difference between rc.conf and loader.conf

[disappearedng]

What is the difference?
thx

[vermaden]

LOADER.CONF(5)            FreeBSD File Formats Manual           LOADER.CONF(5)

NAME
     loader.conf -- system bootstrap configuration information

DESCRIPTION
     The file loader.conf contains descriptive information on bootstrapping
     the system.  Through it you can specify the kernel to be booted, parame-
     ters to be passed to it, and additional modules to be loaded; and gener-
     ally set all variables described in loader(8).

RC.CONF(5)                FreeBSD File Formats Manual               RC.CONF(5)

NAME
     rc.conf -- system configuration information

DESCRIPTION
     The file rc.conf contains descriptive information about the local host
     name, configuration details for any potential network interfaces and
     which services should be started up at system initial boot time.  In new
     installations, the rc.conf file is generally initialized by the system
     installation utility, sysinstall(8).

     The purpose of rc.conf is not to run commands or perform system startup
     actions directly.  Instead, it is included by the various generic startup
     scripts in /etc which conditionalize their internal actions according to
     the settings found there.

     The /etc/rc.conf file is included from the file /etc/defaults/rc.conf,
     which specifies the default settings for all the available options.
     Options need only be specified in /etc/rc.conf when the system adminis-
     trator wishes to override these defaults.  The file /etc/rc.conf.local is
     used to override settings in /etc/rc.conf for historical reasons.  See
     the rc_conf_files variable below.

SYSCTL.CONF(5)            FreeBSD File Formats Manual           SYSCTL.CONF(5)

NAME
     sysctl.conf -- kernel state defaults

DESCRIPTION
     The /etc/sysctl.conf file is read in when the system goes into multi-user
     mode to set default settings for the kernel.

[phoenix]

In simple terms:
- loader.conf configures the boot loader and initial kernel setup
- rc.conf configures the RC system and general OS startup state

See the man pages for more info, as well as /boot/defaults/loader.conf and /etc/defaults/rc.conf for the default settings (DO NOT EDIT THE DEFAULT FILES).

[TomAmundsen]

Which also means, if I am not wrong:

loader.conf - this loads kernel modules
rc.conf - this performs all other administrative tasks upon startup

[vermaden]

/boot/loader.conf
-- load kernel modules
-- tune kernel parameters that cant be set at runtime
-- disable kernel built in modules (agp/acpi)

/etc/rc.conf
-- most important config file on FreeBSD
-- set basic system setting like hostname and network
-- enable/disable services
-- load kernel modules using scripts (linux_enable="YES" loads linux.ko module)

/etc/sysctl.conf
-- tune kernel parameters that can be set at runtime
-- tune various terminal settings like beep for example

/etc/make.conf
-- set CFLAGS/CPUTYPE and build options for Ports
-- example: http://toya.net.pl/~vermaden/text/make.conf

/etc/src.conf (from FreeBSD 7.x)
-- set CFLAGS/CPUTYPE and build options for FreeBSD Base System and Kernel
-- disable building various FreeBSD userland programs like sendmail or bind

[TerryP]

To understand the various rc stuff in FreeBSD, you should read the rc manual page, it explains what is what in that regard.


During startup, you could basically say it works like something this in simple form:

loader
kernel
init
rc system
getty / x based login manager
login
your users shell
your start up files (depending on shell / x login / wm setup)