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Metawire.org Admin On OpenBSD Hosting
hext0r writes "Open Hosting provider metawire.org administrator Daniel Selans recently wrote an informative article for the OpenBSD Journal about the difficulties and successes in running a free hosting provider using OpenBSD. It's an informative read for anyone considering starting any type of hosting company using free technologies."
Maybe *BSD died back then... but it's most surely coming back! Just take a look at the latest NetCraft survey and you'll see that they have come back a little.
I think this article confirms it. Just check where it's posted: http://undeadly.org/, doesn't that light some lights!?
One thing that I can most definatelly note is that with the use of OpenBSD, the experience was made by far simpler, and headache free. The common belief out there is that OpenBSD is best used for security gateways, firewalls, routers and etc. Well, I personally do not believe so. The capability of this OS is only admin deep. The more you know, the more you can achieve. I have personally ran OpenBSD in large enterprise environments as web servers, file servers, database servers, and frankly, it's resource management and speed is uncomparable to most other operating systems out there, multiply that with the security standards, and you've got an amazing OS.
I feel like installing OpenBSD!
I didn't see anything negative in that article. Nor any major "difficulties". He made it sound like it was a breeze - just put together a bunch of scripts and it's all done.
PS: I love OpenBSD. Like Daniel, I also use it as both a server and a desktop workstation. I just wish people would RTFA.
Because of the way ports and packages are designed this complation issue of yours does not happen.
You do not need to configure anything to compile a port, you need to run "make install" after enabling root permissions or getting sudo setup.
Packages are not the norm by any stretch of the imagination for anyone I know that uses a BSD. Installing a pkg works fine as long as you also have the dependancies it will just install the same as if you made from a port and I have never found a port in the 3.3 release that installs broken not bad for the 193 I use for my desktop.
The only messed up compile I've ever seen is xmame+xmess, which my machine could not handle cause it doesn't have enough resources to compile it.
OpenBSD is equally able to use the ports and pkgs in it's system because the system was designed for Open.
I'm sick of following my dreams - I'm just going to ask them where they're going and hook up with them later.
I would just like to echo that Metawire is by far the best shell hosting I have ever used. I think I was one of the first signups, and since the beginning they allow alot of trust to their users and aren't restrictive.
Metawire is simply exactly what it says on the tin. Free, and amazing shell hosting, have them for an email account, or your website, for hosting scripts and whatever else you can think of.
Great service.
The cost is picked up by the administrators themselves, and it's ran extremely professionally with complete regard for their users.
Simply by the services they allow you can see that OpenBSD is a great OS for just about anything and everything.
If you are willing to donate money, OpenBSD donations is the place to go.
Of course, buying CDs, t-shirts or posters also helps the project. Look at the catalog here.
Metawire.org, my precious server, slashdotted!
:)
:P
I guess we can consider the fact that it's still up a testament to OpenBSD
In all seriousness, though, OpenBSD has been a blessing for running Metawire. I joined the admin team a few months ago, after having been a lowly user and an active member of the community since last year, and have found (as Danny put so well in his article) that the biggest challenges in terms of maintaining a secure and stable server with thousands of users are well met by a system with a philosophy like OpenBSD's.
The challenges that OpenBSD and a proper user management system (which I have been an active developer on since I was made an admin) can not handle are those that plague any provider of a free service, namely the ages-old Tragedy of the Commons.
Garret Hardin's prophetic essay deals mainly with the human tendency for one to maximize the usage of any communal space for his own personal gain, and at the same time to shirk the responsibilities of its upkeep since it is not "his". As this applies to being a free shell provider on the Internet, you have to deal constantly with users who apply, abuse the service, are given the boot, and then show up again. As far as they are concerned it is a common space, freely available, for which they are not responsible. Since they do not take ownership in any sense, what responsibility to they have to keep things OK for others?
The "tragedy of the commons" manifests itself in the biggest administrative headaches the team has had to face so far. People signing up to use bandwidth-hogging psyBNCs/IRC proxies to get past bans on networks or keep nicknames alive, people using our service to mailbomb, people using it to host illegal materials... Had they been using a paid shell (which are widely available) for which they had some degree of "ownership" and at least an implied responsibility to follow the rules, their behavior might be less destructive, but because they are using a free resource, they feel unburdened by any responsibility towards other users and the administrative staff.
I could let these failings of human nature get me down, but thankfully there is another tool which can fill in where OpenBSD fails. Perhaps even the vagaries of man can be overcome...
by Perl
Dam are you trolls dense.
1) No you cannot play a ton of commercial games, however you can play UT, Half-Life and so forth.
2)Grandma better learn a little about unix.
3)Lacks gui? Gnome 2.6 is there KDE 3.2.x is there, so is Windowmaker, Xfce. Check out the ports collection at www.freebsd.org/ports and well will see what exists.
4) Support? There a few commercial support sites for FreeBSD, I wont list any because this isnt a commercial. You have tons of mailing lists and boards were you can post your question.
5)Assortment of fragmented OS'. Please provide examples. Otherwise share what your smoking with the class.
6) Can be run on X86. Aaaahh, it was developed on the X86 and that is a Tier I plaform as well as the Sparc and so forth.
7) You have to know as much about C to compile apps on Linux? "make install clean". Where is the programming?
8) You apparently dont know what your talking about with respect to hardware. Check out the HCL lists on the websites.
9)Incompatiable with GNU/Linux, perhaps you unfamiliar with Linux Binary Compatability mode as well as a host of other binary modes.
10)With all your points proven wrong, then I guess it really cant be dying.
11)The only reason I respond to this troll was to dispell some myths about the *BSD.
Compare this fact:
"Only one remote hole in the default install, in more than 7 years!"
Please list all of your superior OS' that can match that this track record.
I await your list/answers!!
The song's been covered like 4 times, but Wayne wrote it and performed it first.
Read the following for more information: http://www.tsimon.com/lastkiss.htm
Considering the work required to make a relyricing, I would have at least thought you'd do a little reading up on the song.
I'm sick of following my dreams - I'm just going to ask them where they're going and hook up with them later.
Posted on their frontpage,
"Metawire User Upgrade 01 Apr 2004 by blister
Metawire has recently gotten a corporate sponsor, Microsoft, who is going to be putting the administration on a paid salary as well as provide hardware, software, and money for bandwidth for us to promote hosting on the superior Microsoft platform. Metawire will be going through a 2 week upgrade to the new server farm, at the end of which we will be transferring all email and webhosting to the new servers. Everyone show your thanks to Microsoft by purchasing some MS software. Microsoft has really helped this community out big time and deserve all your support."
I am not trolling... but that last sentence is sarcasm right?
Error: Id10t detected
Read the website, install the OS, read the mailing list. Security wise, open vs free, its not even close. You thinking that giving a user a shell is as good as giving them root is a good example of how freebsd is not as secure as open.
Try this, install openbsd and freebsd, and count how many setuid root apps are installed on each. Does apache chroot() on freebsd? Do bind, syslog, tcpdump, X and probably a couple other things I am forgetting have priviledge seperation like openssh? Has freebsd thouroughly audited their code? Does freebsd have propolice, non-executable stack, W^X and stack gap randomization to prevent programs that do inevitably have security problems from being exploited? Random pids? Random ephemeral ports? Encrypted swap?
That's a list I came up with off the top of my head, its not complete. I like freebsd too, and I use it where it serves it purpose, but trying to pretend its as secure as open is rediculous.
Sounds like you need to look into ulimit...
Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
My machine is only a P2 450 with 192 MB of (broken) RAM. Setting my limits to unlimited and running nothing but the make, it cannot do it.
I'm sick of following my dreams - I'm just going to ask them where they're going and hook up with them later.
They also place very little restrictions on what you can do. SSL access to webmail will be online soon too.
I just signed up for an account and have been very pleased. It sounded to good to be true, but its been great. But if people don't eventually donate, it may not be able to continue in the long run, so please consider that. They seem fine now, but lets keep it that way.
Sign up, contribute, and eventually donate if you like at:
http://metawire.org/donate.php
I've had a Metawire account for a few months, with basic rights. No problems with the operation of the system, or the management. The only side effect that I've seen is lag. My original guess was that their DSL-class links weren't keeping up with the demand, or that having several dozen logged in users was taking a toll on the hardware. Nowadays, the systems seem to have their days of speediness and their days of lagged response.
Nothing but the finest in meaningless drivel
hahahaha! Oh man, I'm a BSD nut and that was absolutely hilarious. :) Thanks for the LOL.
Trolling is a art,