2019-02-14 10:50:27 -05:00
|
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
|
layout: post
|
|
|
|
|
title: "Running FreeBSD current"
|
|
|
|
|
date: 2019-01-29
|
|
|
|
|
comments: true
|
|
|
|
|
tags: freebsd, x230, infra
|
|
|
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I have been a FreeBSD user for quite sometime now. I run it on my
|
|
|
|
|
[servers](/blog/2019/01/20/experiments-in-owning-data/index.html), and on my
|
|
|
|
|
personal laptop, a Thinkpad x230.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
One of the main reasons I started experimenting with FreeBSD was to get more
|
|
|
|
|
familiar with internals of a modern UNIX. What better way to learn than to poke
|
|
|
|
|
around source? That's how I ended up building FreeBSD.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
__CURRENT__ is the FreeBSD terminology for _"bleeding edge"_ development
|
|
|
|
|
version, [the subversion
|
|
|
|
|
branch](https://www.freebsd.org/doc/handbook/current-stable.html) where
|
|
|
|
|
development happens. All new changes are developed against this branch, so this
|
|
|
|
|
was the target/version that I wanted to build and run.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
## The good - Streamlined build
|
|
|
|
|
The code structure of FreeBSD was a big help in doing this, all base components
|
|
|
|
|
that one would need on a minimal UNIX installation is in [a single
|
|
|
|
|
repo](https://svnweb.freebsd.org/base/head/). The components in this repo is
|
|
|
|
|
enough to boot a computer and start writing (C/C++) code on it. Which made
|
|
|
|
|
[compiling and running the development
|
|
|
|
|
head](https://www.freebsd.org/doc/handbook/makeworld.html) a no brainer-less
|
|
|
|
|
than 10 commands job. Take that [LFS](http://www.linuxfromscratch.org/lfs/)!
|
|
|
|
|
(sorry, couldn't resist).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
|
# svn update /usr/src
|
|
|
|
|
# cd /usr/src
|
|
|
|
|
# make -j4 buildworld
|
|
|
|
|
# make -j4 kernel
|
|
|
|
|
# shutdown -r now
|
|
|
|
|
# cd /usr/src
|
|
|
|
|
# make installworld
|
|
|
|
|
# mergemaster -Ui
|
|
|
|
|
# shutdown -r now
|
|
|
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
## The Bad - Takes too long
|
|
|
|
|
However compiling the entire tree is resource intensive, and it takes ~4 hours
|
|
|
|
|
to build on my old Thinkpad, CPU usage will be at 100% and the laptop will be
|
|
|
|
|
more or less unusable while building. This severely limited the frequency of
|
|
|
|
|
updating code on laptop.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
### Mailing list to rescue
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
People at the [FreeBSD-Current mailing
|
|
|
|
|
list](https://www.mail-archive.com/freebsd-current@freebsd.org/msg175370.html)
|
|
|
|
|
pointed out that I could just reuse the builds from my server. So that's what I
|
|
|
|
|
have done, I have yet another hetzner box building FreeBSD-CURRENT periodically
|
|
|
|
|
with
|
|
|
|
|
|
2019-08-04 00:16:12 +02:00
|
|
|
```bash
|
2019-02-14 10:50:27 -05:00
|
|
|
cd /usr/src && svn update .
|
2019-08-04 00:16:12 +02:00
|
|
|
make -j 4 buildkernel buildworld KERNCONF=GENERIC-LAPTOP | \
|
|
|
|
|
tee /var/log/lastbuild.log
|
2019-02-14 10:50:27 -05:00
|
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
and I pull it to my laptop with rsync, with roughly following
|
|
|
|
|
|
2019-08-04 00:16:12 +02:00
|
|
|
```bash
|
2019-02-14 10:50:27 -05:00
|
|
|
cd /usr
|
|
|
|
|
rsync -avz builder:/usr/src .
|
|
|
|
|
rsync -avz builder:/usr/obj .
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
cd /usr/src
|
|
|
|
|
make -j4 installkernel KERNCONF=GENERIC-LAPTOP
|
|
|
|
|
shutdown -r now
|
|
|
|
|
make -j4 installworld KERNCONF=GENERIC-LAPTOP
|
|
|
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
## The Ugly - Nothing yet
|
|
|
|
|
Sorry to disappoint, I haven't come across any really bad things yet `¯\_(ツ)_/¯`.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
There is always risk of really breaking your system with an experimental OS
|
|
|
|
|
version. I am yet to run across into that. That will eventually force me to use
|
|
|
|
|
[ZFS boot environments](https://mwl.io/archives/2363), I guess.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
## That's all folks!
|
|
|
|
|
Except for [some minor hiccups](/blog/2019/01/08/recurse-center-day-%23-2/index.html) the experience running CURRENT have been
|
|
|
|
|
smooth, I will keep this blog updated if it breaks :-)
|
