| Title: FuguITA: OpenBSD live-cd | |
| Author: Solène | |
| Date: 18 November 2020 | |
| Tags: openbsd | |
| Description: | |
| In this article I will explain how to download and run the FuguITA | |
| OpenBSD live-cd, which is not an official OpenBSD project (it is not | |
| endorsed by the OpenBSD project), but is available since a long time | |
| and is carefully updated at every release and errata published. | |
| FuguITA official homepage | |
| I do like this project and I am running their European mirror, it was | |
| really long to download it from Europe before. | |
| > Please note that if you have issues with FuguITA, you must report it | |
| to the FuguITA team and not report it to the OpenBSD project. | |
| ## Preparing | |
| Download the img or iso file on a mirror. | |
| Mirror list from official project page | |
| The file is gzipped, run gunzip on the img file | |
| FuguIta-6.8-amd64-202010251.img.gz (name may change over time because | |
| they get updated to include new erratas). | |
| Then, copy the file to your usb memory stick. This can be dangerous if | |
| you don't write the file to the correct disk! | |
| To avoid mistakes, I plug in the memory stick when I need it, then I | |
| check the last lines of the output of dmesg command which looks like: | |
| ```dmesg output sample | |
| sd1 at scsibus2 targ 1 lun 0: <Corsair, Voyager 3.0, 1.00> removable serial.1b1… | |
| sd1: 15280MB, 512 bytes/sector, 31293440 sectors | |
| ``` | |
| This tells me my memory stick is the sd1 device. | |
| Now I can copy the image to the memory stick: | |
| ```shell command as root | |
| # dd if=FuguIta-6.8-amd64-202010251.img of=/dev/rsd1c bs=10M | |
| ``` | |
| Note that I use /dev/rsd1c for the sd1 device. I've added a r to use | |
| the raw mode (in opposition of buffered mode) so it gets faster, and | |
| the c stands for the whole disk (there is a historical explanation). | |
| ## Starting the system | |
| Boot on your usb memory stick. You will be prompted for a kernel, you | |
| can wait or type enter, the default is to use the multiprocessor kernel | |
| and there are no reason to use something else. | |
| If will see a prompt "scanning partitions: sd0i sd1a sd1d sd1i" and be | |
| asked which is the FuguIta operating device, proposing a default that | |
| should be the correct one. | |
| FROM HERE, YOUR KEYBOARD IS IN QWERTY. | |
| Just type enter. | |
| The second question will be the memory disk allowed size (using TMPFS), | |
| just press enter for "automatic". | |
| Then, a boot mode will be showed: the best is the mode 0 for a livecd | |
| experience. | |
| Official documentation in regards to FuguITA specifics options | |
| Keyboard type will be asked, just type the layout you want. Then answer | |
| to questions: | |
| * root password | |
| * hostname (you can just press enter) | |
| * IP to use (v4, v6, both [default]) | |
| When prompted for your network interfaces, WIFI may not work because | |
| the livecd doesn't have any firmware. | |
| Finally, you will be prompted for C for console or X for xenodm. THERE | |
| ARE NO USER except root, so if you start X you can only use root as a | |
| user, which I STRONGLY discourage. | |
| You can login console as root, use the two commands "useradd -m | |
| username" and "passwd username" to give a password to that user, and | |
| then start xenodm. | |
| The livecd can restore data from a local hard drive, this is explained | |
| in the start guide of the FuguITA project. | |
| ## Conclusion | |
| Having FuguITA around is very handy. You can use it to check your | |
| hardware compatibility with OpenBSD without installing it. Packages can | |
| be installed so it's perfect to check how OpenBSD performs for you and | |
| if you really want to install it on your computer. | |
| You can also use it as an usb live system to transport OpenBSD anywhere | |
| (the system must be compatible) by using the persistent mode, | |
| encryption being a feature! This may be very useful for people | |
| traveling on lot and who don't necesserarly want to travel with an | |
| OpenBSD laptop. | |
| As I said in the introduction, the team is doing a very good job at | |
| producing FuguITA releases shortly after the OpenBSD release, and they | |
| continuously update every release with new erratas. |