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diff --git a/_posts/2025-08-29-Moving-to-FreeBSD.md b/_posts/2025-08-29-Moving-to-FreeBSD.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6740276 --- /dev/null +++ b/_posts/2025-08-29-Moving-to-FreeBSD.md @@ -0,0 +1,71 @@ +--- +layout: post +title: Moving to FreeBSD +--- + +Recently, my server had a major outage caused partially by my own inexperience +as well as some key failures in some key pieces of software I use. But like any +good developer, I'm going to place blame upon the OS, specifically apt (not +really, but I have to for the bit). + +### What happened? + +Well, Debian 13 Trixie just released to mass acclaim (I should know, because I'm +a big fan of Debian on servers), and I was in the midst of making a transition +plan to upgrade my install. However, what had started out as a simple learning +experience in a VM quickly escalated into the solution to a five-alarm fire of +my own making. + +By default, Debian does not allow users to install packages outside of the +version of Debian that they have installed. I needed to get around this issue due +to a compiler version mismatch on my main build server I use to speed up +compiling C (see my post on distcc and ccache for details on getting that setup). +So I decided to modify apt's pin configuration to only install select packages +from unstable (specifically GCC version 14 at the time). However, when Debian +made the packages from unstable available as Trixie packages, something in my +apt configuration caused a cascade of failures that resulted in something akin +to Debian having a stroke. + +Firstly, the postfix server running on my server failed. I still do not know +what fully caused this outage, but without this key piece of infrastructure, +issues would compound before any notification on my end. Once the email server +was down, the email I would usually get notifying me of automatic upgrades would +never come, and therefore, apt did not send the email detailing the critical +errors quickly stacking up as the packages in unstable were shifted out into +Trixie. I believe this is where the apt pin preferences was updated, causing the +rest of Trixie to be pulled into my Debian Bookworm install. Apt failed soon +after, as the apt sources file no longer matched the currently running OS. + +Once I noticed that my email server wasn't responding, I was able to login and +see the damage. The entire OS had to be reinstalled from scratch, and just two +days before starting a new job, meaning I had no email, no calendar, and no VPN +back to the house. + +### So...new Debian version? + +Not quite. You see, while Debian was quietly lighting itself on fire, I was +playing with a FreeBSD virtual machine instance. I had zero intention of moving +anything to it just yet (had that experience with my laptop, and, oh boy, were +there some show-stopping bugs). However, I quickly fell in love with the level +of polish and support FreeBSD has, and I was seriously considering moving to it +instead of upgrading to Trixie just for the learning experience and to see if it +was up to snuff to power the services I need. + +It had it all: sane defaults, ports packages that I can customize to the third +degree, a ZFS version that actual works; and I was enamoured after only about an +hour of using the VM. However, the graphics drivers aren't quite up to par for my +standards, though they are extremely high quality. Fortunately, I wasn't planning +on using it to play games and render graphics, I was going to use it completely +for work. + +The server I have at home now rocks FreeBSD 14.3, and I could not be happier +about it. + +### Final thoughts + +If you're any kind of sysadmin or Unix developer, you need to give FreeBSD a +try if you haven't already. It has changed my personal views on what a Unix +system should be in very positive ways, and I will definitely be staying with +it on my server. However, you might want to check the hardware compatibility +on the FreeBSD wiki or check with sites like [this one](http://bsd-hardware.info) +before taking the plunge on a personal system. |