O sistema operativo OpenBSD

The OpenBSD project produces a FREE, multi-platform 4.4BSD-based UNIX-like operating system. Our efforts emphasize portability, standardization, correctness, proactive security and integrated cryptography. OpenBSD supports binary emulation of most programs from SVR4 (Solaris), FreeBSD, Linux, BSD/OS, SunOS and HP-UX.

The current release is OpenBSD 2.6 which started shipping December 1, 1999. OpenBSD is freely available from our FTP sites, and also available in an inexpensive 2-CD set. The CDs (and Shirts) can be ordered...

OpenBSD is developed by volunteers. The project funds development and releases by selling CDs and T-shirts, as well as receiving donations. Organizations and individuals donate and thus ensure that OpenBSD will continue to exist, and will remain free for everyone to use and reuse as they see fit.

1.0 - Introduction to OpenBSD

• Table of Contents

• 1.1 - What is OpenBSD?
• 1.2 - On what systems does OpenBSD run?
• 1.3 - Is OpenBSD really free?
• 1.4 - Why might I want to use OpenBSD?
• 1.5 - How can I help support OpenBSD?
• 1.6 - Who maintains OpenBSD?

1.1 - What is OpenBSD?

The OpenBSD project produces a freely available, multi-platform 4.4BSD-based UNIX-like operating system. Our efforts place emphasis on portability, standardization, correctness, and security. OpenBSD supports binary emulation of most binaries from SVR4 (Solaris), FreeBSD, Linux, BSDI, SunOS, and HPUX.

1.2 - On what systems does OpenBSD run?

OpenBSD 2.5 will install and run on the following platforms:

• i386 - CD bootable
• sparc - CD bootable
• alpha - CD bootable
• hp300
• amiga
• mac68k
• powerpc
• pmax
• mvme88k
  • The ports for pmax and mvme88k are not included on the 2.5 CD. They can be downloaded from any of the OpenBSD ftp sites

bootable means that OpenBSD will boot directly from the CD. The CD set will boot on several hardware platforms. See section 3.0 of this FAQ for details of obtaining OpenBSD on CD.

Previous releases of OpenBSD also had ports for:

• arc
• mvme68k

These were removed from the 2.4 release, but were included in 2.3 if you are interested. If you have the proper equipment, bring them up to date! You can see updated information about specific platforms at http://www.openbsd.org/plat.html

Yes, OpenBSD will run on your multiprocessor machine, but it will only use one processor. There currently is no support for SMP. Check 8.12

1.3 - Is OpenBSD really free?

OpenBSD is all free. The binaries are free. The source is free. All parts of OpenBSD have reasonable copyright terms permitting free redistribution. This includes the ability to REUSE most parts of the OpenBSD source tree, either for personal or commercial purposes. OpenBSD includes NO further restrictions other than those implied by the original BSD license. Software which is written under stricter licenses cannot be included in the regular distribution of OpenBSD. This is intended to safeguard the free use of OpenBSD. For example, OpenBSD can be freely used for personal use, for academic use, by government institutions, by non-profit making organizations and by commercial organizations.

For further reading on other popular licenses read: http://www.openbsd.org/policy.html.

The maintainers of OpenBSD support the project largely from their own pockets. This includes the time spent programming for the project, equipment used to support the many ports, the network resources used to distribute OpenBSD to you, and the time spent answering questions and investigating users' bug reports. The OpenBSD developers are not independently wealthy and even small contributions of time, equipment, and resources make a big difference.

1.4 - Why might I want to use OpenBSD?

New users frequently want to know whether OpenBSD is superior to some other free UNIX-like operating system. That question is largely un-answerable and is the subject of countless (and useless) religious debates. Do not, under any circumstances, ask such a question on an OpenBSD mailing list.

Below are some reasons why we think OpenBSD is a useful operating system. Whether OpenBSD is right for you is a question that only you can answer.

• OpenBSD runs on many different hardware platforms.
• OpenBSD is thought of by many security professionals to be the most secure UNIX-like operating system as the result of a 10-member 1.5-year long comprehensive source code security audit.
• OpenBSD is a full-featured UNIX-like operating system available in source form at no charge.
• OpenBSD integrates cutting-edge security technology suitable for building firewalls and private network services in a distributed environment.
• OpenBSD benefits from strong on-going development in many areas, offering opportunities to work with emerging technologies with an international community of programmers and end-users.
• OpenBSD offers opportunities for ordinary people to participate in the development and testing of the product.

1.5 - How can I help support OpenBSD?

We are greatly indebted to the people and organizations that have contributed to the OpenBSD project. They are acknowledged by name here:

http://www.openbsd.org/donations.html

OpenBSD has a constant need for several types of support from the user community. If you find OpenBSD useful, you are strongly encouraged to find a way to contribute. If none of the suggestions below are right for you, feel free to propose an alternative by sending e-mail to mailto:donations@openbsd.org

• Buy an OpenBSD CD. It includes the current full release of OpenBSD, and is bootable on many platforms. It also generates revenue to support the OpenBSD project, and reduces the strain on network resources used to deliver the distribution via the Internet. This inexpensive two-CD set includes full source. Remember, your friends need their own copy!
• Donate money. The project has a constant need for cash to pay for equipment, network connectivity, and expenses relating to CD publishing. Manufacturing CDs requires an up-front out-of-pocket investment for the OpenBSD developers, without guaranteed return. Send e-mail to donations@openbsd.org to find out how to contribute. Even small donations make a profound difference.
• Donate equipment and parts. The project has a constant need for general and specific hardware. Items such as IDE and SCSI disks, and various types of RAM are always welcome. For other types of hardware such as computer systems and motherboards, you should inquire as to current need. Write to donations@openbsd.org to arrange for shipment.
• Donate your time and skills. Programmers who enjoy writing operating systems are naturally always welcome, but there are literally dozens of other ways that people can be useful. Follow mailing lists and help answer new-user questions.
• Help maintain documentation by submitting new FAQ material (to faq@openbsd.org). Form a local user group and get your friends hooked on OpenBSD. Make a case to your employer for using OpenBSD at work. If you're a student, talk to your professors about using OpenBSD as a learning tool for Computer Science or Engineering courses. It's also worth mentioning one of the most important ways you should not try to "help" The OpenBSD project: do not waste your time engaging in operating system flame wars on Usenet newsgroups. It does not help the project to find new users and can cause substantial harm to important relationships that developers have with other developers.

1.6 - Who maintains OpenBSD?

OpenBSD is maintained by a development team spread across many different countries. The project is coordinated by Theo de Raadt, located in Canada.

Project Goals

Obviously, each developer working on OpenBSD has their own aims and priorities, but it is possible to classify the goals we all share:

• Provide the best development platform possible. Provide full source access to developers and users, including the ability to look at CVS tree changes directly. Users can even look at our source tree and changes directly on the web!
• Integrate good code from any source with acceptable copyright (Berkeley style preferred, GPL acceptable, NDA not). We want to make available source code that anyone can use for ANY PURPOSE, with no restrictions. We strive to make our software robust and secure, and encourage companies to use whichever pieces they want to. There are commercial spin-offs of OpenBSD.
• Pay attention to security problems and fix them before anyone else does. (Try to be the #1 most secure operating system).
• Greater integration of cryptographic software. This means IPsec, IPv6, key engines, Kerberos, free-AFS, and other forms of strong crypto or crypto-using systems. OpenBSD is developed and released from Canada and due to Canadian law it is legal to export crypto to the world. (As researched by a Canadian individual and as documented in the Export Control list of Canada). OpenBSD developers are doing active research and development on IPsec and the Photuris key engine.
• Track and implement standards (ANSI, POSIX, parts of X/Open, etc.)
• Work towards a very machine independent source tree. Support as many different systems and hardware as feasible.
• Be as politics-free as possible; solutions should be decided on the basis of technical merit.
• Do not let serious problems sit unsolved.
• Provide a good cross compile/development platform.
• Import external packages with minimal modifications - making upgrading much easier. Also to submit back to the developers any changes made.
• Make a CDROM-based release approximately every six months, in particular to fund the project...

Project Funding

Naturally, the OpenBSD project requires funds to operate, due to Internet line costs and the same hardware upgrade issues everyone experiences. For this reason, the project sells CDROMs of our most recent release. The project also started making tshirts to fund the project. Thus, when you buy an OpenBSD CD or tshirt, whether at a conference, from one of our other locations, or from our CDROM ordering page, you are helping to increase the chance that OpenBSD will make future releases.

It is also possible to donate funds or hardware, in which case your name ends up on our Donations page. For more information on this contact Theo de Raadt or simply send a donation cheque in Canadian or US funds to:

OpenBSD
812 23rd Ave SE
Calgary, Alberta
Canada
T2G 1N8
(Make the cheque out to "Theo de Raadt", since I cannot cash cheques made out to "OpenBSD".)

In the beginning, Theo de Raadt spent more than $30,000 (CDN) to start OpenBSD, mostly due to expensive networking costs in Canada (due to USA crypto policies, it is not possible to move the project to the USA). Thus far, no serious funding or cost-sharing of the project has come from any company or educational institution. Theo works full-time on improving OpenBSD, and much of the project's funds are spent to buy developers new hardware so that they can continue to improve OpenBSD (for example, more than 20 new kinds of Ethernet cards have showed up on the market since OpenBSD was started). Thus, funding is needed at all times. Continued donations from our user base are what will ensure that OpenBSD continues to exist.