31–40 of 42 posts
I wish I could go back to using it but I currently have to do some GWT dev and they only officially support linux. I tried running a vm and dual boot but that was too much hustle... as soon as I'm done with this project I'll go back to this distro. :)
one thing to definitely watch in OpenBSD is their new mail daemon, OpenSMTPD. It has a configuration syntax that is about 100x easier to setup and understand than anything else out there, although they are still working to get it up to par feature wise. The code is also written with a heavy focus on security, correctness, and simplicity. Its definitely something to watch for all those hackers that want an alternative…
I don't think configuring e.g. postfix is that difficult: # # /etc/postfix/main.cf # # disable diff service biff = no # TLS parameters smtpd_tls_cert_file=/etc/ssl/certs/ssl-cert-snakeoil.pem smtpd_tls_key_file=/etc/ssl/private/ssl-cert-snakeoil.key smtpd_use_tls=yes smtpd_tls_session_cache_database = btree:${data_directory}/smtpd_scache smtp_tls_session_cache_database = btree:${data_directory}/smtp_scache # disable…
However, here's a better example of a configuration that is simple with OpenSMTPD and slightly more complex on others:
listen on em0 tls cert "mycert" enable auth
map "vmap" { source plain "/etc/mail/virtual" }
accept from all for virtual "vmap" deliver to maildir
accept for all relay
That is a fairly basic setup that quite a lot of people use, yet the effort required to achieve similar setup on other software can range from just "slightly irritating" to "extremely painful". Here it's done with 4 lines that are almost readable by someone who has never used the software.
Some other features like relaying through remote MX that require auth; tagging; forcing secure channels; allow more complex setups while retaining the same simple syntax.
/!\ warning: as a major contributor to OpenSMTPD, I'm biased ;-) /!\
I love OpenBSD and have 5.0 installed on a router. But man they are old-school. Just looking at the upgrade instructions[1] brings me back to the time before package managers and makes my long for a nice "apt-get update && apt-get dist-upgrade". [1] http://www.openbsd.org/faq/upgrade51.html
The last successful ubuntu upgrade I did was 10.04 (9.10 on my laptop), I think. 10.04 - 11.10 all broke (on multiple computers, in different ways) eventually requiring a liveboot and significant skill. (I'm now running arch, with significantly better results - but not perfect.) I've never had an openbsd upgrade break, even when I do it the ninja way (which I often do, being a reckless fool). Despite the longer setup…
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FreeBSD is the one you should run. It has the best performance and hardware/software compatibility of the three. It's the easiest to get off the ground with for a beginner as well, so it's also a good starting point. NetBSD is the one whose source you should study. The emphasis is on correctness and portability. The book Code Reading by Diomidis Spinellis used mainly examples from NetBSD even though he is a FreeBSD d…
NetBSD is the one whose source you should study. Why not OpenBSD?
one thing to definitely watch in OpenBSD is their new mail daemon, OpenSMTPD. It has a configuration syntax that is about 100x easier to setup and understand than anything else out there, although they are still working to get it up to par feature wise. The code is also written with a heavy focus on security, correctness, and simplicity. Its definitely something to watch for all those hackers that want an alternative…
Let's hope that it does not end like: http://www.opencvs.org
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I don't think configuring e.g. postfix is that difficult: # # /etc/postfix/main.cf # # disable diff service biff = no # TLS parameters smtpd_tls_cert_file=/etc/ssl/certs/ssl-cert-snakeoil.pem smtpd_tls_key_file=/etc/ssl/private/ssl-cert-snakeoil.key smtpd_use_tls=yes smtpd_tls_session_cache_database = btree:${data_directory}/smtpd_scache smtp_tls_session_cache_database = btree:${data_directory}/smtp_scache # disable…
Two nitpicks: you don't need to set myhostname; many mailservers will think you less spammy if your hostname is mail.$mydomain.
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I don't think configuring e.g. postfix is that difficult: # # /etc/postfix/main.cf # # disable diff service biff = no # TLS parameters smtpd_tls_cert_file=/etc/ssl/certs/ssl-cert-snakeoil.pem smtpd_tls_key_file=/etc/ssl/private/ssl-cert-snakeoil.key smtpd_use_tls=yes smtpd_tls_session_cache_database = btree:${data_directory}/smtpd_scache smtp_tls_session_cache_database = btree:${data_directory}/smtp_scache # disable…
I agree it's not that difficult and prior to OpenSMTPD I've been a user of Postfix for 10 years, so I know the software is good and far easier to setup than the big S. ;-) However, here's a better example of a configuration that is simple with OpenSMTPD and slightly more complex on others: listen on em0 tls cert "mycert" enable auth map "vmap" { source plain "/etc/mail/virtual" } accept from all for virtual "vmap" de…
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Two nitpicks: you don't need to set myhostname; many mailservers will think you less spammy if your hostname is mail.$mydomain.
Thank you, but I set it, because myhostname is "fulla.localdomain" if I don't set it. http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=214741
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NetBSD is the one whose source you should study. Why not OpenBSD?
Because NetBSD's first priority is clean and correct code and it is often used for exactly this purpose.
I love OpenBSD and have 5.0 installed on a router. But man they are old-school. Just looking at the upgrade instructions[1] brings me back to the time before package managers and makes my long for a nice "apt-get update && apt-get dist-upgrade". [1] http://www.openbsd.org/faq/upgrade51.html