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	@(#)sysgen.8
	@(#)Copyright (C) 1985 by...
..
.TH SYSGEN 8
.UC 4
.SH NAME
sysgen \- how new Comet32 systems are generated
.SH DESCRIPTION
This manual page describes how a Comet32 genix
is made on a new machine.
More information can be found in
.IR wdutest (8),
.IR mkpt (8),
and
.IR build (8).
There are 2 main steps: (1) create a small genix on the hard disk
(2) read in rest of the system from tape or floppy diskettes.
Apart from the boot program itself, no stand\-alone programs
are needed \-  we have the convenience of working inside a genix
right from the beginning.
.LP
Step (1) is begun by booting a special floppy diskette genix that
does not use the hard disk at all.
The name of the floppy diskette genix is given as 
.I fd(0,0)vmflop
to the boot program, and it can run only in single user mode.
All machines have a 800kB floppy drive, and this is enough
to hold the files and commands needed to make a genix on the
hard disk.
.LP
There are 3 sub\-steps.  In step (1a), the hard disk is
formatted and tested using
.I wdutest
(Winchester driver test program).
If bad blocks are found, these are described to the disk controller
and the disk is re\-formatted until satisfactory.
Next, in step (1b), the disk partition table
is written to the disk header.
The program to do this is
.IR mkpt (8),
and the partitions can be selected to suit the installation.
Finally, step (1c) creates a small genix in the root partition
.I dc1a
by running
.IR mkfs (8).
The files, including the hard disk genix (called 
.I vmunix),
are taken from the diskette.
.LP
In step (2), the mini genix on the hard disk is booted by giving
the name
.I wd(1,0)vmunix
to the boot program.
This step can be divided roughly into 2 parts.
In step (2a), commands and other files (about 12 megabytes of them)
are read in from tape or floppy diskettes into the root partition.
In step (2b) the environment required by a full genix is set up.
This includes things such as
writing the boot program in the disk header,
making additional file systems, setting up user maintenance,
and fixing file modes.
.LP
A program (really a set of shell scripts) called
.I build
is provided to facilitate step (2), especially for system managers
who are not fully initiated into unix.
After all this is done, a full genix system exists on the machine.
The system can then be booted up in multi\-user mode,
and users can start doing their thing in partitions set up
for them.
.SH PREPARATION
Before doing the system generation decide the following things
based on the needs of your system:
.TP 5
(a)
What the major file systems are.
A reasonable choice is to have 2 of them:
A root partition (dc1a mounted on /) of about 35000 sectors
and the rest of the disk for a user partition (for example
dc1g mounted on /users).
.TP 5
(b)
Whether you want a backup unix on the hard disk
(this is recommended).
If so, reserve partition dc1h of 3000 sectors for it.
The backup unix can be booted by giving the name
.I wd(1,7)vmback
to the boot program, and is used to repair the real unix
or to save user files if that can't be done.
.TP 5
(c)
What user groups to have on the machine and where to put their
home directories.
.I Build
will ask for these and sets up the configuration for the
.IR nu (8)
program (a user maintenance program).
On many machines it's adequate to have just one user group
called "users" and put the home directories in for example /users.
.LP
The exact configuration is for you to decide.
The System Administrator Manual (hopefully there'll be one)
should give some examples.
.SH SEE ALSO
tar(1), far(1), wd(4), disk(5), vmflop(8), wdutest(8), 
mkpt(8), mkfs(8), build(8), nu(8),...
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