Chapter 2. Installing FreeBSD

The FreeBSD installer is not an application that can be run from within another operating system. Instead, download a FreeBSD installation file, burn it to the media associated with its file type and size (CD, DVD, or USB), and boot the system to install from the inserted media.

FreeBSD installation files are available at www.freebsd.org/where/. Each installation file’s name includes the release version of FreeBSD, the architecture, and the type of file. For example, to install FreeBSD 12.1 on an amd64 system from a DVD, download FreeBSD-12.1-RELEASE-amd64-dvd1.iso, burn this file to a DVD, and boot the system with the DVD inserted.

Installation files are available in several formats. The formats vary depending on computer architecture and media type.

Additional installation files are included for computers that boot with UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface). The names of these files include the string uefi.

File types:

After downloading the image file, download CHECKSUM.SHA256 from the same directory. Calculate a checksum for the image file. FreeBSD provides sha256(1) for this, used as sha256 imagefilename. Other operating systems have similar programs.

Compare the calculated checksum with the one shown in CHECKSUM.SHA256. The checksums must match exactly. If the checksums do not match, the image file is corrupt and must be downloaded again.

These architectures provide a BIOS menu for selecting the boot device. Depending upon the installation media being used, select the CD/DVD or USB device as the first boot device. Most systems also provide a key for selecting the boot device during startup without having to enter the BIOS. Typically, the key is either F10, F11, F12, or Escape.

If the computer loads the existing operating system instead of the FreeBSD installer, then either:

On most machines, holding C on the keyboard during boot will boot from the CD. Otherwise, hold Command+Option+O+F, or Windows+Alt+O+F on non-Apple® keyboards. At the 0 > prompt, enter

Once the system boots from the installation media, a menu similar to the following will be displayed:

By default, the menu will wait ten seconds for user input before booting into the FreeBSD installer or, if FreeBSD is already installed, before booting into FreeBSD. To pause the boot timer in order to review the selections, press Space. To select an option, press its highlighted number, character, or key. The following options are available.

The boot options menu is divided into two sections. The first section can be used to either return to the main boot menu or to reset any toggled options back to their defaults.

The next section is used to toggle the available options to On or Off by pressing the option’s highlighted number or character. The system will always boot using the settings for these options until they are modified. Several options can be toggled using this menu:

After making the needed selections, press 1 or Backspace to return to the main boot menu, then press Enter to continue booting into FreeBSD. A series of boot messages will appear as FreeBSD carries out its hardware device probes and loads the installation program. Once the boot is complete, the welcome menu shown in Welcome Menu will be displayed.

Press Enter to select the default of Install to enter the installer. The rest of this chapter describes how to use this installer. Otherwise, use the right or left arrows or the colorized letter to select the desired menu item. The Shell can be used to access a FreeBSD shell in order to use command line utilities to prepare the disks before installation. The Live CD option can be used to try out FreeBSD before installing it. The live version is described in Using the Live CD.

Before starting the process, bsdinstall will load the keymap files as show in Keymap Loading.

After the keymaps have been loaded bsdinstall displays the menu shown in Keymap Selection Menu. Use the up and down arrows to select the keymap that most closely represents the mapping of the keyboard attached to the system. Press Enter to save the selection.

In addition, when selecting a different keymap, the user can try the keymap and ensure it is correct before proceeding as shown in Keymap Testing Menu.

The next bsdinstall menu is used to set the hostname for the newly installed system.

Type in a hostname that is unique for the network. It should be a fully-qualified hostname, such as machine3.example.com.

Next, bsdinstall will prompt to select optional components to install.

Deciding which components to install will depend largely on the intended use of the system and the amount of disk space available. The FreeBSD kernel and userland, collectively known as the base system, are always installed. Depending on the architecture, some of these components may not appear:

The menu shown in Installing from the Network only appears when installing from a -bootonly.iso or -mini-memstick.img as this installation media does not hold copies of the installation files. Since the installation files must be retrieved over a network connection, this menu indicates that the network interface must be configured first. If this menu is shown in any step of the process remember to follow the instructions in Configuring Network Interfaces.

When laying out file systems, remember that hard drives transfer data faster from the outer tracks to the inner. Thus, smaller and heavier-accessed file systems should be closer to the outside of the drive, while larger partitions like /usr should be placed toward the inner parts of the disk. It is a good idea to create partitions in an order similar to: /, swap, /var, and /usr.

The size of the /var partition reflects the intended machine’s usage. This partition is used to hold mailboxes, log files, and printer spools. Mailboxes and log files can grow to unexpected sizes depending on the number of users and how long log files are kept. On average, most users rarely need more than about a gigabyte of free disk space in /var.

The /usr partition holds many of the files which support the system, including the FreeBSD Ports Collection and system source code. At least 2 gigabytes of space is recommended for this partition.

When selecting partition sizes, keep the space requirements in mind. Running out of space in one partition while barely using another can be a hassle.

As a rule of thumb, the swap partition should be about double the size of physical memory (RAM). Systems with minimal RAM may perform better with more swap. Configuring too little swap can lead to inefficiencies in the VM page scanning code and might create issues later if more memory is added.

On larger systems with multiple SCSI disks or multiple IDE disks operating on different controllers, it is recommended that swap be configured on each drive, up to four drives. The swap partitions should be approximately the same size. The kernel can handle arbitrary sizes but internal data structures scale to 4 times the largest swap partition. Keeping the swap partitions near the same size will allow the kernel to optimally stripe swap space across disks. Large swap sizes are fine, even if swap is not used much. It might be easier to recover from a runaway program before being forced to reboot.

By properly partitioning a system, fragmentation introduced in the smaller write heavy partitions will not bleed over into the mostly read partitions. Keeping the write loaded partitions closer to the disk’s edge will increase I/O performance in the partitions where it occurs the most. While I/O performance in the larger partitions may be needed, shifting them more toward the edge of the disk will not lead to a significant performance improvement over moving /var to the edge.

When this method is selected, a menu will display the available disk(s). If multiple disks are connected, choose the one where FreeBSD is to be installed.

Once the disk is selected, the next menu prompts to install to either the entire disk or to create a partition using free space. If Entire Disk is chosen, a general partition layout filling the whole disk is automatically created. Selecting Partition creates a partition layout from the unused space on the disk.

After Entire Disk is chosen bsdinstall displays a dialog indicating that the disk will be erased.

The next menu shows a list with the partition schemes types. GPT is usually the most appropriate choice for amd64 computers. Older computers that are not compatible with GPT should use MBR. The other partition schemes are generally used for uncommon or older computers. More information is available in Partitioning Schemes.

After the partition layout has been created, review it to ensure it meets the needs of the installation. Selecting Revert will reset the partitions to their original values and pressing Auto will recreate the automatic FreeBSD partitions. Partitions can also be manually created, modified, or deleted. When the partitioning is correct, select Finish to continue with the installation.

Once the disks are configured, the next menu provides the last chance to make changes before the selected drives are formatted. If changes need to be made, select Back to return to the main partitioning menu. Revert & Exit exits the installer without making any changes to the drive. Select Commit to start the installation process.

To continue with the installation process go to Fetching Distribution Files.

Selecting this method opens the partition editor:

Highlight the installation drive (ada0 in this example) and select Create to display a menu of available partition schemes:

GPT is usually the most appropriate choice for amd64 computers. Older computers that are not compatible with GPT should use MBR. The other partition schemes are generally used for uncommon or older computers.

After the partitioning scheme has been selected and created, select Create again to create the partitions. The Tab key is used to move the cursor between fields.

A standard FreeBSD GPT installation uses at least three partitions:

Refer to gpart(8) for descriptions of the available GPT partition types.

Multiple file system partitions can be created and some people prefer a traditional layout with separate partitions for /, /var, /tmp, and /usr. See Creating Traditional Split File System Partitions for an example.

The Size may be entered with common abbreviations: K for kilobytes, M for megabytes, or G for gigabytes.

A Mountpoint is needed if the partition will contain a file system. If only a single UFS partition will be created, the mountpoint should be /.

The Label is a name by which the partition will be known. Drive names or numbers can change if the drive is connected to a different controller or port, but the partition label does not change. Referring to labels instead of drive names and partition numbers in files like /etc/fstab makes the system more tolerant to hardware changes. GPT labels appear in /dev/gpt/ when a disk is attached. Other partitioning schemes have different label capabilities and their labels appear in different directories in /dev/.

After the custom partitions have been created, select Finish to continue with the installation and go to Fetching Distribution Files.

This partitioning mode only works with whole disks and will erase the contents of the entire disk. The main ZFS configuration menu offers a number of options to control the creation of the pool.

Here is a summary of the options which can be used in this menu:

Select T to configure the Pool Type and the disk(s) that will constitute the pool.

Here is a summary of the Pool Type which can be selected in this menu:

Once a Pool Type has been selected, a list of available disks is displayed, and the user is prompted to select one or more disks to make up the pool. The configuration is then validated, to ensure enough disks are selected. If not, select <Change Selection> to return to the list of disks, or <Back> to change the Pool Type.

If one or more disks are missing from the list, or if disks were attached after the installer was started, select - Rescan Devices to repopulate the list of available disks.

To avoid accidentally erasing the wrong disk, the - Disk Info menu can be used to inspect each disk, including its partition table and various other information such as the device model number and serial number, if available.

Select N to configure the Pool Name. Enter the desired name then select <OK> to establish it or <Cancel> to return to the main menu and leave the default name.

Select S to set the amount of swap. Enter the desired amount of swap and then select <OK> to establish it or <Cancel> to return to the main menu and let the default amount.

Once all options have been set to the desired values, select the >>> Install option at the top of the menu. The installer then offers a last chance to cancel before the contents of the selected drives are destroyed to create the ZFS pool.

If GELI disk encryption was enabled, the installer will prompt twice for the passphrase to be used to encrypt the disks. And after that the initializing of the encryption begins.

The installation then proceeds normally. To continue with the installation go to Fetching Distribution Files.

When creating advanced installations, the bsdinstall partitioning menus may not provide the level of flexibility required. Advanced users can select the Shell option from the partitioning menu in order to manually partition the drives, create the file system(s), populate /tmp/bsdinstall_etc/fstab, and mount the file systems under /mnt. Once this is done, type exit to return to bsdinstall and continue the installation.

First, the root password must be set. While entering the password, the characters being typed are not displayed on the screen. After the password has been entered, it must be entered again. This helps prevent typing errors.

The next series of menus are used to determine the correct local time by selecting the geographic region, country, and time zone. Setting the time zone allows the system to automatically correct for regional time changes, such as daylight savings time, and perform other time zone related functions properly.

The example shown here is for a machine located in the mainland time zone of Spain, Europe. The selections will vary according to the geographical location.

The appropriate region is selected using the arrow keys and then pressing Enter.

Select the appropriate country using the arrow keys and press Enter.

The appropriate time zone is selected using the arrow keys and pressing Enter.

Confirm the abbreviation for the time zone is correct.

The appropriate date is selected using the arrow keys and then pressing Set Date. Otherwise, the date selection can be skipped by pressing Skip.

The appropriate time is selected using the arrow keys and then pressing Set Time. Otherwise, the time selection can be skipped by pressing Skip.

The next menu is used to configure which system services will be started whenever the system boots. All of these services are optional. Only start the services that are needed for the system to function.

Here is a summary of the services which can be enabled in this menu:

The next menu is used to configure which security options will be enabled. All of these options are optional. But their use is encouraged.

Here is a summary of the options which can be enabled in this menu:

The next menu prompts to create at least one user account. It is recommended to login to the system using a user account rather than as root. When logged in as root, there are essentially no limits or protection on what can be done. Logging in as a normal user is safer and more secure.

Select Yes to add new users.

Follow the prompts and input the requested information for the user account. The example shown in Enter User Information creates the asample user account.

Here is a summary of the information to input:

After entering everything, a summary is shown for review. If a mistake was made, enter no and try again. If everything is correct, enter yes to create the new user.

If there are more users to add, answer the Add another user? question with yes. Enter no to finish adding users and continue the installation.

For more information on adding users and user management, see “Users and Basic Account Management”.

After everything has been installed and configured, a final chance is provided to modify settings.

Use this menu to make any changes or do any additional configuration before completing the installation.

After any final configuration is complete, select Exit.

bsdinstall will prompt if there are any additional configuration that needs to be done before rebooting into the new system. Select Yes to exit to a shell within the new system or No to proceed to the last step of the installation.

If further configuration or special setup is needed, select Live CD to boot the install media into Live CD mode.

If the installation is complete, select Reboot to reboot the computer and start the new FreeBSD system. Do not forget to remove the FreeBSD install media or the computer may boot from it again.

As FreeBSD boots, informational messages are displayed. After the system finishes booting, a login prompt is displayed. At the login: prompt, enter the username added during the installation. Avoid logging in as root. Refer to “The Superuser Account” for instructions on how to become the superuser when administrative access is needed.

The messages that appeared during boot can be reviewed by pressing Scroll-Lock to turn on the scroll-back buffer. The PgUp, PgDn, and arrow keys can be used to scroll back through the messages. When finished, press Scroll-Lock again to unlock the display and return to the console. To review these messages once the system has been up for some time, type less /var/run/dmesg.boot from a command prompt. Press q to return to the command line after viewing.

If sshd was enabled in Selecting Additional Services to Enable, the first boot may be a bit slower as the system will generate the RSA and DSA keys. Subsequent boots will be faster. The fingerprints of the keys will be displayed, as seen in this example:

Refer to OpenSSH for more information about fingerprints and SSH.

FreeBSD does not install a graphical environment by default. Refer to The X Window System for more information about installing and configuring a graphical window manager.

Proper shutdown of a FreeBSD computer helps protect data and hardware from damage. Do not turn off the power before the system has been properly shut down! If the user is a member of the wheel group, become the superuser by typing su at the command line and entering the root password. Then, type shutdown -p now and the system will shut down cleanly, and if the hardware supports it, turn itself off.

Next, a list of the network interfaces found on the computer is shown. Select the interface to configure.

If an Ethernet interface is selected, the installer will skip ahead to the menu shown in Choose IPv4 Networking. If a wireless network interface is chosen, the system will instead scan for wireless access points:

Wireless networks are identified by a Service Set Identifier (SSID), a short, unique name given to each network. SSIDs found during the scan are listed, followed by a description of the encryption types available for that network. If the desired SSID does not appear in the list, select Rescan to scan again. If the desired network still does not appear, check for problems with antenna connections or try moving the computer closer to the access point. Rescan after each change is made.

Next, enter the encryption information for connecting to the selected wireless network. WPA2 encryption is strongly recommended as older encryption types, like WEP, offer little security. If the network uses WPA2, input the password, also known as the Pre-Shared Key (PSK). For security reasons, the characters typed into the input box are displayed as asterisks.

Next, choose whether or not an IPv4 address should be configured on the Ethernet or wireless interface:

There are two methods of IPv4 configuration. DHCP will automatically configure the network interface correctly and should be used if the network provides a DHCP server. Otherwise, the addressing information needs to be input manually as a static configuration.

If a DHCP server is available, select Yes in the next menu to automatically configure the network interface. The installer will appear to pause for a minute or so as it finds the DHCP server and obtains the addressing information for the system.

If a DHCP server is not available, select No and input the following addressing information in this menu:

The next screen will ask if the interface should be configured for IPv6. If IPv6 is available and desired, choose Yes to select it.

IPv6 also has two methods of configuration. StateLess Address AutoConfiguration (SLAAC) will automatically request the correct configuration information from a local router. Refer to rfc4862 for more information. Static configuration requires manual entry of network information.

If an IPv6 router is available, select Yes in the next menu to automatically configure the network interface. The installer will appear to pause for a minute or so as it finds the router and obtains the addressing information for the system.

If an IPv6 router is not available, select No and input the following addressing information in this menu:

The last network configuration menu is used to configure the Domain Name System (DNS) resolver, which converts hostnames to and from network addresses. If DHCP or SLAAC was used to autoconfigure the network interface, the Resolver Configuration values may already be filled in. Otherwise, enter the local network’s domain name in the Search field. DNS #1 and DNS #2 are the IPv4 and/or IPv6 addresses of the DNS servers. At least one DNS server is required.

Once the interface is configured, select a mirror site that is located in the same region of the world as the computer on which FreeBSD is being installed. Files can be retrieved more quickly when the mirror is close to the target computer, reducing installation time.