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Operating Systems Security Software Upgrades BSD

OpenBSD 5.6 Released 125

Posted by timothy from the making-the-world-a-better-place dept.
An anonymous reader writes Just as per the schedule, OpenBSD 5.6 was released today, November 1, 2014. The theme of the 5.6 release is "Ride of the Valkyries". OpenBSD 5.6 will be the first version with LibreSSL. This version also removed sendmail from the base system, smtpd is the default mail transport agent (MTA). The installer no longer supports FTP, network installs via HTTP only. The BIND name server will be removed from the OpenBSD base system. Its replacement comes in the form of the two daemons nsd(8) for authoritative DNS service and unbound(8) for recursive resolver service. OpenSSH 6.7 is included along with GNOME 3.12.2, KDE 4.13.3, Xfce 4.10, Mozilla Firefox 31.0, Vim 7.4.135, LLVM/Clang 3.5 and more. See a detailed log of changes between the 5.5 and 5.6 releases for more information. If you already have an OpenBSD 5.5 system, and do not want to reinstall, upgrade instructions and advice can be found in the Upgrade Guide (a quick video upgrade demo is here). You can order the 5.6 CD set from the new OpenBSD Store and support the project.
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OpenBSD 5.6 Released More

OpenBSD 5.6 Released

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  • FTP (Score:5, Interesting)

    by PlusFiveTroll ( 754249 ) on Saturday November 01, 2014 @03:45PM (#48288747) Homepage

    >The installer no longer supports FTP

    With FTP acting as fragile as glass in the world of NAT and firewalls, I don't see this as a bad thing any longer. HTTP is reliable when serving large files these days.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by natex84 ( 706770 )
      Agreed, except for HTTP when used in a web browser. I don't know how many times I've had large downloads fail in a browser (terminate too early, etc) and have had to fall back to running curl / wget manually instead.

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by Bert64 ( 520050 )

        What's more annoying is those download sites which force you to download in the browser, rather than giving you a link that you can pass to wget...

        I always used to run wget instead of using the browser, back in the days of dialup and netscape 4.x where the browsers would almost always crash long before a large download had completed. But there are also many cases today where downloading with the browser is just horrendously inconvenient, like when im downloading something only to upload it again to a coloca

    • With FTP acting as fragile as glass in the world of NAT and firewalls...

      I've built several NAT firewalls using OpenBSD and pf. They make it very easy to accommodate both FTP clients and servers behind NAT, by providing a simple-to-use ftp-proxy [openbsd.org].

      Easy to setup, works like a charm :)

    • So what are they replacing FTP with? They've finally embraced KDE 4.x and LLVM/Clang - I thought that another project had taken up the Clang part. If they're doing all this, why don't they just drop support for IPv4 as well, and just support IPv6? Use a transition mechanism that they prefer for ISPs who are still IPv4 only.
      • They haven't 'embraced LLVM/Clang', they still ship GCC 4.2.1 or GCC 3.3.6 (depending on the architecture) and compile the base system with it. They ship LLVM/Clang as packages (ports).

      • Just as an install mechanism they've dropped ftp. There is still an FTP client in the base install, and besides the ftp protocol that client supports http and https

  • Thank you! (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Celarent Darii ( 1561999 ) on Saturday November 01, 2014 @03:45PM (#48288749)

    OpenBSD is fantastic. Thanks to the developers who spend so much time to make it work well!

    • Thank you! (Score:3, Interesting)

      by sunderland56 ( 621843 )

      [Citation needed]

      Seriously - is there anything that OpenBSD does better than ?

      Internet slide shows suck, but a "10 reasons OpenBSD is better than linux" would help out a lot here.

      • Re:Thank you! (Score:5, Funny)

        by Celarent Darii ( 1561999 ) on Saturday November 01, 2014 @04:32PM (#48288971)

        A non-extensive List of Reasons why OpenBSD is better than linux:

        1/ OpenBSD's mascot is a puffer fish. Puffer fish can kill you. Penguins are simply parasites living on property no one wants anyway.
        2/ OpenBSD's project leader has better hygiene than RMS
        3/ OpenBSD's project leader is also more dictatorial than Linus
        4/ It's BSD which means it has the karma of open source and you don't need lawyers managing each release cycle.
        5/ OpenBSD assumes the world is a bad place. Linux is just hoping no one will do something bad.
        6/ It doesn't update stuff simply because it can, but because it has to. Linux just updates stuff because they can, and stuff breaks.

        Perhaps someone else has something to add?

        Seriously, it just works. If you like what you have, keep using it! Not like I'm going to force you to quit using whatever you have.

        • Penguins are simply parasites living on property no one wants anyway.

          Than how can a penguin be a parasite?

        • Re:Thank you! (Score:5, Funny)

          by torsmo ( 1301691 ) on Sunday November 02, 2014 @05:14AM (#48291859)

          OpenBSD's project leader is also more dictatorial than Linus

          But unlike Linus, who can throw industrial-grade Finnish profanities at his minions, Theo's Afrikaans cuss-word-foo is weak. Something along the lines of "Jy was uit jou ma se gat gebore want haar poes was te besig" wouldn't go amiss, methinks.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Tom ( 822 )

          Perhaps someone else has something to add?

          It has a properly managed release cycle. For corporate installations, that's a real bonus. You can put it on a machine and schedule the update in your calendar, because you already know when it's going to be. And between those two dates, you can largely forget about it.

        • Re: (Score:3)

          by jeremyp ( 130771 )

          Perhaps someone else has something to add?

          7/ systemd doesn't run on it.

        • Re: (Score:1)

          by Anonymous Coward

          "Seriously - is there anything that OpenBSD does better than ?"

          Snowden's NSA slides shows that every major OS were compromised, except OpenBSD. It was absent on all slides.

        • 5/ OpenBSD assumes the world is a bad place. Linux is just hoping no one will do something bad.

          Yes, by barricading all doors and windows. In the event someone does get in to do something bad, there is very little in place to protect against it.

          No ACL, Auditing, MAC etc. Just very basic chroots and securelevels. Meh.

      • Thank you! (Score:5, Interesting)

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 01, 2014 @04:38PM (#48288989)

        1. OpenBSD supports laptops, specifically Thinkpads, better than any other operating system not called Windows. Suspend/resume works, instantly.
        2. Does not require PulseAudio, but can still output multiple channels from multiple apps at the same time. This was always a problem with ALSA.
        3. PF is a lot easier to configure than ipfw. It is the firewall of OSX.
        4. Man pages for EVERYTHING.
        5. A simple init system. Whether or not it is better than systemd is debatable.
        6. Not tied to any one desktop environment. Gnome 3.x is well-supported, but not requisite for anything.
        7. The first place you will find updates for new wireless cards, OpenSSH, LibreSSL, libc (Android actually uses this instead of glibc).
        8. Full disk encryption without requiring an unencrypted boot partition, unlike Linux.
        9. Simple, text-based config files.
        10. No need for HAL or *Kit or whatever flavour of the week abstraction layer is needed for interfacing with your hardware.

        OpenBSD is not for everybody; there is a steep learning curve and a lot of software is not supported. But if you need a simple operating system that doesn't change much from release to release, it's worth checking out. If you are looking for an alternative to systemd (which I honestly have no problem with), check out OpenBSD before checking out FreeBSD, and I cannot stress this enough. FreeBSD developers don't use their own operating system; they run it in a Virtual machine on their Macs, and it shows. Suspend/resume has been broken there since 2008, and drivers for any recent Intel graphics adapter will not run (you cannot switch from Xorg to a console and back) properly. FreeBSD devs do not care about their OS; OpenBSD devs actually use their system.

        • Re:Thank you! (Score:5, Informative)

          by X0563511 ( 793323 ) on Saturday November 01, 2014 @05:19PM (#48289195) Homepage Journal

          2. Does not require PulseAudio, but can still output multiple channels from multiple apps at the same time. This was always a problem with ALSA.

          dmix [opensrc.org] says hello, while flipping PA (and Pottering) the bird.

        • Does OpenBSD have ZFS support? No? Then I'm sticking with FreeBSD.

          • I admit that ZFS has some impressive features, but it also requires oodles of RAM. Don't discount openbsd for not having it, there are some instances where ZFS is more of a hinderance than an advantage. Small network routers being one of them, for that OpenBSD is perfect with its feature-full pf (freebsd lags a few versions behind, though that version is also quite capable).

            • Re: (Score:1)

              by Anonymous Coward

              ZFS does not _require_ much RAM. It has an very efficient disk cache, so if you have less RAM, the ZFS performance will degrade to disk speed. Which suffices for most people anyway. I have run ZFS for over a year on a (one) 1GB RAM, P4 for over a year without problems.

              The thing is, if you use ZFS deduplication then you need 1GB RAM for every TB disk space. Deduplication is not well implemented on ZFS right now, so avoid it. If you are not using deduplication, then 4GB RAM will be fine (with the caveat that

        • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

          by Anon E. Muss ( 808473 )

          ... check out OpenBSD before checking out FreeBSD, and I cannot stress this enough. FreeBSD developers don't use their own operating system; they run it in a Virtual machine on their Macs, and it shows.

          Citation needed.

          Suspend/resume has been broken there since 2008, and drivers for any recent Intel graphics adapter will not run (you cannot switch from Xorg to a console and back) properly.

          Yeah, it can suck to run a server-focused OS on a desktop/laptop.

          FreeBSD devs do not care about their OS

          This is objectively false. Any devs working for free must care, of they'd hack on something else. Any devs being paid must have an employer who cares. The problem is that the people hacking/funding FreeBSD don't care about the same parts of the system that you do.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Bengie ( 1121981 )
          Most of the FreeBSD devs run Current, not even stable. Even Netflix runs all of their servers on Current. Recently, the FreeBSD devs were bragging about how their FreeBSD laptops were finally not the systems with issues at the conference, but the Mac laptops were having issues with the wifi. I'm going to have to say that you pretty much just made everything up.
          • Did they do that by connecting their FBSD laptops by cable to the nearest router? B'cos FBSD does not support Intel's Centrino chipsets - at least not recent ones. I have a Dell Inspiron 17 and for networking, I have to run an ethernet cable from the router: the Centrino WiFi is not recognized

            • There's an opportunity here.. swap the wifi card with the one of the owner of an older laptop running Windows or recent linux, then he or she'll get slightly better wifi (perhaps) and you get working wifi.

              • Re: (Score:2)

                by ruir ( 2709173 )
                Unless you have an HP netbook like I had where they whitelisted the wifi because that particular model was being used and bought to be used as an hackintosh... Idiots.
              • Uh, the Intel Centrino WiFi is integrated onto the motherboard. That's the whole idea - one shouldn't need a dongle for it to work. With Linux, generally, WiFi support is better, but for some inexplicable reason, FBSD, despite having less license restrictions, can't get a WiFi driver - open OR closed - for this chip. And unlike NVIDIA, Intel is one of those companies that is happy to work with and on FOSS projects.

                • Re: (Score:2)

                  by adri ( 173121 )

                  No, the problem is that we don't have as many active wifi developers as other projects, but the desire/need is still there.

                  I now have a couple of people helping me chase down intel driver bugs and implement / port the 7260 driver from Linux/OpenBSD.

                  -adrian, typing this on a freebsd laptop with a centrino wifi adaptor working just fine.

                • I assume almost every laptop is using a Mini PCI express card, before that it was the bigger mini PCI.
                  It's even become common on desktops such as mini-ITX motherboards and Intel NUC.
                  You ought to have the wifi on a tiny user-accessible board unless you're using an Apple product or a tablet or a particularly integrated computer. Oh, Intel is working on that indeed.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by gmack ( 197796 )

          1. OpenBSD supports laptops, specifically Thinkpads, better than any other operating system not called Windows. Suspend/resume works, instantly.

          That's less of a good thing considering how nasty Lenovo is to work with. Not only did they continue locking their mini pcie port against "unauthorized" wifi cards, they have double downed on their customer hating behaviour by refusing to charge third party batteries [theverge.com]. Since that was written, they seem to have moved the enforcement into the firmware.

        • FreeBSD developers don't use their own operating system; they run it in a Virtual machine on their Macs, and it shows.

          Not true. I'm using it right now.

          Suspend/resume has been broken there since 2008, and drivers for any recent Intel graphics adapter will not run (you cannot switch from Xorg to a console and back) properly.

          Not true, I can suspend/resume just fine, thanks. Your comment about not being able to switch between X and console suggests your knowledge is at least two years out of date. It was true for a short while in -CURRENT (the development branch) but never the case in a -RELEASE version.

          FreeBSD devs do not care about their OS; OpenBSD devs actually use their system.

          Also easily provably not true.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by fisted ( 2295862 )

            Suspend/resume has been broken there since 2008, and drivers for any recent Intel graphics adapter will not run (you cannot switch from Xorg to a console and back) properly.

            [...] Your comment about not being able to switch between X and console suggests your knowledge is at least two years out of date. It was true for a short while in -CURRENT (the development branch) but never the case in a -RELEASE version.

            Not true, 10-RELEASE has this issue. I'm experiencing it first-hand, but to also quote your handbook [freebsd.org]:

            6.4.1. Caveats
            [...]
            Intel: as of FreeBSD 9.1, 3D acceleration on most Intel graphics, including IronLake, SandyBridge, and IvyBridge, is supported. Due to the current KMS implementation, it is not possible to switch between the graphical console and a virtual console using Crtl+Alt+F#.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by adri ( 173121 )

          Hi,

          I'm the wifi guy. Your post is misinformed. FreeBSD developers use their OS on non-server hardware. Everything you said above works. Even the wifi.

          https://twitter.com/encthenet/... [twitter.com]

          You're very welcome!

          -adrian

        • Re: (Score:1)

          by yosephi ( 164750 )

          This release sounds exciting. I've already installed 5.6 and am looking forward to exploring.

          AC, you should really do your research before spreading misinformation. I'm writing this response from a laptop (Lenovo X220) exclusively running FreeBSD 10.1 with an Intel HD Graphics 3000 that is fully supported. I have no problems going from Xorg to the console and back. Oh, and I suspended the laptop when I left work. At home I opened the lid and it was up and running within about 2 seconds. But, this story

      • Re:Thank you! (Score:4, Informative)

        by Bengie ( 1121981 ) on Saturday November 01, 2014 @08:54PM (#48290273)
        You can thank OpenBSD for Linux, and FreeBSD, 64bit modes finally working. OpenBSD has a history of spearheading new tech and working out the bugs. Both Linux and FreeBSD were afraid of switching to 64bit because it would break some software. OpenBSD didn't give a crap, so lots of programs got their bug fixes. Same thing with ASLR, and lots of other modern features.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by Anonymous Coward
        18 years and only 3 remote bugs. I'd say they're doing code quality a hell of a lot better than anyone else.

        • Guess they've upgraded to the 6-year itch.

          (I keed! I keed!) They have a fantastic track record. I've finally switched over to OpenBSD myself and I'm psyched about this latest release--been waiting eagerly all month for it.

      • Thank you! (Score:4, Informative)

        by dbuckman ( 2881443 ) on Sunday November 02, 2014 @11:17AM (#48293447)
        I second the thank you to the developers.

        What I like about OpenBSD.

        There are no black boxes. I can do a "ps aux" and very easily understand every process that is running and it only takes up one page on the terminal. I use linux for my desktop/laptop and it is great for that but there are pages of processes running and I have to hunt to figure out what some of them are. If I want to understand the boot process it is well documented and I can edit a few files and figure it out.

        PF. PF is a great firewall with some amazing features.

        Secure. Again only processes running that I want running.

        Small footprint. I just downloaded the 5.6 AMD64 iso. 227mb. It got smaller from 5.5 to 5.6. You never see that.

        I find it a pleaser to work with. It doesn't make a lot of assumptions for you. Easy install. Give it a try.

  • Systemd? (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    I thought GNOME depends on systemd? Does OpenBSD come with systemd now?

    • hahaha, one of the desktop choices is GNOME 3.12, and no there isn't systemd

  • pf (Score:5, Informative)

    by brynet ( 3462983 ) on Saturday November 01, 2014 @03:52PM (#48288789) Homepage
    Also related, Peter N. M. Hansteen is auctioning off the first signed copy The Book of PF, 3rd edition. He will be supporting the OpenBSD project by donating the amount raised to the OpenBSD Foundation.

    http://bsdly.blogspot.com/2014... [blogspot.com]

  • Rde of the Valkyries? (Score:5, Funny)

    by plopez ( 54068 ) on Saturday November 01, 2014 @04:10PM (#48288873) Journal

    Seriously? The last ditch and unsuccessful attempt by the forces of heaven to prevent the destruction of Valhalla is not a good omen. The forces of good are overwhelmed by the forces of evil despite heroic efforts. I think Carl Jung pointed out that the Norse mythos was the only one he knew of where good does not triumph in the end. Or perhaps it was a reference to 'Apocalypse Now'. In ether case, as I said, not a good omen.

  • Removed sendmail ... smtpd is the MTA (Score:5, Insightful)

    by fnj ( 64210 ) on Saturday November 01, 2014 @04:31PM (#48288963)

    Just about EVERY SMTP MTA is named "smtpd". Sendmail's is, but so it Postfix', and so is OpenSMTPD's.

    In case anyone wants to know, OpenSMTPD replaces sendmail as the default MTA in OpenBSD 5.6. Now how hard was that, to actually state a piece of useful information instead of a nonsense phrase conveying nothing?

  • Packed my bags (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 01, 2014 @04:51PM (#48289033)
    When they introduced that SystemD trash in Linux, I packed my bags and moved to OpenBSD. Have not looked back.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Yep, same here. So long, and thanks for all the penguins.

  • httpd (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    They also removed apache from the base OS and added their own httpd in this release.

  • I'm guessing it's the apps. OpenBSD is probably great for servers, but does not have all the desktop apps as Linux.

    Or, maybe I'm wrong.

    I am really hating Red Hat's hostile takeover of Linux. I may consider a BSD.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by nawcom ( 941663 )
      It comes down to if the desktop app has a Linux-specific dependency. X11 with GTK+/Qt/etc aren't limited to Linux. Something like Gparted is another story for obvious reasons. Virtualization support is another issue. But if you're asking if you can run XFCE/KDE/GNOME/whatever with Firefox/OpenOffice/the usual X11 apps that casual Linux users use, yes it can. However, don't expect equal graphics card support in X11 compared to Linux and even FreeBSD. Take a look in OpenBSD ports [openports.se] if you're curious about somet

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