Table of contents:-
A Brief History of Boot Environments and bectl
Unique Features of bectl
How to Use bectl Properly
Other Boot Environment Tools in FreeBSD
Conclusion
A Brief History of Boot Environments and bectl
The concept of boot environments (BEs) revolutionised system management on ZFS-based platforms. Boot environments are essentially bootable clones of the root filesystem, allowing users to upgrade, patch, or experiment with their systems while preserving the ability to roll back to a previous, stable state if anything goes awry. This approach, first popularised in Solaris, found its way into FreeBSD through the beadm utility, which was later succeeded by bectl as the native, integrated tool for managing BEs in FreeBSD.
bectl was introduced as part of the 2017 Google Summer of Code, building upon the groundwork laid by beadm and leveraging the new libbe library for more seamless integration with FreeBSD’s base system. Its development marked a significant milestone by bringing boot environment management directly into the FreeBSD core, making it more accessible and robust for all users.
Unique Features of bectl
bectl stands out as a modern, first-party tool designed specifically for FreeBSD’s ZFS boot environments. Here’s what sets it apart:
Native Integration: Unlike its predecessor beadm, bectl is included in the FreeBSD base system from version 12.0 onwards, requiring no additional installation.
ZFS-Centric Design: bectl interacts directly with ZFS datasets, making the creation, activation, and destruction of boot environments both efficient and reliable.
Flexible Activation: Users can activate a boot environment permanently or just for the next boot, thanks to the -t (temporary) and -T (remove temporary) flags.
Sanity Checks: The bectl check command silently verifies the integrity of boot environment support on the current system, giving users confidence before making changes.
Dataset Root Selection: The -r flag allows advanced users to specify a different dataset root, which is especially useful when working from recovery media or with multiple pools.
Comprehensive Subcommands: bectl supports a full suite of commands, including create, destroy, list, mount, unmount, rename, and jail, providing granular control over BEs.
How to Use bectl Properly
Mastering bectl unlocks the full power of ZFS boot environments natively supported on FreeBSD and its direct derivatives that use ZFS as the root filesystem, including systems installed with the default ZFS layout since FreeBSD 8.0-RELEASE, and are available across a range of FreeBSD-based distributions—such as TrueNAS CORE (formerly FreeNAS), MidnightBSD, and GhostBSD—provided they use ZFS for root and integrate the necessary management tools like bectl or beadm.
Here’s a practical guide for all user levels:
Creating a Boot Environment
Before performing any risky system operation (like an upgrade), create a new BE:
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bectl create my_new_BE |
This clones the current root dataset, preserving your existing system as a fallback.
Listing Boot Environments
To see all available BEs:
This displays each BE, its status (active, mounted), space used, and creation time.
Activating a Boot Environment
To make a BE the default for future boots:
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bectl activate my_new_BE |
For a one-time boot (useful for testing):
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bectl activate -t my_new_BE |
Mounting and Unmounting
You can mount a BE for inspection or repair:
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bectl mount my_new_BE /mnt |
And unmount it when done:
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bectl umount my_new_BE |
Destroying a Boot Environment
To remove a BE and free up space:
Note: If a dataset is busy (e.g., used by a jail), you may need to stop the relevant service or unmount child datasets first.
Renaming and Jailing
Rename BEs for clarity:
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bectl rename old_BE new_BE |
Or enter a BE in a jail for troubleshooting:
Recommended Workflow
A sensible workflow is to create a BE before any major change, perform the change, and only activate or roll back if necessary. This minimises downtime and risk.
Other Boot Environment Tools in FreeBSD
While bectl is the default, several alternative tools exist in the FreeBSD ecosystem, each with its unique strengths and trade-offs.
beadm
Origin: The original userland tool for managing BEs on FreeBSD, inspired by Solaris.
Features: Offers similar functionality to bectl—create, destroy, activate, mount, rename, and snapshot BEs.
Resource Use & Latency: As a shell script, it can be slightly slower and less efficient than bectl, which is written in C and tightly integrated into the base system.
User Experience: beadm is still available in ports (sysutils/beadm) and may appeal to users migrating from older systems or those who prefer its interface.
zfsbootmenu
Origin: A modern bootloader inspired by FreeBSD’s boot environment system, but primarily developed for Linux.
Features: Allows users to select and boot from multiple ZFS BEs, manipulate snapshots pre-boot, and even bootstrap installations.
Resource Use & Latency: As a bootloader, it operates outside the running OS, so its resource use is limited to the boot phase. It provides rapid selection and booting, but does not manage BEs from within the running system.
User Experience: zfsbootmenu is ideal for advanced users who want a graphical or interactive boot menu and need to manage complex boot scenarios.
bemgr
Origin: A newer project aiming to combine features from both bectl and beadm with additional enhancements.
Features: Offers more detailed listing options and dry-run capabilities for destructive actions. However, it lacks some features like chroot or jail support.
Resource Use & Latency: Similar to bectl in performance, but with a slightly different user experience and feature set.
Conclusion
bectl has become the gold standard for managing ZFS boot environments on FreeBSD, offering native performance, robust features, and seamless integration. Whether you’re a seasoned sysadmin or a curious newcomer, mastering bectl empowers you to experiment, upgrade, and recover your FreeBSD system with confidence. While alternatives like beadm and zfsbootmenu have their place, especially in specialised workflows, bectl’s efficiency and reliability make it the tool of choice for most users.
Disclaimer
FreeBSD, ZFS, and all other trade names or trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. This article strives for accuracy, but users should always evaluate open-source tools carefully and back up important data before making system changes. Use all software at your own calculated risk.
References
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