As part of an ongoing effort to improve the overall release process before a release actually slips out the door with problems, we are now periodically producing interim test releases called snapshots. These snapshots will be very similar to full releases, except that they might not include all the bits included in a full release (such as packages and updated documentation).
The latest snapshots made available can be found on the FreeBSD FTP mirrors at the address &url.snapshots;. They can also be found in the same directory on other FTP mirror sites.
Please note that sometimes the snapshots available to download may be somewhat outdated.
Currently the snapshots of &rel.head.major;-CURRENT, &rel.current.major;-STABLE and - &rel2.current.major;-STABLE + &rel1.current.major;-STABLE are available in directories whose URLs have the format &url.snapshots;<target>/<target_arch>/ where <target> and <target_arch> represent the architecture for which the snapshot was built. For each supported platform, the snapshot includes ISO images of the bootonly, release, and memstick images.
In particular, before getting and installing a snapshot release, be aware of following:
Your feedback on these snapshots is greatly welcome. They are not just for our benefit - those who are coming to rely on &os; for mission critical applications should welcome a chance to get at more updated bits in a structured fashion. You can also use these snapshots as tangible evidence that your feedback is getting incorporated and that you (hopefully) will not have any unpleasant surprises in the next release. On the other hand, if you do send us hate mail next release and it turns out that you never even tried the snapshots, well, it cuts both ways!