NetBSD 10 Beta installs and testing from i386 to ARM.
I've run NetBSD for quite some time, going back to the days of Dr. Dobbs magazine and the release of the BSD4-based 386BSD (which I installed from floppy disks...). The chance of beta testing the newest release came at the end of December 2022. I had installed NetBSD-current on Raspberry Pi platforms, and also had different levels of NetBSD 9 on systems.
This story is on my attempts to upgrade or install fresh operating systems "in house". Rather than strict chronological order, the sections below are by CPU architecture, starting with the older i386 then going to Arm processors. I have not upgraded an AMD-based system (yet), and will add notes at the end when I can...
https://jspath55.blogspot.com/2023/02/netbsd-10-beta-installs-and-testing.html
#system #install
I've run NetBSD for quite some time, going back to the days of Dr. Dobbs magazine and the release of the BSD4-based 386BSD (which I installed from floppy disks...). The chance of beta testing the newest release came at the end of December 2022. I had installed NetBSD-current on Raspberry Pi platforms, and also had different levels of NetBSD 9 on systems.
This story is on my attempts to upgrade or install fresh operating systems "in house". Rather than strict chronological order, the sections below are by CPU architecture, starting with the older i386 then going to Arm processors. I have not upgraded an AMD-based system (yet), and will add notes at the end when I can...
https://jspath55.blogspot.com/2023/02/netbsd-10-beta-installs-and-testing.html
#system #install
Run GitHub CI in NetBSD Test.
Use this action to run your CI in NetBSD. The github workflow only supports Ubuntu, Windows and MacOS. But what if you need to use NetBSD? This action is to support NetBSD...
https://github.com/vmactions/netbsd-vm
#ci #github #action
Use this action to run your CI in NetBSD. The github workflow only supports Ubuntu, Windows and MacOS. But what if you need to use NetBSD? This action is to support NetBSD...
https://github.com/vmactions/netbsd-vm
#ci #github #action
NetBSD Toaster Powered by the TS-7200 ARM9 SBC (article from 2016).
It has long been regarded that the UNIX-like OS NetBSD is portable to every type of machine except perhaps your kitchen toaster. Technologic Systems, however, has conquered this last frontier. Using the rugged, embedded TS-7200 single board computer housed inside the empty space of a standard two slice toaster, Technologic Systems has designed a functional NetBSD controlled toaster...
- https://www.embeddedts.com/blog/netbsd-toaster-powered-by-the-ts-7200-arm9-sbc/
- https://www.embeddedts.com/blog/netbsdevbarm-support-on-the-ts-7200/
#hardware #system #install
It has long been regarded that the UNIX-like OS NetBSD is portable to every type of machine except perhaps your kitchen toaster. Technologic Systems, however, has conquered this last frontier. Using the rugged, embedded TS-7200 single board computer housed inside the empty space of a standard two slice toaster, Technologic Systems has designed a functional NetBSD controlled toaster...
- https://www.embeddedts.com/blog/netbsd-toaster-powered-by-the-ts-7200-arm9-sbc/
- https://www.embeddedts.com/blog/netbsdevbarm-support-on-the-ts-7200/
#hardware #system #install
NetBSD as a Kubernetes Pod.
So here’s how to run a NetBSD micro-vm as… a Kubernetes pod.
https://imil.net/blog/posts/2023/netbsd-as-a-k8s-pod/
#kubernetes
So here’s how to run a NetBSD micro-vm as… a Kubernetes pod.
https://imil.net/blog/posts/2023/netbsd-as-a-k8s-pod/
#kubernetes
Building a NetBSD ramdisk kernel.
When I used OpenBSD, I was a big fan of bsd.rd: a kernel that includes a root file system with an installer and a few tools. When I invariably did something bad to my root file system, I could use that to repair things. bsd.rd is also helpful for OS updates. And there is only a single file involved.
On NetBSD however, there is usually no netbsd.rd kernel installed, or even available by default. The facility is there, it’s just not standard. To be fair, there are a number of architectures that use kernels with a ramdisk for installation. Recently, I have been toying with NetBSD on an Orange Pi 5. This is a 64-bit ARM board, using the evbarm-aarch64 architecture. I am booting from an SD card (details in a followup post) but once booted, the kernel does not see the card any more, only the NVMe SSD. So my thoughts went back to bsd.rd and I decided that I want one...
https://bentsukun.ch/posts/ramdisk-kernel/
#system #ramdisk
When I used OpenBSD, I was a big fan of bsd.rd: a kernel that includes a root file system with an installer and a few tools. When I invariably did something bad to my root file system, I could use that to repair things. bsd.rd is also helpful for OS updates. And there is only a single file involved.
On NetBSD however, there is usually no netbsd.rd kernel installed, or even available by default. The facility is there, it’s just not standard. To be fair, there are a number of architectures that use kernels with a ramdisk for installation. Recently, I have been toying with NetBSD on an Orange Pi 5. This is a 64-bit ARM board, using the evbarm-aarch64 architecture. I am booting from an SD card (details in a followup post) but once booted, the kernel does not see the card any more, only the NVMe SSD. So my thoughts went back to bsd.rd and I decided that I want one...
https://bentsukun.ch/posts/ramdisk-kernel/
#system #ramdisk
NetBSD 10.0 RC2 available.
The NetBSD project is pleased to announce the second (and probably last) release candidate of the upcoming 10.0 release, please help testing! See the release announcement for details...
https://blog.netbsd.org/tnf/entry/netbsd_10_0_rc2_available
#system #release
The NetBSD project is pleased to announce the second (and probably last) release candidate of the upcoming 10.0 release, please help testing! See the release announcement for details...
https://blog.netbsd.org/tnf/entry/netbsd_10_0_rc2_available
#system #release
A NetBSD/amd64 guest can now boot in 40ms.
I've been working the past 3 months into catching up with Colin Percival's work on FreeBSD with the Firecracker hypervisor.
The result is that NetBSD/amd64 can now boot in PVH mode, i.e. directly into the kernel using qemu's -kernel flag or the PVH-enabled version of AWS's Firecracker.
I then added support for MMIO kernel command line parameters, so NetBSD now supports memory mapped backed devices like ld(4) or vioif(4). Last but not least, I've been tracking boot time until reaching 40ms from the assembly entry point to handling over to userland...
https://www.reddit.com/r/BSD/comments/197vfmq/a_netbsdamd64_guest_can_now_boot_in_40ms_details/
#virtualization #boot
I've been working the past 3 months into catching up with Colin Percival's work on FreeBSD with the Firecracker hypervisor.
The result is that NetBSD/amd64 can now boot in PVH mode, i.e. directly into the kernel using qemu's -kernel flag or the PVH-enabled version of AWS's Firecracker.
I then added support for MMIO kernel command line parameters, so NetBSD now supports memory mapped backed devices like ld(4) or vioif(4). Last but not least, I've been tracking boot time until reaching 40ms from the assembly entry point to handling over to userland...
https://www.reddit.com/r/BSD/comments/197vfmq/a_netbsdamd64_guest_can_now_boot_in_40ms_details/
#virtualization #boot
Tinkering with Manjaro and NetBSD on the Pinebook Pro: a crumbs-in-the-forest tutorial & review.
I found a used Pinebook Pro on Craigslist for $100 CAD, invented some flimsy excuse, and bought it. Then I went much farther down the rabbit hole than I expected, trying to get it functional. Here are my first impressions of the journey to get (semi-) functional Linux and BSD systems installed on the Pinebook Pro...
https://www.autodidacts.io/pinebook-pro-linux-bsd-laptop-review-tutorial/#installing-netbsd
#install #arm #system
I found a used Pinebook Pro on Craigslist for $100 CAD, invented some flimsy excuse, and bought it. Then I went much farther down the rabbit hole than I expected, trying to get it functional. Here are my first impressions of the journey to get (semi-) functional Linux and BSD systems installed on the Pinebook Pro...
https://www.autodidacts.io/pinebook-pro-linux-bsd-laptop-review-tutorial/#installing-netbsd
#install #arm #system
NetBSD 10: Thirty years, still going strong!
In 2023, the NetBSD project celebrated 30 years since its first release, 0.8. Now, four years after NetBSD 9, NetBSD 10 brings a huge number of changes and improvements. This talk will dive into the most important new features of NetBSD 10, such as performance and security improvements, expanded CPU and GPU support, improved virtualization and more!
https://fosdem.org/2024/schedule/event/fosdem-2024-3508-netbsd-10-thirty-years-still-going-strong-/
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ZzaW9eI4wmMRGOnJ1uo-kGk5b_UvIOuU9Zgur4au_8s/edit#slide=id.p
#system #fosdem
In 2023, the NetBSD project celebrated 30 years since its first release, 0.8. Now, four years after NetBSD 9, NetBSD 10 brings a huge number of changes and improvements. This talk will dive into the most important new features of NetBSD 10, such as performance and security improvements, expanded CPU and GPU support, improved virtualization and more!
https://fosdem.org/2024/schedule/event/fosdem-2024-3508-netbsd-10-thirty-years-still-going-strong-/
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ZzaW9eI4wmMRGOnJ1uo-kGk5b_UvIOuU9Zgur4au_8s/edit#slide=id.p
#system #fosdem
Finding NetBSD Kernel Bugs through LockDoc.
This post will be my attempt to package up my master’s thesis in a format that can be read comfortably. I’ve spent the last 15 months mostly on this topic, and if you’ve noticed that some of my past posts mostly revolved around NetBSD, this is why. I hope this also gives me the opportunity to shine a light on some implementation details, since the thesis itself had to be mostly focused on the academic stuff...
https://scholz.ruhr/blog/finding-netbsd-locking-bugs/
#kernel #system
This post will be my attempt to package up my master’s thesis in a format that can be read comfortably. I’ve spent the last 15 months mostly on this topic, and if you’ve noticed that some of my past posts mostly revolved around NetBSD, this is why. I hope this also gives me the opportunity to shine a light on some implementation details, since the thesis itself had to be mostly focused on the academic stuff...
https://scholz.ruhr/blog/finding-netbsd-locking-bugs/
#kernel #system
NetBSD 10.0 available!
The NetBSD project is pleased to announce the eighteenth major release of the NetBSD operating system NetBSD 10.0! See the release announcement for details...
https://blog.netbsd.org/tnf/entry/netbsd_10_0_available
#release #system
The NetBSD project is pleased to announce the eighteenth major release of the NetBSD operating system NetBSD 10.0! See the release announcement for details...
https://blog.netbsd.org/tnf/entry/netbsd_10_0_available
#release #system
NetBSD 9.4 released!
It represents a selected subset of fixes deemed important for security or stability reasons since the release of NetBSD 9.3 in August 2022, as well some enhancements backported from the development branch. It is fully compatible with NetBSD 9.0. Users running 9.3 or an earlier release are strongly recommended to upgrade...
https://blog.netbsd.org/tnf/entry/netbsd_9_4_released
#release #system
It represents a selected subset of fixes deemed important for security or stability reasons since the release of NetBSD 9.3 in August 2022, as well some enhancements backported from the development branch. It is fully compatible with NetBSD 9.0. Users running 9.3 or an earlier release are strongly recommended to upgrade...
https://blog.netbsd.org/tnf/entry/netbsd_9_4_released
#release #system
Why I Like NetBSD, or Why Portability Matters
So why use NetBSD? Many of its proponents would argue that NetBSD also has its own niche: the focus on portability. At the time I first heard about portability, I took it to roughly mean that you can run it on any machine. Now my understanding of the concept has evolved and I want to talk a bit about why portability is awesome, and why I think people undersell its importance...
https://mccd.space/posts/netbsd-review/
#system
So why use NetBSD? Many of its proponents would argue that NetBSD also has its own niche: the focus on portability. At the time I first heard about portability, I took it to roughly mean that you can run it on any machine. Now my understanding of the concept has evolved and I want to talk a bit about why portability is awesome, and why I think people undersell its importance...
https://mccd.space/posts/netbsd-review/
#system
Swap the operating system of any remote Linux server by the one of your choice.
For a long time, I have been curious whether there were ways to swap out the operating systems of a remote server without having access to a BIOS/UEFI nor to a good cloud control panel with ISO/images loading capabilities, but only throughout a remote SSH access to an existing system...
https://cloudbsd.xyz/
#cloud #system #install
For a long time, I have been curious whether there were ways to swap out the operating systems of a remote server without having access to a BIOS/UEFI nor to a good cloud control panel with ISO/images loading capabilities, but only throughout a remote SSH access to an existing system...
https://cloudbsd.xyz/
#cloud #system #install
BSDCan 2024:
- NetBSD on RISC-V - It Finally Runs NetBSD By: Dylan Eskew & Dr Phil Nelson;
- NetBSD Subfiles By: Elijah Sherwood & Dr Philip Nelson;
- Making NetBSD as a fast(er) booting microvm By: Emile Heitor;
- Alamosa: A Tiered Disk Block Cache for NetBSD By: Kira Ash;
All videos - Youtube, Peertube.
#video #conf
- NetBSD on RISC-V - It Finally Runs NetBSD By: Dylan Eskew & Dr Phil Nelson;
- NetBSD Subfiles By: Elijah Sherwood & Dr Philip Nelson;
- Making NetBSD as a fast(er) booting microvm By: Emile Heitor;
- Alamosa: A Tiered Disk Block Cache for NetBSD By: Kira Ash;
All videos - Youtube, Peertube.
#video #conf
NetBSD on a ROCK64 Board.
Long story short, I had the chance to resurrect 4 single-board computers that were collecting dust in my office. I decided to install FreeBSD on one of them and it was a success. This time I will show you how and why I installed NetBSD on a second ROCK64 board.
https://simonevellei.com/blog/posts/netbsd-on-a-rock64-board/
#hardware #install #rock64
Long story short, I had the chance to resurrect 4 single-board computers that were collecting dust in my office. I decided to install FreeBSD on one of them and it was a success. This time I will show you how and why I installed NetBSD on a second ROCK64 board.
https://simonevellei.com/blog/posts/netbsd-on-a-rock64-board/
#hardware #install #rock64
Installing NetBSD on the Nintendo Wii!.
It's about time for another Wii homebrew project! Because thanks to some recent developments, it's possible to get NetBSD working on this thing. Oh... and it's the latest version too!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KO9bNwE3Vps
#system #install #nintendo
It's about time for another Wii homebrew project! Because thanks to some recent developments, it's possible to get NetBSD working on this thing. Oh... and it's the latest version too!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KO9bNwE3Vps
#system #install #nintendo
YouTube
Installing NetBSD on the Nintendo Wii!
Go to https://sponsr.is/bootdev_MichaelMJD and use my code MICHAELMJD to get 25% off your first payment for boot.dev.
Thanks to Boot.dev for sponsoring this video!
It's about time for another Wii homebrew project! Because thanks to some recent developments…
Thanks to Boot.dev for sponsoring this video!
It's about time for another Wii homebrew project! Because thanks to some recent developments…
This blog is hosted on a Nintendo Wii.
While browsing the NetBSD website recently, I noticed the fact that there was a ‘Wii’ option listed right there on the front page in the ‘Install Media’ section, nestled right next to the other first-class targets like the Raspberry Pi, and generic x86 machines.
Unlike the other outdated and unmaintained examples above, clicking through to the NetBSD Wii port takes you to the latest stable NetBSD 10.1 release from Dec 2024. Even the daily HEAD builds are composed for the Wii.
As soon as I discovered this was fully supported and maintained, I knew I had to try deploying an actual production workload on it. That workload is the blog you’re reading now...
https://blog.infected.systems/posts/2025-04-21-this-blog-is-hosted-on-a-nintendo-wii/
#wii #install #system
While browsing the NetBSD website recently, I noticed the fact that there was a ‘Wii’ option listed right there on the front page in the ‘Install Media’ section, nestled right next to the other first-class targets like the Raspberry Pi, and generic x86 machines.
Unlike the other outdated and unmaintained examples above, clicking through to the NetBSD Wii port takes you to the latest stable NetBSD 10.1 release from Dec 2024. Even the daily HEAD builds are composed for the Wii.
As soon as I discovered this was fully supported and maintained, I knew I had to try deploying an actual production workload on it. That workload is the blog you’re reading now...
https://blog.infected.systems/posts/2025-04-21-this-blog-is-hosted-on-a-nintendo-wii/
#wii #install #system