I am running into a weird, what is to me a bug,
but is probably a normal limitation of the system
I'm unaware of.
Basically, I have been installing OpenBSD 7.9 on a
new desktop computer designed for server usage. This
computer, which I believe is not from any constructor
and was custom made in the 2010's, notably features a
500GB SSD and a 16TB HDD (the later an addition of mine).
(dmesg attached below if it might be of any use)
One thing that might be causing disturbances is that I want
to put /var and /tmp on MFS, because it is said that constant
effort put on an SSD disk might corrupt it faster. This is
actually a question in its own right that I should ask as well:
Is it a better practice with today's system and materials to
put /var, /tmp and maybe others on virtual memory instead of
disk ? Especially for a server that might run 24/7 ?
Here are the two pages I apply the instructions of to that end:
https://dataswamp.org/~solene/2018-05-08-mfs-tmp.html
https://wiki.evolix.org/HowtoOpenBSD/Flashinstall
So, I ran a first install and stayed with the default
autopartitionned layout on the 500GB SSD. This went fine.
I then installed it again several times while trying various
custom layouts, like the following :
/ 40G
/usr 120G
/var 120G (to become /var_persistent as per the second link above)
/home *
In other attempts, since I noticed /usr/local has specific
mount parameters (wxallowed), I kept a dedicated partition
for this folder, as well as a separate partition for /var/www
since I want to host web services.
But every time, the install went flawless, only to run into
weird errors at boot : various errors written on the boot
screen and no console generated, rendering the system
useless.
I installed OpenBSD again using the auto layout, in order to
confirm that it is the custom layout that is provoking the bug,
and that is the case. So my question is : what am I doing wrong,
and how can I use a (functional) custom layout ? I suspect
it mostly has to do with /tmp or /var. Second, is it reasonable
at all to have /var and /tmp on MFS for a server installed on SSD ?
# disklabel -A wd0
# /dev/rwd0c:
type: ESDI
disk: ESDI/IDE disk
label: Samsung SSD 870
duid: 0000000000000000
flags:
bytes/sector: 512
sectors/track: 63
tracks/cylinder: 16
sectors/cylinder: 1008
cylinders: 969021
total sectors: 976773168
boundstart: 532544
boundend: 976773135
16 partitions:
# size offset fstype [fsize bsize cpg]
a: 2097152 532544 4.2BSD 2048 16384 1 # /
b: 17005528 2629696 swap
c: 976773168 0 unused
d: 8388576 19635232 4.2BSD 2048 16384 1 # /tmp
e: 41351072 28023808 4.2BSD 2048 16384 1 # /var
f: 62914560 69374880 4.2BSD 2048 16384 1 # /usr
g: 2097152 132289440 4.2BSD 2048 16384 1 #
/usr/X11R6
h: 41943040 134386592 4.2BSD 2048 16384 1 #
/usr/local
i: 532480 64 MSDOS
j: 10485760 176329632 4.2BSD 2048 16384 1 #
/usr/src
k: 20971520 186815392 4.2BSD 2048 16384 1 #
/usr/obj
l: 629145536 207786944 4.2BSD 4096 32768 1 #
/home
# dmesg
OpenBSD 7.9 (GENERIC.MP) #449: Wed May 6 13:17:25 MDT 2026
[email protected]:/usr/src/sys/arch/amd64/compile/GENERIC.MP
real mem = 8438394880 (8047MB)
avail mem = 8155062272 (7777MB)
random: good seed from bootblocks
mpath0 at root
scsibus0 at mpath0: 256 targets
mainbus0 at root
bios0 at mainbus0: SMBIOS rev. 2.7 @ 0xe98f0 (104 entries)
bios0: vendor American Megatrends Inc. version "1306" date 03/07/2014
bios0: ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. P8H77-M
efi0 at bios0: UEFI 2.3.1
efi0: American Megatrends rev 0x4028d
acpi0 at bios0: ACPI 5.0
acpi0: sleep states S0 S3 S4 S5
acpi0: tables DSDT FACP APIC FPDT MCFG HPET SSDT BGRT SSDT SSDT DMAR
acpi0: wakeup devices UAR1(S4) P0P1(S4) RP01(S4) PXSX(S4) RP02(S4)
PXSX(S4) RP03(S4) PXSX(S4) RP04(S4) PXSX(S4) RP07(S4) PXSX(S4) RP08(S4)
PXSX(S4) PEG0(S4) PEGP(S4) [...]
acpitimer0 at acpi0: 3579545 Hz, 24 bits
acpimadt0 at acpi0 addr 0xfee00000: PC-AT compat
cpu0 at mainbus0: apid 0 (boot processor)
cpu0: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-3330 CPU @ 3.00GHz, 3000.06 MHz, 06-3a-09,
patch 00000021
cpu0: cpuid 1
edx=bfebfbff<FPU,VME,DE,PSE,TSC,MSR,PAE,MCE,CX8,APIC,SEP,MTRR,PGE,MCA,CMOV,PAT,PSE36,CFLUSH,DS,ACPI,MMX,FXSR,SSE,SSE2,SS,HTT,TM,PBE>
ecx=77bae3bf<SSE3,PCLMUL,DTES64,MWAIT,DS-CPL,VMX,EST,TM2,SSSE3,CX16,xTPR,PDCM,PCID,SSE4.1,SSE4.2,x2APIC,POPCNT,DEADLINE,AES,XSAVE,AVX,F16C,RDRAND>
cpu0: cpuid 6 eax=77<SENSOR,ARAT,PTS> ecx=9<EFFFREQ>
cpu0: cpuid 7.0 ebx=281<FSGSBASE,SMEP,ERMS>
edx=9c000400<MD_CLEAR,IBRS,IBPB,STIBP,L1DF,SSBD>
cpu0: cpuid a vers=3, gp=8, gpwidth=48, ff=3, ffwidth=48
cpu0: cpuid d.1 eax=1<XSAVEOPT>
cpu0: cpuid 80000001 edx=28100800<NXE,RDTSCP,LONG> ecx=1<LAHF>
cpu0: cpuid 80000007 edx=100<ITSC>
cpu0: MELTDOWN
cpu0: 32KB 64b/line 8-way D-cache, 32KB 64b/line 8-way I-cache, 256KB
64b/line 8-way L2 cache, 6MB 64b/line 12-way L3 cache
cpu0: smt 0, core 0, package 0, type P
mtrr: Pentium Pro MTRR support, 10 var ranges, 88 fixed ranges
cpu0: apic clock running at 99MHz
cpu0: mwait min=64, max=64, C-substates=0.2.1.1, IBE
cpu1 at mainbus0: apid 2 (application processor)
cpu1: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-3330 CPU @ 3.00GHz, 3000.07 MHz, 06-3a-09,
patch 00000021
cpu1: smt 0, core 1, package 0, type P
cpu2 at mainbus0: apid 4 (application processor)
cpu2: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-3330 CPU @ 3.00GHz, 3000.26 MHz, 06-3a-09,
patch 00000021
cpu2: smt 0, core 2, package 0, type P
cpu3 at mainbus0: apid 6 (application processor)
cpu3: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-3330 CPU @ 3.00GHz, 3000.34 MHz, 06-3a-09,
patch 00000021
cpu3: smt 0, core 3, package 0, type P
ioapic0 at mainbus0: apid 2 pa 0xfec00000, version 20, 24 pins
acpimcfg0 at acpi0
acpimcfg0: addr 0xf8000000, bus 0-63
acpihpet0 at acpi0: 14318179 Hz
acpiprt0 at acpi0: bus 0 (PCI0)
acpiprt1 at acpi0: bus -1 (P0P1)
acpiprt2 at acpi0: bus 2 (RP01)
acpiprt3 at acpi0: bus -1 (RP02)
acpiprt4 at acpi0: bus -1 (RP03)
acpiprt5 at acpi0: bus -1 (RP04)
acpiprt6 at acpi0: bus 6 (RP07)
acpiprt7 at acpi0: bus -1 (RP08)
acpiprt8 at acpi0: bus 1 (PEG0)
acpiprt9 at acpi0: bus -1 (PEG1)
acpiprt10 at acpi0: bus -1 (PEG2)
acpiprt11 at acpi0: bus -1 (PEG3)
acpiprt12 at acpi0: bus 3 (RP05)
acpiprt13 at acpi0: bus 4 (RP06)
acpiprt14 at acpi0: bus 5 (PXSX)
acpiec0 at acpi0: not present
acpipci0 at acpi0 PCI0: 0x00000010 0x00000011 0x00000000
acpicmos0 at acpi0
com0 at acpi0 UAR1 addr 0x3f8/0x8 irq 4: ns16550a, 16 byte fifo
acpibtn0 at acpi0: PWRB(wakeup)
"PNP0C0B" at acpi0 not configured
"PNP0C0B" at acpi0 not configured
"PNP0C0B" at acpi0 not configured
"PNP0C0B" at acpi0 not configured
"PNP0C0B" at acpi0 not configured
"PNP0C14" at acpi0 not configured
acpicpu0 at acpi0: C3(350@80 mwait.1@0x20), C2(500@59 mwait.1@0x10),
C1(1000@1 mwait.1), PSS
acpicpu1 at acpi0: C3(350@80 mwait.1@0x20), C2(500@59 mwait.1@0x10),
C1(1000@1 mwait.1), PSS
acpicpu2 at acpi0: C3(350@80 mwait.1@0x20), C2(500@59 mwait.1@0x10),
C1(1000@1 mwait.1), PSS
acpicpu3 at acpi0: C3(350@80 mwait.1@0x20), C2(500@59 mwait.1@0x10),
C1(1000@1 mwait.1), PSS
acpipwrres0 at acpi0: FN00, resource for FAN0
acpipwrres1 at acpi0: FN01, resource for FAN1
acpipwrres2 at acpi0: FN02, resource for FAN2
acpipwrres3 at acpi0: FN03, resource for FAN3
acpipwrres4 at acpi0: FN04, resource for FAN4
acpitz0 at acpi0
acpitz0: critical temperature is 106 degC
acpitz1 at acpi0
acpitz1: critical temperature is 106 degC
acpivideo0 at acpi0: GFX0
acpivout0 at acpivideo0: DD02
cpu0: using VERW MDS workaround (except on vmm entry)
cpu0: Enhanced SpeedStep 3000 MHz: speeds: 3001, 3000, 2900, 2800, 2700,
2600, 2500, 2400, 2300, 2200, 2100, 2000, 1900, 1800, 1700, 1600 MHz
pci0 at mainbus0 bus 0
pchb0 at pci0 dev 0 function 0 "Intel Core 3G Host" rev 0x09
ppb0 at pci0 dev 1 function 0 "Intel Core 3G PCIE" rev 0x09: msi
pci1 at ppb0 bus 1
inteldrm0 at pci0 dev 2 function 0 "Intel HD Graphics 2500" rev 0x09
drm0 at inteldrm0
inteldrm0: msi, IVYBRIDGE, gen 7
xhci0 at pci0 dev 20 function 0 "Intel 7 Series xHCI" rev 0x04: msi,
xHCI 1.0
usb0 at xhci0: USB revision 3.0
uhub0 at usb0 configuration 1 interface 0 "Intel xHCI root hub" rev
3.00/1.00 addr 1
"Intel 7 Series MEI" rev 0x04 at pci0 dev 22 function 0 not configured
ehci0 at pci0 dev 26 function 0 "Intel 7 Series USB" rev 0x04: apic 2
int 23
usb1 at ehci0: USB revision 2.0
uhub1 at usb1 configuration 1 interface 0 "Intel EHCI root hub" rev
2.00/1.00 addr 1
azalia0 at pci0 dev 27 function 0 "Intel 7 Series HD Audio" rev 0x04:
msi
azalia0: codecs: Realtek ALC887, Intel/0x2806, using Realtek ALC887
audio0 at azalia0
ppb1 at pci0 dev 28 function 0 "Intel 7 Series PCIE" rev 0xc4: msi
pci2 at ppb1 bus 2
ppb2 at pci0 dev 28 function 4 "Intel 7 Series PCIE" rev 0xc4: msi
pci3 at ppb2 bus 3
re0 at pci3 dev 0 function 0 "Realtek 8168" rev 0x09: RTL8168F/8111F
(0x4800), msi, address 08:60:6e:eb:54:8b
rgephy0 at re0 phy 7: RTL8169S/8110S/8211, rev. 5
ppb3 at pci0 dev 28 function 5 "Intel 82801BA Hub-to-PCI" rev 0xc4: msi
pci4 at ppb3 bus 4
ppb4 at pci4 dev 0 function 0 "ASMedia ASM1083/1085 PCIE-PCI" rev 0x03
pci5 at ppb4 bus 5
ppb5 at pci0 dev 28 function 6 "Intel 7 Series PCIE" rev 0xc4: msi
pci6 at ppb5 bus 6
vendor "Realtek", unknown product 0x8812 (class network subclass
miscellaneous, rev 0x01) at pci6 dev 0 function 0 not configured
ehci1 at pci0 dev 29 function 0 "Intel 7 Series USB" rev 0x04: apic 2
int 23
usb2 at ehci1: USB revision 2.0
uhub2 at usb2 configuration 1 interface 0 "Intel EHCI root hub" rev
2.00/1.00 addr 1
pcib0 at pci0 dev 31 function 0 "Intel H77 LPC" rev 0x04
pciide0 at pci0 dev 31 function 2 "Intel 7 Series SATA" rev 0x04: DMA,
channel 0 configured to native-PCI, channel 1 configured to native-PCI
pciide0: using apic 2 int 19 for native-PCI interrupt
wd0 at pciide0 channel 0 drive 1: <Samsung SSD 870 EVO 500GB>
wd0: 1-sector PIO, LBA48, 476940MB, 976773168 sectors
wd0(pciide0:0:1): using PIO mode 4, Ultra-DMA mode 6
ichiic0 at pci0 dev 31 function 3 "Intel 7 Series SMBus" rev 0x04: apic
2 int 18
iic0 at ichiic0
iic0: addr 0x20 01=00 02=00 03=00 04=00 05=00 06=00 07=f6 08=f6 09=f6
0a=f6 0b=22 0c=22 0d=88 0e=88 0f=00 10=00 11=98 12=fc 13=04 14=00 15=00
16=21 17=6c 18=00 19=00 1a=00 1b=00 1c=00 1d=22 1e=88 1f=02 20=00 21=00
22=04 23=03 24=00 25=00 26=55 27=09 28=bf 29=00 2a=f5 2b=00 2c=01 2d=d0
2e=a0 2f=18 30=00 31=00 32=00 33=68 3e=db 46=00 47=03 48=04 49=13 b2=20
b3=83 words 00=ff00 01=0000 02=0000 03=0000 04=0000 05=0000 06=00f6
07=f6f6
spdmem0 at iic0 addr 0x51: 4GB DDR3 SDRAM PC3-10600
spdmem1 at iic0 addr 0x53: 4GB DDR3 SDRAM PC3-10600
pciide1 at pci0 dev 31 function 5 "Intel 7 Series SATA" rev 0x04: DMA,
channel 0 wired to native-PCI, channel 1 wired to native-PCI
pciide1: using apic 2 int 19 for native-PCI interrupt
wd1 at pciide1 channel 0 drive 0: <TOSHIBA HDWG31G>
wd1: 16-sector PIO, LBA48, 15259648MB, 31251759104 sectors
wd1(pciide1:0:0): using PIO mode 4, Ultra-DMA mode 6
isa0 at pcib0
isadma0 at isa0
pckbc0 at isa0 port 0x60/5 irq 1 irq 12
pckbd0 at pckbc0 (kbd slot)
wskbd0 at pckbd0: console keyboard
pcppi0 at isa0 port 0x61
spkr0 at pcppi0
lpt0 at isa0 port 0x378/4 irq 7
wbsio0 at isa0 port 0x2e/2: NCT6779D rev 0x62
lm1 at wbsio0 port 0x290/8: NCT6779D
efifb at mainbus0 not configured
uhub3 at uhub1 port 1 configuration 1 interface 0 "Intel Rate Matching
Hub" rev 2.00/0.00 addr 2
uhidev0 at uhub3 port 4 configuration 1 interface 0 "Logitech USB
Receiver" rev 2.00/30.00 addr 3
uhidev0: iclass 3/1
ums0 at uhidev0: 16 buttons, Z and W dir
wsmouse0 at ums0 mux 0
uhidev1 at uhub3 port 4 configuration 1 interface 1 "Logitech USB
Receiver" rev 2.00/30.00 addr 3
uhidev1: iclass 3/0, 17 report ids
uhidpp0 at uhidev1 device 1 mouse "B330/M330/M331"
ucc0 at uhidev1 reportid 3: 652 usages, 20 keys, array
wskbd1 at ucc0 mux 1
umass0 at uhub3 port 5 configuration 1 interface 0 "Generic Mass Storage
Device" rev 2.00/1.00 addr 4
umass0: using SCSI over Bulk-Only
scsibus1 at umass0: 2 targets, initiator 0
sd0 at scsibus1 targ 1 lun 0: <Generic-, SD/MMC, 1.00> removable
sd1 at scsibus1 targ 1 lun 1: <Generic-, Compact Flash, 1.01> removable
sd2 at scsibus1 targ 1 lun 2: <Generic-, SM/xD-Picture, 1.02> removable
sd3 at scsibus1 targ 1 lun 3: <Generic-, MS/MS-Pro, 1.03> removable
uhidev2 at uhub3 port 5 configuration 1 interface 1 "Generic Mass
Storage Device" rev 2.00/1.00 addr 4
uhidev2: iclass 3/0, 4 report ids
uhid0 at uhidev2 reportid 4: input=7, output=0, feature=0
uhub4 at uhub2 port 1 configuration 1 interface 0 "Intel Rate Matching
Hub" rev 2.00/0.00 addr 2
uhidev3 at uhub4 port 6 configuration 1 interface 0 "Elan product
0x0103" rev 2.00/1.07 addr 3
uhidev3: iclass 3/1
ukbd0 at uhidev3: 8 variable keys, 6 key codes
wskbd2 at ukbd0 mux 1
uhidev4 at uhub4 port 6 configuration 1 interface 1 "Elan product
0x0103" rev 2.00/1.07 addr 3
uhidev4: iclass 3/0, 2 report ids
ucc1 at uhidev4 reportid 1: 573 usages, 20 keys, array
wskbd3 at ucc1 mux 1
uhid1 at uhidev4 reportid 2: input=1, output=0, feature=0
vscsi0 at root
scsibus2 at vscsi0: 256 targets
softraid0 at root
scsibus3 at softraid0: 256 targets
root on wd0a (38ef17c81d6ec0a5.a) swap on wd0b dump on wd0b
inteldrm0: 1920x1080, 32bpp
wsdisplay0 at inteldrm0 mux 1: console (std, vt100 emulation), using
wskbd0
wskbd1: connecting to wsdisplay0
wskbd2: connecting to wsdisplay0
wskbd3: connecting to wsdisplay0
wsdisplay0: screen 1-5 added (std, vt100 emulation)
--
Sylvain Saboua
looking for a PDP-11
