OpenBSD 4.2 Released!

Release page. Pretty awesome release as usual and there is something new this release, you can now download an iso that has all of the packages on it so you don't have to use the ftp cd anymore, however I strongly encourage you buy the cds to support the project.

Some nice things in this release include a drastic performance increase in pf, so if you thought it was fast, its even faster now
--edit
Here is a link giving a good overview of the improvements: http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/bsd/2007/11/01/whats-new-in-bsd-42.html
--edit

If you are interested in using it be sure to consult the openbsd faq at http://www.openbsd.org/faq and it should answer almost every single question. The manual pages are also great and much better then on some other OSs.

I'm running current so I am past the release, but just thought you guys would want to know.

Cheers,

Alphalutra1

 

Cheers, i'm gonna check this out in a VM to see how its coming along.

 

I'm delighted to see support of AHCI.
Thanks Alphalutra1

 

i want to try it but im confused of what to download from ftp
lodore

 

In the FAQ section 3.4 it points you to the ftp page, where you then choose the mirror closest to you. Navigate into the "4.2" folder since that is the number of the release, then into the platform you wish to install it for (i386 most likely unless you want 64 bit which would be amd64).

Then, download the install42.iso (clever name hugh ) if you want all the sets on a cd to install from, or you can download the cd42.iso and do a ftp install which would download all of the sets after you are running from the cd. Pick whichever one, or you can buy the cds and not have any confusion

Remember, the FAQ is a wealth of information and should cover most of your needs, but if you have any question you can't find the answer to feel free to post and show what you've got so far and I will try to help you out.

Cheers,

Alphalutra1

 

is there a live cd version?
lodore

 

Man that was tough, why can't they make these things easy for us newbs?
I finally made my way thru the install process, rebooted and found myself at the login prompt. I log in as root and all i get is a command prompt....What now? I guess i got some more reading to do.

 

Hello,
OpenBSD is not for newbies, by the way.
Mrk

 

Hello,

Thanks for the information, just ordered my copy

Regards,
gkweb.

 

Yep, a few of them are not easy, you gotta do it all manually, including installing the desktop gui (KDE or Gnome etc), which then makes you more at home. The old command line is pretty brutal...

 

No offense, but this may not be the OS for you. The install cd is a live cd, but in the way of an emergency shell that can be used to fix something you completely screwed up. It will all be command line, and you will have to go very thoroughly through the FAQ/manuals and use google quite a bit, but in my opinion it is worth it.

I have found a website that those new to the whole thing may find beneficial:

http://www.openbsd101.com/

Cheers,

Alphalutra1

 

Hello,

Another site that explains the differences between Linux and BSD :
http://www.over-yonder.net/~fullermd/rants/bsd4linux/bsd4linux1.php

Regards,
gkweb.

 

I am curious, how does OpenBSD compare to FreeBSD?

 

People will usually say that:
FreeBSD is meant to have a large number of applications and be the fastest BSD
OpenBSD is focused on security
NetBSD is focused on running on the largest number of platforms

These are overly generalized, but in some areas come out correctly. Here are the goals of each project:

I generally see FreeBSD as trying to develop as quickly as possible and have the largest apps as possible. They have the best SMP support right now by far and are the fastest in most areas. They also allow binary components into the kernel such as the nvidia driver which the other two projects expressly forbid. Also, FreeBSD will probably make the best desktop system in terms of speed and the fact that nvidia provides a driver for 3d-acceleration.

OpenBSD from what I have seen is focused firstly on making sure things work and that they work securely and are written in clean code. I have never had a source build fail on me for OpenBSD while that has not been true for the other operating systems, and everything always seems to "just work" from my experience, which is really nice to know since you will always have a reliable platform to work on. Also, I love following the -CURRENT branch since they provide binary snapshots which means less compiling for me while still getting the latest and greatest features. In addition, OpenBSD has the BEST wireless card support of the BSDs, and its better then linux in terms of not having to use ndiswrapper or a firmware cutter, so more of the drivers are completely open source and written for the platform. This in terms makes it one of the better BSDs for using on a laptop. Also, OpenBSD has the best binary package management of all the BSDs from what I have been, which is really nice for us on slower computers. OpenBSD is definitely slower, but the reliability in knowing that everything will work and be secure is something that I will trade waiting the extra second every now and then for.

NetBSD from what i have seen is focused on a no-hype platform that tries to work across almost every platform while still being very fast. They also have a large focus on security, and their ports system (pkgsrc) is security audited in addition to the main system. NetBSD is very minimal and the installer is probably the nicest, and the ./build.sh system for compiling the tree is great if you have multiple systems that you want to build releases for and other things.

Just a quick summary, but this is what I have found from my experiences.

Cheers,

Alphalutra1

 

Thanks much Alpha, that's a great overview of all 3 of them.... I have tried FreeBSD and liked it, so OpenBSD will be my next project when the mood strikes me...

 

LOL, now you tell me . What would you recommend as a stepping stone towards openbsd?

 

I was hoping it would automatically load a desktop gui for me. I'm sure i remember seeing something about the x windows setup during installation, isn't x windows a desktop gui?

 

By itself that's not enough. You need one of the desktop gui's like KDE, Gnome or Xfce etc. Installing everything on OpenBSD or FreeBSD is not going to be an easy project. I would suggest one of the Linux distros that are more usable out of the box if you're new to all this. I spent almost a year distro hopping and even so, FreeBSD was almost too much for me. Unless you're ready to spend a lot of time reading and setting things up manually, you're best off with something simpler...

This might make interesting viewing for you also:

http://xwinman.org/

 

farmerlee, if you got it, type "startx" .
For this OS, the number one pre-requisite is reading. They have everything there for you to read. When i tried the former release, after install, i got mail .
You should have that too. From there, doc after doc, my guess is it's all there. It's just weird to start, and takes time.

Personally, i'll really try it next year. I still have to learn about Debian.
Once i'm fully comfortable with it, i'll think about this.
I want to focus on one so i can learn more. I think it's also good advice for everyone.
(btw, Debian has a GNU/BSD version, not polished though )

 

PC-BSD

 

Yeah, PC-BSD would probably be a good start, certainly more user-friendly.

 

Hello,

@Alphalutra1
I forgot to reply to you, this link is very good I was impressed. Very clear,
ideal for someone trying to get started to OpenBSD The online FTP installation is very well documented.

@all
Personally I see OpenBSD as being the ideal solution for dedicated computers which need to be robust and secure, such as router/firewall, proxy, etc... I would not use OpenBSD for a desktop (although it's possible) but instead I would use Linux. Linux is also great for servers, it all depends on what type of server you want to build and the context.

Regards,
gkweb.

 

Hello,
Try Pc-BSD, KDE based, very well documented, much easier...
That would be the stepping stone. Slackware can help too. Or Gentoo. Although the last two are Linux, they are ... intermediate difficulty.
Mrk

 

Cool, just checked out the pc-bsd website, i saw the words 'dummy-proof' so this distro is definitely for me .