Open Source: The Lifeblood of iXsystems

Open Source: The Lifeblood of iXsystems
Copyright © iXsystems, Inc. 2017
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Copyright ©2017 iXsystems. All rights reserved.
Introduction
● Ken Moore - Senior software engineer at iXsystems. Core
team member for TrueOS and creator of the Lumina
desktop, both open source projects.
● Academic Background - B.S. degree in Physics and M.S.
in theoretical nuclear astrophysics from Ohio University
(mostly computer modeling)
● What I Do - I work primarily on streamlining and
simplifying the usage of FreeBSD by creating tools such
as the Lumina Desktop, SysAdm (system API for
FreeBSD) and more.

What is Open Source Software?
Open Source Software (OSS) is “software for which the human-readable source code is
available for use, study, re-use, modification, enhancement, and re-distribution by the
users of that software"
"Clarifying Guidance Regarding Open Source Software (OSS)" : 16 October 2009 memorandum from the DoD Chief Information Officer

What is Open Source Software?
OSS is subject to a few different types of licenses in the open source
community, but most FreeBSD-based software uses a small and
permissive license called the “BSD License”.
The BSD license allows the code to be reused freely while still providing
protection for the original author. The licensed code is offered completely
free of charge, but the author can not be sued if the program does not
work as intended.

3-Clause BSD License
Copyright <YEAR> <COPYRIGHT HOLDER>
Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:
1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation
and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
3. Neither the name of the copyright holder nor the names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software
without specific prior written permission.
THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT
LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
COPYRIGHT HOLDER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING,
BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED
AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT
OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

Let’s Talk About FreeBSD
“FreeBSD is an advanced computer operating
system used to power modern servers, desktops,
and embedded platforms. A large community has
continually developed it for more than thirty
years. Its advanced networking, security, and
storage features have made FreeBSD the
platform of choice for many of the busiest web
sites and most pervasive embedded networking
and storage devices.”
FreeBSD website: www.freebsd.org

FreeBSD is a free and open source, Unix-like
operating system directly descended from
Research Unix through the Berkeley Software
Distribution (BSD).
For legal reasons FreeBSD cannot use the “Unix”
name. FreeBSD is a direct descendant of BSD,
which was also historically called "BSD Unix”.

FreeBSD is a server-focused OS with a strong
emphasis on network performance and
standardized frameworks, including package
format, build system, and file hierarchy.
It is a self-contained operating system with
everything necessary to maintain itself included
“out-of-box”. 3rd party packages can be added
without breaking system cohesion.

The structure of FreeBSD makes it a prime
candidate for the foundation of an appliance
based product which needs long term support
and functionality.
As such, FreeBSD is used in products all over the
world: from internet service provider servers to
video game consoles. It is also the base for all
software projects at iXsystems.
FreeBSD is sometimes referred to as the
“unknown giant” of the computing world.

Companies and Products Using FreeBSD

Companies and Products Using FreeBSD
● Apple’s iOS, and MacOS
● Microsoft Azure
● Juniper Networks Junos
● Nintendo Switch
● Playstation 3, 4, and Vita
● Netflix (Servers)
● Panasonic Televisions
● McAffee SecurOS
● Whatsapp
● Trivago
● iXsystems FreeNAS and TrueNAS
● TrueOS (Our Project!)

Let’s Talk About TrueOS
● TrueOS is an operating system built using FreeBSD
“Current” as it’s core.
● TrueOS takes the legendary security and stability of
FreeBSD to the next level by treating graphical users as
“first-class citizens”. There are also many improvements
to the underlying FreeBSD system itself.
● TrueOS is fully featured and allows standard computing
functionality (browse the web, watch videos, or listen to
music) with ease. Similar to Windows™, no knowledge of
the underlying operating system is required for basic
“desktop” use.

History
● It began as PC-BSD in 2005 by Kris Moore with the goal to
provide an easy-to-use desktop experience based on the
FreeBSD operating system.
● In 2006, iXsystems acquired the PC-BSD project and
continually provides resources for its development.
● In 2016, the PC-BSD project evolved into TrueOS with an
expanded goal to provide the best FreeBSD system
experience ever: including server-based systems and
desktops.

Features
● Uses an advanced file system called OpenZFS (ZFS). This
is an enterprise-quality, next generation file system which
provides software based RAID arrangements in addition
to other important features like self-healing, instant
snapshots, auto-compression, and more.
● There are thousands of free applications currently
available for FreeBSD - photo editing, multimedia,
databases, web servers, and more!
● TrueOS can also run software built for other operating
systems. There is a native Linux-binary compatibility layer
and the “Wine” utility provides Windows software
emulation.

What’s the Difference?
● Although TrueOS and Linux are different, there is a lot in common.
Most open source applications for Linux are also available natively
for TrueOS/FreeBSD.
● TrueOS and FreeBSD have historically had trouble matching the
hardware compatibility of Linux. Recently, an influx of
community support has modernized the graphics driver
implementation framework, resulting in FreeBSD and Linux
synchronization.
● Currently, Nvidia video cards provide the best user experience for
desktop systems, but Intel graphics are recommended for
mobile/laptop hardware.

What TrueOS Brings to the Table
● Desktop or Server options - You don’t have to be a command line
expert to get started!
● The Lumina desktop - A graphical interface specifically designed
for BSD-based operating systems
● SysAdm - A system administration framework with a remote API
for managing FreeBSD systems. It also has a cross-platform
graphical client!
● Boot Environments (BE) - A boot environment allows instant
backups of the operating system. It is also used to provide fail-safe
update mechanisms.

Let’s Talk About Lumina
● Lumina is a graphical desktop environment providing easy access
to all your system applications and user files. This is completely
customizable: change the interface any way you like!
● Lumina is lightweight and fast. Compared to other open-source
desktop environments (KDE, Gnome, etc.), Lumina has a very small
footprint.
● Lumina is BSD licensed and fills the void left by other desktop
environments with less permissive licenses.
● Lumina is designed specifically for BSD systems and provides
access to OS features without requiring irrevocable “surgery” on
the underlying server-based subsystems.

Let’s Talk About Lumina

Let’s Talk About Development
Best Development Practices
1. Use public version control (GitHub, Sourceforge, etc)
a. Establish a personal history of work
b. In many cases, this is better than a resumé at
demonstrating what you are capable of
accomplishing
2. Multiple smaller commits are better than a single huge
patch
a. Time delay when developing commit is smaller
b. Re-base/revert is easier (if necessary)
3. Use what you are developing!!
a. Easiest way to test/fix your project.
b. “Eat your own dogfood!”

Let’s Talk About Development
Contributing to TrueOS
Working with contributors is essential to our success at the
TrueOS project. All of our code is available on GitHub and we
accept pull requests from any interested people. There are
many different repositories for various aspects of the project,
including documentation. These have their own issue trackers,
so you can easily browse and see if there is anything available
that you may want to work on.
Contribution is collaborative. The “open-source world” is a great
place to learn while contributing something meaningful!

Let’s Talk About Community
Working With the Community
Developing OSS is not the same as working within a corporate
culture. With OSS, the ability to be flexible when working with
others is essential and comes into play frequently. Harnessing
community feedback is one of the most important factors for
us while developing TrueOS.
discourse.trueos.org
https://github.com/trueos

iXsystems South Office

iXsystems South Office
● iXsystems offers both open-source related and more
general company internships at our office in downtown
Maryville.
● We offer flexible hours around school schedules and a
creative and fun work environment.
● Knowledgeable mentors to help grow your professional
skillset.
● We also host the monthly BSD users group (KnoxBUG) at
our office. This is a great place to meet others and learn
about other open-source software!

Helpful Links
TrueOS
● Website - www.trueos.org
● Forums - https://discourse.trueos.org
● Gitter Chat - https://gitter.im/trueos/Lobby
● IRC - #trueos on Freenode IRC
● Repositories - https://github.com/trueos
iXsystems
● Website: https://www.ixsystems.com/
● Careers:
https://www.ziprecruiter.com/candidate/search?search=
iXsystems

Contact the TrueOS project or iXsystems
Joshua Smith
Digital Marketing Specialist
joshms@trueos.org

Open Source: The Lifeblood of iXsystems

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