Re: Installing NetBSD on RPI 4: late arrival

[Paul Mather <paul%gromit.dlib.vt.edu@localhost>]

On Aug 1, 2020, at 3:04 PM, Pierre Dupond <76nemo76%gmx.ch@localhost> wrote:

> Hi All,
>    I would install NetBSD on a Raspi 4 (8gb of memory). I have read
> some messages on this list but I can only guess how to do a such installation.
> 
> I have had a quick look in the mail list archive without finding messages
> helpful with this installation. I have perhaps not looked carefully
> enough, however.
> 
> What I have understood are the following points:
>          * UEFI seems to be used
>          * An recent image should be downloaded and copied on a disk
>            or SD card with dd (this is quite standard for all OS on
>            Raspi)
>          * The serial console is not mandatory but could help
>          * Some boot decisions (device for the root file system for
>            instance) can be made at the UEFI prompt
> 
> What I would know is that if a procedure describing the whole process
> exists?
> 
> The thread "HOWTO: USB boot on 8 GB RPi4 with no SD card" seems
> to be a good starting point, is it sufficient to install NetBSD on a
> disk (SD card or not)?
> 
> Any pointer to the direction to search would be greatly appreciated.


Jared McNeill's tips were enough for me to get a basic system booted on RPi 4 8GB: https://mail-index.netbsd.org/port-arm/2020/06/09/msg006740.html

AFAIK, the UEFI/ACPI firmware is currently the only environment that supports the hardware you need (e.g., Ethernet NIC) on the RPi 4 8GB model to have a viable system.  Also, I believe, only NetBSD/aarch64 -CURRENT supports the RPi4.  (I guess when NetBSD 9.1 comes out that would change.)

The recent threads have focused on eliminating the requirement of the SD card to be able to boot and, importantly, host the OS.  The RPi 4 supports USB3, so being able to put the OS on an external USB3 device greatly speeds up disk I/O.  (The SD card is relatively slow in comparison.)

Cheers,

Paul.