xref: /src/distrib/notes/i386/contents

The i386-specific portion of the NetBSD _VER release is found in the
"i386" subdirectory of the distribution.  That subdirectory is laid
out as follows:

.../NetBSD-_VER/i386/
			INSTALL		Installation notes; this file.

			binary/		i386 binary distribution sets;
					see below.

			floppies/	i386 boot and installation
					floppies; see below.

			security/	i386 security distribution;
					see below;

			utils/		Miscellaneous i386
					installation utilities; see
					installation section, below.

There an i386 floppy image named "boot-12G.fs" in the "i386/floppy"
subdirectory of the NetBSD _VER distribution. It is bootable. This
floppy is used both for installations and for upgrades.  It is
described in more detail below.  There is also a gzipped version of
this floppy named "boot-12G.fs.gz" available, for easier downloading.

Bootable installation/upgrade floppy:

	This disk is bootable, and contains the software necessary
	to prepare your hard drive for NetBSD and install the NetBSD
	distribution, or to upgrading an already installed 
        system from a previous version of NetBSD.

        Unlike previous NetBSD releases, there are no separate "kernel
        copy" floppies or "upgrade" floppies. Instead, the install
        floppy contains only a special compressed kernel with a built
        in ramdisk image of the installation/upgrade file
        system. There is also no longer any need to use a different
        boot floppy for Adaptec and Buslogic based systems.

        Because the kernel on the installation disk is not suitable
        for use beyond initial installation and configuration, a
        "generic" kernel has been placed in a distribution set named
        "kern12G". This kernel is intended to run your system while
        you build a custom kernel. It is strongly encouraged that you
        build a custom kernel for your installation rather than use
        the prebuilt generic kernel on a long term basis.

        Please note that because of space considerations the kernels
        booted from the installation floppies do not contain drivers
        that are not needed during installation -- in particular, no
        drivers needed to run the X Window System are available in
        these kernels.

        [NOTE: In this snapshot, the "boot-12G.fs" floppy lacks a copy
        of the driver for the Western Digital WD7000 SCSI
        controller. This is to permit the system to successfully boot
        on machines with four megabytes of memory. The wds driver,
        unfortunately, has a design defect that makes it take up very
        large amounts of statically allocated memory. This defect is
        being fixed in the near future and the driver will be on the
        NetBSD/i386 1.3 boot floppy. For the moment, if you are a
        Western Digital user, please either custom build a boot floppy
        for yourself, ask someone to build one for you, or wait for
        another snapshot.]

The NetBSD/i386 binary distribution sets contain the binaries which
comprise the NetBSD _VER release for the i386.  There are eight binary
distribution sets and the "security" distribution set.  The binary
distribution sets can be found in subdirectories of the "i386/binary"
subdirectory of the NetBSD _VER distribution tree, and are as follows:


	base12G	The NetBSD/i386 _VER base binary distribution.  You
		MUST install this distribution set.  It contains the
		base NetBSD utilities that are necessary for the
		system to run and be minimally functional.  It
		includes shared library support, and excludes
		everything described below.
		[ 7.5M gzipped, 19.5M uncompressed ]

	comp12G	The NetBSD/i386 Compiler tools.  All of the tools
		relating to C, C++, and FORTRAN (yes, there are two!).
		This set includes the system include files
		(/usr/include), the linker, the compiler tool chain,
		and the various system libraries (except the shared
		libraries, which are included as part of the base
		set).  This set also includes the manual pages for all
		of the utilities it contains, as well as the system
		call and library manual pages.
		[ 4.9M gzipped, 15.0M uncompressed ]

	etc12G	This distribution set contains the system
		configuration files that reside in /etc and in several
		other places.  This set MUST be installed if you are
		installing the system from scratch, but should NOT be
		used if you are upgrading.  (If you are upgrading,
		it's recommended that you get a copy of this set and
		CAREFULLY upgrade your configuration files by hand.)
		[ 63K gzipped, 338K uncompressed ]

	games12G	This set includes the games and their manual pages.
		[ 2.8M gzipped, 6.9M uncompressed ]

	kern12G	This set contains a NetBSD/i386 _VER GENERIC kernel,
		named "/netbsd". You MUST install this distribution
		set.
		[ .8M gzipped, 1.7M uncompressed ]

	man12G	This set includes all of the manual pages for the
		binaries and other software contained in the base set.
		Note that it does not include any of the manual pages
		that are included in the other sets.
		[ 0.8M gzipped, 3.4M uncompressed ]

	misc12G	This set includes the system dictionaries (which are
		rather large), the typesettable document set, and
		man pages for other architectures which happen to be
		installed from the source tree by default.
		[ 1.9M gzipped, 6.6M uncompressed ]

	text12G	This set includes NetBSD's text processing tools,
		including groff, all related programs, and their
		manual pages.
		[ 0.8M gzipped, 2.9M uncompressed ]


IMPORTANT: In previous versions of NetBSD, the kernel from the install
floppy was copied onto the hard drive in a special step. In the new
install system, the kernel on the floppy is unsuited to being copied
onto the hard drive. Instead, a new set, "kern", has been added which
contains a generic kernel to be unloaded onto the drive. It must be
extracted in order to have a minimally functioning system.

The i386 security distribution set is named "secr12G" and can be found
in the "i386/security" subdirectory of the NetBSD _VER distribution
tree.  It contains security related binaries which depend on
cryptographic source code. You do not need this distribution set to use
encrypted passwords in your password file; the "base12G" distribution
includes a crypt library which can perform only the decryption function.
The security distribution includes a version of the Kerberos IV
network security system, and a Kerberized version of the "telnet" program.
The "secr12G" distribution set can be found only on those sites which
carry the complete NetBSD distribution and which can legally obtain it.
(Remember, because of United States law, it may not be legal to distribute
this set to locations outside of the United States and Canada.)
	[ 154K gzipped, 358K uncompressed ]

The i386 binary distribution sets are distributed in the same form as
the source distribution sets; catted together, the members of a set
form a gzipped tar file.  Each i386 binary distribution set also has
its own "CKSUMS" file, just as the source distribution sets do.

The instructions given for extracting the source sets work equally
well for the binary sets, but it is worth noting that if you use that
method, the files are extracted "below" the current directory.  That
is, if you want to extract the binaries "into" your system, i.e.
replace the system binaries with them, you have to run the "tar xfp"
from /.  Also note that if you upgrade or install this way, those
programs that you are using at the time will NOT be replaced.  If you
follow the normal installation or upgrade procedures, this will be
taken care of for you.