Sorry. Numpty alert! FreeBSD Jails... Help?

[Dave]

Hi All.

Total frustration here.  Before I incinerate the luckless box and get my 
coat.

For whatever reason, I can't get my head round how "Exactly" to create 
and use a jail, for a small webserver (Hiawatha) on FreeBSD V8.x

There is at the same time, not enough detailed info as to "how to", and 
way too much detail of what there is.   The Man pages are good 
references, but lousy "how to's"...   (Sorry.)

I have (aledgedly) downloaded the Sys sources, and Ports.   At least it 
sat there for ages after fumbling arround the sysinstall menu system 
(whoever designed that should be forced to use it!  It's behaviour is 
apalling, flitting from one context to another with no warning, in a way 
such that you can't see what you've selected, without affecting the 
selection, or something else..)

Anyway, trying to follow various instructions I found, and those pointed 
out to me by other helpful souls here (thanks Kaya and Peter.)  But 
Whatever I do, I get a "Don't know how to build world. Stop" error.

I am logged in as root, and AFIK have downloaded all the sys and ports 
sources..   How do I confirm that, are there trace logs kept somewhere?


Now, I can create EMC test software in high level languages 
(Pascal/Delphi on Windows.)   Assemble install commission and repair when 
needed, multi kW RF amplifiers, and related support systems.  Diagnose 
faults on the same, modify control software (at the source level) to work 
arround some "undesirable features" etc etc.

I've also been building computers (and other tech stuff) for decades from 
components, and programming them to do what I need etc and so forth, but 
all in either native asembler code, or a higher level language on Dos or 
Windows.


I even found and followed these instructions, and got a GPS Diciplined 
NTP server running on the FreeBSD box.  (After my ISP comprehensivly 
wrecked their NTP server access.)  So a HF Radio propagation monitor can 
keep time to sub ms accuracy.

That was a first time success too, even re-compiling the kernel to enable 
PPS support!
http://blog.doylenet.net/?p=145
So, I can follow instructions..  :-)

I have even got the Meinberg port of NTP to work on an aged Win2k box, 
albeit with some help from others.

But for the life of me, I can't figure out this BSD Jail stuff, as there 
is something missing from my understanding of it all.  (Most of it I 
suspect...)

None of the searches so far have thrown up a definative "This is how you 
do it" type of procedure, with step by step "do this, if this happens, 
then do that, else go do this..."  type of structure.   And more 
importantly *Why* it needs to be done in such a way.  Kaya's wiki is 
close, but I must have a different varient of V8.x

Is there anyone out there with Skype (for example) who could perhaps talk 
me through this it in real time I wonder.  By arangment of some mutually 
conveninent time and date (evening or weekend.)  I'm, in the UK near 
Milton Keynes, so that limits things somewhat I suspect.

I realy do want to learn how to do all this, but I'm having a real hard 
time, due to the lack of contiguious time available to me, and with the 
available documentation, that I accept is correct, but it is all written 
as a reference document, not an instruction/user manual, only compounded 
by coming in cold from another background (Hardware/Dos(Assembler & 
Basic)/Windows(Delphi/Pascal)

What I have learnt so far, is that (for the most part) all the BSD's 
behave and work much the same.  Unlike the hoards of different Linux's, 
all with their different ways of doing things.

Spleen vented, anyone want a challenge?  I promise not to shout at you...

Cheers All..

Dave B.