diff --git a/FAQ/preface.sgml b/FAQ/preface.sgml index ff44e62958..e27523ed73 100644 --- a/FAQ/preface.sgml +++ b/FAQ/preface.sgml @@ -1,516 +1,529 @@ - + Preface

Welcome to the FreeBSD 2.X FAQ! What is the purpose of this FAQ?

As is usual with Usenet FAQs, this document aims to cover the most frequently asked questions concerning the FreeBSD operating system (and of course answer them!). Although originally intended to reduce bandwidth and avoid the same old questions being asked over and over again, FAQs have become recognized as valuable information resources.

Every effort has been made to make this FAQ as informative as possible; if you have any suggestions as to how it may be improved, please feel free to mail them to the . What is FreeBSD?

Briefly, FreeBSD 2.X is a UN*X-like operating system based on U.C. Berkeley's 4.4BSD-lite release for the i386 platform. It is also based indirectly on William Jolitz's port of U.C. Berkeley's Net/2 to the i386, known as 386BSD, though very little of the 386BSD code remains. A fuller description of what FreeBSD is and how it can work for you may be found on the .

FreeBSD is used by companies, Internet Service Providers, researchers, computer professionals, students and home users all over the world in their work, education and recreation. See some of them in the

For more detailed information on FreeBSD, please see the What are the goals of FreeBSD?

The goals of the FreeBSD Project are to provide software that may be used for any purpose and without strings attached. Many of us have a significant investment in the code (and project) and would certainly not mind a little financial compensation now and then, but we're definitely not prepared to insist on it. We believe that our first and foremost "mission" is to provide code to any and all comers, and for whatever purpose, so that the code gets the widest possible use and provides the widest possible benefit. This is, we believe, one of the most fundamental goals of Free Software and one that we enthusiastically support.

That code in our source tree which falls under the GNU Public License (GPL) or GNU Library Public License (GLPL) comes with slightly more strings attached, though at least on the side of enforced access rather than the usual opposite. Due to the additional complexities that can evolve in the commercial use of GPL software, we do, however, endeavor to replace such software with submissions under the more relaxed BSD copyright whenever possible. Why is it called FreeBSD?

It may be used free of charge, even by commercial users. Full source for the operating system is freely available, and the minimum possible restrictions have been placed upon its use, distribution and incorporation into other work (commercial or non-commercial). Anyone who has an improvement and/or bug fix is free to submit their code and have it added to the source tree (subject to one or two obvious provisos).

For those of our readers whose first language is not English, it may be worth pointing out that the word ``free'' is being used in two ways here, one meaning ``at no cost'', the other meaning ``you can do whatever you like''. Apart from one or two things you What is the latest version of FreeBSD?

Version is the latest stable version; it was released in October, 1997. This is also the latest release version.

Briefly explained, -stable is aimed at the ISP or other corporate user who wants stability and a low change count over the wizzy new features of the latest release. At the moment, these versions are one and the same, but it shouldn't be long before the -current branch is polished enough for general release.

This is not to say that a 3.0-current snapshot is unusable for business services, and many people who need some 3.0 specific feature (newer compiler technology, faster networking code, etc) have decided to take a chance with it with very good results. We simply do not wish to "certify" 3.0 as mission-worthy until it's been better shaken-out. What is FreeBSD-current?

is the development version of the operating system, which will in due course become 3.0-RELEASE. As such, it is really only of interest to developers working on the system and die-hard hobbyists. See the in the for details on running -current.

If you are not familiar with the operating system or are not capable of identifying the difference between a real problem and a temporary problem, you should not use FreeBSD-current. This branch sometimes evolves quite quickly and can be un-buildable for a number of days at a time. People that use FreeBSD-current are expected to be able to analyze any problems and only report them if they are deemed to be mistakes rather than ``glitches''. Questions such as ``make world produces some error about groups'' on the -current mailing list are sometimes treated with contempt.

Every now and again, a release is also made of this -current development code, CDROM distributions of the occasional snapshot even now being made available. The goals behind each snapshot release are: To test the latest version of the installation software. To give people who would like to run -current but who don't have the time and/or bandwidth to follow it on a day-to-day basis an easy way of bootstrapping it onto their systems. To preserve a fixed reference point for the code in question, just in case we break something really badly later. (Although CVS normally prevents anything horrible like this happening :) To ensure that any new features in need of testing have the greatest possible number of potential testers.

No claims are made that any snapshot can be considered ``production quality'' for any purpose. For stability and tested mettle, you will have to stick to full releases.

Snapshot releases are directly available from and are generated, on the average, once a day for both the 3.0-current and 2.2-stable branches. What is the FreeBSD-stable concept?

Back when FreeBSD 2.0.5 was released, we decided to branch FreeBSD development into two parts. One branch was named , with the intention that only well-tested bug fixes and small incremental enhancements would be made to it (for Internet Service Providers and other commercial enterprises for whom sudden shifts or experimental features are quite undesirable). The other branch was , which essentially has been one unbroken line leading towards 3.0-RELEASE (and beyond) since 2.0 was released. If a little ASCII art would help, this is how it looks: 2.0 | | | [2.1-stable] *BRANCH* 2.0.5 -> 2.1 -> 2.1.5 -> 2.1.6 -> 2.1.7.1 [2.1-stable ends] | (Mar 1997) | | | [2.2-stable] *BRANCH* 2.2.1 -> 2.2.2-RELEASE -> 2.2.5-RELEASE -> ... | (Mar 1997) (Oct 1997) | | 3.0-SNAPs (started Q1 1997) | | 3.0.0-RELEASE (Q1 1998) | \|/ + [future 3.x releases]

The -current branch is slowly progressing towards 3.0 and beyond, whereas the previous 2.1-stable branch was superceded by the release of 2.2.0, the new "stability branch" aka 2.2-stable. 3.0-current will continue to be where the active development takes place, up until the actual release of 3.0. At that point, 3.0 will become yet another branch and 3.1-current will become the next "current branch". Why did the 2.1-stable branch end with 2.1.7.1?

While we'd certainly like to be able to continue 3 branches of development, we've found that the version control tools available to us are not particularly well-suited for this; in fact, they quickly result in a maintenance nightmare for any branch which lives much beyond 2-3 months. The 2.1-stable branch has, by contrast, lasted for well over a year and what little sanity the FreeBSD developers have left would be in serious jeopardy if we continued in this way. Perhaps in the future we'll figure out another model which gives everyone what they want, and we are working on such a model, but in the meantime it's probably best to think of the old -stable coming to an end with (the final point release after 2.1.7), and the new -stable beginning with 2.2.2. When are FreeBSD releases made?

As a general principle, the FreeBSD core team only release a new version of FreeBSD when they believe that there are sufficient new features and/or bug fixes to justify one, and are satisfied that the changes made have settled down sufficiently to avoid compromising the stability of the release. Many users regard this caution as one of the best things about FreeBSD, although it can be a little frustrating when waiting for all the latest goodies to become available...

Releases are made about every 6 months on average.

For people needing (or wanting) a little more excitement, there are SNAPs released more frequently, particularly during the month or so leading up to a release. Is FreeBSD only available for PCs ?

At present, yes, though a port to the and architecture is under way. If your machine has a different architecture and you need something right now, we suggest you look at or . Who is responsible for FreeBSD?

The key decisions concerning the FreeBSD project, such as the overall direction of the project and who is allowed to add code to the source tree, are made by a of some 17 people. There is a much larger team of around 80+ who are authorized to make changes directly to the FreeBSD source tree.

However, most non-trivial changes are discussed in advance in the , and there are no restrictions on who may take part in the discussion. Where can I get FreeBSD?

Every significant release of FreeBSD is available via anonymous ftp from the : For the current 2.2-stable release, 2.2.6R see the directory. For the current 3.0-current release, 3.0-SNAP, see the directory. releases are made once a day along the RELENG_2_2 branch (2.2.6 -> 2.2.x) as it winds its way towards the next point release on the 2.2 branch. With the occasional exception of accidental breakage, the RELENG_2_2 branch is being carefully maintained (no experimental changes, fixes made only after testing in -current). releases are also made once a day for the branch, these being of service purely to bleeding-edge testers and developers.

FreeBSD is also available via CDROM, from the following place(s):

Walnut Creek CDROM 4041 Pike Lane, Suite F Concord, CA 94520 USA Orders: +1 800 786-9907 Questions: +1 925 674-0783 FAX: +1 925 674-0821 email: WWW:

In Australia, you may find it at:

Advanced Multimedia Distributors Factory 1/1 Ovata Drive Tullamarine, Melbourne Victoria Australia Voice: +61 3 9338 6777 CDROM Support BBS 17 Irvine St Peppermint Grove WA 6011 Voice: +61 9 385-3793 Fax: +61 9 385-2360 And in the UK: The Public Domain & Shareware Library Winscombe House, Beacon Rd Crowborough Sussex. TN6 1UL Voice: +44 1892 663-298 Fax: +44 1892 667-473 Where do I find info on the FreeBSD mailing lists?

You can find full information in the What FreeBSD news groups are available?

You can find full information in the Are there FreeBSD IRC (Internet Relay Chat) channels? -

There are two channels about FreeBSD on IRC: +

Yes, most major IRC networks host a FreeBSD chat + channel: - - The main channel is #FreeBSD on the EFNET. You can - use your regular IRC server for it. + + Channel #FreeBSD on EFNET is perhaps the most + popular. Available at server irc.chat.org. + + Channel #FreeBSD on DALNET + is available at irc.dal.net in the US and + irc.eu.dal.net in Europe. + + Channel #FreeBSD on UNDERNET is + available at us.undernet.org in the US and + eu.undernet.org in Europe. + + Finally, you can also join #FreeBSD on BSDNET, + a smaller BSD only chat network, at irc.FreeBSD.org. + + - You can point your IRC client to +

Each of these channels are distinct and are not connected to + each other. Their chat styles also differ, so you may need to try + each to find one suited to your chat style. Books on FreeBSD

Greg Lehey's book ``Installing and Running FreeBSD'' is available from Walnut Creek and ships with the 2.2.6 CDROM. There is also a larger book entitled ``The Complete FreeBSD'', which comes with additional printed manpages and includes the 2.2.6 CDROM set. It should be available in most good book shops now.

There is a FreeBSD Documentation Project which you may contact (or even better, join) on the doc mailing list: . This list is for discussion of the FreeBSD documentation. For actual questions about FreeBSD, there is the questions mailing list: .

A FreeBSD ``handbook'' is available, and can be found as: . Note that this is a work in progress, and so parts may be incomplete.

The definitive printed guide on FreeBSD is ``The Complete FreeBSD'', written by Greg Lehey and published by Walnut Creek CDROM Books. Now in its second edition, the book contains 1,750 pages of install & system administration guidance, program setup help, and manual pages. The book (and current FreeBSD release) can be ordered from , , or at your favorite bookstore. The ISBN is 1-57176-227-2.

However, as FreeBSD 2.2.X is based upon Berkeley 4.4BSD-Lite2, most of the 4.4BSD manuals are applicable to FreeBSD 2.2.X. O'Reilly and Associates publishes these manuals: 4.4BSD System Manager's Manual By Computer Systems Research Group, UC Berkeley 1st Edition June 1994, 804 pages : 1-56592-080-5 4.4BSD User's Reference Manual By Computer Systems Research Group, UC Berkeley 1st Edition June 1994, 905 pages : 1-56592-075-9 4.4BSD User's Supplementary Documents By Computer Systems Research Group, UC Berkeley 1st Edition July 1994, 712 pages : 1-56592-076-7 4.4BSD Programmer's Reference Manual By Computer Systems Research Group, UC Berkeley 1st Edition June 1994, 886 pages : 1-56592-078-3 4.4BSD Programmer's Supplementary Documents By Computer Systems Research Group, UC Berkeley 1st Edition July 1994, 596 pages : 1-56592-079-1

A description of these can be found via WWW as: . Due to poor sales, however, these manuals may be hard to get a hold of.

For a more in-depth look at the 4.4BSD kernel organization, you can't go wrong with:

McKusick, Marshall Kirk, Keith Bostic, Michael J Karels, and John Quarterman.

The Design and Implementation of the 4.4BSD Operating System. Reading, Mass. : Addison-Wesley, 1996. 0-201-54979-4

A good book on system administration is:

Evi Nemeth, Garth Snyder, Scott Seebass & Trent R. Hein, ``Unix System Administration Handbook'', Prentice-Hall, 1995 : 0-13-151051-7

This book covers the basics, as well as TCP/IP, DNS, NFS, SLIP/PPP, sendmail, INN/NNTP, printing, etc.. It's expensive (approx. US$45-$55), but worth it. It also includes a CDROM with the sources for various tools; most of these, however, are also on the FreeBSD 2.2.6R CDROM (and the FreeBSD CDROM often has newer versions). How do I access your Problem Report database?

The Problem Report database of all open user change requests may be queried (or submitted to) by using our web-based PR and interfaces. The send-pr(1) command can also be used to submit problem reports and change requests via electronic mail. Other sources of information.

The following newsgroups contain pertinent discussion for FreeBSD users: (moderated)

Web resources: The .

The FreeBSD handbook also has a fairly complete section which is worth reading if you're looking for actual books to buy.