Putting together an OpenBSD box is fun and easy, although there are a few hurdles that can seem daunting for the new user. The installation process is well defined, documented. We include here a few areas that might be interesting to review before a system install (especially for new users.)
Likewise, we try to put here general issues to consider when planning to roll-out a consistent deployment of OpenBSD.
Before your first installation, there are some items that may be of use to know, think about. Whether comfortable with Unix, or new to it, when installing OpenBSD for the first time there are some preliminary concepts that may be useful to be aware of, before taking the plunge.
In this section, we review various components of an installed system and discuss different aspects of it from an OpenBSD point of view:
For the first time installer, the OpenBSD INSTALL instructions are clear. There’s a TEXT version on the FTP sites (one for each hardware platform) a HTML version for the web browsers.
For the pre-disposed to printed matter? You might want to move along? Or, have a change of heart.
The Graphical Desktop Environment (GDE), is standard for most desktops. Those extra pixels on large screens are magnets for more terminal screens, and the occassional web browser etc. The graphical workstation desktop is (as with most things in Unix) built from various software components:
When you’re ready to move from your OpenBSD hobby, into your corporate environment, a deployment ‘procedure’ helps you with consistency.
The OpenBSD team have built a great OS, so let’s not be the weak link (point of failure) in the deployment chain.