FreeBSD Handbook

The FreeBSD Documentation Project

Welcome to FreeBSD! This handbook covers the installation and day to day use of FreeBSD 4.10-RELEASE and FreeBSD 5.2.1-RELEASE. This manual is awork in progress and is the work ofmany individuals. Many sections do not yet exist and some of those that do exist need tobe updated. If you are interested in helping with this project, send email to the FreeBSDdocumentation project mailing list. The latest version of this document is alwaysavailable from the FreeBSD web site.It may also be downloaded in a variety of formats and compression options from the FreeBSD FTP server or oneof the numerous mirror sites. If you would prefer to havea hard copy of the handbook, you can purchase one at the FreeBSD Mall. You may also want to search the handbook.

Table of Contents

Preface

I. Getting Started

1 Introduction

1.1 Synopsis
1.2 Welcome to FreeBSD!
1.3 About the FreeBSD Project

2 Installing FreeBSD

2.1 Synopsis
2.2 Pre-installation Tasks
2.3 Starting the Installation
2.4 Introducing Sysinstall
2.5 Allocating Disk Space
2.6 Choosing What to Install
2.7 Choosing Your Installation Media
2.8 Committing to the Installation
2.9 Post-installation
2.10 Supported Hardware
2.11 Troubleshooting
2.12 Advanced Installation Guide
2.13 Preparing Your Own Installation Media

3 UNIX Basics

3.1 Synopsis
3.2 Virtual Consoles and Terminals
3.3 Permissions
3.4 Directory Structure
3.5 Disk Organization
3.6 Mounting and Unmounting File Systems
3.7 Processes
3.8 Daemons, Signals, and Killing Processes
3.9 Shells
3.10 Text Editors
3.11 Devices and Device Nodes
3.12 Binary Formats
3.13 For More Information

4 Installing Applications: Packages and Ports

4.1 Synopsis
4.2 Overview of Software Installation
4.3 Finding Your Application
4.4 Using the Packages System
4.5 Using the Ports Collection
4.6 Post-installation Activities
4.7 Dealing with Broken Ports

5 The X Window System

5.1 Synopsis
5.2 Understanding X
5.3 Installing XFree86™
5.4 XFree86™Configuration
5.5 Using Fonts in XFree86™
5.6 The X Display Manager
5.7 Desktop Environments

II. System Administration

6 Configuration and Tuning

6.1 Synopsis
6.2 Initial Configuration
6.3 Core Configuration
6.4 Application Configuration
6.5 Starting Services
6.6 Configuring the cronUtility
6.7 Using rc under FreeBSD 5.X
6.8 Setting Up Network Interface Cards
6.9 Virtual Hosts
6.10 Configuration Files
6.11 Tuning with sysctl
6.12 Tuning Disks
6.13 Tuning Kernel Limits
6.14 Adding Swap Space
6.15 Power and Resource Management
6.16 Using and Debugging FreeBSD ACPI

7 The FreeBSD Booting Process

7.1 Synopsis
7.2 The Booting Problem
7.3 The MBR, and Boot Stages One, Two, and Three
7.4 Kernel Interaction During Boot
7.5 Device Hints
7.6 Init: Process Control Initialization
7.7 Shutdown Sequence

8 Users and Basic Account Management

8.1 Synopsis
8.2 Introduction
8.3 The Superuser Account
8.4 System Accounts
8.5 User Accounts
8.6 Modifying Accounts
8.7 Limiting Users
8.8 Personalizing Users
8.9 Groups

9 Configuring the FreeBSD Kernel

9.1 Synopsis
9.2 Why Build a Custom Kernel?
9.3 Building and Installing a CustomKernel
9.4 The Configuration File
9.5 Making Device Nodes
9.6 If Something Goes Wrong

10 Security

10.1 Synopsis
10.2 Introduction
10.3 Securing FreeBSD
10.4 DES, MD5, and Crypt
10.5 One-time Passwords
10.6 KerberosIV
10.7 Kerberos5
10.8 Firewalls
10.9 OpenSSL
10.10 VPN over IPsec
10.11 OpenSSH
10.12 File System Access Control Lists
10.13 FreeBSD Security Advisories

11 Mandatory Access Control

11.1 Synopsis
11.2 Key Terms in this Chapter
11.3 Explanation of MAC
11.4 Understanding MAC Labels
11.5 Module Configuration
11.6 The MAC bsdextended Module
11.7 The MAC ifoff Module
11.8 The MAC portacl Module
11.9 MAC Policies with Labeling Features
11.10 The MAC partition Module
11.11 The MAC Multi-Level Security Module
11.12 The MAC Biba Module
11.13 The MAC LOMAC Module
11.14 Implementing a Secure Environment withMAC
11.15 Another Example: Using MAC to Constrain A WebServer
11.16 An Example of a MAC Sandbox
11.17 Troubleshooting the MAC Framework

12 Printing

12.1 Synopsis
12.2 Introduction
12.3 Basic Setup
12.4 Advanced Printer Setup
12.5 Using Printers
12.6 Alternatives to the StandardSpooler
12.7 Troubleshooting

13 Storage

13.1 Synopsis
13.2 Device Names
13.3 Adding Disks
13.4 RAID
13.5 Creating and Using Optical Media (CDs)
13.6 Creating and Using Optical Media (DVDs)
13.7 Creating and Using Floppy Disks
13.8 Creating and Using Data Tapes
13.9 Backups to Floppies
13.10 Backup Basics
13.11 Network, Memory, and File-Backed FileSystems
13.12 File System Snapshots
13.13 File System Quotas
13.14 Encrypting Disk Partitions

14 The Vinum Volume Manager

14.1 Synopsis
14.2 Disks Are Too Small
14.3 Access Bottlenecks
14.4 Data Integrity
14.5 Vinum Objects
14.6 Some Examples
14.7 Object Naming
14.8 Configuring Vinum
14.9 Using Vinum for the Root Filesystem

15 Localization - I18N/L10N Usage and Setup

15.1 Synopsis
15.2 The Basics
15.3 Using Localization
15.4 Compiling I18N Programs
15.5 Localizing FreeBSD to Specific Languages

16 Desktop Applications

16.1 Synopsis
16.2 Browsers
16.3 Productivity
16.4 Document Viewers
16.5 Finance
16.6 Summary

17 Multimedia

17.1 Synopsis
17.2 Setting Up the Sound Card
17.3 MP3 Audio
17.4 Video Playback
17.5 Setting Up TV Cards

18 Serial Communications

18.1 Synopsis
18.2 Introduction
18.3 Terminals
18.4 Dial-in Service
18.5 Dial-out Service
18.6 Setting Up the Serial Console

19 PPP and SLIP

19.1 Synopsis
19.2 Using User PPP
19.3 Using Kernel PPP
19.4 Troubleshooting PPP Connections
19.5 Using PPP over Ethernet (PPPoE)
19.6 Using PPP over ATM(PPPoA)
19.7 Using SLIP

20 Advanced Networking

20.1 Synopsis
20.2 Gateways and Routes
20.3 Wireless Networking
20.4 Bluetooth
20.5 Bridging
20.6 NFS
20.7 Diskless Operation
20.8 ISDN
20.9 NIS/YP
20.10 DHCP
20.11 DNS
20.12 NTP
20.13 Network Address Translation
20.14 The inetd``Super-Server''
20.15 Parallel Line IP (PLIP)
20.16 IPv6
20.17 ATM on FreeBSD 5.X

21 Electronic Mail

21.1 Synopsis
21.2 Using Electronic Mail
21.3 sendmailConfiguration
21.4 Changing Your Mail Transfer Agent
21.5 Troubleshooting
21.6 Advanced Topics
21.7 SMTP with UUCP
21.8 Setting up to send only
21.9 Using Mail with a Dialup Connection
21.10 SMTP Authentication
21.11 Mail User Agents
21.12 Using fetchmail
21.13 Using procmail

22 The Cutting Edge

22.1 Synopsis
22.2 FreeBSD-CURRENT vs. FreeBSD-STABLE
22.3 Synchronizing Your Source
22.4 Using make world
22.5 Tracking for Multiple Machines

23 Linux Binary Compatibility

23.1 Synopsis
23.2 Installation
23.3 Installing Mathematica®
23.4 Installing Maple™
23.5 Installing MATLAB®
23.6 Installing Oracle®
23.7 Installing SAP® R/3®
23.8 Advanced Topics

III. Appendices

A. Obtaining FreeBSD

A.1 CDROM and DVD Publishers
A.2 FTP Sites
A.3 Anonymous CVS
A.4 Using CTM
A.5 Using CVSup
A.6 CVS Tags
A.7 AFS Sites
A.8 rsync Sites

B. Bibliography

B.1 Books & Magazines Specificto FreeBSD
B.2 Users' Guides
B.3 Administrators' Guides
B.4 Programmers' Guides
B.5 Operating System Internals
B.6 Security Reference
B.7 Hardware Reference
B.8 UNIX®History
B.9 Magazines and Journals

C. Resources on the Internet

C.1 Mailing Lists
C.2 Usenet Newsgroups
C.3 World Wide Web Servers
C.4 Email Addresses
C.5 Shell Accounts

D. PGP Keys

D.1 Officers
D.2 Core Team Members
D.3 Developers

Colophon

List of Tables
2-1. Sample Device Inventory
2-2. Partition Layout for First Disk
2-3. Partition Layout for SubsequentDisks
2-4. Possible Security Profiles
2-5. FreeBSD ISO Image Names andMeanings
3-1. Disk Device Codes
13-1. Physical Disk NamingConventions
14-1. Vinum Plex Organizations
20-1. Wiring a Parallel Cable forNetworking
20-2. Reserved IPv6 addresses

List of Figures
2-1. Kernel Configuration Menu
2-2. The Kernel Device ConfigurationVisual Interface
2-3. Expanded Driver List
2-4. Driver Configuration With NoConflicts
2-5. Sysinstall Main Menu
2-6. Typical Device ProbeResults
2-7. Select Sysinstall Exit
2-8. Selecting Usage from SysinstallMain Menu
2-9. Selecting Documentation Menu
2-10. Sysinstall Documentation Menu
2-11. Sysinstall Main Menu
2-12. Sysinstall KeymapMenu
2-13. Sysinstall MainMenu
2-14. Sysinstall Options
2-15. Begin StandardInstallation
2-16. Select Drive forFDisk
2-17. Typical Fdisk Partitions beforeEditing
2-18. Fdisk Partition Using EntireDisk
2-19. Sysinstall Boot ManagerMenu
2-20. Exit Select Drive
2-21. Sysinstall DisklabelEditor
2-22. Sysinstall Disklabel Editor withAuto Defaults
2-23. Free Space for RootPartition
2-24. Edit Root PartitionSize
2-25. Choose the Root PartitionType
2-26. Choose the Root MountPoint
2-27. Sysinstall DisklabelEditor
2-28. Choose Distributions
2-29. ConfirmDistributions
2-30. Choose Installation Media
2-31. Selecting an Ethernet Device
2-32. Set Network Configuration fored0
2-33. Editing inetd.conf
2-34. Default Anonymous FTPConfiguration
2-35. Edit the FTP Welcome Message
2-36. Editing exports
2-37. Security Profile Options
2-38. System Console ConfigurationOptions
2-39. Screen Saver Options
2-40. Screen Saver Timeout
2-41. System Console ConfigurationExit
2-42. Select Your Region
2-43. Select Your Country
2-44. Select Your TimeZone
2-45. Select Mouse Protocol Type
2-46. Set Mouse Protocol
2-47. Configure Mouse Port
2-48. Setting the Mouse Port
2-49. Enable the Mouse Daemon
2-50. Test the Mouse Daemon
2-51. Network ConfigurationUpper-level
2-52. Select a default MTA
2-53. Ntpdate Configuration
2-54. Network ConfigurationLower-level
2-55. Select Configuration Method Menu
2-56. Select Default Desktop
2-57. Select Package Category
2-58. Select Packages
2-59. Install Packages
2-60. Confirm PackageInstallation
2-61. Select User
2-62. Add User Information
2-63. Exit User and Group Management
2-64. Exit Install
14-1. ConcatenatedOrganization
14-2. StripedOrganization
14-3. RAID-5Organization
14-4. A Simple Vinum Volume
14-5. A Mirrored VinumVolume
14-6. A Striped Vinum Volume
14-7. A Mirrored, Striped VinumVolume

List of Examples
2-1. Using an Existing PartitionUnchanged
2-2. Shrinking an Existing Partition
3-1. Sample Disk, Slice, andPartition Names
3-2. Conceptual Model of aDisk
4-1. Downloading a Package Manually andInstalling It Locally
6-1. Creating a Swapfile on FreeBSD4.X
6-2. Creating a Swapfile on FreeBSD5.X
7-1. boot0Screenshot
7-2. boot2Screenshot
7-3. An Insecure Console in /etc/ttys
8-1. Configuring adduser and adding a user on FreeBSD 4.X
8-2. Adding a user onFreeBSD 5.X
8-3. rmuserInteractive Account Removal
8-4. Interactive chpass by Superuser
8-5. Interactive chpass by Normal User
8-6. Changing Your Password
8-7. Changing Another User's Password as theSuperuser
8-8. Adding a Group Using pw(8)
8-9. Adding Somebody to a Group Using pw(8)
8-10. Using id(1) to Determine Group Membership
10-1. Using SSH to Create a Secure Tunnel forSMTP
13-1. Using dump overssh
13-2. Using dump overssh with RSH set
13-3. A Script for Creating a BootableFloppy
13-4. Using vnconfig to Mount an Existing FileSystem Image under FreeBSD 4.X
13-5. Creating a New File-Backed Disk with vnconfig
13-6. Using mdconfigto Mount an Existing File System Image under FreeBSD 5.X
13-7. Creating a New File-Backed Disk with mdconfig
13-8. Configure and Mount a File-Backed Diskwith mdmfs
13-9. md Memory Disk underFreeBSD 4.X
13-10. Creating a New Memory-Based Disk withmdconfig
13-11. Creating a New Memory-Based Disk withmdmfs
18-1. Adding Terminal Entries to /etc/ttys
20-1. Mounting an Export with amd
20-2. Branch Office or Home Network
20-3. Head Office or Other LAN
20-4. Sending inetd a HangUP Signal
21-1. Configuring the sendmail Access Database
21-2. Mail Aliases
21-3. Example Virtual Domain Mail Map
A-1. Checking Out Something from -CURRENT (ls(1)) and Deleting It Again:
A-2. Checking Out the Version of ls(1) in the 3.X-STABLE Branch:
A-3. Creating a List of Changes (as Unified Diffs) tols(1)
A-4. Finding Out What Other Module Names Can BeUsed:

This, and other documents, can be downloaded from ftp://ftp.FreeBSD.org/pub/FreeBSD/doc/.

For questions about FreeBSD, read the documentation before contacting <questions@FreeBSD.org>.
For questions about this documentation, e-mail <doc@FreeBSD.org>.