*BSD News Article 56771


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Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc
Path: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au!newshost.anu.edu.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!bunyip.cc.uq.oz.au!pandora.devetir.qld.gov.au!netpak
From: netpak@devetir.qld.gov.au (Paul Koch)
Subject: Building a useful boot floppy
Nntp-Posting-Host: orion.devetir.qld.gov.au
Sender: news@devetir.qld.gov.au (Network News)
Organization: DEVETIR, QLD, AUSTRALIA
Date: Thu, 14 Dec 1995 03:22:26 GMT
X-Newsreader: NN version 6.5.0 #1 (NOV)
Message-ID: <netpak.818911346@pandora>
Summary: Require a bootable FreeBSD floppy 
Lines: 69


USEFUL NETWORK BOOT FLOPPY

I have a requirement to build a useful bootable FreeBSD floppy disk.

I want the following features on the boot floppy:-
	- a kernel with all supported ethernet cards compiled in
	- boot into multiuser mode
	- four syscons screens
	- remote connection via telnet or serial
	- network utilities (ie. ifconfig, ping, route, traceroute, telnet)
	- have login/password security
	- enough room left on the disk to put my statistical lan analyser
	  ~100K

I previously built a boot floppy using FreeBSD 2.0.  The following is a 
list of the files I used to get the floppy to work:-

/kernel
/.profile
/bin/sh
/bin/stty
/etc/gettytab
/etc/group
/etc/hosts
/etc/inetd.conf
/etc/master.passwd
/etc/passwd
/etc/protocols
/etc/pwd.db
/etc/rc
/etc/services
/etc/spwd.db
/etc/ttys
/sbin/init
/sbin/ifconfig
/usr/bin/login
/usr/libexec/getty
/usr/libexec/telnetd
/usr/sbin/inetd
/usr/share/misc/termcap
/dev/bpf0-3
/dev/ttyp0-3
/dev/ttyv0-3
/dev/...... other_stuff

All the executables were stripped and compressed using gzip. The
kernel had gzip-exec compiled in. I could set an IP address using
ifconfig and then telnet to the PC remotely.

I want to build a new boot floppy with FreeBSD 2.1 which does not
require /usr/bin/login or all the password stuff in /etc but I still
want some sort of simple security. If not, just spawn a shell on four
syscon screens and also when telnet'ing in.

Am I trying to fit too much onto the one floppy? it would be nice 
to be able to get onto a single floppy disk. I have looked at how
the installation boot floppy is built, but not being a unix/programmer
person, I got quite confused. Memory is a slight problem too, as I want
to be able to run the boot floppy on a minimum of a 486DX with 8Megs 
of ram, therefore I did not want to use a memory file system. I need the
memory to hold large realtime network statistics.

Could someone tell me the minimum files I require to get a nice
boot floppy to work. 


Paul Koch
Brisbane, Australia.