Hello, I'd like to import mdata-client into base for simplified creation of Joyent-friendly images. The mdata protocol provides a simple configuration protocol for a KVM/native zone to query optional parameters. It is often use for providing e.g. a ssh authorized_keys file, but can also be used for other parameters like querying the host name etc. In the KVM case, it is implemented using a serial port.
While the protocol itself is currently implemented only by SmartOS, it is well documented and could easily be used by other qemu-using deployments, both natively and cross-target. The size of the source is below 70KB, including man pages. I currently don't want to install the programs unconditionally, but under a special build flag like MKJOYENT or whatever name fits. This flag has a number of other side effects: (1) Default to serial console for the ISO image. (2) Adjust dhcpcd default configuration to use MAC as client identifier and MAC-derived SLAAC. (3) Provide /etc/rc.d/mdata to interprete the user_script option if present. (4) In case of netbsd-7: allow key-based root login. Automatic resizing of root for rpi-like boot images would also be nice, but that's a question for a latter point. Joerg
