Annotation of wikisrc/guide/inst.mdwn, revision 1.1
1.1 ! jdf 1: # Installing NetBSD: Preliminary considerations and preparations
! 3: ## Preliminary considerations
! 5: ### Dual booting
! 7: It is possible to install NetBSD together with other operating systems on one
! 8: hard disk.
! 10: If there is already an operating system on the hard disk, think about how you
! 11: can free some space for NetBSD; if NetBSD will share the disk with other
! 12: operating systems you will probably need to create a new partition (which you
! 13: will do with sysinst). Often times this will not be possible unless you resize
! 14: an existing partition.
! 16: Unfortunately, it is not possible to resize an existing partition with sysinst,
! 17: but there are some commercial products (like Partition Magic) and some free
! 18: tools (GNU Parted, FIPS, pfdisk) available for this.
! 20: You can also install NetBSD on a separate hard disk.
! 22: *Advice*: Unless you are comfortable with setting up a partitioning scheme for
! 23: two or more operating systems, and unless you understand the risk of data loss
! 24: if you should make a mistake, it is recommended that you give NetBSD its own
! 25: hard disk. This removes the risk of damage to the existing operating system.
! 27: ### NetBSD on emulation and virtualization
! 29: It is possible to install and run NetBSD on top of other operating systems
! 30: without having to worry about partitioning. Emulators or virtualization
! 31: environments provide a quick and secure way to try out NetBSD. The host
! 32: operating system remains unchanged, and the risk of damaging important data is
! 33: minimized.
! 35: Information about NetBSD as a Xen host and guest system is available on the
! 36: [NetBSD/xen web page](http://www.NetBSD.org/ports/xen/).
! 38: The [NetBSD on emulated hardware](http://www.NetBSD.org/ports/emulators.html)
! 39: web page provides detailed information about various emulators and the supported
! 40: NetBSD platforms. It should also be noted that NetBSD runs as a VMware guest.
! 42: ## Install preparations
! 44: ### The INSTALL document
! 46: The first thing to do before installing NetBSD is to read the release
! 47: information and installation notes in one of the `INSTALL` files: this is the
! 48: official description of the installation procedure, with platform-specific
! 49: information and important details. It is available in HTML, PostScript, plain
! 50: text, and an enhanced text format to be used with more. These files can be found
! 51: in the root directory of the NetBSD release (on the install CD or on the FTP
! 52: server). For example (replacing `6.1` with your release number, and `port` with
! 53: your port):
! 55: ftp://ftp.NetBSD.org/pub/NetBSD/NetBSD-6.1/port/INSTALL.html
! 57: ### Partitions
! 59: The terminology used by NetBSD for partitioning is different from the typical
! 60: DOS/Windows terminology; in fact, there are two partitioning schemes involved
! 61: when running NetBSD on a typical PC. NetBSD installs in one of the four primary
! 62: BIOS partitions (the partitions defined in the hard disk partition table).
! 64: Within a BIOS partition (also called *slice*) NetBSD defines its BSD partitions
! 65: using a *disklabel*: these partitions can be seen only by NetBSD and are
! 66: identified by lowercase letters (starting with `a`). For example, wd0a refers to
! 67: the `a` partition of the first IDE disk (wd0) and sd0a refers to the `a`
! 68: partition of the first SCSI disk. In the following figure, there are two primary
! 69: BIOS partitions, one used by DOS and the other by NetBSD. NetBSD describes the
! 70: disk layout through the disklabel.
! 72: ![Partitions](/guide/images/part.gif)
! 74: *Note*: The meaning of partitions `c` and `d` is typical of the i386 port. On
! 75: most other ports, `c` represents the whole disk.
! 77: *Note*: If NetBSD shares the hard disk with another operating system (like in
! 78: the previous example) you will want to install a *boot manager*, i.e., a program
! 79: which lets you choose which OS to start at boot time. sysinst can do this for
! 80: you and will ask if you want to install one. Unless you have specific reasons
! 81: not to, you should let sysinst perform this step.
! 83: ### Hard disk space requirements
! 85: The exact amount of space required for a given NetBSD installation varies
! 86: depending on the platform being used and which distribution sets are selected.
! 87: In general, if you have 1GB of free space on your hard drive, you will have more
! 88: than enough space for a full installation of the base system.
! 90: ### Network settings
! 92: If you plan to fetch distribution sets over the network (not necessary if you
! 93: downloaded a full-size install ISO) and do not use DHCP, write down your basic
! 94: network settings. You will need:
! 96: * Your IP address (example: 192.168.1.7)
! 97: * the netmask (example: 255.255.255.0)
! 98: * the IP address of your default gateway (example: 192.168.1.1)
! 99: * the IP address of the DNS server you use (example: 188.8.131.52)
! 101: ### Backup your data and operating systems!
! 103: Before you begin the installation, make sure that you have a reliable backup of
! 104: any operating systems and data on the used hard disk. Mistakes in partitioning
! 105: your hard disk can lead to data loss. Existing operating systems may become
! 106: unbootable. "Reliable backup" means that the backup and restore procedure is
! 107: tested and works flawlessly!
! 109: ### Preparing the installation media
! 111: The NetBSD installation system consists of two parts. The first part is the
! 112: installation kernel. This kernel contains the NetBSD install program sysinst and
! 113: it is booted from a CD (or DVD), memory card, USB flash drive, or floppy disk.
! 114: The sysinst program will prepare the disk: it separates the disk space into
! 115: partitions, makes the disk bootable and creates the necessary file systems.
! 117: The second part of the install system is made up of the binary distribution
! 118: sets: the files of the NetBSD operating system. The installer needs to have
! 119: access to the distribution sets. sysinst will usually fetch these files from the
! 120: CD or DVD you burned, but it can also get them via FTP, NFS, or local
! 121: filesystem.
! 123: The NetBSD Project provides complete install media for every supported hardware
! 124: architecture. This is usually in the form of bootable CD images (`.iso` files).
! 125: For example (replacing `6.1` with the release you want to install):
! 127: ftp://ftp.NetBSD.org/pub/NetBSD/iso/6.1/
! 129: *Note*: To improve net flow, and especially download speed, you should have a
! 130: look at the [list of mirrors](http://NetBSD.org/mirrors/#iso) and choose a local
! 131: server near you.
! 133: #### Booting the install system from CD
! 135: To use a bootable NetBSD install CD download the `iso` file for your hardware
! 136: architecture and burn it to a CD or DVD. You will need to handle this step
! 137: alone, as burning programs vary widely. Ensure that your computer is set up to
! 138: boot from CD-ROM before hard drives, insert the disc, and reboot the computer.
! 140: #### Booting the install system from floppy
! 142: If you need to create installation floppies, you need to copy floppy images to a
! 143: diskette. The floppy images are available on the NetBSD FTP servers or on a
! 144: NetBSD install CD. To perform this operation in DOS you can use the rawrite
! 145: program in the `i386/installation/misc` directory. For Windows, there's a
! 146: version in `rawr32.zip`. The image files are `i386/installation/floppy/boot1.fs`
! 147: and `i386/installation/floppy/boot2.fs` for installation of a "normal" PC. The
! 148: other floppies that are available are described in more detail in the `INSTALL`
! 149: document.
! 151: *Note*: Before you write the boot images to floppies, you should always check
! 152: that the floppies are good: this simple step is often overlooked, but can save
! 153: you a lot of trouble!
! 155: The procedure to write floppies is:
! 157: 1. Format the floppy.
! 158: 2. Go to the `I386\INSTALLATION\FLOPPY` directory of the CD-ROM.
! 159: 3. Run the **`..\MISC\RAWRITE`** program (or extract `..\MISC\RAWR32.ZIP` if
! 160: you're on a Windows system, and run the RAWRITE32 program in that file).
! 161: Usually the `Source file`s are `BOOT1.FS` and `BOOT2.FS` and the
! 162: `Destination drive` is `A`:
! 164: To create a boot floppy in a Unix environment, the
! 165: [dd(1)](http://netbsd.gw.com/cgi-bin/man-cgi?dd+1+NetBSD-current)
! 166: command can be used: For example:
! 168: # cd i386/installation/floppy
! 169: # dd if=boot.fs of=/dev/fd0a bs=36b
! 171: *Note*: A 1440K floppy contains 1474560 bytes and is made up of 80 cylinders, 2
! 172: tracks, 18 sectors and 512 bytes per sector, i.e., 80 \* 2 \* 18 = 2880 blocks.
! 173: Thus `bs=36b` copies one cylinder (18 \* 2 blocks) at a time and repeats the
! 174: operation 80 times instead of 2880.
! 176: ## Checklist
! 178: This is the checklist about the things that should be clear and on-hand now:
! 180: * Available disk space
! 181: * Bootable medium with the install system
! 182: * CD/DVD or server with the distribution sets
! 183: * Your network information (only if you will be fetching distribution sets via
! 184: the network and do not use DHCP)
! 185: * A working backup
! 186: * A printout of the INSTALL document
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