Episode Details

TrueOS stable 17.12 is out, we have an OpenBSD workstation guide for you, learnings from the PDP-11, FreeBSD 2017 Releng recap and Duo SSH.

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TrueOS stable release 17.12

We are pleased to announce a new release of the 6-month STABLE version of TrueOS!
This release cycle focused on lots of cleanup and stabilization of the distinguishing features of TrueOS: OpenRC, boot speed, removable-device management, SysAdm API integrations, Lumina improvements, and more. We have also been working quite a bit on the server offering of TrueOS, and are pleased to provide new text-based server images with support for Virtualization systems such as bhyve! This allows for simple server deployments which also take advantage of the TrueOS improvements to FreeBSD such as:

• Sane service management and status reporting with OpenRC
• Reliable, non-interactive system update mechanism with fail-safe boot environment support.
• Graphical management of remote TrueOS servers through SysAdm (also provides a reliable API for administrating systems remotely).
• LibreSSL for all base SSL support.
• Base system managed via packages (allows for additional fine-tuning).
• Base system is smaller due to the removal of the old GCC version in base. Any compiler and/or version may be installed and used via packages as desired.
• Support for newer graphics drivers and chipsets (graphics, networking, wifi, and more)

TrueOS Version 17.12 (2017, December) is now available for download from the TrueOS website. Both the STABLE and UNSTABLE package repositories have also been updated in-sync with each other, so current users only need to follow the prompts about updating their system to run the new release.
We are also pleased to announce the availability of TrueOS Sponsorships! If you would like to help contribute to the project financially we now have the ability to accept both one-time donations as well as recurring monthly donations which wil help us advocate for TrueOS around the world. Thank you all for using and supporting TrueOS!

• Notable Changes:
  • Over 1100 OpenRC services have been created for 3rd-party packages. This should ensure the functionality of nearly all available 3rd-party packages that install/use their own services.
  • The OpenRC services for FreeBSD itself have been overhauled, resulting in significantly shorter boot times.
  • Separate install images for desktops and servers (server image uses a text/console installer)
  • Bhyve support for TrueOS Server Install
  • FreeBSD base is synced with 12.0-CURRENT as of December 4th, 2017 (Github commit: 209d01f)
  • FreeBSD ports tree is synced as of November 30th (pre-FLAVOR changes)
  • Lumina Desktop has been updated/developed from 1.3.0 to 1.4.1
  • PCDM now supports multiple simultaneous graphical sessions
  • Removable devices are now managed through the “automounter” service.
  • Devices are “announced” as available to the system via *.desktop shortcuts in /media. These shortcuts also contain a variety of optional “Actions” that may be performed on the device.
  • Devices are only mounted while they are being used (such as when browsing via the command line or a file manager).
  • Devic