Vnx-rootfsfreebsd

How to create a Freebsd root-file-system for VNX

Follow this procedure to create a FreeBSD based root filesystem for VNX. The procedure has been tested with FreeBSD 9.0, 8.2 and 7.4.

Basic installation

• Create the filesystem disk image:

qemu-img create -f qcow2 vnx_rootfs_kvm_freebsd.qcow2 8G

• Get FreeBSD installation CD. For example:

wget ftp://ftp.freebsd.org/pub/FreeBSD/releases/i386/i386/ISO-IMAGES/9.0/FreeBSD-9.0-RELEASE-i386-disc1.iso
cp FreeBSD-9.0-RELEASE-i386-disc1.iso /almacen/iso

• Create the virtual machine with:

vnx --create-rootfs vnx_rootfs_kvm_freebsd.qcow2 --install-media /almacen/iso/FreeBSD-9.0-RELEASE-i386-disc1.iso --mem 512M

• Follow FreeBSD installation menus to install a basic system with DHCP configured in the network interface and a user named "vnx".
• Configure the serial console by editting /etc/ttys file and changing the line:

ttyu0 "/usr/libexec/getty std.9600"   dialup  off secure

to:

ttyu0 "/usr/libexec/getty std.9600"   vt100  on secure

• Set dual console configuration (see http://www.cct.lsu.edu/~ccui/diary/August19_2010.php):

echo "-Dh" > /boot.config
echo 'boot_multicons="YES"' >> /boot/loader.conf
echo 'boot_serial="YES"' >> /boot/loader.conf
echo 'console="comconsole,vidconsole"' >> /boot/loader.conf

• Finally, halt the system:

halt -p

Configuration

• Restart the system with the following command:

vnx --modify-rootfs vnx_rootfs_kvm_freebsd.qcow2 --update-aced --mem 512M

Note: ignore the errors "timeout waiting for response on VM socket".

• Access the system through the text console to easy the copy-paste of commands:

virsh console vnx_rootfs_kvm_freebsd.qcow2

• Install bash and change package repository (change ftp.es.freebsd.org to your nearest mirror):

pkg_add -r bash
pw usermod root -s /usr/local/bin/bash
pw usermod vnx -s /usr/local/bin/bash 
echo "export PACKAGEROOT=ftp://ftp.es.freebsd.org" > ~/.bash_profile

• Install perl and XML::DOM library:

pkg_add -r perl p5-libxml-enno

• Disable DHCP on network interface by editing the /etc/rc.conf file and commenting the following line:

ifconfig_re0="DHCP"

• Install VNX autoconfiguration daemon:

mount -t msdosfs /dev/ad1 /mnt/
perl /mnt/vnxaced-lf/install_vnxaced

• Optionally:
  • Allow root login thorugh ssh by editing /etc/ssh/sshd_config file:

  PermitRootLogin yes
  

  • Set locales according to your preferences in /etc/profile:

  export LANG=es_ES.UTF-8
  export LC_ALL=es_ES.UTF-8
  

  • Add gnome window manager with:
  • Install packages needed:

  pkg_add -r xorg-minimal gnome2-lite gdm gnome-keyring detach xeyes xhost wmctrl
  

  • Add the following line to /etc/rc.conf:

  gnome_enable="YES"
  

  • Add the following line to /etc/fstab:

  proc    /proc   procfs  rw      0       0
  

  • Disable the screensaver and change keyboard configuration in "System->Keyboard" menu.
  • Reduce the boot timeout from 10 seconds to, for example, 3 seconds. Edit /boot/loader.conf and add:

  autoboot_delay="3"
  

  • Give vnx user (or whatever one you have created during installation) permissions tu su root:

  pw usermod vnx -G wheel
  

  • If you have installed gnome, you can add automatic login following the instructions in:

  http://www.freebsd.org/gnome/docs/faq2.html#q23
  

• Create a file /etc/vnx_rootfs_version to store version number and informacion about modification:

VER=v0.24
OS=FreeBSD 9.0
DESC=Basic FreeBSD 9.0 root filesystem without GUI

• Stop the machine with that script:

vnx_halt

If everything went well, your root filesystem will be ready to be used with VNX. You can make a simple test using the simple_freebsd.xml scenario distributed with VNX.

Note: after installing gnome, you probaly will get the following error message on the console:

acd0: FAILURE - unknown CMD (0x03) ILLEGAL REQUEST asc=0x20 ascq=0x00

To eliminate them you can execute:

hal-disable-polling --device /dev/acd0

Installing additional software

To install additional software or to modify your root file system, you just have to:

• Start a virtual machine from it:

vnx --modify-rootfs vnx_rootfs_kvm_fedora.qcow2

• Check network connectivity. Maybe you have to activate the network interface by hand:

dhclient re0

Note: use "ip link show" to know which network interface to use.

• Do the modifications you want.
• Finally, halt the system using:

vnx_halt

Updating VNXACED

You can automatically update the VNXACE daemon with the following command:

vnx --modify-rootfs vnx_rootfs_kvm_fedora.qcow2 --update-aced -y

If VNXACE daemon is not updated automatically, you can do it manually by accessing the virtual machine console and type:

mount -t msdosfs /dev/ad1 /mnt/
perl /mnt/vnxaced-lf/install_vnxaced