switching discs during install

[James Strother]

I had actually avoided the base system because I was installing FreeBSD on a
system with a poor internet connection, but I was able to download the discs
on a system with a high speed connection.  The DVD would have worked fine,
but it was not available from the freebsd home page and so I did not know it
was available.  But thanks for the information.  Next time, I'll give it a
try.

That said, I still think that as long as the freebsd foundation distributes
CD images it would be worthwhile to make them as effective as possible.
Actually, even if the install were moved to a DVD, the ordered install I
proposed would still improve the situation.  When the packages are
haphazardly ordered on the disc, the CD/DVD reader is forced to perform a
large number of seeks that dramatically reduces data throughput.  When they
are read in order, read rates should be much better.  While I doubt many
users choose an operating system based on installation performance, it would
save people a little time and make a better first impression.

-Jim


On Sat, Sep 6, 2008 at 4:24 AM, Manolis Kiagias <sonic2000gr at gmail.com>wrote:

> James Strother wrote:
>
>> I just completed an install of FreeBSD 7.0 and couldn't help but wonder
>> why
>> it was necessary for me to switch discs back and forth so much while
>> installing ported applications.  I've used FreeBSD on and off for a number
>> of years and this issue has always irked me a just a little bit.  It means
>> that I have to babysit the installation and it really does increase the
>> time
>> required to perform the installation.
>> <SNIP>
>>
>>
> Most people install only the base system from CD, then install applications
> from ports or download newer packages.  If you insist on installing packages
> from the installation media, there is an easy way. Use the DVD:
>
>
> http://www.tuxdistro.com/download.php?id=921&name=FreeBSD-7.0-RELEASE-DVD-ISO.torrent
>
> Or, create one yourself using your already downloaded discs:
>
> http://www.pa.msu.edu/~tigner/bsddvd.html<http://www.pa.msu.edu/%7Etigner/bsddvd.html>
>
>
>
>