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I have a thread here from Oct 2015, where I looked mainly at PC-BSD (didn't suit me), & some other options, as I was (& am again) a bit tired of the systemd stuff & the alternatives that I have to put up with when using Linux.

 

OpenBSD really looks like a great option due to its inbuilt security features (other advantages too). Aparently you can (could anyway) use AirVPN/OpenVPN via the terminal on OpenBSD (I haven't done it).

 

I downloaded the OpenBSD install61.iso last night & it does boot up to the point where I'm offered the use of the installer (always the first major problem to get past). I'll get to installing it in the next few days sometime & see where that leads me.

 

If it does install OK, then I'm sure I'm going to have some questions on how to get Air set up, & the firewall too (rickjames are you there? ). As it will need to do what Eddie's "lock" feature does.

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It's a long time I don't use Openbsd but I was thinking to use it again these months. I haven't decided yet. I have forgotten many things in these years, even to make my firewall rules, and maybe Openbsd has changed a lot, but it's not too late to return

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@pr1v I installed the base OpenBSD & have set about making an Openbox based system that uses the Worker file manager as its main front end (that's how I like to operate ). Thankfully Worker was in their main binary repo & I didn't have to use a port. Firefox is installed, & has my favourite selection of privacy add-ons installed. I don't want to really use it much until I've got Air functioning though.

 

At this stage I after laboriously reading through (on a 2nd machine) the entire binary repo & installing the packages that I wanted as I went, I have ~90% of my installation done (re. the packages). Openbox runs when I type in startx, Worker runs (but I have to configure it - I'll copy my Linux ~/.worker/config file over & modify that one to suit, as it will be the quickest way), some of my preferred Linux packages were in the O-BSD binary repo, so they are in place & mostly functioning - the likes of Tint2 will need my Linux ~/.config/tint2/tint2rc to get it happening how I like it (there is no tintwizard in the binary repo).

 

At this point I have the following known problems to solve (not listed in order of importance):

 

1.) Get USB media to be recognised (very helpful for copying my Linux configs over from a USB stick, as I have installed O-BSD on my Linux box with my Linux drives disconnected).

(edit - I managed to sort this one out by making a couple of buttons on Worker do the mount & umount for me. For anyone interested in terminal input to get USB media functioning have a read of this page.)

 

2.) Get AirVPN to work. (edit - I tried to use the portable amd64 Eddie pack, but it unsurprisingly failed - looking for Linux files - I have mono, openvpn, stunnel installed, but there is one file that has its names now displayed in the worker file lister in hieroglyphics!)

 

3.) Set the VESA screen resolution to 1080p. (I'm on a latish model nVidia & I'll be happy on O-BSD to have it run at that res' on VESA.)  (edit - just had a look at that one; I'll leave that for tomorrow, I think I'll spend some time here. I ran a movie & sound was working, video looked nice, but it was slow & couldn't be sped up in mplayer.)

 

4.) Haven't tested sound yet. (Pulseaudio was automatically installed! I'm looking forward to removing that & using ALSA only hopefully?)  (edit - as mentioned above, I've played a movie & there was good sound.) (edit2 - I went to bed last night & it ocurred to me what Advanced Linux Sound Architecture - or some such - stands for! So I now know that ALSA won't be being used. lol NO, wrong again, I just had a quick look on the web, & both ALSA & OSS can be used, so there you go...)

 

5.) Setup autostart X, as I'm in a secure home location so I don't have to worry about that kind of security on my desktop box.

 

6.) Fonts aren't as sharp as I'd like. I'll search on that after I've got the more important (display & other) problems sorted. (edit - running a low resolution display is certainly not aiding the display clarity.)

 

After installation of the base system, I fiddled around a bit, reading the OBsd wiki. Then I did a search for info' on something & I discovered this site. Which I followed (though I'm no programmer, so I installed nano & used it instead of vi(m) & I didn't do any of what he suggested for the edits in ~/.xinitrc apart from changing the last line to exec openbox . I have since added numlockx & so that the numlock gets turned on after X is called.

 

Anyway, it has been a long afternoon. The base install is really quite quick & relatively easy. It is the all of the rest that is the time consuming part...

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Further on the above just edited post I have some more that may help someone else who goes down the OpenBSD / Openbox path:

 

I couldn't get any programs to autostart by:

 

1.) Moving the /etc/xdg/autostart/ directory over to ~/.config/ & adding the few .desktop files from /usr/local/share/applications/ that I wanted there. None of the files would start that way? Other system files must arrive with DE's that didn't come with Openbox?

 

2.) Calling the files to the ~/.config/openbox/autostart file.

 

The files DID start when they were called via ~/.xinitrc . <phew!>

I had previously edited my ~/.config/openbox/rc.xml file, so that it would place the 2 files that I called from .xinitrc onto specific desktops as per instructions, & the 3rd file called in .xinitrc opens on desktop 1.

 

Anyway, I'm pretty happy with my progress today. I think that one way or another I will get around the slow speed movie playback in VESA mode. My Openbox menu is setup, along with many other customisations.

 

I'll have to have a go at getting Air to work, & then battle with the firewall... (dumb )

 

That done, I believe that I've found my Linux replacement!

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My OBSD system is pretty much complete & configured. Though I've some system stuff to track down info' on so I can refine the install (get the ~/.config/autostart/.desktop files to work as they should & such.

​I've still got sorting Air & the firewall out in front of me. I'm having a rest.

​An important note for anyone seriously thinking of using OpenBSD, is that they have a zero tolerance policy for binary blobs, due to their strong security policies. That in combination with nVidia's total lack of support for the X.org open-source drivers, means that most nVidia GPU users will be stuck with VESA, & probably at a lower display resolution than you would like.

​I don't find that so bad, thus far, though when I attempt to play a movie with mplayer, the VESA driver doesn't have enough grunt to be able to play the movie at full speed. So you get a slow motion version, that looks good, & sounds good, but...

​So I've sourced a new AMD HD 7950 for $60- including freight, from Hong Kong. AMD have given a great deal to the X.org project, even code.

​Anyway, I'll continue the fight in the not too distant future.

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​An update to my OpenBSD migration: I'm looking at finding a router that I can install Tomato (or perhaps DD-WRT) on & then run OpenVPN/AirVPN on that. (I'm obviously not rushing, but it will happen... )

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I am hoping to use OpenBSD with AIrVPN as well. All I have left to do is make PF and OpenVPN work together. I was hoping there would be a tutorial here, but I can't find one. I was using Linux before  but now I don't trust it so much after reading about the military connection with SystemD, so am determined to make OpenBSD work.

 

I have an NVIDIA card which I assume isn't working and I am running in software mode. I installed SMPlayer, installed mpv. In SMPlayer Preferences | General  | Multimedia engine = mpv. Pref | General | Output driver = X11. This gave me correct video play. 

 

​I don't find that so bad, thus far, though when I attempt to play a movie with mplayer, the VESA driver doesn't have enough grunt to be able to play the movie at full speed. So you get a slow motion version, that looks good, & sounds good, but...

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I am hoping to use OpenBSD with AIrVPN as well. All I have left to do is make PF and OpenVPN work together. I was hoping there would be a tutorial here, but I can't find one. I was using Linux before  but now I don't trust it so much after reading about the military connection with SystemD, so am determined to make OpenBSD work.

 

I have an NVIDIA card which I assume isn't working and I am running in software mode. I installed SMPlayer, installed mpv. In SMPlayer Preferences | General  | Multimedia engine = mpv. Pref | General | Output driver = X11. This gave me correct video play. 

 

​I don't find that so bad, thus far, though when I attempt to play a movie with mplayer, the VESA driver doesn't have enough grunt to be able to play the movie at full speed. So you get a slow motion version, that looks good, & sounds good, but...

 

 

NVIDIA and OpenBSD, good luck.

OpenVPN will work as perfectly as usual.


Occasional moderator, sometimes BOFH. Opinions are my own, except when my wife disagrees.

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NVIDIA and OpenBSD, good luck.

 

Yeah they don't support binary blobs which I've come around to agreeing with. So my NVIDIA card will be sold for scrap and I won't buy NVIDIA again until they change their policy. I'm not into gaming anymore, so I'm not missing anything.

 

OpenVPN will work as perfectly as usual.

 

Yep, I got OpenVPN working yesterday and it was dead easy. Unfortunately I'm getting a report of a DNS leak, so the Packet Filter is the next thing I have to figure out, unless something else is causing it.

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Aspisoph wrote:

"Yep, I got OpenVPN working yesterday and it was dead easy. Unfortunately I'm getting a report of a DNS leak, so the Packet Filter is the next thing I have to figure out, unless something else is causing it."

 

How did you setup openbsd?, I can connect but but have no dns resolution.,

Thanks

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Aspisoph wrote:

"Yep, I got OpenVPN working yesterday and it was dead easy. Unfortunately I'm getting a report of a DNS leak, so the Packet Filter is the next thing I have to figure out, unless something else is causing it."

 

How did you setup openbsd?, I can connect but but have no dns resolution.,

Thanks

I didn't do anything unusual I just followed the instructions. Sorry I can't remember more than that. I'm a just newb - I still haven't figured out the PF. lol

 

I suggest you ask at http://daemonforums.org/. There's some knowledgeable people there.

 

 

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For BSD, a $30 USD Radeon card makes it work much better. Just forget that you have a nice Nvidia card altogether until Nvidia decides to start actually supporting BSD. Good luck.


Debugging is at least twice as hard as writing the program in the first place.

So if you write your code as clever as you can possibly make it, then by definition you are not smart enough to debug it.

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