NetBSD Problem Report #60192

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Date: Wed, 15 Apr 2026 22:46:09 +0000 (UTC)
From: falsifian@falsifian.org
Reply-To: falsifian@falsifian.org
To: gnats-bugs@NetBSD.org
Subject: consider mentioning GPT partition tables in handbook installation and cgd chapters
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>Number:         60192
>Category:       kern
>Synopsis:       consider mentioning GPT partition tables in handbook installation and cgd chapters
>Confidential:   no
>Severity:       non-critical
>Priority:       low
>Responsible:    kern-bug-people
>State:          open
>Class:          doc-bug
>Submitter-Id:   net
>Arrival-Date:   Wed Apr 15 22:50:00 +0000 2026
>Last-Modified:  Mon Oct 12 13:50:01 +0000 2026
>Originator:     James Cook
>Release:        current handbook
>Organization:
>Environment:
NetBSD ucl.h.falsifian.org 10.1 NetBSD 10.1 (GENERIC) #0: Mon Dec 16 13:08:11 UTC 2024  mkrepro@mkrepro.NetBSD.org:/usr/src/sys/arch/amd64/compile/GENERIC amd64
>Description:
The example installation and cryptographic device driver sections of the handbook could benefit from some mention of gpt partition tables.

Mostly I'm filing this to note two things in particular that gave me a bit of trouble:

1. When I first started using NetBSD, I was confused about whether or not I was supposed to still use a disklabel when my disk has a GPT partition table. Mentioning it in the installation section might help. Or maybe in gpt(8) and/or disklabel(8); the latter currently only mentions the distinction under BUGS. (I'm coming from OpenBSD where for better or for worse a disklabel is always used, which is partly why I got confused.)

2. I recently configured an encrypted volume. Mostly I was able to adapt the instructions at https://netbsd.org/docs/guide/en/chap-cgd.html without trouble, but it took me a while to figure out how to work around the possible instability in dk numbering. It turns out I can name my config file /etc/cgd/anything_i_want and then use NAME= syntax in /etc/cgd/cgd.conf. Easy enough to discover in the cgd.conf man page, but it could be streamlined.
>How-To-Repeat:

>Fix:

>Audit-Trail:
From: "Nia Alarie" <nia@netbsd.org>
To: gnats-bugs@gnats.NetBSD.org
Cc: 
Subject: PR/60192 CVS commit: htdocs/docs/guide/en
Date: Mon, 12 Oct 2026 13:46:56 +0000

 Module Name:	htdocs
 Committed By:	nia
 Date:		Mon Oct 12 13:46:56 UTC 2026

 Modified Files:
 	htdocs/docs/guide/en: chap-misc.xml

 Log Message:
 Add a description of how to format GPT disks

 The previous text on how to format a SCSI disk using disklabels is
 preserved and moved to a separate section.

 Based on text contributed by Jonathan de Boyne Pollard.

 PR kern/60192 consider mentioning GPT partition tables in handbook


 To generate a diff of this commit:
 cvs rdiff -u -r1.6 -r1.7 htdocs/docs/guide/en/chap-misc.xml

 Please note that diffs are not public domain; they are subject to the
 copyright notices on the relevant files.

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