how easy is freebsd to set up ?

[Dark Atheist]

i use slackware but a few people have told me that freebsd is good - i have looked at it but its rather different from slackware and linux in general, i only need the box for web (internal for testing web pages/scripts and ftp)

having looked at it before it looks like theres a lot of work (building) involved to get it up and running and secure. Time is not a factor that is on my side atm so need something thats quick to setup and does not require a lot of maintance

 

[X-Istence]

Easy to use, and learn how to set up. http://freebsd.org/handbook/

 

[Dark Atheist]

looking at that now, obviously i didnt read it too well as i cant do a lot on there - suppose i have the weekend to mess about with it

 

[Geffy]

freebsd is by far the easiest os i have ever used. Ports tree is fantastic, everything works and config files are all in logical places. You might want to take a look at http://bsdguides.org as well.

 

[Dark Atheist]

thanks - sorted out sudo and can do a few thinigs on there now any idear why as a norm user i have to type /usr/local/bin/mc to get midnight commander to work - instead of just using mc ? im guessing i have to chane a conf file somewhere

port tree updating as we speak

 

[LordOfLA]

if you are using tcsh (default) type rehash and you're done.

I change shell to bash though so I don't have to do that

 

[Dark Atheist]

well suppose i will just have to mess things up and start over afew times before i feel comfortable with freebsd

You might want to take a look at http://bsdguides.org as well.

is anyone else having issues connecting to that site ?

edit: would you suggest freebsd as purely a server or could it be used as a desktop also ?

 

[Geffy]

Always recommend FreeBSD as a server. I don't currently like X11 in any way shape or form so I don't recommend FreeBSD or Linux for desktop use.

mmm, bsdguides does seem to be down, not quite sure why and I can't remember what I did with the owners email address.

 

[Dark Atheist]

guess that settles that then - just need to get the linux raid i made going under freebsd, lots more reading and lots more coffee i think

 

[Dark Atheist]

is the command freebsd-update all you need to install security upates on freebsd or is there other commands i might need to know ? and one last thing what command do you use to check the filesystem for errors ?

 

[X-Istence]

is the command freebsd-update all you need to install security upates on freebsd or is there other commands i might need to know ? and one last thing what command do you use to check the filesystem for errors ?

1. http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=freebsd-update&sektion=8&manpath=FreeBSD+6.2-RELEASE
If you are using the ports tree, you will want to read about that in the handbook, and also get used to using:

portsnap
pkg_version -v
portupgrade

It is suggested you use the ports tree to keep your services and other programs up to date, since the binary packages are only built once (with the release of the OS) so further security updates will need to be compiled from source.

2. fsck -fy when the system is booted into single user mode. Running it any other time is useless. For the most part you will not have to worry about a single thing!

 

[Dark Atheist]

ah i used cvsup - guess i will leave that alone next time

 

[X-Istence]

cvsup is deprecated, it has been replaced by csup except in rare cases, but then you are a developer.

csup is in the base install.
However for maintaining the ports tree, and keeping them up to date you definitely want to use portsnap.

 

[Dark Atheist]

thanks - i will give freebsd another shot - after a few cups of coffee, need to wake up first

should freebsd only download updates from bsd/source mirrors because atm its downloading rpm files from kernel.org

 

[LordOfLA]

If you have linux emulation installed it will fetch a bunch of redhat stuff

 

[Dark Atheist]

ah ok