Detailed descriptions of past, present, and future releases. - Look here first to determine what the latest version of FreeBSD - is.
+The &os; Project aims to release a new major version every two + years and support each of those major versions with security + updates and maintanence releases for five years. New users + should install the latest release. Snapshots of the development + branch of &os; are provided for testing purposes, and to allow + those building future installations and products to track the + latest features.
- +There are many options for installing FreeBSD, including - installation from CD-ROM, DVD, USB stick or even directly using - anonymous FTP, HTTP, or NFS. Depending on the &os; version you want - to install, please read through the &os; 9.X/10.X - installation guide or the &os; 8.X - installation guide before downloading the entire FreeBSD distribution.
+Most PCs produced since 2006 use the amd64 architecture, + including those with Intel® branded processors. Computers + with more than 3 GB of memory should use amd64. If the + computer is an older, 32-bit only model, use i386.
- +The &os; installer can be downloaded in a number of different + formats including CD (disc1), DVD (dvd1), and Network Install + (bootonly) sized ISO + Disc Images, as well as regular and mini USB memory stick images.
-If you plan on getting FreeBSD via FTP or HTTP, please check - the listing of mirror - sites in the handbook to see if there is a site - closer to you.
+| Version & Platform | -Distribution | -ISO | -Release Notes |
- Hardware Notes |
- Installation Notes |
- Errata | -|
| FreeBSD &rel.current;-RELEASE | -- | [View] | -[View] | -[View] | -[View] | -||
| - | amd64 (x86-64, x64) |
- [Distribution] | -[ISO] | -||||
| - | i386 | -[Distribution] | -[ISO] | -||||
| - | ia64 | -[Distribution] | -[ISO] | -||||
| - | powerpc | -[Distribution] | -[ISO] | -||||
| - | powerpc64 | -[Distribution] | -[ISO] | -||||
| - | sparc64 | -[Distribution] | -[ISO] | -||||
| FreeBSD &rel2.current;-RELEASE | -- | [View] | -[View] | -[View] | -[View] | -||
| - | amd64 (x86-64, x64) |
- [Distribution] | -[ISO] | -||||
| - | i386 | -[Distribution] | -[ISO] | -||||
| - | ia64 | -[Distribution] | -[ISO] | +Installer Images | +Documentation | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | powerpc | -[Distribution] | -[ISO] | -||||
| - | powerpc64 | -[Distribution] | -[ISO] | -||||
| - | sparc64 | -[Distribution] | -[ISO] | -||||
| FreeBSD &rel3.current;-RELEASE | -- | [View] | -[View] | -[View] | -[View] | -||
| - | amd64 (x86-64, x64) |
- [Distribution] | -[ISO] | -||||
| - | i386 | -[Distribution] | -[ISO] | -||||
| - | pc98 | -[Distribution] | -[ISO] | -||||
Note: If you are in doubt of which platform / - architecture to get, you probably need i386 if you have - an older computer, and amd64 if you have a newer - computer.
- &beta.desc; +If you are interested in a purely experimental - snapshot release of FreeBSD-CURRENT (AKA + snapshot release of &os;-CURRENT (AKA &rel.head;-CURRENT), aimed at developers and bleeding-edge testers only, then please see the &os; Snapshot Releases page. For @@ -229,55 +167,118 @@ href="&base;/releases/index.html">release information page.
-| &rel.head;-CURRENT Installer Images | +|
|---|---|
| + + | +|
| Virtual Machine Images | +|
| + + | +|
If you plan on getting &os; via HTTP or FTP, please check + the listing of mirror + sites in the handbook to see if there is a site + closer to you.
+ + + +There are many options for installing &os;, including + installation from CD-ROM, DVD, USB Memory Stick or even directly + using anonymous FTP, HTTP, or NFS. Depending on the &os; + version you want to install, please read through the &os; 9.X/10.X + installation guide or the &os; 8.X + installation guide before downloading the entire &os; + distribution.
+ + + + + +Detailed descriptions of past, present, and future releases. + Look here first to determine what the latest version of &os; + is.
+ +FreeBSD can be acquired on CD-ROM or DVD from &os; can be acquired on CD-ROM or DVD from FreeBSD Mall, or one of the other CD-ROM + href="&url.books.handbook;/mirrors.html">CD-ROM and DVD Publishers.
- -For downloading past releases, please visit the FTP archive.
-FreeBSD is widely used as a building block for other commercial +
&os; is widely used as a building block for other commercial and open-source operating systems. The projects below are - widely used and of particular interest to FreeBSD users.
+ widely used and of particular interest to &os; users. -FreeNAS is an open - source storage platform based on FreeBSD and supports sharing + source storage platform based on &os; and supports sharing across Windows, Apple, and UNIX-like systems.
PC-BSD is a FreeBSD +
PC-BSD is a &os; derivative with a graphical installer and impressive desktop tools aimed at ease of use for the casual computer user.
pfSense is a free, - open source customized distribution of FreeBSD tailored for + open source customized distribution of &os; tailored for use as a firewall and router.
The FreeBSD Ports Collection is a diverse collection of utility - and application software that has been ported to FreeBSD.
+The &os; Ports Collection is a diverse collection of utility + and application software that has been ported to &os;.
-For information about how you can contribute your favorite piece of software to the Ports Collection, have a look at The + href="&url.books.porters-handbook;">The Porter's Handbook and the article Contributing - to FreeBSD.
+ href="&url.articles.contributing;">Contributing + to &os;.