Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!mit-eddie!media-lab!lacsap
From: lacsap@media-lab.MEDIA.MIT.EDU (Pascal Chesnais)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next
Subject: Re: Experiences with the NeXT Station 105 and More
Summary: Urgh, come on let's do this right!!!!
Message-ID: <4731@media-lab.MEDIA.MIT.EDU>
Date: 5 Jan 91 16:06:26 GMT
References: <1990Dec27.082848.10036@wuphys.wustl.edu> <1991Jan1.220123.26538@msuinfo.cl.msu.edu>
Organization: MIT Media Lab, Cambridge, MA
Lines: 86

I too was both frightened and amused by the original posting...  The reason
I was frigthened was that the original poster had no solid plan as to what he
was trying to accomplish, but rather he decided that by experiementation he
would arrive at a working machine....  I was amused because the original
poster did things which could end up having the machine in a real
confused state!  This method is fine if you don't really care if your machine
works or not.

*** WARNING DO NOT USE THE FOLLOWING YET!!! IT IS NOT COMPLETE ****

What I am suggesting is that we draft up a reference model that would
be neat for 105Mb NextStation...  The following is a BLD script for
one that we have here at the lab in order that the machine has a compiler
and tools local...  we NFS mount NextLibrary and NextDeveloper from
another machine...  We use 330 drive with the complete distribution
in a shoebox that we attach to the machine we want to build, and
use /usr/etc/builddisk scripts...  What I'd like to see is that the
NextGurus out there take this and build up a manual for configuring
machines correctly from the start, like we did for the .8 -> .9 -> 1.0
upgrades...  The manual should describe what type of systems can be
run, and then we should put BLD.scripts that local computer centers,
campus consultants etc can use...  

pasc

# NeXT File System build procedure
# Build a hard disk from booted file system
# Release 2.0
# Assume we will have machines to NFS mount all the other useful stuff
# Build the read-write partition (a)
# First check the size of the source directories
size	a /.NeXT
size	a /bin
size	a /NextApps
size	a /NextLibrary/Fonts
size	a /NextLibrary/Sounds
size	a /lib
size	a /usr
size    a /usr/template/user
size    a /odmach
size	a /.hidden
size	a /.login
size	a /.cshrc
size	a /.profile
# Add a pad for the swapfile, which SHOULD be 16MB
addsize	a 16384
# Check size of stuff created by newclient
size	a /usr/template/client
fit	a
# Fill in the root directory
symlink	a $BOOTFILE			/mach
chmod	a 1777				/
copy	a /.hidden			/.hidden
copy	a /.login			/.login
copy	a /.cshrc			/.cshrc
copy	a /.profile			/.profile
load	a /.NeXT			/.NeXT
# Build the "private" symlinks
symlink	a private/etc			/etc
symlink	a private/dev			/dev
symlink	a private/tmp			/tmp
# Lay down the files we need most at boot
load	a /usr/template			/usr/template
load	a /usr/etc			/usr/etc
load	a /bin				/bin
exec	a /usr/etc			./newclient -p sd330 /mnta/usr/template/client /mnta/private
# Now lay down what we want close together after boot
load	a /usr/shlib			/usr/shlib
load	a /usr/lib/NextStep		/usr/lib/NextStep
load	a /NextLibrary/Fonts		/NextLibrary/Fonts
load	a /NextLibrary/Sounds		/NextLibrary/Sounds
load	a /NextApps			/NextApps
load	a /lib				/lib
load	a /usr				/usr
mkdirs	a /Net
# Put kernels on the disk
copy	a /odmach			/odmach
link	a /odmach			/sdmach
# Build the home directory
load	a /usr/template/user		/me
rchown	a me				/me
chmod	a 777				/me
-- 
Pascal Chesnais, Research Specialist, Electronic Publishing Group
Media Laboratory, E15-348, 20 Ames Street, Cambridge, Ma, 02139 (617) 253-0311
email: lacsap@plethora.media.mit.edu (NeXT)