This is an old revision of the document!
This is a notebook for adapting BSDInstall to be the missing front-end for pc-sysinstall.
Features
The right two columns in the following table should be empty when the adaptation of bsdinstall as a pc-sysinstall front-end is complete. Ideally, all columns will be empty.
| pc-sysinstall features missing in BSDInstall | BSDinstall features missing in pc-sysinstall | Desired features missing in both |
|---|---|---|
| ZFS installation | Non-x86 support | |
| geli/gmirror/gstripe setup | Full-manual partitioning (shell-based) | |
| Package installation | Jail Setup/Disk Image installation | |
| Console keymap setup of existing system (should stay in front-end?) | ||
| Wireless setup (WPA, WEP, etc.) | ||
| IPv6 setup |
Merge obstacles
In general, most of the bsdinstall tools just write settings to config files, and can be easily adapted to set up a pc-sysinstall config file instead. There are a few obstacles, however:
- The way bsdinstall partedit works involves direct, though postponed, manipulation of the partition GEOMs. It is very difficult to adapt this to writing a config file.
- User interface for ZFS? (allow deleting freebsd-zfs partitions? how to set up pools?)
- pc-sysinstall backend does not allow deletion of MBR slices holding a bsdlabel
- conditional support for configuring the existing system at installation time in pc-sysinstall