FreeBSD other installation issues

The installation system is a complex process, one of the reasons is the variety of personal computer hardware, can be combined in a variety of ways, so it can cause complex installation problems.

• Network Installation Method

In addition to using the installation CD to install FreeBSD, there are several other installation media to choose from, where network installation is also a very convenient way to install.

If the consumer is connected directly to the Internet, you do not need to install the disc, you need to make a startup floppy disk (the disk mirror file can also be downloaded over the Internet), and then use the boot floppy to install the FreeBSD system directly from the Internet. Therefore, if the local network of the consumer has a stable and fast connection to the Internet, you can also choose the network installation method.

Network installation methods include FTP, FTP passive, and NFS, and you need to choose how you want to install the network based on the service provided by the installation server. Typically, NFS is better suited for local connections, and the user-set Installation Server provides NFS installation Services (or shared resources among local FreeBSD enthusiasts), and Internet-facing public servers typically provide more reliable FTP services, so FTP installation is more common. The FTP Installation and FTP passive installation is the difference is that the FTP passive way to download the file using FT P passive mode to overcome the limitations of most firewalls on the port, so if the system to install is not directly connected to the Internet, To connect to the Internet through a firewall, you need to use the FTP passive installation method.

An important issue when using network installation is that the network interface must be configured, so Sysinstall will prompt the user to configure the network interface after selecting the installation media and choosing to install components. Because the network interface set by Sysinstall is a permanently connected network interface, such as a NIC, and some network interfaces require a pre connected network interface, such as a dial-up connection, the Ppp0 interface cannot be set directly through Sysinstall, so it is not appropriate to use a network installation method.

The above menu for FTP installation, in addition to providing multiple existing FreeBSD FTP installation sites on the Internet, you can also choose to manually enter a URL (the second item), where the user enters an FTP site from the nearest installation server. This site can be maintained by the user itself, making it easier to install multiple systems in one network.

If the network connection is slow, using the network installation method directly will cause the installation process to not proceed normally because of the network speed. Then you can download the FreeBSD installation file to the local hard disk, then select the DOS installation media or the pre-installed file system as the installation media for installation.

When using the DOS basic partition as the installation media, the installation files need to be copied to the FreeBSD directory in the root directory of the DOS partition according to the original directory structure of the installation files. The Setup.exe tool in the installation CD Tools directory can be used in DOS to use the installation CD to set up the D OS installation media. This is typically only used for system CD-ROM models that are too old to be recognized by FreeBSD, or if the system you are installing does not have an optical drive or network adapter, you must copy the installation files to its hard disk beforehand.

When this installation is selected, the installer asks which DOS partition the FreeBSD installation file is located in.

Whether the installation system is placed in a DOS basic partition, or in a previously installed FreeBSD partition, on a CD, or on an NFS server that is placed on a network, you can manually install these file systems into the system's directory tree by hand, and then select File The System installation media option is installed. Of course, this requires opening an emergency shell to operate first. This is usually done primarily for system maintenance after the system is installed, but less for initial installation.

In addition, you can use floppy disk or tape to do installation media, but the actual use is relatively rare.

• Upgrade system

You can choose upgrade mode for system upgrades in the main menu of the installer. The benefit of system upgrades is that you can retain various settings in the previous system, as well as the user's configuration information and data files. However, this upgrade to the installer is not the best way to upgrade, because FreeBSD is a very dynamic operating system, and traditional media such as CD-ROM installation media is static, and using this method to upgrade the system does not get the latest system. Another reason is that FreeBSD's source code is public, and it is also convenient to upgrade with the source, and the risk of losing data is less risky.