Subject: misc/4789: new installation system (sysinst) shortcomings
To: None <email@example.com, firstname.lastname@example.org>
From: Ignatios Souvatzis <email@example.com>
Date: 01/07/1998 17:46:27
>Synopsis: sysinst shortcomings
>Responsible: misc-bug-people (Misc Bug People)
>Arrival-Date: Wed Jan 7 09:05:00 1998
>Originator: Ignatios Souvatzis
computer science department, university of Bonn, Germany
System: NetBSD cosinus.cs.uni-bonn.de 1.3 NetBSD 1.3 (GENERIC) #0: Tue Dec 30 18:26:29 EST 1997 firstname.lastname@example.org:/usr/src/sys/arch/i386/compile/GENERIC i386
1. navigating in nfs-mounted dirs or on remote ftp directories isn't provided.
[I suspect, but couldn't test, also navigating on e.g. CD-ROMs.]
2. installing by ftp, as-is, requires LOTS of local disk space. I suggest
3. Installing X distribs is not really supported (and if it was, some special
code to select just one, or a few, X servers from the xserver.tgz should
4. i386 special (I guess):
The compressed install-kernel-with-embedded-install-filesystem should also
be provided by itself (without the floppy disk image wrapper) so that we
could just copy it to /, reboot selecting the different name, and upgrade.
_Having_ to write a floppy, (or, worse for most people: mounting the floppy
image via the vnd device) isn't very convenient, if you already have a
real OS running.
5. i386 special:
The installation procedure should be able to ask the user for a keyboard
layout specification, and use it (both itself and the later installed
system, at least in text console mode).
Install NetBSD-1.3 on a Pentium machine with german layout keyboard.
Hm. "use the generic miniroot as NetBSD/Amiga.. which has most of the above