FreeBSD VMware Image: Creating a Freebsd VM for Virtualization

====================================================================================

In this article, we will cover how to create an official FreeBSD VMware image using tools like bhyve and Crochet. This approach allows you to easily manage multiple versions of the operating system within virtual machines (VMs), making it ideal for development environments or testing new releases without affecting your main machine.

Prerequisites

------------

Before proceeding, ensure that:

1. You have a working installation of VMware Fusion 12.x or later on macOS High Sierra (10.13) or higher.

2. The `homebrew` package manager is installed and up-to-date: `brew install --HEAD homebrew/brew tap homebrew/homebrew-bottles && brew doctor`.

3. You have an active subscription to use the latest features of VMware Fusion.

Step 1: Install bhyve

----------------

To create a FreeBSD VM, you will need to install the `bhyve` hypervisor and its dependencies:

```bash

sudo pkg update -y

sudo pkg install -y \

bridge2 \

bpf \

cpio \

curl \

dmegadockdevd \

elfutils-static-libelf \

fuse3-fsck \

libarchive \

libbhyve \

lldpd \

# Optional dependencies: netmap

```

Step 2: Download and Extract the FreeBSD Base System

------------------------------------------------

Download a recent base system for your architecture:

```bash

curl -O https://dl.isc.org/freenbsd/12.0-RELSTABLE_5/amd64/FVM/bhyve-amd64-HEAD-base.txz

sudo tar xpf bhyvewithoutxen/freebsd11-stable-sparc64-jails.tar.gz -C /var/emulators/

```

Step 3: Create a Minimal FreeBSD VM Image

-------------------------------------

Create an empty directory to hold your VM image:

```bash

mkdir ~/freebdiemage

cd ~/freebdiemage

```

Run the following command to create a minimal FreeBSD image compatible with OpenStack and bsd-cloudinit:

```bash

sudo /usr/local/sbin/freebsd-vm-image -o freebsd12-stable64.iso \

--root-on-vdev \

--console='pty' \

--add-disk 'file:///var/emulators/FreeBSD11-STABLE-sparc64-jails/usr/src/sys/boot/zfsboot.fs,0x00b0000' \

--add-fs ufs -U /usr/local/share/examples/freebsd/certs \

-d disk1s2 -m 2048M -z label=freebsd12-vm \

ftp://ftp.FreeBSD.org/pub/FreeBSD/HEAD/amd64/i386/aarch64/

```

Step 4: Configure bhyvectl and vboxmanage

-----------------------------------

Finally, you need to configure `bhyvectl` for the newly created VM:

```bash --norc -f ~/.zshrc

alias bhyvectl='sudo /usr/local/sbin/bhyvectl'

alias vmware-fsck='brew services start homebrew/tap/VMware/fusion-vmware-image-utils-freebsdfsck; sleep 30; brew services stop homebrew/tap/VMWare/virtualbox-guest-additions'

```

Start the VM:

```bash

sudo bhyvectl --start --with-fbx \

--network='ig0' \

'name=FreeBSD12-HEAD-64bit-smp-bhyve' \

'--boot-from /var/emulators/iso/freebsd12-stable64.iso,silently-true,amd64'

```

Your FreeBSD VMware image is now ready to use! You can launch it by double-clicking on the `.ova` or `*.vmx` file in your favorite virtualization software.

Troubleshooting

------------

If you encounter any issues during installation, refer to the following resources:

* 'FreeBSD Handbook: bhyve'(https://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/book/handbook/x11.html#TOC)

* 'VMware Fusion documentation'(https://support.apple.com/kb/HT184213)

-------

In this article, we covered how to create a FreeBSD VMware image using bhyve and Crochet. This approach allows you to easily manage multiple versions of the operating system within virtual machines (VMs), making it ideal for development environments or testing new releases without affecting your main machine.

Remember that creating a functional VM requires additional steps beyond what is described here, such as installing necessary drivers and configuring network interfaces. For more information on these topics, refer to the official FreeBSD documentation provided above.

Freebsd vmware image