The Illumos Cafe: Another Cozy Corner for OS Diversity

https://it-notes.dragas.net/2025/08/18/introducing-the-illumos-cafe/

by todsacerdoti • 11 months ago

20 7 11 months ago

it-notes.dragas.net

bionsystem3• 11 months ago

For now, it is very simple: there is a VM (running on FreeBSD and bhyve, on hardware I manage) where I have installed SmartOS. The physical host also runs the reverse proxy (in a jail). Inside the SmartOS VM, there are a series of zones: [...]

That is a weird take, to install SmartOS inside a VM for anything else than a PoC. SmartOS is meant to run on bare metal and host its own VMs / zones. It works either way of course but it's funny for an "Illumos cafe" to not go full on Illumos on the setup.

draga792• 11 months ago

You're right, but 'for now' is the key! :-) To launch a new project, not funded by anyone, I'm using some "spare" hardware space. The final idea is to make it a full illumos setup (on bare metal).

johnisgood• 11 months ago

Yeah, I see no issues with it. Only if everyone complained would donate 100 USD, then I am pretty sure it would have a fully illumos setup. Speaking of, I have not checked, but I hope you make it easy to donate.

In any case, I admire the effort.

tete• 11 months ago

That is a weird take, to install SmartOS inside a VM for anything else than a PoC. SmartOS is meant to run on bare metal and host its own VMs / zones. It works either way of course but it's funny for an "Illumos cafe" to not go full on Illumos on the setup.

And yet we live in a world of cloud computing running OSs in VMs.

bionsystem3• 11 months ago

We are, and SmartOS was meant to break that trend !

The Illumos Cafe: Another Cozy Corner for OS Diversity

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