Absolute OpenBSD: Unix for the Practical Paranoid

If you want to use the internet with minimal security risks, you want to use OpenBSD -- but there are aren't that many intro materials. Just getting a box set up, so that you can search the web for answers is tough. If you don't know someone who can help you, this book can get you through the tough spots; you just need will. With this book, you can install the OS and get on the Web securely and quickly. Almost all your problems will not be with OpenBSD itself, but with your complicated DSL modem, ISP or sendmail. There's very practical information in this book (e.g. IP aliasing -- good if you want hidden machines on your LAN) that isn't in more encyclopedic books. This is one of the best things about this book, the very high signal to noise ratio. If you want a reference for OpenBSD, try the FreeBSD books -- some are excellent, and they are similar enough to OpenBSD that you'll be able to get done what you need to get done. But read and re-read Lucas's book before you try new things. The author didn't make clear that OpenBSD attempts to prevent failures proactively, even if it means you get cryptic and alarming warnings. Where other OS's silently accept or ignore potentially bad things (e.g. ARP cache poisoning), OpenBSD sounds the alarm. If you've simply misconfigured stuff, these warnings can scare you. Just look on the web for answers; others have made these same mistakes. More details on how to recover from mistakes would have been nice. E.g. what to do if you suboptimally partition the disk, or what if you get the IP address wrong. You better know something about Unix beforehand. Notes on how to fix major problems (e.g. ruined fstab), or where to go for such info would be nice -- I wound up reinstalling/rebooting a few times, which I know is an admission of failure -- but I couldn't find out what else to do. The author doesn't hype the correctness of OpenBSD enough, and the positive feelings you get over time due to this. The software really works as advertised. As you set things up, you get constant positive feedback, because stuff works and keeps on working. I've had no crashes after 7 months use. The longer your stuff stays up and working, the more you see how rotten stuff is outside of BSD-land. Use OpenBSD and you'll experience some juicy schadenfreude as you learn of the woes of the non-BSD users. If you look at your computer's logs, you'll see that you are getting scanned all the time by compromised windows and linux boxes. You can justifiably feel superior to these people; they chose the wrong OS and pay the price. You chose the right OS (for a hostile internet) and have to pay the price every day, because administering an old-school Unix box is not as easy. The author doesn't make these points, perhaps because they are a bit mean-spirited, and he's a nice guy. Finaly, the author has some cool articles online at Onlamp, of a decidedly "hacker" nature -- e.g. setting up embedded OpenBSD on diskless machines. Now you see why t

Before reading this book, I had tried out OpenBSD a little, but I was left with many questions, and online documentation can be a bit intimidating at times. So when I found this book at the bookstore, I was thrilled. I am happy to say that this book really did live up to expectation.The intended audience of this book were people who knew there way around Unix and Linux. One need not be a veteran user, but as the author points out, you are expected to know basic command line stuff. If you are there, you will find this book to be a very easy going, yet thorough introduction to OpenBSD.This book walks you all the way through the origins of BSD, through installation (an excellent section of the book), to usage, compiling kernels, and so on. You get a well-rounded coverage of a very interesting operating system.I also really like the author's style of writing. On the one hand, you get a genuine sense of professionalism, but on the other hand, he cracks some good jokes throughout. If you are a system admin of any sort, you will certainly appreciate the humor.In closing, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who's had some experience with Unix and Linux. OpenBSD is a operating system few have tried, but I think after reading this book, you will definitely want to go out and try it yourself. The book is definitely time and money well spent.

OpenBSD is lauded for its security features -- this is THE OS to use for serious firewalls or secure web servers and the like. However, it is small and obscure compared to the better known, more popular FreeBSD, and of course there are 10 Linux users for every 1 person who has even heard of OpenBSD.Until now, installing and using OpenBSD required reading numerous man pages and online FAQs and tutorials. OpenBSD's documentation is pretty good, but for the average person who just wants to try it out, it's an awful lot to wade through, with few navigational aids available. And the OpenBSD mailing lists are notoriously unforgiving of anyone who asks questions without having read every pertinent document first."Absolute OpenBSD" is just what this OS needed to make it more accessible to a wider user base. It takes you step by step through installation, configuration, and implementation, and then covers a number of more advanced topics, including no less than three very comprehensive chapters devoted to pf, OpenBSD's own packet filtering program. (OpenBSD uses this instead of ipchains or iptables, which is what you will find on other BSDs or Linux.) It tells you what every service you might want to run (or not) is, and where they are found and how to configure them. It goes through the contents of OpenBSD's /etc directory, file by file. The author has a very straightforward yet humorous writing style, and he neither talks down to the reader nor assumes that you are a SysAdmin and networking god. He does assume that you have some familiarity with UNIX-style OSs and basic UNIX/Linux commands. It also helps if you know a little basic networking -- if you have never even configured your TCP/IP settings on your Linux or Windows box, then you may have a steeper learning curve ahead.If you are completely new to the *NIX world, then starting out with OpenBSD, even using this book as a guide, may be a little too much to take on before you've learned the basics. However, if you are coming from the Linux world, or are familiar with other BSDs (FreeBSD, NetBSD) or UNIX variants, then you will have no trouble learning OpenBSD from this book. If you're a Linux guy who's wondering what's so great about OpenBSD, or a sysadmin thinking of building an OpenBSD firewall, this is the book for you. OpenBSD is not and never will be accessible to the average casual computer user, but if you're not afraid of a command line and willing to learn more about the guts of an operating system, "Absolute OpenBSD" is a fine tutorial and reference guide.The emphasis in this book is on the OpenBSD operating system itself, and what makes it special and unique. There is very good coverage of OpenBSD's unique security features, and what differentiates it from other BSDs and Linux. If you just want to build a firewall, this book is all you need. If you want an introduction to OpenBSD, because you are thinking about using it for your server or workstation(s), this book will give you what you w

Six months ago I was happy to read Michael Lucas' "Absolute BSD," and today I'm glad I read "Absolute OpenBSD." This author knows just what to cover, and to what detail. To test the book's relevance I bought an OpenBSD 3.3 CD-ROM set and installed it, following Lucas' directions. I tried many of the procedures in the book, and found Lucas' instructions to be accurate on the whole. (Right now I'm rebuilding a system to incorporate a security patch that needs certain static binaries to be recompiled from source.) Lucas provides the background and skills needed to get a working OpenBSD system. Although some of the most basic UNIX-type material appears by necessity in both "Absolute" books (these are both BSDs!), Lucas knows where each OS' strength lies. In his FreeBSD book, he spends more time on general purpose server services. Web, FTP, email, DNS, etc. all get their own chapters. In this OpenBSD book, Lucas devotes multiple chapters to topics that matter most to OpenBSD users -- security and packet filtering. While lots of people run Web, etc. on OpenBSD platforms, OpenBSD offers unique features in its systrace system call access control and PF packet filtering tools. Beyond these OpenBSD strengths, Lucas gives plenty of coverage to the routine yet crucial system administration tasks of adding and removing applications, and upgrading and patching the OS itself. On the downside, some have commented on "rough editing." While the book has some typos, I didn't find them all that distracting. Beware p. 344, though -- I think "tag=OPENBSD3_2" should read "tag=OPENBSD_3_2". (This is subtle but could be important.) I also found the description of network layers in ch 8 to be perplexing. Why talk about "application, logical protocol, physical protocol, and physical layer" when no one else does? I would also have liked to have read of OpenBSD's use as a bridging firewall or as a VPN concentrator. The bottom line is this: Michael Lucas knows what to write to help system administrators get the job done. I wish other authors did the same. I'd love to see Lucas or another "No Starch" author write "Absolute Cisco Routers," followed by "Absolute Cisco Switches." Any takers?

Mike Lucas has prepared a great book on OpenBSD. I'm writing from a user's perspective who has been following and working with OpenBSD for about three years. To my knowledge, this is the first book on OpenBSD. One of the best features of the book is that, in my opinion, the author fairly presents the nature of the OpenBSD project at the beginning of the book. You don't get any hand holding with OpenBSD, but if you are willing to do your homework, research existing documentation, etc., and work with the system you can obtain significant benefit from OpenBSD. You have to know some Unix basics to use the OS and gain benefit from the book. The book is targeted somewhere between the moderately informed user and system administrators. The author covers installation for dedicated and multi-boot setups, essential post-install work, booting, and managing users. It reviews essential details regarding networking to bring user's up to speed and reviews Internet connections using Ethernet and ppp. There is significant detail on a wide variety of configurations and advaned security features such as security levels and systrace with discussion of WorX, Propolice. PF packet filter is coverd in detail along with example rules for three types topologies from home users to three tier models. There is significant material on building kernels, upgrading, the /etc file system, disk management, etc. for which OpenBSD has its own unique requirements and features. I think that the book is well paced and has a good balance between "here is what you need to know in detail" and "now you need to do some research on your own". It doesn't answer basic Unix or advanced sys admin questions (the far end of the spectrum), but hits the middle of the user / admin spectrum well. I'm very pleased with the content and presentation. Thanks to Mike Lucas and I hope he continues to write about 'BSD.