ChaosBSD, ZFS in Production and more.
Releases
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BSDSec
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News
Valuable News – 2026/01/26: The Valuable News weekly roundup highlights key developments in UNIX/BSD/Linux ecosystems, including FreeBSD’s Linux compatibility for running games like Factorio, OpenBSD’s kernel stack hygiene improvements, and KDE dropping FreeBSD support in its Plasma login manager due to systemd dependencies.
ChaosBSD: ChaosBSD is a fork of FreeBSD used primarily for testing and improving FreeBSD drivers before they are integrated into the main FreeBSD source tree. The project emphasizes that if ChaosBSD boots, it’s considered a bonus, not a guarantee, and periodically resets to align with FreeBSD to simplify the integration of changes.
OpenZFS 2026 predictions: Klara Systems’ 2026 outlook for OpenZFS highlights key hardware and architectural shifts driven by AI demand and evolving storage needs. Rising DRAM prices—projected to increase 20% in early 2026—will push greater reliance on ZFS’s L2ARC caching with NVMe to offset costs, as RAM prices may reach $1,000 USD per 64GB module by year-end. NVMe designs are adopting larger sector sizes (up to 128 KiB) to reduce DRAM dependency, posing compatibility challenges for traditional filesystems like EXT4 and XFS, while ZFS remains adaptable. New features like NVMe’s “Rebuild Assist” and HDD “Storage Element Depopulation” will enable in-place media regeneration, reducing drive replacements by isolating failed components. Cyber resilience is expanding beyond disaster recovery, with OpenZFS 2.4 introducing encrypted snapshot delegation to mitigate ransomware and insider threats. The report anticipates continued growth in HDD and NVMe capacities but slower cost-per-TB declines due to sustained AI demand, emphasizing software adaptations to hardware constraints.
HardenedBSD adds new developer 0x1eef (Robert) to its core team: Longtime HardenedBSD community contributor 0x1eef (Robert) has officially joined the project’s development team after years of submitting high-quality patches. Known for creating tools like portzap(8), sourcezap(8), and ctrl(8), Robert has been actively involved in the HardenedBSD ecosystem, with a broader interest in BSD systems. The HardenedBSD Core Team extended the invitation in recognition of his consistent contributions, marking his transition from community member to an official developer role. His work reflects a focus on systems programming and security enhancements within the project.
OpenBSD Chromium port gains Widevine DRM support via OpenWV: OpenBSD’s Chromium port now includes support for Google’s Widevine DRM through the integration of OpenWV, an open-source reimplementation of Widevine’s Content Decryption Module (CDM). Developer Robert Nagy added the OpenWV port and enabled its use with Chromium, allowing streaming services to function on OpenBSD systems. However, users must manually provide a Widevine device identity file (.wvd) for authentication, as OpenWV does not include one by default. The implementation serves as a drop-in replacement for Google’s proprietary CDM, handling key retrieval and media decryption.
Tutorials
ZFS in Production: ZFS is widely used for large-scale storage due to its scalability, resilience, and cost-effectiveness, but production environments often reveal design flaws, operational drift, and incorrect assumptions not evident in smaller deployments. The article examines real-world deployment patterns, such as fileserver, virtualization, and backup/archive setups, highlighting common pitfalls like misconfigured datasets, improper parity choices, and excessive snapshots. It emphasizes the importance of proper dataset design, monitoring, and operational discipline to maintain reliability at scale. Key challenges include managing metadata growth, ensuring fast recovery times, and addressing human factors like poor documentation. The article concludes that sustained attention and expertise are crucial for successful ZFS operations in production environments.
Bringing Cascade to FreeBSD: Remote Windsurf Integration Walkthrough: A guide showing how to use the Windsurf IDE and its Cascade AI agent on a remote FreeBSD 15+ system over SSH, including the Linux‑compatibility setup and manual steps needed to get the Windsurf server running smoothly.
Modifying FreeBSD ISO for Dell PowerEdge H330 RAID compatibility: The guide details a workaround for installing FreeBSD on Dell PowerEdge servers like the R530 or R730 equipped with Broadcom/LSI SAS HBA controllers such as the H330. By default, the FreeBSD installer uses the incompatible mfi(4) driver, causing I/O errors during installation, as the correct mrsas(4) driver is not loaded. The solution involves modifying the installation ISO to include a loader.conf.local file with the setting hw.mfi.mrsas_enable="1", forcing the installer to use the proper driver. Steps include downloading the ISO, creating the configuration file, and merging it into the ISO using growisofs. After installation, the same setting must be manually added to the system’s /boot/loader.conf.local to ensure proper booting. This method avoids the need to flash the H330 firmware to IT mode and resolves compatibility issues with Dell’s RAID controllers.
200 MB RAM FreeBSD desktop setup: The article details a lightweight FreeBSD desktop configuration achieving 206 MB RAM usage with Openbox, Tint2, and Dzen2, replacing Xorg with XLibre due to its active development. The setup uses FreeBSD 15.0-RELEASE with UFS and Soft Updates Journaling for minimal resource overhead, avoiding ZFS to match the Linux-based Vendefoul Wolf distribution’s 217 MB benchmark. Configuration files like /boot/loader.conf, /etc/rc.conf, and /etc/sysctl.conf are optimized for performance, while unnecessary virtual terminals and services are disabled. The author also demonstrates further RAM reduction to 134 MB when constrained to a 220 MB VM, highlighting FreeBSD’s efficiency in low-memory environments.
Installing OpenBSD on an ASUS CX1100CN Chromebook: The ASUS CX1100CN Chromebook, an underpowered but lightweight device, can be repurposed with OpenBSD by first enabling Developer Mode and disabling hardware write protection via battery removal or the SuzyQable method. Using MrChromebox’s firmware utility, the default ChromeOS is replaced with a custom UEFI ROM, allowing OpenBSD to be installed from a live USB with minimal issues. While most hardware functions normally, speaker audio remains non-functional—a known limitation even under Linux. The process requires basic disassembly and terminal commands but avoids complex modifications, making it accessible for users comfortable with technical procedures. The result is a low-cost, portable system running OpenBSD, though its limited specs restrict heavy workloads.
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