# Sysinstall: "can't find the `9.0-RC3' distribution on this FTP server"



## NeverSimple (Dec 21, 2011)

Hello,

I'm trying to install the kernel sources on FreeBSD 9.0-RC3 (amd64) with the help of /usr/sbin/sysinstall. I have no problem selecting the source tree (configure > distribution > src > all). But when I try to get it through FTP, sysinstall replies with: 
	
	



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Can't find the `9.0-RC3' distribution on this FTP server
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 Of course I tried multiple FTP servers, during 3 days. 

But I *can* get to the 9.0-RC3 sources with, for instance, FileZilla FTP client. I even did a 'copy and paste' from the (obviously correct) address in the FileZilla address bar into sysinstall's FTP server that can be specified by URL. No luck, same error.

I don't think /usr/sbin/bsdinstall is meant for post-installation tasks, is it?

Can some kind soul give me some assistance?

Richard


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## phoenix (Dec 21, 2011)

Don't.  Just, don't use sysinstall for anything after the OS is installed.  Forget it even exists.

To get the sources for FreeBSD, use either csup(1) (which ships with the OS) to grab the sources from CVSup servers; or install the devel/subversion port and use that to grab the sources from the SVN servers.

*For csup:*
Copy /usr/share/examples/cvsup/supfile-stable somewhere.  Then edit it to use the proper *tag=* line for your version of FreeBSD:

*RELENG_9* to get FreeBSD 9-STABLE (which is currently 9.0-PRERELEASE aka 9.0-RC3)
*RELENG_9_0* to get FreeBSD 9.0-RELEASE plus security fixes (this tag won't exist until 9.0 is officially released)
*RELENG_9_0_0_RELEASE* to get the exact same bits that are on the 9.0 installation CD (no security updates, or updates of any kind; this tag won't exist until 9.0 is officially released)

And set a cvsup server to grab the sources from.

Then run it:
`# csup /path/to/your/stable-supfile`

See the wiki for details on using subversion to grab the sources.

*NOTE:* this is all covered in the Handbook (see link below).


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## NeverSimple (Dec 21, 2011)

*[Solved] Sysinstall: "can't find the `9.0-RC3' distribution on this FTP server"*



			
				phoenix said:
			
		

> Don't.  Just, don't use sysinstall for anything after the OS is installed.  Forget it even exists.


Sounds like a strong opinion... But I'll gladly take your word for it. It was the handbook that told me to use it that way.

Anyway, used CVSup to get the sources and all went well. There was a difference in the path/filename that you mentioned, maybe due to FreeBSD 9?

just in case someone references this later:

/usr/share/examples/etc/supfile-stable didn't exist om my system. It was /usr/share/examples/cvsup/stable-supfile. It was already set up for FreeBSD 9-STABLE and only needed a (local) cvsup server.



> *NOTE:* this is all covered in the Handbook (see link below).


I found the topic (now that I know what to look for). The handbook, together with 'Absolute FreeBSB, 2nd edition' have been able to solve most of my FreeBSD questions.


Thanks,

Richard


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## ChalkBored (Dec 23, 2011)

http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/kernelconfig-building.html

I ran into the same problem yesterday _because_ of the handbook.

I managed, but I figured I'd mention it as a heads up.


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## wblock@ (Dec 23, 2011)

ChalkBored said:
			
		

> http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/kernelconfig-building.html
> 
> I ran into the same problem yesterday _because_ of the handbook.



I don't understand what you mean here.  If the Handbook is wrong or misleading, please point it out and I'll try to fix it.


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## kpa (Dec 23, 2011)

The handbook advices to use sysinstall(8) to install the system sources



> Note: If the directory /usr/src/ does not exist on your system (or if it is empty), then the sources have not been installed. The easiest way to install the full source tree is to run sysinstall as root, and then choosing Configure, then Distributions, then src, and finally All. If it does not exist, you should also create a symlink to /usr/src/sys/:
> 
> # ln -s /usr/src/sys /sys



Maybe this should be replaced with instructions on how to use csup(1) to accomplish the same task?


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## wblock@ (Dec 23, 2011)

kpa said:
			
		

> The handbook advices to use sysinstall(8) to install the system sources
> 
> Maybe this should be replaced with instructions on how to use csup(1) to accomplish the same task?



Yes.  Difficulty: sysinstall knows what release is being used, but with csup(1) it's up to the user.


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## NeverSimple (Dec 23, 2011)

wblock@ said:
			
		

> Yes.  Difficulty: sysinstall knows what release is being used...



But maybe it doesn't always know what to do with it.. Although my problem (getting the kernel source) has been solved, I do not know why sysinstall can't help me with obtaining them for the 9.0-RC3 release. Could still be that I was doing something wrong (can't really see what, it's just 'select & enter' through a couple of menu's).

So for me it seems that sysinstall doesn't work for this purpose, at least not with this particular release.

Richard


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## gkontos (Dec 23, 2011)

@Richard

sysinstall has been replaced in FreeBSD 9 from bsdinstall.

You haven't done anything wrong. You were just confused by the information provided in the handbook.

BTW (_super flame shields on_) bsdinstall is a very poor replacement of sysinstall (_super flame shields off_)

Best regards & Happy holidays,

George


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## hadrons123 (Dec 29, 2011)

> sysinstall has been replaced in FreeBSD 9 from bsdinstall.
> George



If sysintall is replaced by bsdinstall why does sysinstall still there, considering sysinstall is not working.

I tried changing the release name to 'any' in options editor but still it's not working. Manually entering the ftp address doesn't help either.


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## gkontos (Dec 30, 2011)

hadrons123 said:
			
		

> If sysintall is replaced by bsdinstall why does sysinstall still there, considering sysinstall is not working.



Very good point!


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## pkubaj (Dec 30, 2011)

gkontos said:
			
		

> Very good point!



It has been already removed from CURRENT. I don't know, though, whey they decided to leave it in 9-STABLE, considering that it doesn't work properly anyway.


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## wblock@ (Dec 30, 2011)

Because bsdinstall is not a direct replacement for sysinstall.  Some of the configuration parts of sysinstall are still useful.


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## scottro (Dec 31, 2011)

Will bsdinstall, when some of the kinks are ironed out, be able to autopartition once one picks a partition--that is, do what sysinstall does, you choose a partition and are then able to auto partition it?  With BSDinstall, if I chose a partition, it requires complete manual partitioning of a slice (possibly not if you're using the whole disk).  The handbook's coverage of this wasn't really clear to me--that is, it doesn't specify which partitions you should create--when I tried, just for fun, to let it all go under one / partition, I had to manually specify what to mount. 

So, I hope that its partitioning aspect will improve.  Aside from that, it wasn't horrible.


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## wblock@ (Dec 31, 2011)

You mean a layout with multiple filesystems?  It could be done.  Will anyone do it?  Maybe.  The best way to get features you want is to submit patches.  Some of bsdinstall is C, particularly the partition editor.  The rest is just sh(1).


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## scottro (Dec 31, 2011)

I mean the functionality that was (is) in sysinstall, or a handbook writeup that matches typical handbook writeups--that is, one that says, you need these partitions, here are suggested sizes, this type of filesystem.  

As I see it, (which doesn't, of course, mean that I'm right), this is a regression for the end users.  IIRC, the big problem with sysinstall was from a developer's viewpoint, that the code was a mess--I'm not a developer, and that is a vague memory from years ago.  However, this replacement is poorly documented at present, and lacks a great deal of functionality.

As for submitting patches and PRs, these days, I don't have time, and, to my chagrin, I don't even really have the knowledge anymore.  After a job change took me away from the BSDs, (these days mostly Linux, I fear), I haven't really kept up, just throw it on a machine or VM from time to time.  (I was never a C programmer, on occasion, was able to submit patches with sh, though they would be simple ones.)


Anyway, I would have to say that from the end user standpoint, both documentation and the installer itself are regressions as they have lost functionality that was in the thing they're replacing.


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## scottro (Dec 31, 2011)

I would like to make it clear that a) I appreciate the work being done on the installer, and b) that I don't consider myself the authority.  As mentioned, I've been away from FreeBSD for awhile.  I do see that Michael Lucas, among others, has reservations about the current partitioning defaults, that it puts everything under one large / partition.  

What _I'd_ like to see--again, re-emphasizing that these days, I'm more or less an outsider--would be something in the handbook similar to what,say, OpenBSD has, the step by step instructions to setting up partitions to get something similar to what one can get with sysinstall's auto partitioning.


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## scottro (Jan 1, 2012)

Ah, I see there is a tutorial by wblock that pretty much solves it for me.  


http://forums.freebsd.org/showthread.php?t=28641

Thanks very much for that.  Hopefully, it can get in the handbook too.


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## phoenix (Jan 1, 2012)

hadrons123 said:
			
		

> If sysintall is replaced by bsdinstall why does sysinstall still there, considering sysinstall is not working.
> 
> I tried changing the release name to 'any' in options editor but still it's not working. Manually entering the ftp address doesn't help either.



sysinstall has been removed from 10-CURRENT, although there is a big discussion on the -current mailing list about it.


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