Recently in DragonFlyBSD Category

I'm not saying I won't go back to using OpenBSD (or even try FreeBSD on the desktop), but I'm sufficiently busy enough and have had a sufficient number of configuration and upgrade instances either take lots of time or go horribly wrong in OpenBSD that I'm continuing to use Linux (these days Ubuntu) on the desktop if, for no other reason, than that upgrading, configuration and adding the software I need is a whole lot easier.

As I've written recently (OK, I probably "tweeted" it), a true BSD distribution, i.e. one that provided a reasonable installer, timely binary updates and a wide choice of desktop environments easily installed is what I think is needed to take BSD (either Open- Free- or Net- ... or DragonFly ...) to the proverbial "next level," meaning use on the desktop by less-than-qualified geeky types (and maybe even "civilians") like myself.

Linux in general and Ubuntu in particular is just so good at taking care of the less technically minded while still providing a powerful, extendable operating system that can be used at just about every level and for every purpose. That's why I'm using it today.

As an experiment, I decided to bring my Evolutionary Computing presentation on making the journey into free, open-source software — a slide show originally created in OpenOffice Impress 2.4 — into Google Docs, which happens to have a presentation app in addition to the better-known Docs and Spreadsheets components.

I revised the presentation — taking some things out, adding others and providing some updates on what I'm doing — and output it as a PDF.

Download that PDF for your reading pleasure by clicking on the image above or the link below:

Evolutionary Computing (revised July 2009)

Interesting note: I believe that no previous entry on this blog has been filed under so many categories. (And I've been considering dumping Categories entirely and just using tags ...)

While I've experimented with FreeBSD (and offshoots DesktopBSD and PC-BSD), NetBSD and OpenBSD (the latter of which I run the most; including right now), I never really paid much attention to DragonFlyBSD.

A quick perusal of the DragonFlyBSD Web site offers a lot of information on things like its new HAMMER filesystem as well as the operating system's goal of bringing "native clustering support" into the kernel.

It's all a bit over my desktop-using head:

In the 2007-2008 time-frame a new filesystem called HAMMER was developed for DragonFly. HAMMER sees its first light of day in the July 2008 2.0 release. This filesystem has been designed to solve numerous issues and to add many new capabilities to DragonFly, such as fine-grained snapshots, instant crash recovery, and near real-time mirroring. The filesytem is also intended to serve as a basis for the clustering work that makes up the second phase of the project.

The second phase of the project is now upon us. The DragonFly project's ultimate goal is to provide native clustering support in the kernel. This involves the creation of a sophisticated cache management framework for filesystem namespaces, file spaces, and VM spaces, which allows heavily interactive programs to run across multiple machines with cache coherency fully guaranteed in all respects. This also involves being able to chop up resources, including the cpu by way of a controlled VM context, for safe assignment to unsecured third-party clusters over the internet (though the security of such clusters itself might be in doubt, the first and most important thing is for systems donating resources to not be made vulnerable through their donation).

I recently dug out the iPod I've barely used for the past few years and decided to start investigating the many free-software-focused podcasts out there. The one I'm focusing on now is Will Backman's excellent BSD Talk, which provides a great way to learn about all of the BSD-derived operating systems.

Last night I listened to an interview with DragonFlyBSD founder Matthew Dillon.

While all that talk about HAMMER remained firmly over my head, it's nice to know that those who understand the finer points of filesystems are working on ways to continually innovate and bring new features to the operating systems we use.

I decided to take another look at the DragonFlyBSD Web site, and while they don't give it up easily, even a thick-headed guy like me could install and deploy the OS on the server or desktop.

DragonFly — itself derived from FreeBSD — shares the NetBSD package system and as a result has a very extensive repository with thousands of desktop-friendly apps. Like most developers, those who work on DragonFly keep an eye on the other BSDs, and they borrow from FreeBSD and NetBSD when appropriate.

(Side note: There is surprisingly little rivalry among users — and even less than that among developers — of the various BSD systems; code is often freely shared, and this is one of the strengths of free, open-source software that leads to better functionality for everybody.)

At this point in time, DragonFlyBSD is an i386 OS. It's ISOs produce CDs that boot into a live environment. I'm a little fuzzy on the various installation methods, but it looks like the system can be installed via either a console, over a serial connection or even with a Web-based interface.

While right now I'm pretty deep into running OpenBSD, I can see giving DragonFlyBSD a tryout soon.

The beauty of free, open-source operating systems in particular, and the BSDs in general, is that the various projects have different philosophies and emphases. Aside from its emphasis on security and cryptography, what attracts me to OpenBSD is its commitment to multiple platforms (something NetBSD is even more committed to) as well as the extremely high quality of its many packages (more than 4,000 for i386) and ports.

Having 300+ GNU/Linux distributions — all using variants and versions of the Linux kernel — is a great thing.

The BSDs offer a compelling alternative. I have hardware that OpenBSD can auto-configure better than most Linux distributions. A monopoly in FOSS operating systems would be as dangerous as the monopoly Microsoft has in proprietary desktop systems (with a Microsoft-Apple duopoly being almost as dangerous and counterproductive).

Innovation, usability and security can't happen in a monopolistic vacuum. So while Linux, along with the GNU tools and the many pieces of software that go into all those hundreds of distributions, is an important counterweight to Windows and Mac OS, having a half-dozen or so BSD-based projects offering alternative FOSS environments is a great thing for everybody who depends on computers. And that's pretty much all of us.

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