lispstudent

OVH no longer provides an option to install SmartOS on its dedicated servers. Luckily, we can boot the machine using IPXE and use IPMI to run through the setup proces on the kvm console. The OVH/SoYouStart manager interface doesn’t give direct access to that, but luckily SYS and OVH have identical REST APIs.

First, set up a webserver somewhere and dump the platform directory you want to boot from into a folder on that webserver. For example, I’m using /smartos.

NOTE: if you don't need to boot a customized smartos platform image,  you might be able to use the hosted image discussed here: https://docs.smartos.org/pxe-booting-smartos/

NOTE: it seems these endpoints aren't available any more, but OVH has a document that  describes the new approach (the ipxe script goes in the "bootScript"attribute of your server's record):
https://docs.ovhcloud.com/en/guides/bare-metal-cloud/dedicated-servers/ipxe-scripts

The parts of the gist above and notes below are still valid in terms of the IPXE script and setup, just t

lispstudent

Common Lisp Cheatsheet for Python Programmers

This document is for readers familiar with Python who wish to apply that

lispstudent

#!/bin/bash
# block-tahoe.sh — Block "Upgrade to Tahoe" alerts and System Settings indicator
# Version: 1.2.0 — 2026-03-01
#
# Creates and installs a macOS configuration profile that defers major OS upgrades
# for 90 days (the maximum Apple allows via com.apple.applicationaccess).
#
# Based on: https://robservatory.com/block-the-upgrade-to-tahoe-alerts-and-system-settings-indicator/
#           https://github.com/travisvn/stop-tahoe-update
#

lispstudent

A minor list of how to create and boot a Bhyve-zone in Joyent SmartOS

cd /opt/local/artifacts/
vim zonemanifestBhyveFreeBSD.json
vmadm create < zonemanifestBhyveFreeBSD.json
curl -kLo /zones/UUID/root/FreeBSD-12.0-RC3-amd64-bootonly.iso

The following line is for KVM, not BHYVE, hence obsoleted for non-legacy boot options

cd /zones/<<UUID>>/root/

lispstudent

How to install OpenBSD with bhyve-vm on SmartOS (20190424):

tl;dr:
  Create a bhyve vm with an empty disk, where you put an install image with dd afterwards.
  "bhyve_extra_opts": "-w"
  "bootrom": "uefi"
  "vcpus": 1 (is needed too, some say..)
  Change to serial console when booting the install image

Do it like this:

lispstudent

Eye care: prevent PWM and or temporal dithering
waydabber edited this page on Oct 7 · 13 revisions
Two common issues with computer monitors that cause eye strain for people who are sensitive to high frequency flickering are the following:

PWM is a technique (Pulse Width Modulation) used in some displays to control brightness or achieve a dimming effect. It involves rapidly turning the screen's LED backlight (or for OLED screens, pixels) on and off at a specific high frequency, creating the illusion of different brightness levels.
Temporal dithering is a technique to produce more colors than what a display's panel (or display connection) can support (for example showing colors with 10 bit color depth - "billions of colors" - on an 8 bit - "millions of colors" - panel). When the display does not have the capability to show the full color depth, it will emulate missing colors by rapidly change between two adjacent color levels thus creating a middle ground.
BetterDisplay has some capabilities to help with these

lispstudent

Windows 10 Pro

Windows 10 Pro ISO

Create a fresh Windows 10 Pro ISO file with Microsofts Media Creation Tool. (I created a Windows 10 Pro 64 bit German ISO image)

Save the created image on your SmartOS global zone.

cp ... /zones/Windows10_64de.iso

lispstudent

#!/bin/sh
exec tail -n +3 $0
# This file provides an easy way to add custom menu entries.  Simply type the
# menu entries you want to add after this comment.  Be careful not to change
# the 'exec tail' line above.

menuentry "SmartOS" {
    recordfail
    insmod ext2
    insmod gzio

lispstudent

# Licensed under CC BY 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
# Derived works must attribute https://gist.github.com/4492300 at the beginning, and the date.

##################################################################
Installing and Configuring SmartOS at Hetzner (with a /29)
##################################################################

# This is another version of Jahewson's Gist here: https://gist.github.com/jahewson/4492300 that adds a gate to prevent packets 
from leaking out from the main MAC address.

lispstudent

#!/usr/bin/env zsh

################################################################################
# 2024-08-08
# Install zsh's prezto to a user's $HOME
################################################################################

DIRECTORY="~/.config"

# append "/" to make user $DIRECTORY is a dir, not a file.