This presentation provides an overview of BSD operating systems for Linux users. It begins with a brief introduction to the different BSD projects, including their focuses. It then discusses how BSD differs from Linux in areas like desktop environments, device naming, startup processes, and release engineering. The presentation highlights several unique features of BSD like jails, packages, security tools, and filesystem technologies. It concludes by recommending several books for learning more about BSD and inviting questions.

1. BSD For Linux Users
Dru Lavigne
Chair, BSD Certification Group
Ontario LinuxFest 2009

2. This presentation will cover...
What is this BSD you speak of? (frame of
reference)
How is it different? (will I like it?)
Release engineering? (behind the scenes)
Any features unique to BSD? (am I missing
out on anything cool?)
Books (some recommended reading)

3. What is this BSD you
speak of?

4. aka What is this Linux
you speak of?

5. kernel?

6. distro?

7. Ubuntu?

8. Back to BSD....
Since we only have 45 minutes.....
We'll start with an overview of the BSD
projects
Then concentrate on some differences
between the BSD and Linux way of doing
things

9. Back to BSD....
Differentiated by focus:
NetBSD: clean design and portability (57
supported platforms)
FreeBSD: production server stability and
application support (20,715 apps)
OpenBSD: security and dependable release
cycle
Dragonfly BSD: filesystem architecture
PC-BSD: anyone can install and use BSD

10. How is it different?

12. Gnome on Ubuntu vs.

13. KDE on PC-BSD

14. device names

15. startup (no runlevels)

16. one config file philosophy

17. kernel configuration

18. consistent layout (man hier)

19. BSD vs GNU switches

20. working examples

21. Release Engineering?

22. Release Engineering
Complete operating system, not kernel +
distro: one source for security advisories,
less likelihood of incompatible libraries
Integration of features not limited by
copyleft: e.g. drivers and features are built-
in
High “bus factor”
Consistent separation between operating
system and third party and between BSD
and GPL'd code

23. Release Engineering
● While each BSD project has a separate
focus, the communities share ideas/code
● FreeBSD 408 commit bits
● NetBSD 259 commit bits
● OpenBSD 122 commit bits
● plus thousands of contributors for
software, docs, translations, bug fixes, etc
● Linux has 1 committer, 547 maintainers

24. Release Engineering
Principles used by the BSD projects reflect
their academic roots:
● well defined process for earning a
“commit bit” includes a period of working
under a mentor
● code repository from Day 1 and can
trace original code back to CSRG days
● no “leader”, instead well defined release
engineering, security, and doc teams

25. Release Engineering
● development occurs on CURRENT which is
frozen in preparation for a RELEASE
● nightly builds (operating system and
apps) help ensure that upgrades and
installs don't result in library
incompatibilities (safe for production)
● documentation considered as important
as code

26. Features unique to
BSD?

27. securelevels

28. FreeBSD jails

29. NetBSD build.sh

30. pkgsrc

31. PC-BSD PBIs

32. VuXML and portaudit
or pkg_admin audit
for pkgsrc systems

33. NetBSD veriexec

34. binary emulation

35. FreeBSD netgraph

36. ZFS support

37. FreeBSD dtrace suport

38. CARP

39. FreeBSD superpages

40. OpenBSM

41. FreeBSD snapshots

42. ALTQ

43. DragonFly HAMMER

44. Books:
BSD Hacks
Best of FreeBSD Basics
Definitive Guide to PC-BSD (early 2010)
Absolute BSD
Absolute FreeBSD
Absolute OpenBSD

45. Questions:
dru@osbr.ca
Stop by the BSD booth and say hi!