OpenBSD is 4,4 a BSD based Unix similar operating system, which is freely available under the BSD license. It became 1994 by Theo de Raadt von NetBSD, who first BSD based sourceopen (open SOURCE) operating system, abgespalten. OpenBSD is admits for persisting of its developers on source openness, free documentation, compromiseless position in relation to software licences, focus on computer security and correctness of source code. With the Logo, and/or Maskottchen of the project it concerns Puffy, a ball fish.

General information

OpenBSD contains a multiplicity of safety functions, which are only optionally missing in other operating systems or. Traditionally by the developers a regular Auditing, an investigation of source code on program errors is accomplished. The project holds strict guidelines concerning software licences upright and prefers the sourceopen BSD license, as well as their variants. This led in the past to comprehensive license examinations, as well as the replacement or distance of source code, which stands under less acceptable licenses.

In agreement with other BSD are based operating systems both the OpenBSD Kernel and the user land programs become, how develops Unix Shell and common tools, jointly in a source code Repository. Software of third parties is available as finished package or can be provided with the help of the package management system from the source code.

Up-to-date OpenBSD for 16 different computer architectures is available, these contains among other things DEC alpha, Intel i386, AMD AMD64, Motorola 68000, Apple PowerPC, Sun SPARC (32/64 bit), VAX and Sharp Zaurus.

History and spreading

In December 1994 Theo de Raadt, one was asked the joint founder NetBSDs, experienced developer and member of the core team, to give its position up. Its entrance to the source code Repository became simultaneous closed. The reason is not exactly well-known, however there is statements, it conditions in connection with personal conflicts on the NetBSD Mailingliste.Glass, Adam. Report at netbsd users: Theo De Raadt (sic), 23 December 1994 Theo de Raadt was criticized to show occasionally an aggressive kind: In the book Free For universe maintains Peter Wayner that de Raadt before the splitting off from NetBSD had begun "„, some people automatically to annoy "“; Wayner, Peter. Free For universe: How Linux and the Free software Movement Undercut the High Tech of titanium, 16,3 Flames, Fights, and the Birth OF OpenBSD, 2000 interviewers admit to preserve "„doubts [over it] "„; NewsForge. Theo de Raadt gives it all ton of OpenBSD, 30 January 2001 and Linus Torvalds described it as "„with difficulty"”. Forbes. Is Linux For 16. June 2005 of some NetBSD mailing list participants he was regarded quite as "„a terrorist"”, why his barrier of many years was also only waived few months ago (conditions: 2005). Others however feel its directness than recreating and hardly someone deny that he is a talented programmer and expert for computer security.

In October 1995 Theo de Raadt OpenBSD based, as new project fragmentation of NetBSD 1.0. The first publication, OpenBSD 1,2, was published in July 1996, followed of OpenBSD 2,0 in the October of the same Jahres.de Raadt, Theo. E-Mail to openbsd announce: The OpenBSD the 2,0 releases, 18 October 18 1996 since that time follows OpenBSD the time schedule every six months a new version to give change, these thereafter one year is long maintained and supported. The last version, OpenBSD 3,9, became at the 1. May 2006 herausgegeben.de Raadt, Theo. E-Mail on openbsd misc: the 3,8 releases, November 1 2005. 9 December 2005

It is difficult to determine the spreading of OpenBSD accurately: The OpenBSD project collects and publishes no Nutzungstatistiken, and there are only few other sources of information. The becoming BSD certify project accomplished a use inquiry, these resulted in that 32.8 % of the asked BSD users (asked 1420 of 4330) use OpenBSD, BSD Certification site: here; Pdf with results of the use inquiry: here with it OpenBSD platzierte itself as the second of the four large BSD distributions, behind FreeBSD with 77,0 % and before NetBSD with 16,3 %. The web page DistrowatchDistrowatch web page: here, admits in the Linux municipality and often as reference point for popularity used, publishes side access numbers for different Linux distributions and other operating systems. OpenBSD is on that 39. Place with an average ratio of 116 hits per day (conditions: 22. January 2006). FreeBSD is on that 11. Place with 459 hits per day and a multiplicity of Linux distributions are between the two. From these statistics it can be derived that OpenBSD, with a third of the users of FreeBSD, enjoys a considerable operational readiness level in the BSD world and it in the more extensive open-SOURCE and free software municipality likewise to the knowledge is taken.

Free software and free documentation

When OpenBSD was brought into being, Theo de Raadt decided to make the source text for everyone readable at each time therefore he put a public anonymous CVS Versionsverwaltungsserver on here by Chuck Cranor, web page of Chuck Cranor. This was first of its kind in the world of the software development: at that time it was usual that only a small team of developers had access to the CVS management system. This procedure did not have some lack, particularly external participations had a possibility to find out, what had been already settled and Patches contributed from the resulting ignorance. This entailed much unnecessarily duplicated work. The decision for disclosure led to the name OpenBSD and marked at the beginning of persisting, on the part of the project on free and publicly accessible source texts as well as documentation.

In March 2005 an informative example of the attitude of the OpenBSD project showed up concerning open documentation. At this time Theo de Raadt would send a E-Mailde Raadt, Theo. Mail ton openbsd misc: Adaptec AAC raid support, 18. He communicated March 2005 to the openbsd misc mailing list, in this that Adaptec had released no documentation for its AAC RAID CONTROLLERs after more than four months further. However to improve these necessarily around the OpenBSD device driver. De Raadt under similar conditions had before already requested the OpenBSD municipality to bring in itself by clear representing of its point of view opposite Adaptec. Shortly thereafter published Scott LongWebseite of Scott Long, former Adaptec employees, FreeBSD Mitentwickler and programmers of the AAC RAID support, a KommentarLong, Scott here. Post office at OSNews: From A BSD and molder Adaptec person"…, 19. March 2005 on OSNews. In this he accuses Theo de Raadt concerning the problems with Adaptec no contact with it to have taken up. By the comment the discussion continued at the freebsd questions mailing list. There de Raadtde Raadt, Theo answered. Mail ton freebsd questions: aac support, 19. March 2005 that it before received an offer of help from Scott Long neither, nor informed it Adaptec, to whom it should turn. The debate became still more verbissener relative by different points of view of the two sides Binary drivers and agreements over Nichtoffenlegung (NDA): Theo de Raadt and the OpenBSD project are strongly averse from both. They permit no merging Binary drivers into the OpenBSD source code and reject it to sign NDAs. The guidelines of the FreeBSD project are however less strictly held and a large part of the FreeBSD Adaptec RAID Verwaltungswerkzeuge of Scott Long only than Binary drivers available or under a NDA had been programmed. Because no documentation was approved up to the period for publication by OpenBSD 3,7, the support for Adaptec AAC RAID CONTROLLERs was removed from the OpenBSD Standardkernel.

Articles in category "OpenBSD"

We found here 5 articles.

Related Websites

We found here 5 related websites.

• Getting OpenBSD
  the OpenBSD FTP page. ... OpenBSD organizes FTP mirrors based on a master fanout site, used to feed second level mirrors, which other sites should mirror ...


• OpenBSD release errata
  the OpenBSD CD errata page. ... For more detailed information on how to install patches to OpenBSD, please consult the OpenBSD FAQ. ...


• OpenBSD Security
  Official OpenBSD security advisories.


• The OpenBSD FAQ
  the OpenBSD FAQ page. ... The FAQ in PDF and plain text form is available in the pub/OpenBSD/doc ... 13.4 - Can I use OpenBSD to record audio samples ...


• The OpenBSD Project
  Multiplatform Ultra-Secure Operating System. Focus: portability, standardization, correctness, security,...