NetBSD - A little guide for newcomers

pfr When you set-up /etc/hosts the other day, did you change the values of the IP addresses?

pfr

I do have a hosts file which is probably wrong....

::1 x230.localhost x230 127.0.0.1 x230.localhost x230

x230 being the hostname i set in my rc.conf, but i'm not sure if the above is formatted correctly?

I didn't really set any IP addresses up in there, everything else besides the above is commented out
#RFC 1918 specifies that these networks are "internal' #10.0.0.0 - 10.255.255.255 (10/8 prefix) #127.16.0.0 - 172.31.255.255 (127.16/12 prefix) #192.168.0.0 - 192.168.255.255 (192.168/16 prefix)

EDIT:
I've unset my hostname in rc.conf and I've reset my etc/hosts file to what is was originally, which was:
::1 localhost localhost. 127.0.0.1 localhost localhost.

I thought this might fix the error but it still persists. I've tried to read up a little about the hosts file but I've never had to mess with such a file before so I'm kind of stumped 😛

I'd also really like to enable npf again and get it working properly once I get my network connection sorted

pfr I'd also really like to enable npf again and get it working properly once I get my network connection sorted

Understood. I'd really try to get it working before looking into npf

pfr did you really named your DNS localhost ??
Please check, https://www.netbsd.org/docs/network/, https://netbsd.gw.com/cgi-bin/man-cgi?hosts+5+NetBSD-9.0 and section 5.12 of https://www.netbsd.org/docs/guide/en/chap-boot.html

pfr

pin
I've read through everything in those links and I'm stumped. This networking stuff is a bit over my head.
I really do not know what to put in my hosts file... I have no idea what my DNS is named because I didn't set up a DNS and I dont know how to find out my defaulroute address is..
How can I get this info about my network?

Feeling like a total noob right now, I've got no idea 😅

pfr Ok, so you don't remember what you typed at this screen?

Well, I wrote my.domain 😉

Then, I set hostname=mybox in my rc.conf file.
This means that I shoud have the following /etc/hosts

#	$NetBSD: hosts,v 1.9 2013/11/24 07:20:01 dholland Exp $
#
# Host name database.
#
# This file contains addresses and aliases for local hosts whose names
# need to be resolvable during system boot; typically this includes only
# the address and FQDN for this machine's hostname.
#
# By default this file is consulted before DNS, so adding additional
# material here that then becomes out of date can lead to confusion.
# See nsswitch.conf(5).
#
::1			mybox.my.domain mybox
000.0.0.0		mybox.my.domain mybox
#
# RFC 1918 specifies that these networks are "internal":
# 10.0.0.0        -   10.255.255.255  (10/8 prefix)
# 172.16.0.0      -   172.31.255.255  (172.16/12 prefix)
# 192.168.0.0     -   192.168.255.255 (192.168/16 prefix)

Please note that I've hidden the numbers, 000.0.0.0 is actually something else. Don't touch the default.

I hope this helps.

pfr

pin I 100% do not recall seeing that screen during the install 🤣 But I do tend to skip over things.

I'm guessing there isn't a way to find out what I named it?
Chapter 3.26
"You will then be asked for your “DNS domain”; if the machine is not in a registered public domain, it can be left blank."

perhaps I left it blank...

However, I've tried to set it as my.domain incase I just copied the install guide, I've also tried leaving it blank. neither seem to be correct because I am still getting this dhcpcd[132]: iwn0: DHCPv6 REPLY: No Addresses Available error

looks like I'm getting some practice installing again 😆

pfr Ok, let's take a turn as I believe we are going in the wrong direction.
dhcpcd[132]: iwn0: no IPv6 Routers available is no error, it probably just means your router is using IPv4.

What worries me is that it seems you are getting connected and disconnected over and over again. It makes me suspect something else...

By all means set-up /etc/hosts correctly in order to avoid future issues with xauth and X-connections.

Now,
1) How is the disk partitioned? One large /root + swap or, with smaller isolated partitions?
2) Could you post the output of ls /etc?
3) Could you post the lines regarding wpa_supplicant and dhcpcd you have in rc.conf?

pfr

On this install I just created one large root partition and a small swap partiton.

ltp$ ls /etc X11 fstab atf ftpchroot auto_master ftpusers autofs gettytab bluetooth gpio.conf bootptab group cgd hosts changelist hosts.equiv csh.cshrc hosts.lpd csh.login ifconfig.iwn0 csh.logout inetd.conf daily iscsi daily.conf kerberosV defaults kyua dhcpcd.conf localtime disktab locate.conf dm.conf login.conf drirc mail dumpdates mail.rc entropy-file mailer.conf envsys.conf man.conf floppytab master.passwd fonts mk.conf moduli pkgpath.conf security.conf monthly postfix services monthly.conf powerd shells motd printcap shrc mrouted.conf profile skel mtree protocols skeykeys named.conf pwd.db sliphome namedb racoon spwd.db netconfig rbootd.conf ssh networks rc sysctl.conf newsyslog.conf rc.conf syslog.conf npf.conf rc.conf.d ttyaction nsd rc.d ttys nsswitch.conf rc.local unbound ntp.conf rc.shutdown usermgmt.conf openldap rc.subr weekly openssl release weekly.conf pam.d remote wpa_supplicant.conf passwd resolv.conf wscons.conf passwd.conf rmt zfs pf.conf rpc pf.os saslc.d phones security

rc.conf:

#       $NetBSD: rc.conf,v 1.97 2014/07/14 12:29:48 mbalmer Exp $
#
# See rc.conf(5) for more information.
#
# Use program=YES to enable program, NO to disable it. program_flags are
# passed to the program on the command line.
#

# Load the defaults in from /etc/defaults/rc.conf (if it's readable).
# These can be overridden below.
#
if [ -r /etc/defaults/rc.conf ]; then
        . /etc/defaults/rc.conf
fi

# If this is not set to YES, the system will drop into single-user mode.
#
rc_configured=YES
critical_filesystems_local="OPTIONAL:/var OPTIONAL:/usr"

# Add local overrides below.
#
hostname=ltp
random_file=/etc/entropy-file
securelevel=1
microcode=YES
rtclocaltime=YES
rpcbind=YES
dbus=YES
famd=YES
wpa_supplicant=YES
wpa_supplicant_flags="-B -D bsd -i iwn0 -c /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf"
dhcpcd=YES
dhcpcd_flags="-qM iwn0 -b"
npf=NO
wscons=YES
sshd=NO
raidframe=NO
postfix=NO

and fyi, I'm pretty sure my router is IPv6 capable, its a Linksys WRT32X

pfr No clue, sorry ☹️ , I see nothing strange 🤔

pfr

I've set my hosts file to read:

::1 hostname hostname.local 127.0.0.1 hostname hostname.local

pfr

pin
It's all good, thanks anyway. I kinda feel like re/installing a few times isn't a bad thing. Practice makes perfect right?

I have things set up nicely at the moment, but it wont be hard to re configure everything again. I'll admit I've used alot or your configs, tweaked them a little to my taste but nothing will be lost if I reinstall.

I'll be sure to pay extra attention to DNS next time. I wonder If I can install without a wired connection? or set up my wireless connection during the install?

You've been more than helpful. I should probably buy you a beer 😁

pfr I wonder If I can install without a wired connection? or set up my wireless connection during the install?

Quoting Martin Husemann on the mailing lists...

On Wed, May 13, 2020 at 01:23:59PM -0700, Salil Wadnerkar wrote:
I also want to raise one issue about the install.
When we try to configure networking, it lets us choose the interface and
when we select wireless interface, asks us to choose autoconfigure, or
configure everything manually. In autoconfigure, it doesn't even ask which
wireless network I want to connect to, and what's the WPA passphrase.

Yes, wireless network setup is not existent in the installer, it needs
to be done by escaping to the shell and preparing things manualy before
returning to sysinst.

It is on the TODO list...
Martin

So, unless you feel confident to exit sysinst midway through the installation, drop to console, manually configure the wireless and return to sysinst to finish the installation, than no, its not possible yet.

pfr I should probably buy you a beer

😃 That would be nice. FYI, I'll be opening a bottle of Founders KBS this evening 😉
Probably the best beer in the world 😃

pfr

pin
I'm willing to give it a shot! how does one drop to console and then return to sysinst again?
I'm guessing I just need to create my wpa_supplicant.conf and edit my rc.conf which Ive done a couple of times now.

ALso, DM me your PayPal buddy, I'll buy you one of those strong ass coffee beers if you like 👍️
Personally I'm into my NEIPA's at the moment especially the Double or Tripple Hazy IPA's.

pfr I'm willing to give it a shot!

I've thought about it several times but haven't done it.

pfr how does one drop to console

Ctrl+Z or, Ctrl+C should get you to a shell at the bottom of the screen.

pfr return to sysinst again

Type exit or, Ctrl+D

pfr I'm guessing I just need to create my wpa_supplicant.conf and edit my rc.conf

Probably you need to activate iwn0 with ifconfig iwn0 up and start wpa_supplicant also, your rc.conf will only be read next time you boot.

pfr I'll buy you one of those strong ass coffee beers if you like

Thanks, its the intention that counts 😉

pfr

pin
It worked, thanks! was pretty easy really. I needed to setup rc.conf for wpa_supplicant to start but that was easy enough. I auto configured the network and it recognised that IPv6 isn't in use so hopefully this means that I wont have any more errors to do with IPv6..

I also noticed that there was still no option to set my DNS name (with auto configure anyway). But I took note of the default name which seems to be local on this release.

The installation did take a little longer that usual but not having to connect to a wired connection was great.

Cheers!

pfr Glad it worked as expected 🙂

pfr

pin
Although the install "worked" i'm getting MBR errors on reboot. I have a feeling I need to completely wipe the disk before installing.

Chapter 22.2 describes how to delete the disk.. just wondering if this is wise to perform before a fresh install? Currently It wont boot so I figure I need to format the drive somehow.

pfr I tend to keep a gparted usb around. Whenever I'm doing a fresh install, I boot from it first and wipe the disk from existing partitions before booting from the install image I want to use.

pfr

pin
I think I've got one of those somewhere!

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