PC-BSD 9.0 for local web app dev/test (and MySQL)

[dalescott]

It appears MySQL is installed in PC-BSD 9.0 for use by Akonadi when KDE is used as the desktop environment.

# pkg_info | grep mysql
# ps -x | grep mysql

Can I use this MySQL for a local php web-app dev/test server, or should I create a jail and install apache/mysql/php there? I'm confused as mysql-server isn't started from rc.conf. Also expanded suggestions are welcome - I've never used jails before.

Thanks,
Dale

P.S. This is a new install of PC-BSD 9 on a Lenovo T61 ThinkPad. I had been using Linux - primarily for reliable suspend/resume (Fedora and OpenSUSE), but would prefer PC-BSD as I use FreeBSD on servers. It seems suspend/resume is still just beyond reach, but suggestions for solutions also appreciated (I loaded acpi_ibm via /boot/loader.conf but no change noted).

[kmoore134]

You should be able to use the mysql in the base system, however I would recommend using a jail for any kind of web-server. That way you can add Apache / SQL and other ports without having anything conflict with your desktop. Plus there are added security benefits as well

There are lots of good guides on using Jails in FreeBSD, and you could grab the 9.1 snapshot and use the Warden to easily create a jail, which takes a lot of the CLI pain out of the process.

[fluca1978]

Well, using a jail is the best way to do. However, as said, you can also use your MySQL installation, that however seems to have some problem (not sure this a PCBSD problem, I guess it is an Akonadi one): you cannot see the server running because if you inspect /var/db/mysql/<your-hostname>.err you could see entries that report errors about missing mysql.hosts table. I suspect this is due to the fact that the database is expecting tables to be somewhere on disk while they are somewhere else. This will probably be fixed specifying the configuration file my.cnf (that I cannot find) as a parameter to mysqld_safe in the Akonadi server configuration (ALT+F2 and then Akonadi Configuration).

[mjanosi]

Assuming mysql is setup in a jail, as suggested, how would another computer access it?

[mwatkins]

I had been using Linux - primarily for reliable suspend/resume (Fedora and OpenSUSE), but would prefer PC-BSD as I use FreeBSD on servers. It seems suspend/resume is still just beyond reach, but suggestions for solutions also appreciated (I loaded acpi_ibm via /boot/loader.conf but no change noted).

Reliable suspend/resume continues to elude many *BSD laptop users. Resume (FreeBSD 9.1 / head) works very reliably on my desktop workstation (even though I can't explain why 9.0 didn't work) but with my ThinkPad X220 I was unsuccessful in getting my screen and keyboard/USB back after suspend, despite attempting lots of various approaches and tweaks. A Linux distribution like Mint just works (tm).

But like you I prefer not to have to learn how to manage another OS for a development environment even if I only use the laptop while travelling, so Mint ins't a terrific solution for me even if it does just work (tm). Recently it was suggested to me that running FreeBSD as a VirtualBox guest OS, all under Windows (which came with my X220 of course) might be a viable solution.

I've been testing this combo over the past week while on the road and am very happy with how it works, with some caveats. The good news: after a little tweaking you'll have seamless mouse integration; the Windows OS on a ThinkPad (my experience) seems to extract the most performance out of the laptop battery; runs the laptop cooler overall; suspend/resume of course works; and, I've found the wireless support functions better overall too. With Windows running as a guest FreeBSD or PC-BSD the guest OS is freed from having to do those things.

The downsides? I've not yet figured out how to make my clipboard work between the guest and host OS, despite having the guest extensions installed. Compilation time is longer, but since I'm not running a full blown desktop environment (but am running X) that isn't too big a deal. Stability is good but not perfect as I've experienced a number of unexplained VirtualBox crashes. I think I've noted a pattern and have found avoiding a certain operating circumstance seems to avoid crashes but that's still a "knock on wood" theory that I need to sort out.

I spend most of my day in a terminal session and vim and run a lightweight window manager, dwm, finding alt-1,2,3,... the perfect way to switch between virtual desktops in my full screen FreeBSD guest OS instance. Interactive performance is just fine.

Despite the drawbacks I'm inclined to prefer FreeBSD running as a virtual machine under Windows. However if my laptop was my primary development (and office productivity) tool... I think I'd go back to having to deal with Linux, for now.