Anyone here has experience doing a "Wi-Fi box" in NetBSD? I wonder how big is the overhead. Both in user effort and computer resources.

When I was younger I used to run a *very slow* virtual machine with Windows XP while daily-driving Linux. So I could interact with government webpages, banks, University software, etc. Anything that I couldn't do in Linux was done in this winXP VM.

Now I'm getting close to do something similar. A light VM with linux to do anything that I can't in NetBSD.

I still don't truly daily-drive NetBSD: I'm writing this tooth from my Linux Mint laptop, for example. To use the Wi-Fi from this machine, I still need a Linux driver, but I'm starting to pet the idea of a small VM + IOMMU to setup Wi-Fi, and use that VM as a router.

Something tells me that battery life will be even shorter that it is now. But it would be better to hear that from people who have actually done something like that.

#wifi #wifibox #NetBSD #runbsd

Do you want to come to Brussels, mingle with BSD people, perhaps do a talk, a tutorial or a BOF session?

The Call for papers https://2026.eurobsdcon.org/cfp/ is open until June 20th, for the conference in Brussels September 9-13, 2026.

We also offer pre-submission guidance/mentoring, as described in the CFP document.

Wonder what BSD and the conferences are about? See https://nxdomain.no/~peter/what_is_bsd_come_to_a_conference_to_find_out.html

@EuroBSDCon #freebsd #netbsd #openbsd #freesoftware #libresoftware #brussels #bruxelles

The BSDCan 2026 Schedule has been posted. 30 regular talks, one set of lightning talks, and one Audio BoF: https://www.bsdcan.org/2026/timetable/timetable-all.html

Both FreeBSD and NetBSD will be holding two day Dev Summits across the hall from each other in DMS.
https://wiki.freebsd.org/DevSummit/202606
https://www.netbsd.org/gallery/events.html#bsdcan2026

Just like last year, the reception on Saturday night is free if you register early. This year you must register before May 1, 2026: https://www.bsdcan.org/2026/registration.html

#bsdcan @bsdcan #freebsd #openbsd #netbsd

Latest 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀 - 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲/𝟬𝟰/𝟭𝟯 (Valuable News - 2026/04/13) available.

https://vermaden.wordpress.com/2026/04/13/valuable-news-2026-04-13/

Past releases: https://vermaden.wordpress.com/news/

#verblog #vernews #news #bsd #freebsd #openbsd #netbsd #linux #unix #zfs #opnsense #ghostbsd #solaris #vermadenday

Here are some things that one can add to the analysis of the MacOS TCP timeout clock freeze bug.

The code for calculate_tcp_clock() in XNU was changed in May 2025. Older versions of this function (e.g. in xnu-11417) worked quite differently and wouldn't have stopped ticking the clock at 32-bit unsigned integer wraparound.

None of #NetBSD, #FreeBSD, nor #OpenBSD share this exact way of doing TCP timeout processing with #XNU.

FreeBSD does not have a tcp_now and works off the global 32-bit ticks variable. OpenBSD effectively works off the kernel's system clock, too, but with a randomized offset, and does 64-bit unsigned modular arithmetic. NetBSD uses a distinct 32-bit unsigned tcp_now counter that it simply increments by 1 at regular intervals, and does modular arithmetic subtraction.

https://photon.codes/blog/we-found-a-ticking-time-bomb-in-macos-tcp-networking

#TCP #MacOS

Updated post!

For my NetBSD install I wanted to include disk encryption to protect personal data in case the device is lost or stolen. Its not really enough to simply encrypt home directories. Passphrases and sensitive data can linger and be extracted from locations such as system logs and swap memory. There is a trade-off to be made between how much to encrypt, the convenience of operating the system, and the ability for the system to boot.

https://www.dwarmstrong.org/netbsd-encrypt-install/

#NetBSD #RunBSD

One of my many sidequests is to try to get #NetBSD running on one of my #Psion Series 5mx machines. But I have a few issues/thoughts:

1. I'm struggling to find instructions on how to do this. (Can you help, @netbsd ?)
2. Because I can't find any instructions (granted, I was very tired when I tried last night), I'm a little worried that no one has tried this for quite some time.
3. Both of my 5mx units and my working S5 are refusing to read any of my seven Compact Flash cards. Including the one that the netBook uses to boot. I have no idea how to fix that, and I don't really want to buy another 5mx as they ain't cheap.
4. The winning 5mx will get a RAM upgrade to 32MB. (Yes, that's doable.)

If I can get something working, then that will encourage others in the #PsionCommunity to try. So we might actually get people running a modern OS on Series 5 machines. Also, as there are a good number of programmers in that community, we might get more eyes on the code.

Finally, if that all works out, then it might be possible to get it running on the (currently unsupported) netBook, too.

#Psion5mx #retrocomputing

This weekend is the perfect time to get your #eurobsdcon submissions done!

The Call for papers https://2026.eurobsdcon.org/cfp/ is open until June 20th, for the conference in Brussels September 9-13, 2026.

We also offer pre-submission guidance/mentoring, see within.

Wonder what BSD and the conferences are about? See https://nxdomain.no/~peter/what_is_bsd_come_to_a_conference_to_find_out.html

@EuroBSDCon #freebsd #netbsd #openbsd #freesoftware #libresoftware #brussels #bruxelles

@jschauma We get dh@ emails monthly with gnats stats about the #NetBSD bugs. The oldest one is always listed, either it's a doozy or so obscure no-one cares

Okay, folks, gather 'round, because you are not going to believe this one. My friend who is working at NASA told me this confidential news , but i can finally spill the beans: NASA is officially running NetBSD.

Yeah, you heard that right. Turns out, when you need an OS that can literally run on a potato *and* survive the vacuum of space without a hiccup, you do not mess around. They have been working under wraps with their deep space division on something they are calling "AstroBSD."

Apparently, the Perseverance rover on Mars? Yeah, it is not just taking pretty pictures; it is crunching data with a custom NetBSD kernel.

This just proves what foundation has been saying forever: "Of course it runs NetBSD!" From your ancient router to a rover on another planet.

#NetBSD #NASA #AstroBSD #AprilFools #OpenSource #Portability #MarsRover #SpaceTech #GeekHumor

Show off your *BSD desktop!

https://billboard.bsd.cafe/topic/72/show-off-your-bsd-desktop

#RunBSD #OpenBSD #FreeBSD #DragonflyBSD #NetBSD #Illumos #Screenshot #Desktop #picture #bsdcafe #billboard

In the world of BSD conferendes, BSDCan 2026 https://bsdcan.org is next, on June 17-20 in Ottawa, Canada.

Read more about the BSD conferences in "What is BSD? Come to a conference to find out!" https://nxdomain.no/~peter/what_is_bsd_come_to_a_conference_to_find_out.html #netbsd #openbsd #freebsd #conference #freesoftware #libresoftware #development #networking #sysadmin

Nur noch 4 Tage bis zum nächsten BSD.nrw! Am 14.4.2026, ab 19:00h im Fuchs im Hofmanns in #Düsseldorf #Bilk, wie gehabt. https://www.meetup.com/de-DE/bsd-user-group-dusseldorf-bsd-nrw/events/313202075 #runbsd #bsdnrw #bug #freebsd #openbsd #netbsd

@brainwagon @stefano Pretty sure I installed 386BSD from floppy disks, before #FreeBSD and #NetBSD evolved from the "Jolix" work.

[Edit - Lynne's obituary of William Jolitz: https://386bsd.org/memoriam ]

Which has the best source code?

----

Best is whatever you care about code quality. For some it might be design coherence, for others it might be resistance to security exploits, for others it might be architecture portability.

#netbsd #openbsd #freebsd #opensource

What is considered state of the art for Endpoint management, and specifically security controls (EDR, SIEM, RMM, etc.) for BSD? There usually exists clients and agents for Linux in this space. There is an abandoned(?) Wazuh port for FreeBSD that I am aware of but I would like to know what people do.

Essentially how does one manage and monitor the security of 100’s or 1,000’s of BSD endpoints like a Windows or Linux or even Mac environment would?

#askfedi #freebsd #openbsd #netbsd #infosec

https://red.anthropic.com/2026/mythos-preview/

I wonder why they didn't check #NetBSD ! 🤔
#FreeBSD #OpenBSD #runbsd

Have you been wondering about ZFS AnyRAID? Allan Jude will be giving a talk about Flexible Disk Layout @ BSDCan

If you register before May 1, the closing reception is free!

Register at https://www.bsdcan.org/2026/registration.html

#bsdcan #conference #bsd #unix #development #freebsd #netbsd #openbsd
#sysadmin #devops

Can anyone recommend a decent 2 port PCI network card?

Not PCIe or PCI-X!!!!

Bonus if its compatible with #NetBSD and has 1Gb ports

#Networking #oldcomputing

The new way of selling 'AI' seems to be to push it as a bugfinder. The latest example being waved around as of yesterday includes, as one of its non-embargoed examples, what is patched by this #OpenBSD patch.

https://ftp.openbsd.org/pub/OpenBSD/patches/7.8/common/025_sack.patch.sig

The problematic thing is that this sort of bugfixing hasn't changed the commentary in the code, which stated that p points to the last linked list entry at the point of the added null check and can never be null. But it actually can be, if there was a sole linked list entry that ended up being fully encompassed and thus deleted.

So this kind of 'AI' use is going to give us a lot more comments-do-not-match-code maintenance headaches down the road.

(Both #NetBSD and #FreeBSD factor this out into a separate tcp_sack.c and do the linked list handling slightly differently without a 'previous' pointer.)

#AI

An overview on running #FreeBSD, #NetBSD and #OpenBSD on the #PINE64 #ROCKPro64 #arm64 board, bare and with PCIe extension cards, in the context of building a NAS system.

https://www.tumfatig.net/2026/bsd-discovery-on-the-pine64-rockpro64/

Latest 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀 - 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲/𝟬𝟰/𝟬𝟲 (Valuable News - 2026/04/06) available.

https://vermaden.wordpress.com/2026/04/06/valuable-news-2026-04-06/

Past releases: https://vermaden.wordpress.com/news/

#verblog #vernews #news #bsd #freebsd #openbsd #netbsd #linux #unix #zfs #opnsense #ghostbsd #solaris #vermadenday