSD kernel will load, and start sensing your machine's devices and configuration. It should detect the motherboard chipset, ethernet card, disk controller, etc, if you are using a 'dartnet'/freeBSD supported configuration.
8. Choose the novice installation if you are doing this for the first time. Do the usual fdisk type of configuration to setup partitions and filesystems. I did a root of 100MB, /var of 50MB, swap based on my RAM memory config , and left the rest for /usr. This is only setup, the real creation of filesystems gets done just before you start downloading.
9. Step through the install program, and when you are asked to specify which type of code distribution to download, choose the one that suits your needs. Developer/user/X/other are choices. Developer distribution should work well for just the Router mode of operation, (if router related development work is planned). X Developer will be needed if you want multimedia stuff. You can load the User configuration, and download other components later.
eg. I chose the X developer distribution. (approx 200MB of downloadables.)
10. When prompted for the media (source of distribution) say ftp server, and choose the dartnet MIT site. (first choice).
11. When prompted for the network interface setup (since the IP software needs to be setup for a network card,) choose the sensed ethernet interface. (eg de0, if you have Dec 21140 based ethernet card, and it was sensed). If you do not find an ethernet/lan card, then the kernel has not found one, and you may need to check the hardware configuration. (unless you want to do a SLIP/PPP type of install, which is not covered in the scope of this document.)
12. If the card has been sensed, and you choose it, you will be prompted for IP network config info. Take the details you noted down sometime back (address, mask, router, etc), and fill in the menu. Make sure you key in the name server's IP address, and not the name server's name.
13. Step through the menu and the ftp download of the distribution will start. The system now start creating all the partitions, filesystems, and devices. It will startup the network card, and resolve the dartnet site address, and logon to the ftp server. Then the download of the software will commence. (press Alt F2, and Alt F1, to toggle between the menu and the screen where the status is being shown).
14. Once it has downloaded and uncompressed all code, the install program will come back with a 'yes/no' choice to continue system configuration. You can now choose 'yes' go to the config menu and do some basic system configuration.(add users, setup console, etc). You can also do this, after the exiting the install program. The system will be rebooted, and you can login as root.
To do system configuration run /stand/sysinstall. You can add users, setup network interfaces, configure the console, download & install freeBSD software - like pine, emacs, shells, etc.