Slashdot Mirror
OpenBSD 5.5 Released
ConstantineM (965345) writes "Just as per the schedule, OpenBSD 5.5 was released today, May 1, 2014. The theme of the 5.5 release is Wrap in Time, which represents a significant achievement of changing time_t to int64_t on all platforms, as well as ensuring that all of the 8k+ OpenBSD ports still continue to build and work properly, thus doing all the heavy lifting and paving the way for all other operating systems to make the transition to 64-bit time an easier task down the line. Signed releases and packages and the new signify utility are another big selling point of 5.5, as well as OpenSSH 6.6, which includes lots of DJB crypto like chacha20-poly1305, plus lots of other goodies."
Even though I've never used it...
"That's right...I said it."
Before anyone asks, no, this new version of OpenBSD (version 5.5) does not include libReSSL yet.
That's not how OpenBSD operates. Neat announcements made even a month before an OpenBSD release do not usually appear in the very next OpenBSD release. There are cutoffs/deadlines, and the OpenBSD group is far more interesting in ensuring reliability than flashy new code that is only partially ready.
If you check the libReSSL.org website, libReSSL is planning to be included in OpenBSD 5.6, which I expect will be released on November 1, 2014. The OpenBSD group has a solid track record of making their official releases publicly available by the expected date.
To see an overview on what did get included in this version (like signed packages), see the release notes (which is pointed to by the first hyperlink of this Slashdot news story).
The next release is scheduled for a few years prior to Sunday, 4 December 292,277,026,596.
"National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
There's a USB installation image for i386 and amd64! Finally! Dear lord, it's been years. That's as big a deal as the time_t thing for me.
...but it's being eaten...by some...Linux or something...
I use OpenBSD almost exclusively, but in all fairness NetBSD was the first to move to a 64-bit time_t on all its platforms.
Also, there's no chance that Linux would ever make such a jump. They'll invent something complex and annoying to maintain backward compatibility with all the proprietary crapware. OpenBSD and NetBSD can do it because they're not afraid to make everybody recompile their software.
(For people who don't understand the issue: on NetBSD and OpenBSD time_t is now 64-bits, even on 32-bit platforms. So the 2038 problem is non-existent going forward, even for 32-bit software.)
OpenBSD is not meant to be the fastest or most scalable OS in the world -- just the safest. The right tool for the job. You use OpenBSD as a firewall in front of your high performance server, which can then run whatever OS you choose. I wouldn't trust anything else. More specifically, the bare bones, well documented, best practice coded, continuously audited, secure by default approach means you can deploy an OpenBSD firewall router with minimal effort and minimal worry. Save the worry and effort for the potentially less secure OS's that are running behind the firewall.