Enabling package support for Wrap Microdive based system?

Wookie7 · Jan 15, 2006, 7:22 AM

I had been wondering why package management wasn't showing up on the GUI until I read the FAQ. (great FAQ btw - best I have ever seen)

I had also read elsewhere talk of using a microdrive instead of Flash. Can the read only file system be changed for microdrive based systems? What if the main partition stayed read only, but a separate partition could be created on the microdrive for packages, log storage and other user space items?

I did not know that flash had such a finite use. Do projects like OpenWRT and DD-WRT have the possibility of 'burning out' their onboard flash chips if much write ops occur to them? (OT)

cmb · Jan 19, 2006, 4:37 AM

@Wookie7:

I had also read elsewhere talk of using a microdrive instead of Flash. Can the read only file system be changed for microdrive based systems? What if the main partition stayed read only, but a separate partition could be created on the microdrive for packages, log storage and other user space items?

the logs are the biggest issue of all. No, this just isn't feasible given the limitations of CF. You can force a rw mount with the command /etc/rc.conf_mount_rw and then do whatever you want, if you so desire. I wouldn't suggest this for any length of time though.

@Wookie7:

Do projects like OpenWRT and DD-WRT have the possibility of 'burning out' their onboard flash chips if much write ops occur to them? (OT)

All flash has a limited lifespan (more limited than hard drives, at least), but the flash chips used by those systems are much different from compact flash. I have no idea what the specifics are on those, but I would imagine that isn't nearly the issue with that onboard flash as it is with CF.

cmb · Jan 19, 2006, 4:39 AM

oh, I just realized the subject says microdrive. I think those are much different from CF, you should be able to run a normal full install on a microdrive without running into issues. except not in the WRAP, since it requires system changes to boot.

that leaves you without any good solution. After 1.0, we may look into this.

(somebody correct me if i'm wrong on the microdrive writes)

Wookie7 · Jan 20, 2006, 3:10 AM

@cmb:

oh, I just realized the subject says microdrive. I think those are much different from CF, you should be able to run a normal full install on a microdrive without running into issues. except not in the WRAP, since it requires system changes to boot.

that leaves you without any good solution. After 1.0, we may look into this.

(somebody correct me if i'm wrong on the microdrive writes)

Thanks for the response CMB. I hope that it is supported in the future. This is a great project.

charincol · Jan 21, 2006, 1:15 AM

I am currently using a 512 MB Microdrive. It works the same as a hard drive because it is a hard drive. Just minature in size. It will install from the CD to the Microdrive just fine. If it isn't then the issue is most likely NOT the Microdrive. (Unless it's bad.)

cmb · Jan 21, 2006, 2:04 AM

@charincol:

It will install from the CD to the Microdrive just fine. If it isn't then the issue is most likely NOT the Microdrive. (Unless it's bad.)

Yeah, it'll install, but if you're using a WRAP, it won't boot. You could install it that way and run it on a Soekris no problem. A stock FreeBSD install won't boot on a WRAP without some changes.

Exactly what those changes are, and why they're needed, I don't recall at the moment and am too lazy to find them. :D

jeroen234 · Jan 21, 2006, 8:34 AM

http://www.netgate.com/info/PG8WRAP/WRAP2C-manual.pdf


The default FreeBSD boot sector expects a keyboard controller to be present. This will hang on the
WRAP board.
Modify src/sys/boot/i386/boot2/boot1.s to skip this routine (e.g. patch in a ret instruction).
//
// Enable A20 so we can access memory above 1 meg.
//
seta20: cli // Disable interrupts
seta20.1: inb $0x64,%al // Get status
testb $0x2,%al // Busy?
jnz seta20.1 // Yes
movb $0xd1,%al // Command: Write
outb %al,$0x64 // output port
seta20.2: inb $0x64,%al // Get status
testb $0x2,%al // Busy?
jnz seta2 0.2 // Yes
movb $0xdf,%al // Enable
outb %al,$0x60 // A20
sti // Enable interrupts
retw // To caller
(courtesy of Larry Baird) The following lines added to cpu_reset_real() in
sys/i386/i386/vm_machdep.c will allow a WRAP board to reboot when running freeBSD:
outl( 0xCF8, 0x80009044UL ); // reset control (SC1100 data
// sheet, page 170
outb( 0xCFC, 0x0F ); // system wide reset

sullrich · Jan 21, 2006, 7:55 PM

Yes we know about this but why should we maintain yet another version just for a boot loader gate option?

Thats unaccaptable. Our embedded versions do not have keyboard or mouse support which basically renders this "patch" un-needed.

If someone wants to maintain a "wrap" version then thats fine with me but its not going to be something that I am interested in as its yet another version to keep up with every release. In fact, if this bug was fixed in the WARP bios then technically we wouldn't need the embedded "versions" at all.

billm · Jan 22, 2006, 5:31 PM

Yeah, before we removed keyboard from the embedded image the Soekris' boxes booted fine. This is a WRAP bios limitation. What's more interesting is a PC based CF image with video/keyboard enabled. It's unlikely that'll show up anytime soon, but it's more likely than a specialized WRAP only version.

–Bill