Absolute OpenBSD
by Michael W. Lucas · first published 2003
61% recommend39% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Clear, approachable guide to running OpenBSD as a user and administrator, covering practical setup such as hosting multiple sites on one server; recommended for readers new to OpenBSD and working sysadmins.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
OpenBSD, the elegant, highly secure Unix-like operating system, is widely used as the basis for critical DNS servers, routers, firewalls, and more. This long-awaited second edition of Absolute OpenBSD maintains author Michael Lucas's trademark straightforward and practical approach that readers have enjoyed for years. You'll learn the intricacies of the platform, the technical details behind certain design decisions, and best practices, with bits of humor sprinkled throughout. This edition has been completely updated for OpenBSD 5.3, including new coverage of OpenBSD's boot system, security fe
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…by default or 5 different process monitoring/inspection programs, because they have the one they like and use/improve upon it. OpenBSD is a fascinating operating system. I'm only a few chapters into Absolute OpenBSD (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolute_OpenBSD) by Michael W. Lucas, but from a Linux user/admin perspective it is enthralling. I can't wait to learn more about it.
on “Linux VS open source UNIX” ↗I found Absolute OpenBSD[1] to be both informative and entertaining to read. Really anything by Michael Lucas is a good read for me. [1] https://mwl.io/nonfiction/os#ao2e
on “The setup of OpenBSD Amsterdam” ↗In my opinion, Michael W Lucas is one of the best tech writers working today. I have made great use of his books Absolute OpenBSD, SSH Mastery, and Httpd & Relayd Mastery. He also wrote Absolute FreeBSD and PGP & GPG: Email for the Practical Paranoid, among many others.
on “TLS Mastery” ↗…Ubuntu, an hour for the first one then 10mins each after that. You can copy config with your favourite tools; most have ports for OpenBSD already. If you want to learn more in-depth, read: Michael W. Lucas Absolute OpenBSD, 2nd Edition: Unix for the Practical Paranoid. Highly recommend it as teaches many fundamentals most software engineers skip.
on “OpenBSD 7.9 Released” ↗I've had a wonderful experience with all of the No Starch Press[0] books I've bought over the last few years. I recently got Absolute OpenBSD and Serious Cryptography. How Linux Works is also really good if you would like to brush up on your knowledge of the architecture of the average Linux system. I'm not affiliated with them, I just haven't…
on “Ask HN: Books you plan to read in 2019?” ↗…while using things like the overall OpenBSD experience (or Emacs) as points of comparison to support that. I'd have to use my brain with either OpenBSD stuff or Emacs. Of course, I cheated there too: Absolute OpenBSD. I know I could've used their great docs for everything but the reviews of the book were too good. I had to attempt using it to shortcut the learning process. Lol.
on “Signify: Securing OpenBSD from Us to You” ↗How many people left can read, purchase Absolute OpenBSD, and use Google? I bet more than you're suggesting. If not OpenBSD, they mighg type in secure Linux distro with better results.
on “Bangladesh Bank exposed to hackers by cheap switches, no firewall” ↗…kernel, c library interfaces, building the system and packages from source, etc. Also, the whole system is in the source tree, which can be downloaded as a set. Otherwise: OpenBSD in general: There's "Absolute OpenBSD', kind of more 'user/admin' level. For lower-level stuff like API's, kernel organization, etc, the McCusick books (Design and implementation of the {4.3BSD,4.4BSD, FreeBSD} Operating System), though…
on “OpenBSD Will Get Unique Kernels on Each Reboot” ↗“Linux” indeed… I know for a fact that Absolute OpenBSD, The Book of PF, and Designing BSD Rootkits are great. Tempted to pick up the bundle to read FreeBSD Device Drivers, The Book of GIMP, Absolute FreeBSD, and The Book of Inkscape.
on “Linux by No Starch Press” ↗Michael is indeed a gem and I am happy to hear that his writing is equally strong on the FreeBSD side of things. Absolute OpenBSD was my introduction to OpenBSD in the mid-00s and I just recently re-read the latest edition (a new one is rumoured to be in the works) now that I am looking to go back to OpenBSD. Yes, you can absolutely…
on “Why “OpenBSD Mastery: Filesystems” Is Not in Amazon’s Kindle Store” ↗…Nice, concise volume that helped me setup hosting for multiple sites on a single VM with different requirements (some reverse proxy, some CGI, some static). Really looking forward to the 3rd edition of Absolute OpenBSD.
on “Using OpenBSD Relayd(8) as an Application Layer Gateway” ↗…on glibc-isms, which can require some patching. Some of the pains I encountered are about device files (usb) and the fact that openbsd relies on root a bit more (mounting with fuse). You can read the “Absolute OpenBSD, 2ed” book, published 13 years ago and almost everything still holds. You can even read the “Design and Implementation of the 4.4BSD” and still have a good understanding of the OpenBSD design. Linux is…
on “NetBSD 11.0 Released” ↗For BSD (especially OpenBSD) you can pretty much just use the man pages and the online FAQ. They are really good. If you want a book, Absolute OpenBSD is good though a bit out of date now. A lot of it would still be applicable though, if backed up by the current man pages. Reading undeadly.org is a another good way to keep up on developments.
on “Run OpenBSD on DigitalOcean for $4/month” ↗Part of Michael W. Lucas' IT Mastery series. Author also wrote Absolute OpenBSD (2013, No Starch Press).
on “Run Your Own Mail Server” ↗Replying with a CVE is like icing on the cake. :) It really shows that OpenBSD devs take security seriously. Funny timing, I was just reading Absolute OpenBSD.
on “OpenBSD kernel source file style guide” ↗