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OpenBSD 6.4 released†

kaw (2018-10-19 (Fri) 10:51:02)

I am working for FuguIta 6.4 now.


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dual boot†

Rufwoof (2018-10-11 (Thu) 22:26:48)

I have grub4dos bootloader installed and in menu.lst I have a entry

   title FuguIta
   root (hd0,3)
   makeactive
   chainloader +1
   boot


First partition is ext3 with grub4dos/menu.lst installed. I also have a /ISO folder in which FuguIta iso file has been copied (slice i in FuguIta)
Second partition is linux swap
Third partition is ext3
Fourth partition is OpenBSD (type a6, label OpenBSD).

After having created that 4th partition using Linux/gparted, and set its partition type to a6 using linux fdisk /dev/sd0, I installed standard OpenBSD to that partition.

On the third (sda3) partition I've created a 10GB swap file (filename "swap") that I load when FuguIta boots. Which is slice k inside Fuguita

On slice n I have /livecd-config and /noasks

In /etc/rc.local I

   mkdir /swapfile
   mount /dev/sd0k /swapfile
   swapctl -a /swapfile/swap


My noasks file content contains ...

  noask_rdev='sd0i'
  noask_umem='0'
  noask_setup_rw_mode='3'
  noask_confdir='fuguita'
  noask_confdev='sd0n'


I've activated xenodm and set it to autologin user (that I created a account for) by adding 

   DisplayManager.*.autoLogin: user


into /etc/X11/xenodm/xenodm-config

Now when I reboot the PC it auto boots and auto loads the save (/livecd-config) and auto starts the X desktop as user

In grub4dos menu.lst I have other boot choices (dual boot), such as booting Linux live systems that are contained on the ext3 partitions.

I like booting FuguIta as it offers the choice of whether to save changes or not (save by running /boottmp/usbfadm). Once I've set things up I'm more inclined to not save, so that each reboot starts off exactly the same (nice and clean).


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boot FuguIta iso using grub4dos (BIOS)†

Rufwoof (2018-10-07 (Sun) 22:49:05)

If you have grub4dos installed as your bootloader on a BIOS PC then you'll need two free (unused) partitions (out of the 4 total permissable partitions).

Download the ISO version of FuguIta and uncompress it.

Newly create and format one partition as FAT32 (which has a 32GB limit). In my case I used sda4 (hd0,3) for that fat32 partition. It's important to use a newly created fat32 partition to store the iso as the iso file has to be stored contiguous; If the iso file is fragmented then it will not boot; Using a new/clean partition ensures the iso file isn't fragmented.

Mount and create a iso folder/directory in the newly created/formatted fat32 partition and copy the fuguita iso file into that folder/directory.

Add a entry to grub4dos menu.lst bootloader menu that looks something like ...

   title Fuguita ISO
   partnew (hd0,1) 0x00 (hd0,3)/iso/FuguIta-6.3-amd64-201809211.iso
   map  (hd0,3)/iso/FuguIta-6.3-amd64-201809211.iso (0xff)
   map --hook
   root (0xff)
   chainloader (0xff)


In this case my sda2 second partition (hd0,1) is free/unused and my fat32 partition is sda4 (hd0,3) - where the FuguIta iso is stored. My first partition (sda1 (hd0,0) is ext3 in my case, and is where grub4dos bootloader and menu.lst was installed). Adjust the above according to which partitions you use (and what FuguIta iso version/filename you've downloaded).

Reboot and select/boot the FuguIta menu option and FuguIta should start up as normal.


↑

Co-existence of FuguIta and standard OpenBSD†

Rufwoof (2018-09-25 (Tue) 08:14:01)

With a fully installed OpenBSD on HDD (whole disk) and with that booted ...

Create a /ISO folder and download the latest fuguita (xxx.iso.gz) into that /ISO folder and ...

   gzip -d xxx.iso.gz          # uncompress it
   vnconfig vnd0 /ISO/xxx.iso  # mount it
   mount /dev/vnd0c /mnt
   cp /mnt/bsd-fi.mp /.        # copy the bsd-fi.mp and bsd-fi to /
   cp /mnt/bsd-fi /.
   umount /mnt                 # unmount the iso
   vnconfig -u vnd0
   mkdir /home/livecd-config   # prepare a save folder on slice k


... and its ready to be booted.

Enter bsd-fi.mp at the boot prompt and select type 0 boot option (normal)

After configured etc. run /boottmp/usbfadm and set target and source and then sync ... to save (in a standard OpenBSD that the k slice livecd-config folder i.e. /home/livecd-config in the main OBSD session). First save does take some time, so go off and have a 10 to 15 minute coffee break. Subsequent saves are generally much quicker.

Ideally need lots of ram and swap as it all runs in 'memory' i.e. combined ram+swap. Any changes wont be saved unless you save the changes using usbfadm.

To automate bootup, create a /noasks file alongside the /livecd-config
folder containing something like ...

   noask_rdev='sd0a'
   noask_umem='0'
   noask_setup_rw_mode='3'
   noask_confdir='fuguita'
   noask_confdev='sd0k'


(adjust values accordingly to what HDD name and values you normally use).

Not as secure as booting from a read only CD and saving/restoring from a detachable USB, but you can always keep/check a checksum of the save folder i.e. in standard OpenBSD run something like 

   mtree -CK sha256digest -p /home/livecd-config >mtree-livecd-config


to generate a checksum (store that safely, owned by root only). And then later you can check the checksum using 

   mtree -p /home/livecd-config <mtree-livecd-config


So assuming you don't usually save after having configured things and made a save, then the checksum should remain the same. Of course if you do make changes and save then the checksum will be different and all of those differences will be shown by mtree (regenerate a new checksum again as appropriate).

Nice in that you don't have to burn a CD for each new release. Just download the iso.gz and start all over again.


↑

no subject†

swap on ext3 partition (2018-09-16 (Sun) 00:28:48)

LiveCD (DVD) booted FuguIta, loading/saving changes to a /livecd-config folder on a FuguIta installed to USB. Picks up my OpenBSD HDD installed 2GB swapfile at bootup, but I mounted a ext3 partition, dd'd a 2GB file called swapfile, vnconfig vnd0 swapfile, and ... swapctl -a /tmp/i/swapfile i.e. using a filesystem on a ext3 partition as additional FuguIta's swapfile space ... and top is showing the 4GB combined swap space available :) Obviously running liveCD (in ram) can run out of ram relatively easily on a system such as my own that has only 2GB of ram, so swap is a saviour if running FuguIta as a desktop type system (X).

With LibreOffice and firefox-esr installed, it runs OK (also installed mtpaint to take the snapshot). I'm using cwm window manager.

Screenshot ...

&ref(): File not found: "fi-cwm-ffesr-lo-swap.png" at page "FuguIta/BBS/9";


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Save to ext2/3/4†

Rufwoof (2018-09-15 (Sat) 12:42:29)

Hi kaw

Thinking along the lines that you can create a ffs file filesystem on a ext2 partition ...

Mount a ext2 partition and then cd to that partition and ...

   dd if=/dev/zero of=diskimage bs=1M count=100
   vnconfig vnd0 diskimage
   newfs vnd0c
   mkdir /home/user/mountpoint
   mount /dev/vnd0c /home/user/mountpoint


... and then use that filesystem ...

   
   echo hello >/home/user/mountpoint/myfile.txt


... and when done

   umount /home/user/mountpoint
   vnconfig -u vnd0


We have a ffs file filesystem residing on a ext2 partition. We can remount that by again mounting the ext2 partition and cd to that and ...

   mkdir /home/user/mountpoint
   vnconfig vnd0 diskimage
   mount /dev/vnd0c /home/user/mountpoint


and ls /home/user/mountpoint will show the myfile.txt file created earlier.

Fundamentally I'm thinking that FuguIta's saves (livecd-config), that currently need to be on a ffs partition, could be stored on a ext2 partition as a ffs file filesystem such that a liveCD could boot and laod/save its ram images (changes) to a ext2 hard disk drive.

A pre-prepared ffs filesystem file could be provided/downloaded so that new users with no BSD already installed/working, but perhaps Linux working, could copy that ffs file filesystem to one of their ext2 partitions/folders, boot a FuguIta CD and store their changes into that ffs file filesystem stored on their ext2 partition.

Another thought - not sure - but it might be possible to create a swap file - stored on disk and activated

   dd if=/dev/zero of=/usr/swap0 bs=1024k count=1024 
   chmod 0600 /usr/swap0
   swapctl -a /usr/swap0


That would help reduce the chances of FuguIta locking up if larger programs were being run and where otherwise no swap file/partition was available.


↑

Opps!†

rufwoof (2018-09-08 (Sat) 21:00:06)

I didn't correctly format the commands/code section in my prior post (so part showing as text, part as code). Sorry.


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reverse sshfs from FuguIta†

rufwoof (2018-09-08 (Sat) 20:58:05)

Linux liveCD desktop system (Fatdog). Fuguita liveCD booted another PC and running

#!/bin/sh
fifo=/tmp/rsshfs-$$
rm -f "$fifo"
mkfifo -m600 "$fifo" &&
  < "$fifo" /usr/libexec/sftp-server |
  ssh root@192.168.1.4 sshfs -o slave :/root /data '' > "$fifo"
rm "$fifo"


Reverse sshfs mounts the Fuguita's /root folder as a (pre created /data folder) mountpoint on my Fatdog system.

If on the Fuguita box you mount a HDD and share a folder on that with Fatdog, then your data (more often the most invaluable on single user desktop setups) is isolated, only the folder/content you share with Fatdog (main desktop) is at risk and backup copies can be made/restored on the OpenBSD box to protect that data. I used a old single core celeron box for the FuguIta boot. The Fatdog PC is a later box (but still relatively old i.e. single core Acer Aspire 2GB Phenom X4).

For some ssh throughput optimisation, add -o compression=no -o Cipher=arcfour just before the -o slave code in the above.


↑

Test, just a test†

Patrickgoame (2018-09-01 (Sat) 21:18:23)

Hello


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network reconriguring by gennetconfs†

kaw (2018-08-07 (Tue) 18:18:25)

At FuguIta-6.3-201808061, a new tool called gennetconfs has been introduced.
This tool generates configuration files for networking, so you can reconfigure network settings;

synopsis
gennetconfs [dir]

dir is the directory which configuration files will generated on.
If dir not specified, current directory will be taken by default.
So,

gennetconfs /etc

will overwrite directly existing files under /etc .

Because of gennetconfs was derived from FuguIta's boot sequence /boottmp/rc,
the interaction with gennetconfs is the same as one at boot time.


↑

Various Operations of FuguIta†

kaw (2018-06-04 (Mon) 15:23:16)

FuguIta originally started as a LiveCD, but now we can use various devices. In addition, there are several types in operation.
So, I tried to make a table of combinations of how these devices can be used.
Note that If there are multiple available devices, you can use them in combination.

DeviceCD
(distrib. ISO)		USB
(distrib. img)		USB
(usbfadm)		OpenBSDSD
(usbfadm)		ExtFS/
NTFS/FAT		tmpfs
boot fromOOOOXXX
run onOOOOOOO
with
boot mode		0, 1, 2OOOOOOO
3XOOOOXX
set
parameters
with		manualOOOOOOO
autoXOOOOOX
save data toXOOOOXX
↑

Explanation of the table†

In the table above, each column indicates a device that FuguIta can handle.

CD (distrib. ISO)
CD, CD-R, CD-RW etc burned ISO image downloaded from distribution site.
You can burn it to DVD but you can use it, the size is 700 MB same as CD.
USB (distrib. img)
This is a USB flashdrive into which the IMG file downloaded from the distribution site is written.
Regardless of the USB flashdrive size used, the capacity is fixed at 1 GB (system 700 MB + data storage area 300 MB).
USB (usbfadm)
This is a USB flashdrive created using FuguIta's usbfadm command.
When executing the usbfadm command, you can set the size of the data storage area.
You can also create FAT in free space not used by FuguIta for data exchange with other OS.
OpenBSD
OpenBSD system already installed. To use this from FuguIta, perform the following operations in advance.
  • a : Copy FuguIta's kernel - /sysmedia/bsd-fi and /sysmedia/bsd-fi.mp to the partition where the OpenBSD kernel resides, and by entering "bsd-fi.mp" or "bsd-fi" for boot prompt "boot>", FuguIta starts up.
  • b : By creating a directory called "ISO" on any partition of OpenBSD and placing the ISO image of FuguIta here, you can use it as an operational device.
  • c : You can save and restore data here by creating a directory called "livecd-config" on any partition of OpenBSD.
    However, you can not do b and c at the same time on the same partition.
SD (usbfadm)
This is an SD card created using FuguIta usbfadm command.
ExtFS/NTFS/FAT
Linux ext2fs ... ext4fs and Windows NTFS, FAT partitions.
By creating a directory called "ISO" on these partitions and placing the FuguIta ISO image here, you can use it as an operational device.
tmpfs
File system created in memory. It is created automatically when FuguIta is started, and the contents are lost at the end.

Each line of the table is an operation form which can be selected at the time of starting up FuguIta or during operation.

boot from
FuguIta is a bootable device that loads the kernel. If there are multiple bootable devices, specify them using the BIOS boot menu.
run on
This is the device where the system file of Fugu Ita is installed and used for operation. It is mounted read-only.
If there are multiple available devices, specify the device at startup.
with boot mode
This is how to layout memory and operation devices during operation. The main boot modes are as follows.
  • mode 0 : This is standard operation as LiveCD / LiveUSB.
  • mode 1 : It is almost the same as mode 0, but it is completed in a shorter time and it operates with saving memory (about 64 MB minimum). However, pkg_add cannot be used because /usr becomes non-writable.
  • mode 2 : It operates using only tmpfs. Although it takes time to complete the boot, file input/output during operation is fast. Memory requires about 800 MB, or more.
  • mode 3 : Read data saved by usbfadm at boot time.
set parameters with
Usually, when starting FuguIta, it is necessary to manually input the operation device, tmpfs size, start mode, etc. However, if these parameters are described in the file "noasks", at startup this is set automatically, you can omit manual input.
save data to
As described in boot mode 3, you can save the file to the device specified by the usbfadm command.

↑

FuguIta 6.3 for Raspberry Pi 3†

kaw (2018-05-31 (Thu) 16:42:17)

Although it is still a test version, it is working well on my RPi3.
Even without a serial cable, you can install and use it by connecting from the SSH client.

README for more further details.


Former articles are at FuguIta/BBS/7.

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