The article discusses a significant update to OpenBSD's dhcpd(8) daemon, which is being modified to use UDP sockets instead of BPF (Berkeley Packet Filter). This change, proposed by David Gwynne, aims to improve the reliability of dhcpd in responding to DHCP requests with the correct IP address. The motivation behind this update is to enhance the daemon's ability to handle anycast DHCP servers, where multiple servers share the same IP address. The article explains the technical challenges and solutions involved in this transition, including the use of UDP sockets for better IP handling and the necessity of updating PF firewall rules to accommodate the change. The update has been tested in production and is available for further testing and feedback.
In a series of commits, Robert Nagy updated clang, llvm, and lld in OpenBSD's -current to version 19.1.7 from version 16.0.6. The update was detailed in a CVS log message, and users building from source are advised to follow specific instructions before updating. This change is significant for developers and system administrators using OpenBSD, as it brings the latest features and improvements from the LLVM project. The update process involves a series of commits and requires users to follow detailed instructions to ensure a smooth transition.
How to unlock high speed Wi-Fi on FreeBSD 14, What We’ve Learned Supporting FreeBSD in Production, rsync replaced with openrsync on macOS Sequoia, Framework 13 AMD Setup with FreeBSD, FreeBSD on Dell Latitude 7280, Backup MX with OpenSMTPD, Notes on caddy as QUIC reverse proxy with mac_portacl, and more.
ZFS tuning is crucial for optimizing performance based on specific workloads. This guide delves into fine-tuning key settings such as record size, caching strategies, and hardware choices to maximize throughput, improve IOPS, and reduce latency in ZFS storage environments. It highlights the importance of understanding ZFS architecture, including its dynamic resource allocation and data integrity mechanisms. The guide also discusses different workload types (throughput, IOPS, and latency) and provides insights into optimizing ZFS for each. Additionally, it emphasizes the benefits of seeking expert assistance for performance tuning to achieve better results and plan for future scalability.
The TearFree option has been backported to the modesetting driver in OpenBSD, enabling smoother scrolling by default. This update follows a discussion initiated by Ted Unangst and involves modifications to several files in the xserver directory. The work was primarily done by Ted Unangst, with contributions from other developers. Users with relevant hardware can expect improved performance without additional configuration. The change is part of the ongoing efforts to enhance the OpenBSD graphical experience.
The FreeBSD Release Engineering Team has announced the availability of FreeBSD 14.3-RELEASE, the fourth release of the stable/14 branch. Key highlights include support for 802.11ac in the iwlwifi driver, publication of OCI container images in Docker and GitHub repositories, and upgrades to various tools and software such as LLVM, OpenSSH, xz, and expat. The release is available for multiple architectures including amd64, i386, aarch64, armv7, powerpc, powerpc64, and riscv64. It can be installed from bootable ISO images, over the network, or via USB memory sticks. FreeBSD 14.3-RELEASE will be supported until June 30, 2026, with the FreeBSD 14 release series supported until November 30, 2028.
The Valuable News weekly series provides a summary of news and articles related to UNIX/BSD/Linux systems. This edition includes updates on FreeBSD 14.3-RC with Docker-ready images, a critical look at various BSD installers, and the implementation of X11 support in the Rust-based Redox OS. Additionally, it covers topics such as the replacement of Heimdal Kerberos with MIT Kerberos in FreeBSD's base system, the introduction of the bemgr tool for managing ZFS Boot Environments, and the release of LibreOffice 25.2.4.
The article discusses the OpenBSD filesystem foundation, focusing on VFS, UFS, and FFS. It highlights the lack of user-accessible optimizations, particularly after the removal of softdep. The author introduces dirhash, a feature that creates an in-memory hash table for large directories, significantly improving file lookup speeds. The article suggests adjusting the dirhash cache size using sysctl to optimize performance, especially for systems with many files. The author shares their experience of increasing the dirhash_maxmem value to 50MB on a desktop system with 32GB RAM, which improved performance without significant memory impact.
The FreeBSD Foundation's Laptop Support and Usability Project made significant progress in April 2025. Key updates include improved wireless support with updated Realtek drivers and enhanced TKIP Wi-Fi performance. Graphics and audio enhancements are underway, with Linux 6.7 graphics driver patches nearly complete and automatic audio switching implemented. Power management and installer updates have also seen progress, with improvements to suspend/resume behavior and pkgbase installation support on FreeBSD 15.0-CURRENT.
The article discusses the author's experience with the AOOSTAR GEM12 Pro MAX Mini-PC, highlighting its powerful laptop technology and compatibility with OpenBSD. The author initially purchased a ThinkCentre M715q but was impressed by the AOOSTAR GEM12 Pro MAX's specifications and decided to upgrade. The article includes a detailed dmesg output, showcasing the hardware components and their recognition by OpenBSD. It also provides a summary of the current OpenBSD support for various hardware components, noting that most features work well, except for Bluetooth, hibernation, and suspend/resume. The author concludes by recommending the machine for OpenBSD users, praising its performance with KDE Plasma Desktop and Firefox, as well as its compile times.
The FreeBSD Foundation presents three quick methods to try FreeBSD in under five minutes. The first method involves using Qemu on an Apple MacBook to run the Arm version of FreeBSD, with steps including installing Qemu, downloading the FreeBSD VM image, and expanding the image filesystem. The second method uses Amazon Lightsail, which allows users to launch a FreeBSD instance in about 20 seconds, although it uses a UFS root filesystem instead of ZFS. The third method involves using Terraform to simplify the process of running a ZFS root image on Amazon EC2, which can be more complex due to the interface. The article also mentions the use of Ansible playbooks to customize and enhance the basic FreeBSD images. The Foundation encourages users to explore these methods and stay tuned for more practical use cases and tutorials.