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NOTE:

I switched to using NanoBSD for my embedded needs and therefore this is no longer maintained.

My NanoBSD alix build is available here: https://github.com/zx23/nanobsd-alix

FreeBSD flash installer

Automates the process of installing FreeBSD to flash media (memsticks, CF cards, Alix, Soekris)

Features

  • Will fetch required FreeBSD release files automatically (only if not present already)
  • Can install a custom (pre-compiled) kernel (handy for embedded devices)
  • Can fetch a custom kernel from the network (FTP or HTTP)
  • Can install packages (via pkg_add -r)
  • Uses GPT partitions
    • Currently it will only create a singe root and freebsd-boot partition
  • Uses TMPFS for /var and /tmp, but persists:
    • /var/db/pkg
    • /var/cron
    • /var/named/etc
  • File systems mounted with 'noatime' by default to save disk writes and extend life of the flash media
  • Uses GEOM labels in fstab so that if a disk device name changes (e.g. flash card moved to a different computer/port) the system will still boot correctly.
  • Can install arbitrary configuration files
  • Can configure network interface (DHCP only at the moment)
  • Alix specific features:
    • Serial console enabled
    • Tuned kernel:
      • Stripped down things not relevant to Alix
      • AMD Geode crypto acceleration enabled (handy for VPNs)
      • Enabled DEVICE_POLLING - high network load generates less CPU load
      • Front LED driver (sample usage script included)

Supported releases

9.0-RELEASE up. Anything older won't work.

Quick start

Prerequisites:

  • A box running FreeBSD (9.0 or higher, but it should work on 8.x too)
  • git installed
  • USB stick or CF/SD card with a reader that's supported under FreeBSD

Clone the installer on your FreeBSD box:

git clone https://github.com/word/freebsd_flash_installer.git
cd freebsd_flash_installer

In freebsd_flash_installer/etc/ you'll find a couple of example configuration files. One for a generic FreeBSD installation with a few additional packages and one for an alix firewall. You can use these examples and craft your own config that suits your needs, but for for the sake of this simple example we'll use the generic config (generic.conf).

Plug in your flash card/USB stick, run dmesg and note down the device name (e.g. da0)

Run the installer as root. For example:

% sudo ./bin/install.sh -c ./etc/generic.conf -d da0 -m /mnt -n ferret.example.org

If you get the following error message:

Error: /dev/da0 already contains a partition table.

It means that your usb stick already contains a partition table. You can clear it with the destroy_geom.sh script provided:

sudo ./bin/destroy_geom.sh -d da0

Run the installer again to continue with the installation.

The root password will be set to 'flash' by default.

More details on the wiki: