6 ms·

FreeBSD 14.4-Release Announcement

153 points by vermaden 7mo ago

basemi 7mo ago
> Bhyve virtual machines can now share a filesystem with the host via the new p9fs Nice!
- colinhb 7mo ago
  Wild! Fun to see 9p filesystem protocol continue to have a life in this form.
- martinrame 7mo ago
  Yea!, as far as I understand, with p9fs now a simple zfs dataset can be shared with the VM, removing the need of ZVOLs (a ZVOL for the boot disk isn't an issue, but for example a data disk of 1tb is difficult to manage).
- ej31 7mo ago
  It's the duct tape of filesystem protocols, in a good way.
- jmmv 7mo ago
  Huh, in a point release? But excited to try it out ASAP! I haven’t made the leap to 15 on my server yet (in part because I can’t decide whether to go with pkgbase or not…), but sharing data more easily with VMs will surely be nice. What’s the performance like?
  - throw0101d 7mo ago
    > Huh, in a point release? MFCed (merged from current): * https://cgit.freebsd.org/src/commit/?id=e97ad33a89a78f55280b0485b3249ee9b907a718 https://cgit.freebsd.org/src/commit/?id=e97ad33a89a78f55280b...
  - sidkshatriya 7mo ago
    > in part because I can’t decide whether to go with pkgbase or not… pkgbase is optional in FreeBSD 15 BTW. One way to upgrade the base system and another to upgrade packages just feels inconsistent to me and pkgbase finally resolves that. I've not had any problems with pkgbase. I love it and would highly recommend it.
fullstop 7mo ago
Congratulations to the FreeBSD team! FreeBSD will always have a special place in my heart.
sidkshatriya 7mo ago
14.4 is a maintenance release. If you're installing FreeBSD today, use 15.0 Why FreeBSD ? - Well manicured OS, excellent docs. More performant than OpenBSD in every way and approaches Linux performance in some areas (e.g. Networking) - FreeBSD tends to have fewer features in almost all areas compared to Linux which makes it more approachable and more difficult to mess up. - Though it has fewer features, it still has a lot of features -- many big companies (Netflix most famously) still use it today for critical functions. - FreeBSD Kernel and Userland developed together -- it has got that undefined "cohesive" feel - Has less layers of abstraction than Linux, gets the job done. Because there are fewer layers it's easier to understand what is going on and potentially easier to fix. - FreeBSD is great if you want to learn pf, zfs, ... - Worth your while if you are bored of the Linux monoculture and just want to try something a bit different (but not tooo different) - Changes slowly, so good for setting up on a server that you want to just leave running without too much maintenance - Will increase your Linux skills because diversity always helps the human brain - Very simple daemon configuration via /etc/rc.conf - FreeBSD `bectl` controlled zfs boot environments are just so life changing and amazing. (this is possible via snapper on Linux + btrfs but needs complex installation and is not so integrated). - FreeBSD will accept (smallish) PRs via GitHub if you find a minor bug. Otherwise it uses the decent Phabricator interface at https://reviews.freebsd.org https://reviews.freebsd.org . This is much better IMHO than the mailing list workflow of Linux. The barriers to contribution are lesser than Linux !! - FreeBSD still has that warm fuzzy small "community" feel which I like
- pisikesipelgas 7mo ago
  I heard, that BSD is dying...
  - sidkshatriya 7mo ago
    NetBSD - situation does not seem that good. Project feels less active now. OpenBSD - has a fanatical band of security obsessed users. Not going away anytime soon. FreeBSD - It chugs along. Why is FreeBSD worth trying out ? See my reply above.
    - 7mo ago
antonyh 7mo ago
My next rebuild is likely to move from Debian to openSUSE Tumbleweed or FreeBSD. They fit better with what I want in an OS used for development purposes (needing newer versions than provided by Debian stable). However... the lack of Docker on BSD is a deal breaker for some of my uses, jumping through hoops is possible, and moving to Podman might work but looks complicated to set up. On the other hand, Debian 14 will remove GTK2 which breaks other things. There's always a compromise.
slyfox125 7mo ago
For those who are only familiar with Linux (or Windows): don't relegate yourself to any one system. FreeBSD has its benefits and so does Linux (and Windows, though that shrinks by the day - and MacOS). Use the best tool for the job at hand and enjoy things for what they are. Personally, I find enjoyment and usefulness in all of them (BSD, Linux, Mac, Windows), and use them all regularly (daily to weekly).
HackerThemAll 7mo ago
Apple should regularly donate to FreeBSD Foundation. They make countless billions USD thanks to FreeBSD. 1M or 5M a year would be a penny to them, but would be a world to the Foundation, which would be able to improve FreeBSD a lot.

153 points by vermaden 7mo ago

basemi 7mo ago

> Bhyve virtual machines can now share a filesystem with the host via the new p9fs Nice!

colinhb 7mo ago
Wild! Fun to see 9p filesystem protocol continue to have a life in this form.
martinrame 7mo ago
Yea!, as far as I understand, with p9fs now a simple zfs dataset can be shared with the VM, removing the need of ZVOLs (a ZVOL for the boot disk isn't an issue, but for example a data disk of 1tb is difficult to manage).
ej31 7mo ago
It's the duct tape of filesystem protocols, in a good way.
jmmv 7mo ago
Huh, in a point release? But excited to try it out ASAP! I haven’t made the leap to 15 on my server yet (in part because I can’t decide whether to go with pkgbase or not…), but sharing data more easily with VMs will surely be nice. What’s the performance like?
- throw0101d 7mo ago
  > Huh, in a point release? MFCed (merged from current): * https://cgit.freebsd.org/src/commit/?id=e97ad33a89a78f55280b0485b3249ee9b907a718 https://cgit.freebsd.org/src/commit/?id=e97ad33a89a78f55280b...
- sidkshatriya 7mo ago
  > in part because I can’t decide whether to go with pkgbase or not… pkgbase is optional in FreeBSD 15 BTW. One way to upgrade the base system and another to upgrade packages just feels inconsistent to me and pkgbase finally resolves that. I've not had any problems with pkgbase. I love it and would highly recommend it.

fullstop 7mo ago

Congratulations to the FreeBSD team! FreeBSD will always have a special place in my heart.

sidkshatriya 7mo ago

14.4 is a maintenance release. If you're installing FreeBSD today, use 15.0 Why FreeBSD ? - Well manicured OS, excellent docs. More performant than OpenBSD in every way and approaches Linux performance in some areas (e.g. Networking) - FreeBSD tends to have fewer features in almost all areas compared to Linux which makes it more approachable and more difficult to mess up. - Though it has fewer features, it still has a lot of features -- many big companies (Netflix most famously) still use it today for critical functions. - FreeBSD Kernel and Userland developed together -- it has got that undefined "cohesive" feel - Has less layers of abstraction than Linux, gets the job done. Because there are fewer layers it's easier to understand what is going on and potentially easier to fix. - FreeBSD is great if you want to learn pf, zfs, ... - Worth your while if you are bored of the Linux monoculture and just want to try something a bit different (but not tooo different) - Changes slowly, so good for setting up on a server that you want to just leave running without too much maintenance - Will increase your Linux skills because diversity always helps the human brain - Very simple daemon configuration via /etc/rc.conf - FreeBSD `bectl` controlled zfs boot environments are just so life changing and amazing. (this is possible via snapper on Linux + btrfs but needs complex installation and is not so integrated). - FreeBSD will accept (smallish) PRs via GitHub if you find a minor bug. Otherwise it uses the decent Phabricator interface at https://reviews.freebsd.org https://reviews.freebsd.org . This is much better IMHO than the mailing list workflow of Linux. The barriers to contribution are lesser than Linux !! - FreeBSD still has that warm fuzzy small "community" feel which I like

pisikesipelgas 7mo ago
I heard, that BSD is dying...
- sidkshatriya 7mo ago
  NetBSD - situation does not seem that good. Project feels less active now. OpenBSD - has a fanatical band of security obsessed users. Not going away anytime soon. FreeBSD - It chugs along. Why is FreeBSD worth trying out ? See my reply above.
  - 7mo ago

antonyh 7mo ago

My next rebuild is likely to move from Debian to openSUSE Tumbleweed or FreeBSD. They fit better with what I want in an OS used for development purposes (needing newer versions than provided by Debian stable). However... the lack of Docker on BSD is a deal breaker for some of my uses, jumping through hoops is possible, and moving to Podman might work but looks complicated to set up. On the other hand, Debian 14 will remove GTK2 which breaks other things. There's always a compromise.

slyfox125 7mo ago

For those who are only familiar with Linux (or Windows): don't relegate yourself to any one system. FreeBSD has its benefits and so does Linux (and Windows, though that shrinks by the day - and MacOS). Use the best tool for the job at hand and enjoy things for what they are. Personally, I find enjoyment and usefulness in all of them (BSD, Linux, Mac, Windows), and use them all regularly (daily to weekly).

HackerThemAll 7mo ago

Apple should regularly donate to FreeBSD Foundation. They make countless billions USD thanks to FreeBSD. 1M or 5M a year would be a penny to them, but would be a world to the Foundation, which would be able to improve FreeBSD a lot.