NEWBTCONF(8)						    BSD System Manager's Manual 					      NEWBTCONF(8)

NAME

     newbtconf -- multiple boot-up configurations

SYNOPSIS

     newbtconf new-conf-name [orig-conf-name]
     newbtconf init
     newbtconf revert

DESCRIPTION

     newbtconf is used to set up the system in such a way that the user is offered a selection of environments in which to boot the system up
     into.  The most obvious application being for laptops to provide a network and non-network environment after a successful boot into multi-
     user mode.

   Background
     In order to accomplish this task, the files usually associated with establishing the current system's running configuration are replaced with
     symbolic links which are adjusted with each boot to point to the appropriate file for the desired run-time environment.  This is accomplished
     by directing all of the symbolic links through a directory which itself is a symbolic link (/etc/etc.current), to the destination files.  At
     each bootup, the selection made changes which directory /etc/etc.current points to.

     Through doing this and reloading /etc/rc.conf in /etc/rc after the link has been established, the resulting run-time configuration is effec-
     tively controlled without the need to directly edit any files.  The default boot-up environment is selected by manually directing which con-
     figuration directory /etc/etc.default points to.  As opposed to /etc/etc.current (which is updated with every boot), /etc/etc.default is not
     automatically updated.

   Getting Started
     By default, NetBSD only has one boot-up configuration - that set in the file /etc/rc.conf.  In order to initialize the system for operating
     in a manner which supports multiple boot configurations, newbtconf must be run with an argument of 'init'.  This will create two symbolic
     links /etc/etc.current and /etc/etc.default to the directory /etc/etc.network.  The following files are all moved into that directory and
     symbolic links put in their place, in /etc, pointing to /etc/etc.current/<filename>:

	   /etc/defaultdomain
	   /etc/fstab
	   /etc/ifconfig.*
	   /etc/inetd.conf
	   /etc/mrouted.conf
	   /etc/mygate
	   /etc/myname
	   /etc/netstart
	   /etc/nsswitch.conf
	   /etc/ntp.conf
	   /etc/rc.conf
	   /etc/rc.conf.d
	   /etc/resolv.conf

     To test that this has been performed correctly, reboot your system into NetBSD.  After the kernel has autoconfigured and tty flags have been
     set, a prompt should appear, preceded by the following like, looking like this:

     [network]
     Which configuration [network] ?

     The []'s are used to indicate the default configuration, which can be selected by just pressing return.  If there were other configurations
     available at this stage, you would have 30 seconds to enter that name and press RETURN.

   Multiple Configurations
     Once an initial configuration has been set up, we can proceed to set up further run time environments.  This is done by invoking newbtconf
     with the name of the new configuration to be created.  By default, this step will use the current configuration files as the basis for this
     setup unless a second parameter is given - that of the configuration to use as the basis for the new one.	Upon completion, a new directory,
     /etc/etc.<newname>, will have been created, priming the directory with the appropriate files for editing.	For example, if we do newbtconf
     nonet network it would create a directory named /etc/etc.nonet and copy all the files from /etc/etc.network into that directory.  Upon
     rebooting, we should see:

     [network] nonet
     Which configuration [network] ?

     To set up the system for booting into the ``nonet'' configuration, the files in /etc/etc.nonet need be edited.

     If you wanted to make ``nonet'' the default configuration when booting, you would need delete the symbolic link /etc/etc.default and create a
     new symbolic link (with the same name) to /etc/etc.nonet.	Booting up after having made such a change would result in the following being
     displayed:

     network [nonet]
     Which configuration [nonet] ?

   No Network
     Assuming that we performed the above command successfully, in order to successfully configure NetBSD to not configure interfaces (or generate
     no errors from attempting to do so), the following settings (at least) should be used in /etc/etc.nonet/rc.conf:

     auto_ifconfig=NO
     net_interfaces=NO

     Of course other networking services, such as NTP, routed, etc, are all expected to be ``NO''.  In general, the only setting that should be
     ``YES'' is syslogd, and perhaps cron (if your cron scripts don't need the network) or screenblank/wscons (if applicable).	Other actions such
     as deleting any NFS mounts from /etc/etc.nonet/fstab would also need to be undertaken.

   Reverting multiple boot configurations
     Multiple boot configurations can be deactivated by running newbtconf with an argument of revert.  All the symlinks mentioned above are then
     removed and the files they point to are copied to their default place.  This effectively makes the currently selected configuration the only
     one active.  The symbolic links /etc/etc.current and /etc/etc.default are also removed so upon rebooting no configuration selection menu is
     displayed.  Note that the previously created configurations (in /etc/etc.<name>) are not removed.

FILES

     /etc/etc.current	   Symbolic link to current config directory.
     /etc/etc.default	   Symbolic link to default config directory.

     /etc/defaultdomain    These files all become symbolic links.
     /etc/fstab
     /etc/ifconfig.*
     /etc/inetd.conf
     /etc/mrouted.conf
     /etc/mygate
     /etc/myname
     /etc/netstart
     /etc/nsswitch.conf
     /etc/ntp.conf
     /etc/rc.conf
     /etc/rc.conf.d
     /etc/resolv.conf

SEE ALSO

     rc.conf(5), rc(8)

HISTORY

     The newbtconf program first appeared in NetBSD 1.5.

AUTHORS

     This shell script was written by Darren Reed <darrenr@NetBSD.org> with initial input from Matthew Green <mrg@NetBSD.org> on how to approach
     this problem.

BUGS

     It presently does not display a count down timer whilst waiting for input to select which configuration and nor does it abort said timer when
     a key is first pressed.

     The management of the overall collection of multiple configurations is much more manual than it ought to be.  A general system configuration
     tool needs to be written to ease their management.

BSD
								September 30, 2005							       BSD