6 ms·

Is there an easy way to install a FreeBSD container on a Linux system? For example, I can do # debootstrap --arch=amd64 unstable ~/debian-tree/ # syst

by zxcvcxz 11y ago

Is there an easy way to install a FreeBSD container on a Linux system? For example, I can do # debootstrap --arch=amd64 unstable ~/debian-tree/ # systemd-nspawn -D ~/debian-tree/ And be in a debian container. Is there a simple way to get a FreeBSD container?

cperciva 11y ago
No, because Linux containers are still running the Linux kernel, and the Linux kernel doesn't know how to run FreeBSD binaries. You can do the opposite however -- running Linux inside jails on FreeBSD hosts. This is how docker-on-freebsd works, and also how FreeBSD desktop systems usually cope with software like Flash plugins which are only available as Linux binaries.
- bmir-alum-007 11y ago
  Btw, thanks for FreeBSD compat work for running on AWS/Xen, even if it might've been mostly to host Tarsnap on it. ;) It's possible to run a NetBSD Xen dom0 (host system) on bare metal, under VMware or Xen HVM: it takes a few patches, building a kernel and config tweaks to get going but it works stably. [0] (There's no XAPI (the Xen remote management API) support however, so XenServer tools and other 3rd-party XAPI integrations probably won't work. FYI: XAPI server-side is coded in OCaml; don't ask how I know that. ;) [1]) For most people w/ baremetal or rented colo that just want a turn-key supportable hypervisor, I would advise using Citrix XenServer (commercial official Xen, free download, it seems be more stable than XCP and includes XAPI) or VMware ESXi (free download, very stable, $$$ quickly). After that, you can run whatever OS/es you like. (IIRC a ton of AWS boxes run heavily-modified Xen open-source 3.3.x.) For desktop/laptop dev: VirtualBox, VMware Fusion/Workstation or qemu. References: 0. https://wiki.netbsd.org/ports/xen/howto/ https://wiki.netbsd.org/ports/xen/howto/ 1. https://github.com/xapi-project/xen-api https://github.com/xapi-project/xen-api EDIT: pronouns
  - cperciva 11y ago
    FreeBSD compat work on AWS/Xen I did no such thing. My work was all to add AWS/Xen compatibility to FreeBSD. :-) In all serious though, while wanting to host Tarsnap on an OS I knew and trusted was my justification for spending so much time on FreeBSD/EC2, my actual reason had more to do with wanting to make sure that FreeBSD didn't fall behind.
    - bmir-alum-007 11y ago
      Ah cool. Adoption is like a stochastic transfer function with a dependent variable "modern usability." Speaking of usability, here's a patch to libfetch to ignore crusty ftp server non-RFC spurious responses https://gist.github.com/steakknife/b4772a5deb6afc8851e0 https://gist.github.com/steakknife/b4772a5deb6afc8851e0 (I have absolute zero idea how to contribute code/patches to FreeBSD or it's not obvious/easy from docs.) s/on/for/ That's what I meant. ;)
  - pjmlp 11y ago
    > XAPI server-side is coded in OCaml; don't ask how I know that. Everyone that follows Mirage should know that. ;) I remember Anil saying something about it in one of his talks, if I am not mistaken.
- jstoiko 11y ago
  Reminds me: I have to give tarsnap a shot
  - msbarnett 11y ago
    It's 100% excellent. Highly, highly recommended.
    - tdurden 11y ago
      Technically, I agree...however, you are trusting your backups to a one man operation.
      - cperciva 11y ago
        Not a one-man operation any more! Admittedly still a bus-factor-one operation though, since man #2 doesn't know how to keep everything running yet.
        tdurden 11y ago
        Great to hear!
        bmir-alum-007 11y ago
        Having done this a few dozen times: A best practice is to ask the next new person to keep notes of obvious questions/unclear details to put in an internal, secure wiki. The issue, as founders, we often don't think about what is obvious to us when we deployed an app and all the server tweaks necessary to get it going, for teaching someone else or replicating what was done. Then, they learn some things and put them into the wiki. Rinse-later-repeat until there's few/no questions as the team grows. It's continual DR/BCP housekeeping: architecture diagrams, instance inventory/config and other critical info (contact / escalation info) updated so that it's run-over-by-a-bus and EC2-burns-down (almost) resilient. As you scale, having someone put server config all in Chef or Puppet (cfg management stored in git) will also help reduce deployment pain at the expense of initial setup pain. Initially, a wiki page containing a giant shell script for each server box kind is usually a faster hack.
e-Minguez 11y ago
Not a container, but maybe you can take a look at vagrant (vagrant box add freebsd/FreeBSD-10.2-RELEASE and it is done)

by zxcvcxz 11y ago

cperciva 11y ago

No, because Linux containers are still running the Linux kernel, and the Linux kernel doesn't know how to run FreeBSD binaries. You can do the opposite however -- running Linux inside jails on FreeBSD hosts. This is how docker-on-freebsd works, and also how FreeBSD desktop systems usually cope with software like Flash plugins which are only available as Linux binaries.

bmir-alum-007 11y ago
Btw, thanks for FreeBSD compat work for running on AWS/Xen, even if it might've been mostly to host Tarsnap on it. ;) It's possible to run a NetBSD Xen dom0 (host system) on bare metal, under VMware or Xen HVM: it takes a few patches, building a kernel and config tweaks to get going but it works stably. [0] (There's no XAPI (the Xen remote management API) support however, so XenServer tools and other 3rd-party XAPI integrations probably won't work. FYI: XAPI server-side is coded in OCaml; don't ask how I know that. ;) [1]) For most people w/ baremetal or rented colo that just want a turn-key supportable hypervisor, I would advise using Citrix XenServer (commercial official Xen, free download, it seems be more stable than XCP and includes XAPI) or VMware ESXi (free download, very stable, $$$ quickly). After that, you can run whatever OS/es you like. (IIRC a ton of AWS boxes run heavily-modified Xen open-source 3.3.x.) For desktop/laptop dev: VirtualBox, VMware Fusion/Workstation or qemu. References: 0. https://wiki.netbsd.org/ports/xen/howto/ https://wiki.netbsd.org/ports/xen/howto/ 1. https://github.com/xapi-project/xen-api https://github.com/xapi-project/xen-api EDIT: pronouns
- cperciva 11y ago
  FreeBSD compat work on AWS/Xen I did no such thing. My work was all to add AWS/Xen compatibility to FreeBSD. :-) In all serious though, while wanting to host Tarsnap on an OS I knew and trusted was my justification for spending so much time on FreeBSD/EC2, my actual reason had more to do with wanting to make sure that FreeBSD didn't fall behind.
  - bmir-alum-007 11y ago
    Ah cool. Adoption is like a stochastic transfer function with a dependent variable "modern usability." Speaking of usability, here's a patch to libfetch to ignore crusty ftp server non-RFC spurious responses https://gist.github.com/steakknife/b4772a5deb6afc8851e0 https://gist.github.com/steakknife/b4772a5deb6afc8851e0 (I have absolute zero idea how to contribute code/patches to FreeBSD or it's not obvious/easy from docs.) s/on/for/ That's what I meant. ;)
- pjmlp 11y ago
  > XAPI server-side is coded in OCaml; don't ask how I know that. Everyone that follows Mirage should know that. ;) I remember Anil saying something about it in one of his talks, if I am not mistaken.
jstoiko 11y ago
Reminds me: I have to give tarsnap a shot
- msbarnett 11y ago
  It's 100% excellent. Highly, highly recommended.
  - tdurden 11y ago
    Technically, I agree...however, you are trusting your backups to a one man operation.
    - cperciva 11y ago
      Not a one-man operation any more! Admittedly still a bus-factor-one operation though, since man #2 doesn't know how to keep everything running yet.
      - tdurden 11y ago
        Great to hear!
      - bmir-alum-007 11y ago
        Having done this a few dozen times: A best practice is to ask the next new person to keep notes of obvious questions/unclear details to put in an internal, secure wiki. The issue, as founders, we often don't think about what is obvious to us when we deployed an app and all the server tweaks necessary to get it going, for teaching someone else or replicating what was done. Then, they learn some things and put them into the wiki. Rinse-later-repeat until there's few/no questions as the team grows. It's continual DR/BCP housekeeping: architecture diagrams, instance inventory/config and other critical info (contact / escalation info) updated so that it's run-over-by-a-bus and EC2-burns-down (almost) resilient. As you scale, having someone put server config all in Chef or Puppet (cfg management stored in git) will also help reduce deployment pain at the expense of initial setup pain. Initially, a wiki page containing a giant shell script for each server box kind is usually a faster hack.

e-Minguez 11y ago

Not a container, but maybe you can take a look at vagrant (vagrant box add freebsd/FreeBSD-10.2-RELEASE and it is done)