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OpenBSD 6.3 released

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Re: OpenBSD 6.3 released

#51
post #29

I apologize for being an ignorant for so many years but... who is the OpenBSD target audience? In which areas it is the most popular OS? I worked with Windows, GNU/Linux and macOS (OSX) but never tried OpenBSD.

I've found some people who run OpenBSD tend to quite like Arch-Linux style systems, there are similarities in terms of minimalism, it's probably the most Arch like of the BSDs. The install process is similarly more hands on also... unlike say FreeBSD's installer which you can almost just keep pressing the return key on.

Re: OpenBSD 6.3 released

#52
post #29

I apologize for being an ignorant for so many years but... who is the OpenBSD target audience? In which areas it is the most popular OS? I worked with Windows, GNU/Linux and macOS (OSX) but never tried OpenBSD.

Before cloud was a thing, I used to run an OpenBSD web server in my bedroom on my old desktop. I set it up after my commercial web host was hacked for running outdated Apache.

I stopped using OpenBSD when I tried installing it on my newer Core 2 Duo desktop in ~2008, but the OS would not boot, and I was told on IRC by OpenBSD developers that the hardware was too new for OpenBSD.

FWIW, now I use Arch Linux. I guess I'm in the target demographic.

Re: OpenBSD 6.3 released

#53

sshd(8): Add "expiry-time" option for authorized_keys files to allow for expiring keys. -- hooray! Can someone help explain what the "routing domain" is?

man rdomain to start, though unfortunately you kind of need to already understand rdomains to fully understand the docs. Basically it's a network partitioning/virtualization tool. Two computers can have two routing tables. rdomains lets one computer have two routing tables. Each process is in one rdomain or another which determines where its traffic goes and how it sees the network.

It sounds like someone wanted /net and private namespaces from Plan 9, but they were stuck with Posix, and this is the catenary track they built to make the square wheels run smoothly.

Re: OpenBSD 6.3 released

#54
post #51
post #29

I apologize for being an ignorant for so many years but... who is the OpenBSD target audience? In which areas it is the most popular OS? I worked with Windows, GNU/Linux and macOS (OSX) but never tried OpenBSD.

I've found some people who run OpenBSD tend to quite like Arch-Linux style systems, there are similarities in terms of minimalism, it's probably the most Arch like of the BSDs. The install process is similarly more hands on also... unlike say FreeBSD's installer which you can almost just keep pressing the return key on.

If you haven't used the OpenBSD installer lately, it's about that simple also.

Re: OpenBSD 6.3 released

#55
post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Looking forward to checking out the new execpromises in pledge Interesting that they just changed the interface from `int pledge(const char * promises, const char * paths[]);` to `int pledge(const char * promises, const char * execpromises);`. I guess that is the power they have by being a BSD and integrated system, they do not worry about userland compatibility.

The pledge(2) manpage for 6.2 and earlier states: "BUGS. The path whitelist feature is not available at this time." So the second argument was previously unused, and thus could be repurposed without hurting backwards compatability.

zokier's point is still correct though. OpenBSD is a complete system, kernel + userland. You upgrade in lockstep.

Re: OpenBSD 6.3 released

#57
post #29

I apologize for being an ignorant for so many years but... who is the OpenBSD target audience? In which areas it is the most popular OS? I worked with Windows, GNU/Linux and macOS (OSX) but never tried OpenBSD.

In my estimation, mostly a mix of: - Those running network infrastructure (router, firewall, VPN gateway, mail server, etc.) - Those who want a simple Unix desktop with no gimmicks and low hassle - Hardcore Unix geeks who don't like the other flavors for $REASONS In a more general or vague sense, OpenBSD is often appealing to people who care more about cohesiveness and correctness than about the sheer magnitude of pe…

> - Those who want a simple Unix desktop with no gimmicks and low hassle

This! When you are using OpenBSD, and wonder how a particular piece of the kernel works, you just open the source code, read it, and you can usually have a good idea of the inner workings with some days studying it. Trying to do the same thing with linux, you would need months to grasp any idea of how it works. Linux is developed by thousands of people all around the world at the same time. OpenBSD on the other hand is developed by a few power developers, which gives the code a unique consistency and readability.

Re: OpenBSD 6.3 released

#58
post #54
post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've found some people who run OpenBSD tend to quite like Arch-Linux style systems, there are similarities in terms of minimalism, it's probably the most Arch like of the BSDs. The install process is similarly more hands on also... unlike say FreeBSD's installer which you can almost just keep pressing the return key on.

If you haven't used the OpenBSD installer lately, it's about that simple also.

Good to know, as much as I like the possibility of customising to that level I also appreciate good defaults so I don't have to if I don't want to (yet). I've been using Debian for a number of years for $HARDWARE_REASONS, but openBSD is probably what I will try next if I give the *BSDs another go.

Re: OpenBSD 6.3 released

#59

From the release notes: > o Support the sun4v hypervisor interrupt cookie API, adding support for SPARC T7-1/2/4 machines. Who is running OpenBSD on a big expensive SPARC T7 and why? I'm genuinely curious as to what possible use cases there are which make this a desirable combination.

I don't know about a SPARC T7, but I do run OpenBSD on my Sun Fire T2000 (UltraSPARC T1) and have been impressed with its LDOM support.

Thanks for the testimony. :)

Becoming a new SPARC user is becoming more tempting to me now.

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