Vnx-rootfsfreebsd

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

• Create the filesystem disk image:

qemu-img create -f qcow2 root_fs_freebsd-base.qcow2 5GB

• Get FreeBSD installation CD. For example:

wget ftp://ftp.rediris.es/mirror/FreeBSD/ISO-IMAGES-i386/8.1/FreeBSD-8.1-RELEASE-i386-disc1.iso
cp FreeBSD-8.1-RELEASE-i386-disc1.iso /almacen/iso

• Create a libvirt XML definition (root_fs_freebsd.xml) containing the virtual machine description:

<domain type='kvm'>
  <name>Freebsd</name>
  <memory>524288</memory>
  <vcpu>1</vcpu>
  <os>
    <type arch="i686">hvm</type>
    <boot dev='hd'/>
    <boot dev='cdrom'/>
  </os>
  <features>
     <pae/>
     <acpi/>
     <apic/>
  </features>
  <clock sync="localtime"/>
  <devices>
    <emulator>/usr/bin/kvm</emulator>
    <disk type='file' device='disk'>
      <source file='/usr/share/vnx/filesystems/root_fs_freebsd-base.qcow2'/>
      <target dev='hda'/>
      <driver name="qemu" type="qcow2"/>
    </disk>
    <disk type='file' device='cdrom'>
      <source file='/almacen/iso/FreeBSD-8.1-RELEASE-i386-disc1.iso'/>
      <target dev='hdb'/>
    </disk>
    <interface type='network'>
      <source network='default'/>
    </interface>
    <serial type="pty">
      <target port="1"/>
    </serial>
    <console type="pty">
      <target port="1"/>
    </console>
    <graphics type='vnc'/>
  </devices>
</domain>

Note: change "source file=" lines to whatever fits your case (use full paths).

• Start the virtual machine with:

virsh create root_fs_freebsd.xml

• Access virtual machine console with:

virt-viewer Freebsd

• Follow FreeBSD installation menus to install a basic system with DHCP configured in the network interface and a user named "vnx".
• Once the installation is finished, stop the machine and edit root_fs_freebsd.xml file and comment the following line in cdrom disk specification:

   <!--source file='/almacen/iso/FreeBSD-8.1-RELEASE-i386-disc1.iso'/-->
  

• Start the virtual machine again and:
• Install bash and change package repository:

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:
• From the host execute:

/usr/share/vnx/bin/vnx_update_aced Freebsd /usr/share/vnx/aced/vnx-aced-lf-0.1b.tgz 

• From the virtual machine console:

mount /cdrom
/cdrom/install_vnxdaemon

• Configure the serial console by editting /etc/ttys file and changing the line:

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

by:

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

• Optional: allow root login thorugh ssh by editing /etc/ssh/sshd_config file:

PermitRootLogin yes

• Optional: set locales according to your preferences in /etc/profile:

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

• Optional: add gnome window manager with:
• Install packages needed:

pkg_add -r xorg-minimal gnome2-lite gdm

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

gname_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.
• Optional: reduce the boot timeout from 10 seconds to, for example, 3 seconds. Edit /boot/loader.conf and add:

autoboot_delay="3"

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

pw usermod vnx -G wheel

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

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

• Stop the machine with:

halt -p

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 modify your root file system, you just have to start it as described above and:

• Configure network interface with:

dhclient re0

• Install new packages using "pkg_add -r ..." commands or using "sysinstall" utility. For example, to install apache web server:

pkg_add -r apache22

• Stop de virtual machine with:

halt -p

Updating ACE daemon

If you have a root filesystem with the autoconfiguration and command execution daemon (ACE) already installed, you can use the autoupdate functionallity to update the daemon to a newer version. Just follow this procedure:

• Edit the xml described above and comment the line defining the Freebsd iso file for the cdrom:
• Start the virtual machine (directly using virsh or the vnx_modify_rootfs utility):

 /usr/share/vnx/bin/vnx_modify_rootfs root_fs_freebsd.xml 

• Execute the update utility:

/usr/share/vnx/bin/vnx_update_aced Freebsd /usr/share/vnx/aced/vnx-aced-lf-0.1b.tgz 

• Once the ace daemon is updated the virtual machine will be rebooted automatically.