Inside FreeBSD Netgraph: Behind the Curtain of Advanced Networking, Launching BSSG - My Journey from Dynamic CMS to Bash Static Site Generator, OpenZFS Cheat Sheet, Dipping my toes in OpenBSD in Amsterdam, SSH keys from a command: sshd's AuthorizedKeysCommand directive, How to move bhyve VM and Jail container from one host to another host, and more.
DragonFly 6.4.1, a bugfix upgrade to version 6.4, has been released and is available for download. This release focuses on addressing bugs and improving stability.
A proposed change to the OpenBSD installer aims to improve disk selection by prioritizing disks larger than 1G when multiple options are available. Currently, the installer defaults to the first detected disk (sd0), which can lead to issues if smaller USB sticks or install media are detected before the intended disk. The suggested update would reshuffle the list of valid root disks, placing smaller disks last. This change is intended to simplify the installation process without altering upgrade behavior for systems with smaller root disks and larger data disks. Feedback is being sought from the community to evaluate the proposal.
April was a busy month for HardenedBSD, with several updates and improvements. The team fixed vulnerabilities and enhanced tools like hbsdcontrol. Notably, the build cadence for OS releases will slow to once per quarter due to dependency calculation delays in FreeBSD's package manager. Collaborations with the Radicle project and a FreeBSD hackathon focused on Rust integration were also highlighted. Updates to build scripts for pkgbase support were made, with experimental repos planned for July.
Inside FreeBSD Netgraph: Behind the Curtain of Advanced Networking, Launching BSSG - My Journey from Dynamic CMS to Bash Static Site Generator, OpenZFS Cheat Sheet, Dipping my toes in OpenBSD in Amsterdam, SSH keys from a command: sshd's AuthorizedKeysCommand directive, How to move bhyve VM and Jail container from one host to another host, and more.
Martin Pieuchot has requested community testing for a diff enabling parallel execution of the upper fault handler in OpenBSD. This update aims to improve performance by allowing concurrent processing. Testers are encouraged to report back with dmesg logs to evaluate the impact on their systems. The change builds on recent commits that introduced the necessary code. Feedback is crucial for further development.
In a world of opaque software licensing and vendor lock-in, FreeBSD and ZFS offer a path to infrastructure independence. This article explores how these open-source technologies provide long-term technical stability, architectural transparency, and operational autonomy. It highlights the risks of proprietary software, the advantages of FreeBSD's permissive licensing, and ZFS's robust file system integration. Additionally, it discusses how these tools align with global data sovereignty laws and offer practical solutions for modern enterprises seeking control over their infrastructure.
LibreSSL 4.1.0 has been released, featuring enhancements and bug fixes. This version includes improvements to elliptic curve cryptography, new SHA assembly implementations, and better CPU capabilities detection. It also introduces compatibility changes and new features like the tlspeercertcommonname() API. The release aligns with OpenBSD 7.7 and reflects modern, safe programming practices.
Klemens Nanni has updated OpenBSD's pkg_add -u command to no longer advise users to remove files during updates, addressing confusion caused by misleading messages. Previously, the command displayed messages intended for pkg_delete(1), leading to unnecessary file deletions. This change improves clarity and accuracy during package updates, enhancing the user experience. The update is part of ongoing efforts to refine OpenBSD's package management system.
The FreeBSD Operating System provides the sysctl system call and utility to get and set system state at runtime. The kernel exposes available parameters for sysctl as objects in a Management Information Base (MIB). Today, FreeBSD includes thousands of sysctl parameters. Moreover, parameters can be added or removed dynamically. Each computer probably builds a different MIB. WebSysctl aims to collect all possible sysctl parameters along with their properties.
The "Valuable News" weekly series provides a curated summary of news, articles, and updates primarily focused on UNIX, BSD, and Linux systems. This edition highlights recent developments, tutorials, and community discussions, including guides on setting up NetBSD, configuring FreeBSD, and exploring hardware like the ZimaBoard 2.
Alexander Bluhm's work on making tcp_input() MP-safe has been successfully committed. This update allows TCP input to run in parallel on multiple CPUs, enhancing performance. The change was tested by Mark Patruck and is now available for users running OpenBSD -current or snapshot versions. While not yet optimized, this improvement makes testing faster and more convenient. Users can expect better throughput and reduced contention on the socket lock.