The FreeBSD 6.2 Crash Course

Book description

FreeBSD is not particularly difficult to use, and its integrated documentation is adequate, but it can take a long time to figure out which packages you need to install in order to get certain services running, and how to configure them once installed. Even if you're familiar with the programs you need to use, learning how they work with FreeBSD can be a challenge. If you are totally new to Unix-like operating environments, this guide could be a little over your head in some places, but if you read it from start to finish and stick with it when things get difficult, you'll end up with a functional and useful operating system. If you already have some experience with any Unix-like operating system, you'll probably feel right at home with FreeBSD and may want to skip ahead to the sections that apply to you. While there are some suggestions and system administration tips sprinkled throughout The FreeBSD Crash Course, it is not designed to teach you how to administer a server. It's impossible to anticipate each reader's hardware configuration and goals for working with FreeBSD, so instead of telling you how to set up your machine to perform specific tasks, this guide will show you how to install and configure various services and programs. This Short Cut is organized into two sections: desktop and server. From those two starting points, you can customize FreeBSD to meet nearly any need. If you're new to FreeBSD, start at the beginning and skip ahead when you hit a section that isn't relevant to what you need to do.

Table of contents

  1. The FreeBSD 6.2 Crash Course
    1. Learn FreeBSD Quickly
    2. Understanding FreeBSD
      1. What Is FreeBSD?
      2. What Is FreeBSD Good For?
      3. FreeBSD Derivatives
      4. Supported Architectures and Hardware
    3. Installing FreeBSD 6.2
      1. Installation Methods
      2. Obtaining Installation Media
        1. Buying pressed FreeBSD 6.2 CDs
        2. Making your own CDs
        3. Microsoft Windows
        4. Unix, GNU, and BSD systems
        5. Mac OS X
      3. Installing from CDs
        1. Booting from the installation CD
        2. Modifying the boot order
        3. The FreeBSD boot menu
      4. Sysinstall, the FreeBSD Installation Utility
      5. Creating a Drive Slice
        1. Choosing a disk
        2. Hard drive nomenclature
        3. The infamous drive geometry bug
        4. The fdisk utility
      6. Boot Manager Setup
      7. Partitioning
        1. Partition size advice
        2. Desktop use
        3. Server use
      8. Distribution Sets
      9. Installing the Ports Tree and Base Packages
        1. X.org options
        2. Completing base distribution configuration
      10. Selecting an Installation Source
      11. Finalizing Installation Settings
      12. Initial Network Configuration
        1. Network interface cards
        2. Wireless network cards
      13. Network Service Setup
        1. The inetd "super server"
        2. Enabling OpenSSH
        3. Anonymous FTP access
        4. Initial NFS configuration
      14. Initial Console Configuration
      15. Time Zone and Clock Selection
      16. Installing Linux Binary Compatibility
      17. Initial Mouse Configuration
      18. Software Package Selection
      19. User Account and Group Creation
      20. Setting the Root Password
      21. Finishing Up Installation
    4. Upgrading from Previous Releases
      1. Updating the FreeBSD Source Code
      2. Updating the Base System
      3. Updating the Ports Source Code
      4. Upgrading Your Installed Programs
    5. First Boot in FreeBSD 6.2
      1. A Quick Introduction to the ee Editor
      2. Streamlining Your Configuration Files
        1. /etc/rc.conf
        2. /etc/sysctl.conf
        3. /etc/make.conf
        4. /boot/loader.conf
      3. Wireless Network Configuration
        1. Wireless network scripting
        2. Finding wireless access points
      4. Using FreeBSD Update
      5. Using the Ports System
        1. Layout
        2. Searching
        3. Installing programs
        4. Uninstalling programs
        5. Upgrading and updating
        6. Portaudit
      6. Using the Package Tools
        1. pkg_add
        2. pkg_info
        3. pkg_deinstall
        4. pkgdb
      7. Enabling Binary Compatibility with Other Operating Systems
        1. Linux compatibility
        2. SVR4 compatibility
      8. Custom Kernel Configurations
        1. Alternative build method
      9. Creating User Accounts
      10. Enabling the Process Filesystem
      11. Shutting Down and Restarting the Computer
      12. When FreeBSD Won't Boot
        1. Fixing the FreeBSD boot loader
    6. FreeBSD As a Desktop Operating System
      1. Installing and Configuring X.org
      2. Installing a Desktop Environment or Window Manager
      3. Installing Desktop Applications
      4. Installing the Nvidia Video Driver
        1. Configuring X.org for the Nvidia driver
        2. Troubleshooting
      5. Installing Wireless Network Card Drivers
        1. Using Windows wireless network drivers in FreeBSD
      6. Font Installation and Configuration
      7. Customizing the Terminal
        1. Installing a new command shell
        2. Color support
        3. Changing the screen resolution
      8. Starting X.org
        1. Using XDM to start X.org at boot time
        2. Using the GNOME and KDE desktop managers
        3. Using the xinit script
      9. Troubleshooting Desktop Hardware Problems
        1. No sound
        2. Mouse or touchpad problems in X.org
    7. FreeBSD As a Server Operating System
      1. Apache
        1. Apache 1.3
        2. Apache 2.2
      2. OpenSSL Support
        1. Apache 1.3
        2. Apache 2.2
      3. Databases
        1. MySQL
        2. PostgreSQL
        3. SQLite
        4. db4objects
      4. Mail Transfer Agents
        1. Sendmail
        2. Postfix
        3. Exim
      5. Mail Delivery Agents
        1. Courier-IMAP
        2. Cyrus-imapd
      6. OpenLDAP
      7. NIS
      8. BIND
      9. Setting Network Time
      10. Configuring a Firewall
        1. Enabling IPFW
        2. Enabling IPFILTER
        3. Enabling pf
    8. Installing the Languages of the Web
      1. Java
      2. PHP
      3. Perl
      4. Ruby
      5. Python
    9. Automation and Reporting
      1. The Cron Daemon
        1. /etc/periodic/
      2. Syslog
    10. Where To Go for Help
      1. Online Support Resources
      2. Commercial Support
      3. Further Reading
    11. About the Author

Product information

  • Title: The FreeBSD 6.2 Crash Course
  • Author(s): Jem Matzan
  • Release date: May 2007
  • Publisher(s): O'Reilly Media, Inc.
  • ISBN: 9780596557423