xref: /openbsd/distrib/notes/INSTALL (revision 17df1aa7)
1dnl	$OpenBSD: INSTALL,v 1.43 2009/05/12 21:06:48 miod Exp $
2include(INCLUDE/../m4.common)dnl
3includeit(features)dnl
4INSTALLATION NOTES for OpenBSD/MACHINE OSREV
5
6
7What is OpenBSD?
8----------------
9
10OpenBSD is a fully functional, multi-platform UN*X-like Operating
11System based on Berkeley Networking Release 2 (Net/2) and 4.4BSD-Lite.
12There are several operating systems in this family, but OpenBSD
13differentiates itself by putting security and correctness first.  The
14OpenBSD team strives to achieve what is called a 'secure by default'
15status.  This means that an OpenBSD user should feel safe that their
16newly installed machine will not be compromised.  This 'secure by
17default' goal is achieved by taking a proactive stance on security.
18
19Since security flaws are essentially mistakes in design or implement-
20ation, the OpenBSD team puts as much importance on finding and fixing
21existing design flaws and implementation bugs as it does writing new
22code.  This means that an OpenBSD system will not only be more secure,
23but it will be more stable.  The source code for all critical system
24components has been checked for remote-access, local-access, denial-
25of-service, data destruction, and information-gathering problems.
26
27In addition to bug fixing, OpenBSD has integrated strong cryptography
28into the base system.  A fully functional IPsec implementation is
29provided as well as support for common protocols such as SSL and SSH.
30Network filtering and monitoring tools such as packet filtering, NAT,
31and bridging are also standard, as well as several routing services,
32such as BGP and OSPF.  For high performance demands, support for
33hardware cryptography has also been added to the base system.  Because
34security is often seen as a tradeoff with usability, OpenBSD provides
35as many security options as possible to allow the user to enjoy secure
36computing without feeling burdened by it.
37
38To integrate more smoothly in other environments, OpenBSD OSREV also
39provides, on some platforms, several binary emulation subsystems
40(which includes iBCS2, Linux, OSF/1, SunOS, SVR4, Solaris, and Ultrix
41compatibility), aiming at making the emulation as accurate as possible
42so that it is transparent to the user.
43
44Because OpenBSD is from Canada, the export of Cryptography pieces
45(such as OpenSSH, IPsec, and Kerberos) to the world is not restricted.
46
47(NOTE: OpenBSD can not be re-exported from the US once it has entered
48the US.  Because of this, take care NOT to get the distribution from
49an FTP server in the US if you are outside of Canada and the US.)
50
51A comprehensive list of the improvements brought by the OSREV release
52is available on the web at http://www.OpenBSD.org/OSrev.html.
53dnl
54dnl MACHINE/whatis
55dnl A few descriptive words about the port to MACHINE (i.e. what kind
56dnl of hardware it runs on, without too much details - MACHINE/hardware
57dnl will take care of this).
58dnl Needs to start with a blank line if non empty.
59includeit(whatis)dnl
60
61
62Sources of OpenBSD:
63-------------------
64
65includeit(mirrors)dnl
66
67
68OpenBSD OSREV Release Contents:
69-----------------------------
70
71The OpenBSD OSREV release is organized in the following way.  In the
72.../OSREV directory, for each of the architectures having an OpenBSD OSREV
73binary distribution, there is a sub-directory.
74
75includeit(contents)
76
77
78OpenBSD System Requirements and Supported Devices:
79--------------------------------------------------
80
81includeit(hardware)
82
83
84Getting the OpenBSD System onto Useful Media:
85---------------------------------------------
86
87includeit(xfer)
88
89
90Preparing your System for OpenBSD Installation:
91-----------------------------------------------
92
93includeit(prep)
94
95
96Installing the OpenBSD System:
97------------------------------
98
99includeit(install)
100
101
102Upgrading a previously-installed OpenBSD System:
103------------------------------------------------
104
105includeit(upgrade)
106
107
108Getting source code for your OpenBSD System:
109--------------------------------------------
110
111Now that your OpenBSD system is up and running, you probably want to get
112access to source code so that you can recompile pieces of the system.
113
114A few methods are provided.  If you have an OpenBSD CD-ROM, the source
115code is provided.  Otherwise, you can get the pieces over the Internet
116using anonymous CVS, CTM, CVSync or FTP.  For more information, see
117
118	http://www.OpenBSD.org/anoncvs.html
119	http://www.OpenBSD.org/ctm.html
120	http://www.OpenBSD.org/cvsync.html
121	http://www.OpenBSD.org/ftp.html
122
123
124Using online OpenBSD documentation:
125-----------------------------------
126
127Documentation is available if you first install the manual pages
128distribution set.  Traditionally, the UN*X "man pages" (documentation)
129are denoted by 'name(section)'.  Some examples of this are
130
131	intro(1),
132	man(1),
133	apropos(1),
134	passwd(1),
135	passwd(5) and
136	afterboot(8).
137
138The section numbers group the topics into several categories, but three
139are of primary interest: user commands are in section 1, file formats
140are in section 5, and administrative information is in section 8.
141
142The 'man' command is used to view the documentation on a topic, and is
143started by entering 'man [section] topic'.  The brackets [] around the
144section should not be entered, but rather indicate that the section is
145optional.  If you don't ask for a particular section, the topic with the
146least-numbered section name will be displayed.  For instance, after
147logging in, enter
148
149	man passwd
150
151to read the documentation for passwd(1).  To view the documentation for
152passwd(5), enter
153
154	man 5 passwd
155
156instead.
157
158If you are unsure of what man page you are looking for, enter
159
160	apropos subject-word
161
162where "subject-word" is your topic of interest; a list of possibly
163related man pages will be displayed.
164
165
166Adding third party software; ``packages'' and ``ports'':
167--------------------------------------------------------
168
169includeit(packages)
170
171
172Administrivia:
173--------------
174
175There are various mailing lists available via the mailing list
176server at <majordomo@OpenBSD.org>.  To get help on using the mailing
177list server, send mail to that address with an empty body, and it will
178reply with instructions.  There are also two OpenBSD Usenet newsgroups,
179comp.unix.bsd.openbsd.announce for important announcements and
180comp.unix.bsd.openbsd.misc for general OpenBSD discussion.
181
182More information about the various OpenBSD mailing list and proper
183netiquette is available at
184
185	http://www.OpenBSD.org/mail.html
186
187To report bugs, use the 'sendbug' command shipped with OpenBSD,
188and fill in as much information about the problem as you can.  Good
189bug reports {:-include-:} lots of details.  Additionally, bug reports can
190be sent by mail to:
191
192	bugs@OpenBSD.org
193
194Use of 'sendbug' is encouraged, however, because bugs reported with it
195are entered into the OpenBSD bugs database, and thus can't slip through
196the cracks.
197
198As a favor, please avoid mailing huge documents or files to the
199mailing lists.  Instead, put the material you would have sent up
200for FTP somewhere, then mail the appropriate list about it, or, if
201you'd rather not do that, mail the list saying you'll send the data
202to those who want it.
203
204For more information about reporting bugs, see
205
206	http://www.OpenBSD.org/report.html
207