NetBSD's Journal

amoe @ 7:19pm: Compile a program for me - please!

Good evening all.

I have an old machine that runs NetBSD. I want to use it to run PLT Scheme programs. Trouble is, it has so little memory that compilation of PLT ('gmake install') takes days and days. In fact, not only does it take days and days, it eventually dies as if the process has hit a hard internal limit. The version in ports is too old for my purpose, and there's no binary packages available for NetBSD from the home page.

I've tried several things to get round this: virtualized NetBSD on my Linux box (didn't work); building a cross compiler (didn't work). At the end of my tether, I'm begging: could some kind person running i386 NetBSD 4.x build PLT for me and send me the binaries?

I'll even give you the command line to make it extra easy (it relies on you having a clean /usr/local, sorry, but I don't care if I get some other binaries:)

wget ftp://infogroep.be/pub/plt/bundles/4.1.4/plt/plt-4.1.4-src-unix.tgz
tar -xzf plt-4.1.4-src-unix.tgz
cd plt-4.1.4/src
./configure --prefix=/usr/local --disable-mred --enable-shared
gmake
gmake install
tar -czf ~/plt_package.tar.gz /usr/local

I know the /usr/local pollution might be unacceptable, in which case you're welcome to configure with a different prefix, though I hope to eventually use /usr/local. You could then email me plt_package.tar.gz. I'm sorry to make this request, but I have reached the end of my powers now...

rgba @ 1:07am: remove the base system component
Greets.

I’m digging in to pkgsrc now and I want to install X.org, but during the installation I had chosen to install XFree86 -- just to test if X would run on my laptop (well, it worked: X ran out-of-the-box without any config). Is there any way to correctly remove XFree? It appears that pkg_delete can’t touch the base system components. The NetBSD Guide tells nothing about it either.

sitlar @ 5:05am: NFS tuning
Hi!
I'm using NetBSD on an old notebook as a multipurpose server. I've installed nfsd on my NAS to let NetBSD access file archives. Samba doesn't work since NetBSD freezes than doing a memcpy to a mmap'ed file on smbfs. Unfortunately I got a very bad performance of NetBSD's nfs client.

To test the speed I use

$ dd if=/mnt/NAS/testfile of=/dev/null bs=16k

testfile is 256M zeros.

The best result on NetBSD is only 1.3Mb/s , however my desktop (2.6 linux) is doing 2.3Mb/s with same rsize=1024 on both systems. If I increase the value I get much better results on linux - up to 5.4Mb/s, but a performance loss on NetBSD - only about 500kb/s.

Any ideas? Thanks in advance!

christtrekker @ 8:12am: NIS/NFS help
I want to set up NFS at home, and since I'm not looking forward to syncing all my UIDs (which I'll likely end up doing anyway) and keeping them synced going ahead, I probably should set up NIS too. Anybody know of a good, no-nonsense howto/reference for this? Something that would be kind to my poor, networking-challenged brain?

x-posted

christtrekker @ 6:29pm: xdm problem
Can anyone steer me in the right direction as to how I customize my login screen? I've been following Hauke's advice but it's not working. As fair as I can tell, neither the new Xresources I've pointed my config at, nor the standard one, is being used. I still have the default "X Window System" login text.

christtrekker @ 3:18pm: wiki
It doesn't seem to be widely known or used, but there wiki.netbsd.se looks like it could shape up to be a real nice site.

christtrekker @ 12:07pm: introduction
Hello! I just found this community so I thought I would introduce myself.
( here goes... )

soko1 @ 4:47am: %uname -sr
NetBSD 3.0-RELEASE
%ifconfig -l
vr0 lo0
%ifconfig vr0 192.168.1.3
%ifconfig vr0 up
%ping 192.168.1.3 (not ping!)
%
Why?

dnkorovkin @ 9:28pm: Something similar to /proc/devices in Linux or devices in LynxOS
Hi guys,
Is there in NetBSD something similar to Linux /proc/devices file or LynxOS devices utility?
I need something that gives me a list of block/character/network devices OS could recognize on my computer. (Of course, I know "dmesg | less", but it's not what I want).

cryo @ 4:14pm: I have nominated myself for one of the two open positions on the board of directors
I can claim insanity. However, any developers can also nominate me to seal my fate (and would be appreciated.)

This message brought to you by the Foundation for world domination through overachievement and super powers.

sinistertim101 @ 10:41pm: Solarisx86 as a hobbiest OS?
Does anyone use SolarisX86 on a regular pc that is a non server?

I am a former BSD user and I do not like Linux in its current state. Dont mean to flame the linux fanatics out there but its alot of work compared to my FreeBSD experience to install and maintain a system with ease with a degree in stability in its packages.

I need Java and 3d support so NetBSd and OpenBSD is not an option. FreeBSD is too unstable and no longer works wiht my hardware well like 4.x did.

I need Java5 for school and the only non Microsoft OS I can think of is solaris. I intend to use www.blastwave.com or is it www.blastwave.net? ... to update solaris10 with modern packages. I am aware there is opensolaris but it seems like alot of work from the beta builds of solaris11 with tons of patches so I am skeptical.

I would like to use something more modern than gnome 2.8 as that is what blastwave includes. Any suggestions on how to upgrade?

Also for those who have used solaris on the desktop is it really worth it? What are the differences over Linux?

Thanks

tarkhil @ 11:28pm: NetBSD on PDA
I wonder if NetBSD will run on iPAQ 2410 ( Intel PXA270 520MHz)?

Or, more general question: on what more-or-less up-to-date PDAs will run NetBSD? I need not only proof-of-usage, but at least partially usable device.

tarkhil @ 7:34pm: NetBSD and Broadcom-based ASUS router
Hello!

I'm thinking of porting NetBSD on Broadcom-based ASUS router. Searching inet, I did not find anything useful on running NetBSD on Broadcom's MIPS-based processor.

Maybe someone can tell me of (un)successful attempts and/or help me with porting?

sierra_nevada @ 5:00pm: NetBSD and Video (MPEG) capture/processing/viewing

How many of you here are using NetBSD to capture/process/view MPEG?

robel @ 9:28pm: Hi, guys! I am a linux user, and want to open mine mind a little bit with NetBSD. Can some one tell me if it suitable for desktop use? I have read a lot of articles, but haven't got to conclusion.

10x in advance

sinistertim101 @ 9:56pm: Just installed NetBSD
2 things that are driving me crazy.

1.) I noticed I can not do a backspace without "^H^H" appearing. This is driving me crazy
2.) The keys "pageup" and "pagedown" do not function in Vi.

Do any of you guys know how to fix these 2 problems? I guess I should have backed up my vi files from FreeBSD before I attempted the install.

I am about to install the pkg distribution sets but I can read the NetBSD documentation on my own and install them.

Thanks.

sinistertim101 @ 3:32pm: Advice for a newbie
Where is a good place for NetBSD documentation. I do have unix experience with FreeBSD and I love the handbook for that operating system. Does NetBSD have anything similiar like a kitchen sink for the OS?

Unfortunately I have limited time due to work and I wonder how long and how much work NetBSD is to setup? Basically I am looking for a quality Linux-free and FreeBSD-free os that is rock solid. FreeBSD takes awhile as well without the handbook but I have programs like sysinstall to help me out. Does NetBSD have any ethernet and network configuration tools like sysinstall, or is it old-school, meaning firing up vi and edit files in /etc to get anything done?

Also how hard is it to setup Java on NetBSD? Is java supported or semi supported? Thanks

sinistertim101 @ 8:49pm: Hacking 127.0.0.1
Here is a guy who claims he is a hacker who decides to hack this mysterious IP address 127.0.0.1 also known as localhost.

I hope he does not mind losing whats on his had drive. :-)

emre @ 2:39pm: Two interesting NetBSD articles. Both are interviews:


Understanding NetBSD 2.0's new technology
http://trends.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=04/12/22/1954233


NetBSD 2.0 Rendezvous
http://www.onlamp.com/lpt/a/5638.

letthemhate @ 2:06pm: Help Fund NetBSD
Not big into donations? want something for your buck? head over to: http://www.cafepress.com/NetBSD/

Although.. I think the logo is pretty lame, but the cause is what is important here.

cryo @ 4:47am: NetBSD article on newsforge
http://www.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=05/01/05/1549244

letthemhate @ 2:41am: NetBSD 2.0 vs FreeBSD 5.3 benchmarks
http://www.feyrer.de/NetBSD/gmcgarry/

hvit_skog @ 6:16pm: Couple questions/problems
When I try to run aterm, I get this:

"# aterm
/usr/local/bin/aterm: Permission denied"

I was on root too, so I'm not sure why this is happening.

When I try to run blackbox, I get this:

"# blackbox
Shared object "libXext.so.6" not found"

I'm not sure how to go about fixing these, so any help would be great. Also, is there away to start X right when you load BSD? Instead of having to type "startx"? Thanks in advance!

hvit_skog @ 1:45pm: Help!
Alright, I just installed NetBSD 2.0, but am having troubles configuring X Windows, as I don't where to start or what to do. The netbsd.org guide kind of leaves me confused, so if someone could explain the process for me I would be very, very greatful.

sinistertim101 @ 8:59pm: FreeBSD is going to hell
Has anyone else noticed corruption at the VM level?


Not only is my system less repsonsive under 5.3 than 4.x but I have had to recompile two ports again twice. Both have complained of a mutex returning intro correct results cancelling the make job. When I retype in make install clean it works fine. Something is fish and there would be no way I would put this thing on a server.

Many FreeBSD faithfull have been switching to NetBSD or DragonFLY. Its obvious if you read slashdot that only certain folks at the FreeBSD camp even can read teh code in the new kernel. I really do think the kernel design was a poor choice for version 5.x and Matt Dillion who was kicked out of the kernel developers was correct. The new Mutex locking which Matt highly critizied is what caused the problems for me on my system so far.

All the new feuatures only slow it down which proves my point. Especially disk i/o with GEOM.


I want to try NetBSD but no 3d acceleration exists and I plan to write a simple 3d engine for a personal project I am working on. I am thinking of switching to either Debian or Windows2k. Debian is so old but I do not trust any other distro to be as stable as FreeBSD. Or once was as stable as FreeBSD.