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Old 19th July 2012
jrl1357 jrl1357 is offline
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Default Is NetBSD 100% FOSS? Does it have any NDAs?

I like to keep my systems 100% FOSS, so now that I'm switching to BSD from Debian (I've used FreeBSD before thou and have a basic working knowledge) I was wondering weather there is any non-FOSS software in NetBSD? I know FreeBSD takes NDAs and OpenBSD dosn't, but I can't gather much on NetBSD.
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Old 19th July 2012
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Obviously most code in the NetBSD source tree is BSD licenced

Major exceptions are the default compiler - given the large number of platforms targeted by NetBSD gcc is still required, though both clang and pcc are in tree. Thats GPL, so still good on the FOSS front.

There is a port of Sun's ZFS which is cddl licenced.

NetBSD tries to keep externally maintained software neatly segregated under external/{licence_type} so you can tell cvsweb.netbsd.org/bsdweb.cgi/src/external/?only_with_tag=MAIN

There will be a few binary firmware blobs, but not that many
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Old 19th July 2012
jrl1357 jrl1357 is offline
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Yes, its the blobs I'm worried about. I may just go with openbsd, as far as ive been able to tell they don't take NDAs. Is openbsd good for the desktop or is it mainly for networking?
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Old 19th July 2012
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jrl1357 View Post
I may just go with openbsd, as far as ive been able to tell they don't take NDAs.
True, but note that they have their own, limited, nondisclosure policy in the form of snapshots which are binary blobs.
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Old 19th July 2012
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jggimi jggimi is offline
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Point of clarification: OpenBSD also accepts firmware in binary form from hardware vendors, for loading into NICs and other peripheral devices. There is no functional difference between firmware loaded at system initiation or firmware stored on some form of ROM with the peripheral -- the OS doesn't run the code, the peripheral does.

You can elect to delete the firmware (stored in /etc/firmware), but then, you will not be able to use a device which requires it.

There are also devices with firmware licensing that prevent distribution within OpenBSD. Those are managed via third party packages and fw_update(1). That tool is called by install/upgrade scripts.

Last edited by jggimi; 19th July 2012 at 04:30 PM. Reason: clarity
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Old 20th July 2012
jrl1357 jrl1357 is offline
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Good to know, i will try all three before I decide
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