FreeBSD is a free Unix-like operating system descended from AT&T UNIX via BSD UNIX.
59
votes
4answers
14k views
Why is FreeBSD deprecating GCC in favor of Clang/LLVM?
So I was surfing the net and stumbled upon this article. It basically states that FreeBSD, starting from Version 10 and above will deprecate GCC in favor of Clang/LLVM.
From what I have seen around ...
41
votes
9answers
6k views
Why would someone choose FreeBSD over Linux?
Why would someone choose FreeBSD over Linux? What are the advantages of FreeBSD compared to Linux? (My shared hosting provider uses FreeBSD.)
20
votes
7answers
2k views
How can I use DD to migrate data from an old drive to a new drive?
I am upgrading the internal SATA hard drive on my laptop from a 40G drive to a 160G drive. I have a Linux/Ubuntu desktop which has a SATA card. I would actually like to do the same thing for a couple ...
16
votes
3answers
2k views
FreeNAS grub2 booting ISO
I've got usb-keys setup to multi-boot different Linux images. I wouldn't mind adding FreeNAS, and there's a doc with samples to add to grub.cfg
menuentry "FreeNAS-8.0.4-RELEASE-x64" {
insmod ufs2
...
14
votes
2answers
3k views
Where does Mac OS X come from?
Discussing with Mac owners, I got several versions of where Mac OS X comes from. It is known to have some root in BSD, but how much, and where?
Some say that Mac OS X has a FreeBSD kernel, with all ...
11
votes
5answers
2k views
What is using this network socket?
I'm trying to use NTP to update the time on my machine. However, it gives me an error:
host # ntpdate ntp1.example.org
10 Aug 12:38:50 ntpdate[7696]: the NTP socket is in use, exiting
What does the ...
11
votes
5answers
1k views
Why should I use Debian 6 with FreeBSD kernel?
Debian 6 will also be available with the FreeBSD kernel. Why did they decide to to that and why should I use it?
11
votes
3answers
423 views
First FreeBSD install. Is there anything I should know about differences between Linux and BSD?
I want to install FreeBSD today on a spare HDD I have lying around. I'd like to give it a trial run, learn a few things, and if it suits me I'll replace my current Ubuntu 10.10 'server/NAS/encoding ...
10
votes
3answers
841 views
Some people told me FreeBSD is NOT Unix, is that right? Confused
Some people told me FreeBSD is NOT Unix, is that right? I'm confused.
I checked some articles, but the expressions are pretty vague, and I need some clarification.
10
votes
3answers
211 views
Unix on a DEC VAX?
I just picked up a DEC VaxStation 4000 model 90 with a built in CDROM and an auxiliary SCSI storage module with tape archive drive. I believe it is functional although I cannot test it yet since I ...
10
votes
1answer
12k views
FreeBSD: How to fix “ping: sendto: No buffer space available”?
I'm trying to ping a remote host, but I get an error.
# ping 192.168.80.1
PING 192.168.80.1 (192.168.80.1): 56 data bytes
ping: sendto: No buffer space available
ping: sendto: No buffer space ...
9
votes
3answers
2k views
How can I avoid the prompts when installing a FreeBSD port?
When I install a port, I am often presented with a menu screen to select configuration options. If I'm going to install a really big package with lots of dependencies, that will be extremely ...
8
votes
1answer
314 views
Which virtual terminal is a given X process running on?
When X starts, it searches for the lowest unused VT, and attaches to it. My problem is that when there are several running X processes, I need to be able to identify which one is the currently active ...
7
votes
2answers
439 views
Is there a way to create cow-copies in ZFS?
I am trying to make cow-copies of some files/directories, but of the several ways I know of, all seem sub-optimal.
For example, btrfs can, with the use of cp --reflink=auto quickly generate ...
6
votes
2answers
2k views
ssh port forward to access my home machine from anywhere
http://serverfault.com/questions/303937/how-to-make-freebsd-box-accessible-from-internet
I want to understand this whole process of port forwarding.
I read so many things but failing to understand ...
6
votes
2answers
950 views
Why does FreeBSD use the GPL-licensed GCC?
Why does FreeBSD use GCC as its default compiler?
I am under the impression that a core pillar of the FreeBSD philosophy is not to use any GNU software and in particular, GPL code.
Yet GCC which is ...
6
votes
5answers
2k views
vim on FreeBSD does not react on arrow keys correctly and other vi-like behaviours
I tried to use vim on FreeBSD (via ssh on Linux xterm-compatible terminal). However vim behaves similar to vi out-of-box. For example it does not react on delete key, insert F character instead of ...
6
votes
4answers
694 views
How to set up two-factor authentication with OTP on FreeBSD?
I have a FreeBSD hosted server that I like to be able to get to from anywhere. Normally I use SSH publickey to log in, or if I don't have my SSH private key available then I might use regular password ...
6
votes
3answers
3k views
How do I connect a serial terminal to a KVM instance?
Perhaps I'm misunderstanding what KVM is capable of, but the ability to add/remove hardware on the VM seems to imply I can add a serial port that then acts as a terminal.
So, my questions are:
...
6
votes
2answers
690 views
How can I alter my Xorg config file to fix the screen distortion I am experiencing?
I have a system running FreeBSD 8.2-RELEASE-p2 with an LCD display attached capable of running at a native resolution of 1600 x 900. I have configured Xorg the way I think it should work, however the ...
5
votes
1answer
555 views
Why root's default shell is configured differently with other normal user account's default shell?
As I know, root's default shell is configured csh and normal user's default shell is sh in FreeBSD. And in Ubuntu, root is dash, normal user is bash. (refer: What's the Ubuntu's default shell?)
Why ...
5
votes
2answers
262 views
Why do entrepreneurial companies choose Linux rather than FreeBSD?
FreeBSD is an operating system. Linux, strictly speaking, is just a kernel, but the two systems are not too much different and in performance, at least, we can say they are comparable.
Open source ...
5
votes
4answers
928 views
How to debug SSH port forwarding
This is an extension to ssh port forward to access my home machine from anywhere
I tried things mentioned there but I am not able to ssh to my machine.
Netgear router settings for port forwarding:
...
5
votes
1answer
745 views
Installing FreeBSD from USB-Stick boots but later can't find the USB-Stick
When trying to install FreeBSD 8.2 from USB memory stick the kernel boots from the USB-Stick and the installer menus work and let me partition and everything.
However when it comes to actually ...
5
votes
1answer
2k views
Calculate the date from 1125 days ago on non-GNU systems?
On the Unix Bash commandline, I want to calculate the date from 1125 days ago using the base operating system (e.g. No Perl or Python).
On systems running GNU Date, I can do something like this:
...
5
votes
1answer
238 views
`kill -s TERM` works, `kill -s ABRT` gets “Operation not permitted”
There is a process that I own whose documentation claims I can send SIGABRT to in order to get some debugging information. However, when I try to send SIGABRT, I get back "Operation not permitted".
I ...
5
votes
3answers
7k views
FreeNAS versus a regular (CentOS/Ubuntu) linux server?
I'm looking to build a medium sized (6TB, mini ITX board) server for personal use. Most importantly, it will serve as a seedbox and will store a whole lot of data. I will be accessing the data over my ...
5
votes
1answer
711 views
How do I setup Alpine to connect my Gmail account using IMAP?
I am using FreeBSD 8.1 and just installed Alpine email client. I wonder if anybody knows how to setup Alpine to get mail from a Gmail account using IMAP.
5
votes
1answer
747 views
Korn Shell: End, pgup, pgdown, and delete key not working
So basically my End, Pageup/Pagedown, and Delete key are not working in ksh93. I'm running FreeBSD by the way.
My arrow keys are working, and so is my home key.
Those keys work when I put this in my ...
5
votes
1answer
2k views
How can you get console backgrounds for Arch Linux?
I have tested out openSUSE and found that the tty1 is a bit different from other systems as the tty has got a background. I know that Knoppix has a tux penguin for each core the computer has, but I'm ...
5
votes
1answer
5k views
How do I add PC BSD / FreeBSD to Grub 2 boot loader?
I have Ubuntu 10.04 installed as my primary operating system, and I installed PC BSD in a different partition: /dev/sda4 without installing it's boot loader. I figured out that I need to edit ...
5
votes
1answer
177 views
Is it possible to keep a FreeBSD system up to date (base system + packages) using only binaries?
I have been using Debian and NetBSD systems for a long time, and I have got used to do binaries upgrades for the base system and for packages (using pkgin with NetBSD)
Now the NetBSD kernel does not ...
5
votes
1answer
621 views
ipfw : Traffic Shaping
I'm not sure what but it seems like I'm doing something wrong... my objective is to be able to limit some of my traffic, to be exact www traffic. One of my clients os running what's called a ...
5
votes
0answers
335 views
FreeBSD: “Too many open files” but should be able to open another 160,000 files
I have a FreeBSD 8 system running ZFS, with a MySQL 5.5 server which is about 355GB and projected to grow to be a couple of Terabytes.
MySQL is triggering errors about "Too many open files" on ...
4
votes
4answers
724 views
Where in “/” should extra disks be mounted?
According to Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unix_directory_structure
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filesystem_Hierarchy_Standard
extra disks should not be mounted in /mnt/ according to the ...
4
votes
3answers
548 views
Host CPU does not scale frequency when KVM guest needs it
I have asked this question on serverfault, but it could also have been posted here. I will synchronise the answers if one is found.
Observation:
I have an HP server with an AMD dual core CPU (Turion ...
4
votes
3answers
214 views
Do BSD and SunOS have multithreaded architectures?
I'm interested in operating systems that have a multithreading architecture, like Mach and BeOS; not ones that depend on libraries like POSIX to be multithreading. Do BSD and SunOS have a ...
4
votes
1answer
914 views
Which shell should I learn for FreeBSD and Debian?
I have read many articles that say the official shell in FreeBSD is tcsh, and in Debian, its dash. However, when I either echo $shell (FreeBSD) or env in Debian, it says that the shell is csh in the ...
4
votes
2answers
1k views
Get the chmod numerical value for a file
In FreeBSD and also in Linux, how can I get the numerical chmod value of a file? For example, 644 instead of -rw-r--r--? I need an automatic way for a Bash script.
4
votes
3answers
2k views
How to deal with FreeBSD's move to pkgconf?
It seems that the FreeBSD ports tree is busy transitioning from pkg-config to pkgconf. http://www.mail-archive.com/freebsd-ports-announce@freebsd.org/msg00018.html
I first thought as an end user this ...
4
votes
1answer
503 views
Bash: `-su: $*: unbound variable` with `set -u`
This is a FreeBSD 7.x system running GNU bash version 4.0.
In Bash, the set -u option can force a shell to print an error if it encounters an unset variable, like this:
$ set -u
$ echo $THISISUNSET
...
4
votes
1answer
101 views
How can I mount a directory of the host system for use inside a FreeBSD jail?
I am performing the following on FreeBSD 9.0-STABLE:
mount_nullfs /foo /jail/foo
After that, from within the host system, the mount works. So this works:
touch /foo/bar && ls /jail/foo/bar
...
4
votes
1answer
1k views
Use or convert .ttf font for console use in FreeBSD
I have a monospace .ttf font I really like (UbuntuBeta Mono). Is there any way I can use it (or convert first and then use, if needed) for the console in freeBSD?
I know there is ...
4
votes
1answer
474 views
Multibooting FreeBSD and other Linux distros
Long story short: Have one laptop, need to multiboot FreeBSD/OpenBSD as well as a number of Linux distros.
Which one do you think should go first? FreeBSD offers a bootMgr, but I'm not sure how it ...
4
votes
2answers
569 views
802.3ad on FreeBSD and Linux using crossover cables?
I have setup a NFS server on FreeBSD 8.1, which will be serving one Linux client. Each box has a dual-port 1gig fiber card, and each box is directly connected to the other over this link. There is ...
4
votes
2answers
152 views
FHS differences between OS X, Linux and FreeBSD
I've read that there is a different behavior between FreeBSD and Linux with the /usr/local, in FBSD ports are installed there, in Linux not, can someone explain more on this?
I'd like to know where ...
4
votes
1answer
323 views
How to install FreeBSD on Thinkpad?
I am trying to install FreeBSD but I am having a problem. My computer is a Thinkpad T400.
I followed the instructions to install so I have downloaded the file FreeBSD-8.3-RELEASE-amd64-dvd1.iso and ...
4
votes
1answer
188 views
Inserting a nat solution into a network while it's not the gateway
I have tried this a few different ways. Currently trying with pf on freebsd 8.2
I am trying to insert a nat solution into an existing network that will redirect traffic from an outside ip address to ...
4
votes
2answers
1k views
mount freebsd slice partition under linux
I have under linux:
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/filename.img * 63 1007999 503968+ a5 FreeBsd
Under above partition i have two ...
4
votes
1answer
123 views
TWAIN API support on FreeBSD
Does FreeBSD support in any way the TWAIN API? If not, what is the API that could be used to read data from imaging devices (webcams) - preferably in a portable way.
