Slides from my talk at the 2013 Indiana LinuxFest entitled: Getting Started with PC-BSD This talk was a basic introduction to PC-BSD with a walkthrough of the installer and a summary of a number of the unique PC-BSD utilities.

1. Getting Started With PC-BSD
Ken Moore
PC-BSD/iXsystems
Indiana LinuxFest
July 27, 2013

2. What is FreeBSD?
The Good
● Unix-like OS descended
from AT&T UNIX
● Legendary stability and
security
● The ports system
● Unified development model
● Excellent documentation
● BSD License
The Bad
● Generally difficult to
install/configure
● Lacking some of the more
PC-oriented device drivers

3. BSD License

4. GPLv3 License

5. GPLv3 License

6. GPLv3 License

7. GPLv3 License

8. GPLv3 License

9. GPLv3 License

10. GPLv3 License

11. GPLv3 License

12. GPLv3 License

13. GPLv3 License

14. GPLv3 License

15. What is PC-BSD?
FreeBSD Simplified!
● Pre-configured desktop/server
installation
● Desktop-Environment agnostic
● Automatic ZFS setup
● Up-to-date package repositories
PC-BSD Additions
● Graphical Installer
● Warden (jail management)
● PBI package format w/ EasyPBI
● System backup/restore
functionality
● Many graphical system
administration and device
management utilities
Important!
PC-BSD is only available for 64-bit systems,
and has standardized on the ZFS filesystem

16. ZFS
What is it?
● Enterprise-grade filesystem and
logical volume manager
● Developed by Sun
Microsystems and released in
2005
● FreeBSD versions were
available starting in 2007
Features
● Instant snapshots (local backup)
– Send/Receive snapshots
● Allows boot environments
● Software RAID (z1, z2, z3)
● Self-healing with data
corruption detection

17. PC-BSD Installation

22. Post-Installation Initial Setup

25. Welcome To PC-BSD!

26. PC-BSD Control Panel

27. System Configuration - Basic
● Safe method of system
configuration
● Any/All Desktop Environments
without re-installing the OS
● Add additional drivers or
development toolkits

28. System Configuration - Advanced
● Full control over each
individual package on your
system
● Complete FreeBSD ports tree
available as pre-built packages
● Updated package sets released
twice a month
● Conflict resolution/management
for any changes

29. Other Utilities
System Usage
● AppCafe
Manage End-User
applications
● Life-Preserver
Automatic Data Backups
● Mount Tray
Connecting External
Devices
System Configuration
● Network Manager
Wired/Wireless connections
● Sound Configuration
Set desired audio device

30. The PBI Package System
The Purpose
● Provide a safe, system package
independent, method of
installing/updating applications
Additional Goals
● Ensure that applications do not
require an internet connection
for installation
● Minimize library duplication to
preserve disk space
The Implementation
● Written in pure shell (/bin/sh)
● Intelligently shared libraries
between PBI's
● A single PBI contains all
libraries, files, and data needed
for an application to run.
● Completely independent of the
local system packages and other
PBI applications

31. EasyPBI
● Graphical front-end to the PBI
build system
– Generate build instructions
(a PBI “module”)
– Run the actual build process
● Tight (but optional) integration
with the FreeBSD ports
collection
● No technical experience required
● Average time to create a module
for a FreeBSD port: 5 minutes
start to finish

32. The Warden
● Jail management system
● Integrates many ZFS features
(snapshots, etc..)
● 3 Types of jails: traditional
FreeBSD, ports jail, Linux jail
● Export/Import jails between
systems
● Command-line application, with
an optional graphical interface

33. Which Version?
*-RELEASE Track
● Currently FreeBSD 9.1
● Better for production systems
● Stays with the offical FreeBSD
releases
● Updated packages sets on or
about the 1st
and 15th
of each
month
*-STABLE Track
● Currently FreeBSD 9.2-Beta1
● More development oriented
● Will have newer drivers and
FreeBSD improvements sooner
● Updated package sets on or
about the 5th
and 20th
of each
month
● Update to the latest -STABLE
version on the 1st
of each month
Remember! PC-BSD is for 64-bit systems ONLY!
DVD, USB, and live USB images are available for download at:
www.pcbsd.org

34. Questions?
Slides Available for download from:
http://www.slideshare.net/beanpole135/2013-ilf-gettingstartedwithpcbsd