New to OpenBSD ...How to update system ?

[bsd007]

New to OpenBSD ...What is equivalent of apt-get update and apt-get upgrade in OpenBSD?

[TronDD]

EDIT: I see 6.2 in your sig, are you following snapshots? Then read my upgrading section.

For release and stable:

Understand that OpenBSD does not do rolling releases like Linux distros. The focus is on a stable release plus security patches. Also OpenBSD does not package the abse OS in the same way as 3rd part ports applications. Unlike Linux where everything is available as package.

So you have two processes to learn. Security updates to your running system, and updating to a new release. And within that, you have the base system and ports which are maintained separately.

To start off simply, apply security updates to the base system with syspatch.
'man syspatch' and
https://www.openbsd.org/faq/faq10.html#Patches

OpenBSD does not have the resources to package security updates to ports. You can either build them yourself or use a 3rd party such as m:tier.
https://stable.mtier.org/

Upgrading to a new releaes is a similar process as the installation. The easist way to download the new release's bsd.rd file to /, reboot and at the boot> prompt, type 'b bsd.rd' to boot the new installer and choose [U]pgrade. Then 'sysmerge' if needed and 'pkg_add -u'.

The 6.2 release is right around the corner so we can get into those details if you need them then.

Meanwhile, read the man pages for pkg_add, pkg_delete, pkg_info.

[bsd007]

Thanks for replying.

What if I never install anything from ports ?

Then I am left with the base system and binary packages.

Kindly give me the commands which will update the base

system and the binary packages.

[hitest]

Originally Posted by bsd007

Kindly give me the commands which will update the base

Once you have set-up /etc/installurl you can update the base by running:

doas syspatch

You can run doas syspatch as a regular user ( see man doas).

[bsd007]

Originally Posted by hitest

Once you have set-up /etc/installurl you can update the base by running:

doas syspatch

You can run doas syspatch as a regular user ( see man doas).

I am getting this.

$ doas syspatch 
doas: doas is not enabled, /etc/doas.conf: No such file or directory

[hitest]

Originally Posted by bsd007

I am getting this.

$ doas syspatch 
doas: doas is not enabled, /etc/doas.conf: No such file or directory

You need to create /etc/doas.conf

The contents of /etc/doas.conf should be:

permit yourusername

For example my /etc/doas.conf is:

permit hitest

Save and exit. Then when you run doas syspatch with a properly configured /etc/installurl it will update your system.

[bsd007]

I just added https://mirrors.sonic.net/pub/OpenBSD but same thing

$ doas syspatch 
doas (open@open.my.domain) password: 
$

[hitest]

Originally Posted by bsd007

I just added https://mirrors.sonic.net/pub/OpenBSD but same thing

$ doas syspatch 
doas (open@open.my.domain) password: 
$

After you run doas syspatch it will prompt you for your regular user password. Type in your user password and press enter. That should run syspatch

P.S. Do you have a working internet connection on your openbsd unit?

[bsd007]

Originally Posted by hitest

After you run doas syspatch it will prompt you for your regular user password. Type in your user password and press enter. That should run syspatch

P.S. Do you have a working internet connection on your openbsd unit?

Yes my Internet is working fine. Do you think because I am using 6.2 there are no updates available yet ?

[TronDD]

Originally Posted by bsd007

Yes my Internet is working fine. Do you think because I am using 6.2 there are no updates available yet ?

Yes. syspatch will not output anything if there was nothing to do. 6.2 is not released yet, you are running a snapshot. syspatch is for applying security patches to an installation of a release.

If you want to track snapshots, it's a different process as I stated in my first post.

[bsd007]

Originally Posted by TronDD

Yes. syspatch will not output anything if there was nothing to do. 6.2 is not released yet, you are running a snapshot. syspatch is for applying security patches to an installation of a release.

If you want to track snapshots, it's a different process as I stated in my first post.

So my question is like in Linux if you are running a beta and keep on updating you will end up with a stable system when the release day arrives.

Is it same with OpenBSD ?

[jggimi]

Welcome back.

No, OpenBSD's development and release process is not the same as Linux. The process is outlined in the OpenBSD FAQ, here.

The OpenBSD FAQ is a key resource for new users. Spending time with it will help you understand more about this OS.

[bsd007]

Originally Posted by jggimi

Hello, and welcome.

No, OpenBSD's development and release process is not the same as Linux. The process is outlined in the OpenBSD FAQ, here.

The OpenBSD FAQ is a key resource for new users. Spending time with it will help you understand more about this OS.

From the link you gave me

-current: The -current branch is where active development work is done. Every six months, -current is tagged and becomes the next -release.

That is what I wanted to know. If I continue with the current it will become the next -release within six months.

[jggimi]

No. OpenBSD -current is a constantly moving target, as *ALL* development occurs on -current, including the preparation for -release, which, for simplicity, can be considered a very carefully prepared snapshot, that is published separately from -current, and once published never changes.


As it happens, 6.2-release has been "tagged" in CVS just this week. So, any particular snapshot of -current you might be running right now is either older than -release, or newer than -release. Not -release, as it is unpublished and will be published separately.

And as you update from snapshot to snapshot, your system will be newer and newer than 6.2-release.

[bsd007]

Originally Posted by jggimi

No. OpenBSD -current is a constantly moving target, as *ALL* development occurs on -current, including the preparation for -release, which, for simplicity, can be considered a very carefully prepared snapshot, that is published separately from -current, and once published never changes.


As it happens, 6.2-release has been "tagged" in CVS just this week. So, any particular snapshot of -current you might be running right now is either older than -release, or newer than -release. Not -release, as it is unpublished and will be published separately.

And as you update from snapshot to snapshot, your system will be newer and newer than 6.2-release.

Got it.

So if I use 6.2 and do snapshot to snapshot is security an issue ?
The main reason I am using OpenBSD is security.

[jggimi]

I have no answer, because the word "security" here is undefined, and even if you try to define it you will likely have multiple definitions.

So instead of answering an unanswerable question, I'll try to provide you with some context.

---

As oft repeated, -current is the development branch. It is where new features are added, new functionality tested, and therefore it is where risks are taken. And as any software developer will tell you, any development effort can introduce flaws or bugs. And as any OpenBSD developer will tell you, a design flaw or a bug may have unintended consequences.

-current is where development and testing of the OS and of ports occur. But there are additional users who run -current, and some may do so because they want access to the latest/greatest versions of ports or packages. (But as noted above, development introduces flaws and bugs. So a higher version number isn't always better.)

The project will publish a -release twice per year. It is never changed after publication. A -release is maintained and supported for 1 year, through the publication of errata patches, or through the syspatch(8) binary patch management subsystem for i386 and amd64, and additionally through the -stable branch of CVS.

---

I run both -current and patched -release systems. I use -current on a workstation, as I am a port maintainer and occasional port tester, and -current is a requirement for this. I use patched -release on all of my production servers.[1] I do so because it eliminates introducing any new features which might disrupt stability, and it is also a much lower workload to maintain than a -current system, which requires frequent updates in order to stay relatively up-to-date with the constantly churning -current developments.

[1] Prior to syspatch, I maintained -stable branches on all my servers as it was operationally simpler than applying individual errata patches across them. The -stable branch will occasionally have patches committed that are not published as errata, and in the years I ran -stable I did once have the need for a patch from that category of committed patches.

[drhowarddrfine]

If only openBSD had some sort of documentation for all this.

[bsd007]

Just one more question. When 6.2 reaches its EOL will I get a notification ?

Asking to upgrade ?

[jggimi]

Originally Posted by drhowarddrfine

If only openBSD had some sort of documentation for all this.

The scope of the FAQ has been reduced in recent years. This included removal of a number of general questions, such as the operational comparison of -current with -release/-stable. Otherwise, I'd just have linked to that.

Originally Posted by bsd007

Just one more question. When 6.2 reaches its EOL will I get a notification ?

No. It is the admin's responsibility to maintain and update their systems.

• Only the two most recent releases are supported with break/fix patches.
• The FAQ is specific only for the most recent release. After six months, the older release is supported for break/fix only.

[bsd007]

Originally Posted by jggimi

No. It is the admin's responsibility to maintain and update their systems.

• Only the two most recent releases are supported with break/fix patches.
• The FAQ is specific only for the most recent release. After six months, the older release is supported for break/fix only.

So please make this a little easy for me. Since I am running 6.2 when should I do a clean/fresh install (The exact date)?

I dont want to upgrade instead I want to do a fresh install when 6.2 reaches its EOL.

Thanks a lot for replying.