Future of FreeBSD 7.0 and up

[Kevin Kinsey]

Its Me (Marwan Sultan?) wrote:
> 
> Dwight!
> 
> What ! How!
> Installing FreeBSD takes flat 3 minutes!!!
> after i'm done, I do install the ports, with 2 more minutes!!
> 
> Then from ports Tree I just command "make install clean"
> for
> Apache
> PHP5
> webmin,
> lynx-ssl
> radius
> and few more ports, like pop3 and others..
> PLUS!! i configure it as a gateway, for my datalink routers (wan branches)
> and lan GW, plus upgrading to latest patches..and adding few routes..

It is true that as your experience grows, you can do things like this 
more quickly.  For the OP:  examine simple shell scripting.  Anything 
you do on the command line can be programmed to be done for you.

I use sysinstall from CD and install a minimal -RELEASE quickly, and 
then I have shell scripts which take a few brief arguments regarding 
interface configuration and the server's intended use, and then:

     a.  check for the existence of the Ports Tree and Source Tree
	downloading them as necessary.
     b.  install cvsup-without-gui
     c.  update to -STABLE, including setting vars and kernel options
     d.  reboot
     e.  finish update
     f.  update ports tree
     g.  install a selected set of ports

So, most of the "work" I used to do by hand is automated - all I need to 
do is run "tail" on some logfiles and check my mail in the morning. 
(Well, "mergemaster" isn't quite automatic just yet).

But, also, as Marwan indicates, I don't get to use it much - I don't 
have to build servers very often ;-)

Lots of people have done this; perhaps the most famous is Greg Lehey's 
"instant-workstation" port.  The reason it's not done for you:  the 
BSD's are all about flexibility, in line with the UNIX philosophy 
"tools, not policy"....

Kevin Kinsey