OpenBSD Journal

New Installation ISO Files in 4.2

Contributed by merdely on from the don't-forget-to-donate dept.

If you've downloaded a fairly recent snapshot, you may have noticed a new file in the directory: install42.iso. This file is available for alpha, amd64, hppa, i386, macppc, sparc and sparc64 and it includes everything needed to install the OpenBSD 4.2 base system.

Now that the install sets are included in the installXY.iso image file, the single ISO file can be downloaded for the installation process. Previously with the cdXY.iso image files, you would also need to download the install sets separately (either to a local mirror or during the installation). This may have caused problems if you were setting up a system without network access during installation.

When pre-orders are announced for OpenBSD 4.2, please show your appreciation for this new, convenient installation method by donating at least the amount of a CD set when downloading your install42.iso file. Remember, the OpenBSD project is funded through CD sales and donations. And, stickers don't come with the iso file...

(Comments are closed)

Comments

  1. By Anonymous Coward (69.159.114.115) on

    What is the motivation behind the change of ISO provisioning, and does this affect the way ISOs can be (re)distributed being that Theo holds the copyright to CD-ROM layout?

    http://www.openbsd.org/faq/faq3.html#ISO

    I sincerely hope that this does not diminish the numbers of those who would be otherwise donating to the project through CD purchases, though I suspect those who truly enjoy OpenBSD are pure enough of heart to do so regardless.

    A penny for a developer's thoughts on how this will affect the OpenBSD trial/adoption rate? (not that I believe anyone personally cares ;)

    Comments

    1. By Anonymous Coward (24.37.242.64) on

      > > A penny for a developer's thoughts on how this will affect the OpenBSD trial/adoption rate? (not that I believe anyone personally cares ;)
      >
      > I think it's good news for hobbyists, who may give it a try on a weekend, come to appreciate it, buy CDs for themselves, then recommend or adopt it at work. Now that businesses can contribute via the Foundation, this might even things out.
      >

      This is nice and great and all, but it was easy enough to create a bootable iso anyways - even a bootable -stable release(8) - which I think would be good to see an install-snapshot.iso too.

      I hope this doesn't affect donations though. CD's are always nice having the originals and the stickers are great too - my laptop is covered.

    2. By Darrin Chandler (dwc) on http://www.stilyagin.com/darrin/

      > > A penny for a developer's thoughts on how this will affect the OpenBSD trial/adoption rate? (not that I believe anyone personally cares ;)
      >
      > I think it's good news for hobbyists, who may give it a try on a weekend, come to appreciate it, buy CDs for themselves, then recommend or adopt it at work. Now that businesses can contribute via the Foundation, this might even things out.

      More than that. Not long ago I introduced a hobbyist to OpenBSD and had to inform him that there was no "full" ISO. Now, he installed anyway, and has twice bought CD sets, more to support the project than anything else. If there are enough people like that, then making install easier will only increase CD sales. Let's hope!

    3. By frequency_tesla (75.54.133.203) on

      > What is the motivation behind the change of ISO provisioning, and does this affect the way ISOs can be (re)distributed being that Theo holds the copyright to CD-ROM layout?
      >
      > http://www.openbsd.org/faq/faq3.html#ISO
      >
      > I sincerely hope that this does not diminish the numbers of those who would be otherwise donating to the project through CD purchases, though I suspect those who truly enjoy OpenBSD are pure enough of heart to do so regardless.
      >
      > A penny for a developer's thoughts on how this will affect the OpenBSD trial/adoption rate? (not that I believe anyone personally cares ;)

      I hope this does not mean they will stop producing CDs to save cost and only making OpenBSD available in ISO image. I enjoy the CDs

    4. By Gabriel (216.145.54.7) on

      never bought a CD[1]. Helped with code and documentation to freebsd and other projects. and bug reports for openbsd. i never liked the attitude 'pay to have a ISO so we can trhow a convention'. i live in the 3rd country. money here is worth less, shipping is abusive, and i will never be able to attend the party. otoh, i like the attitude we take care of the project.

      [1] installed openBSD countless times, all from a floppy boot image and a net install. Love that. And waste more bandwidth from the project then if there were a ISO file to download once. maybe people finally did the math :)

  2. By Anonymous Coward (63.227.11.212) on

    This sounds like a good idea, exactly for those times when there is no network or a slow network connection nearby.

    What I would be excited about was an official USB image that could be used to boot a host into a ram-disk based system ala Live CD types. I know, I know - do it your self if it interests you - but I'm more willing to up my donations to OpenBSD if one were available.

    Before you jump all over me, I buy CDs every release, and make donations (as in more than one).

    Comments

    1. By Anonymous Coward (2001:6f8:94d:4:2c0:9fff:fe1a:6a01) on

      A certain OpenBSD fork I don't like to mention here
      distributes all of its development snapshots as combined
      Live/Install ISOs. You might want to look there.

      Comments

      1. By Anonymous Coward (24.37.242.64) on

        > A certain OpenBSD fork I don't like to mention here
        > distributes all of its development snapshots as combined
        > Live/Install ISOs. You might want to look there.

        Why does it matter if you mention it here - and doesn't mean their distribution of it is not rootkit'd.

    2. By Anonymous Coward (24.37.242.64) on

      > This sounds like a good idea, exactly for those times when there is no network or a slow network connection nearby.
      >
      > What I would be excited about was an official USB image that could be used to boot a host into a ram-disk based system ala Live CD types. I know, I know - do it your self if it interests you - but I'm more willing to up my donations to OpenBSD if one were available.
      >
      > Before you jump all over me, I buy CDs every release, and make donations (as in more than one).

      Why not create one, it's super easy. I do it with -stable releases all the time - would be nice to have on the FAQ though, maybe I'll try to email my FAQ to the FAQ maintainer soon...

    3. By Anonymous Coward (68.124.164.168) on

      > This sounds like a good idea, exactly for those times when there is no network

      Either way you need Internet access to download what you'll be installing. If you had the foresight of downloading and burning the official OpenBSD ISO, then you would have done the same with creating your own.

    4. By Anonymous Coward (68.100.130.1) on

      A USB install image would be nice. I hate to waste a CD-R on something I'll only boot once.

      Comments

      1. By Anonymous Coward (88.191.16.83) on

        > A USB install image would be nice. I hate to waste a CD-R on something I'll only boot once.
        >

        There is this thing call CD-RW.

      2. By sthen (85.158.44.149) on

        > A USB install image would be nice. I hate to waste a CD-R on something I'll only boot once.

        Can you pxeboot? It's a nice alternative in some cases.

    5. By Anonymous Coward (67.64.89.177) on

      > This sounds like a good idea, exactly for those times when there is no network or a slow network connection nearby.

      So how do you download the ISO? Oh wait this is a fucking stupid argument!

  3. By Anonymous Coward (66.111.62.174) on

    You can write the install sets to an USB flash drive and use that to install the sets from.
    See http://www.bsdforums.org/forums/showthread.php?t=50433

  4. By Timo Schoeler (eclipser) timo@riscworks.net on http://riscworks.net

    ...when can we do so? Release date is November 1st, and as we entered September now I'd like to order and behave like a small child waiting for Santa Claus now :)

    Comments

    1. By Richard Toohey (203.167.190.49) richardtoohey@hotmail.com on

      > ...when can we do so? Release date is November 1st, and as we entered September now I'd like to order and behave like a small child waiting for Santa Claus now :)

      Me too! Any news on what happened to the command line book?

      Looks like it's shipped - so maybe with 4.2?

      http://www.devguide.net/index.php?q=node/141

      Comments

      1. By Anonymous Coward (24.37.242.64) on

        > > ...when can we do so? Release date is November 1st, and as we entered September now I'd like to order and behave like a small child waiting for Santa Claus now :)
        >
        > Me too! Any news on what happened to the command line book?
        >
        > Looks like it's shipped - so maybe with 4.2?
        >
        > http://www.devguide.net/index.php?q=node/141

        Once on the website, I'll be ordering too.

  5. By Pizza is your friend (68.124.164.168) on

    Does anyone know the reasons that motivated the change? I'm curious considering that this issue alone has been of much debate in the past.

    Comments

    1. By Anonymous Coward (74.13.57.76) on

      > Does anyone know the reasons that motivated the change? I'm curious considering that this issue alone has been of much debate in the past.

      Perhaps a revolt? The Judean People's Front beat out the People's Front of Judea and the Campaign for Free Galilee to lead? Maybe it was aliens? Or perhaps because the OpenBSD foundation exists, the developers are hoping against hope that more funds can be found via the foundation and that they're trying to make it easier for companies to try OpenBSD out so they'll be giving them more money? The questions, the questions, and only the 8-ball knows, ask on!

      Comments

      1. By Anonymous Coward (150.147.18.104) on

        Splitter !

    2. By frequency_tesla (75.54.133.203) on

      > Does anyone know the reasons that motivated the change? I'm curious considering that this issue alone has been of much debate in the past.


      my personal opinion the openbsd foundation might have something to do with it. ISO images did not appear until the foundation was formed.

      Comments

      1. By Otto Moerbeek (otto) on http://www.drijf.net

        > > Does anyone know the reasons that motivated the change? I'm curious considering that this issue alone has been of much debate in the past.
        >
        >
        > my personal opinion the openbsd foundation might have something to do with it. ISO images did not appear until the foundation was formed.

        Classical logical fallacy. Event A occurring earlier than event B does not imply that A causes B.

        Comments

        1. By Anonymous Coward (75.54.133.203) on

          > > > Does anyone know the reasons that motivated the change? I'm curious considering that this issue alone has been of much debate in the past.
          > >
          > >
          > > my personal opinion the openbsd foundation might have something to do with it. ISO images did not appear until the foundation was formed.
          >
          > Classical logical fallacy. Event A occurring earlier than event B does not imply that A causes B.
          >

          An opinion is not a fact, only a taught.

          Comments

          1. By frequency_tesla (75.54.133.203) on

            > > > > Does anyone know the reasons that motivated the change? I'm curious considering that this issue alone has been of much debate in the past.
            > > >
            > > >
            > > > my personal opinion the openbsd foundation might have something to do with it. ISO images did not appear until the foundation was formed.
            > >
            > > Classical logical fallacy. Event A occurring earlier than event B does not imply that A causes B.
            > >
            EDIT:
            > I meant to use thought not taught.
            >
            An opinion is not a fact, only a thought.

            Comments

            1. By Otto Moerbeek (otto) on http://www.drijf.net

              > > > > > Does anyone know the reasons that motivated the change? I'm curious considering that this issue alone has been of much debate in the past.
              > > > >
              > > > >
              > > > > my personal opinion the openbsd foundation might have something to do with it. ISO images did not appear until the foundation was formed.
              > > >
              > > > Classical logical fallacy. Event A occurring earlier than event B does not imply that A causes B.
              > > >
              > EDIT:
              > > I meant to use thought not taught.
              > >
              > An opinion is not a fact, only a thought.
              >
              >

              I only pointed out that the statement "ISO images did not appear until the foundation was formed." does not support your opinion in any way.

              Comments

              1. By frequency_tesla (75.54.133.203) on

                > > > > > > Does anyone know the reasons that motivated the change? I'm curious considering that this issue alone has been of much debate in the past.
                > > > > >
                > > > > >
                > > > > > my personal opinion the openbsd foundation might have something to do with it. ISO images did not appear until the foundation was formed.
                > > > >
                > > > > Classical logical fallacy. Event A occurring earlier than event B does not imply that A causes B.
                > > > >
                > > EDIT:
                > > > I meant to use thought not taught.
                > > >
                > > An opinion is not a fact, only a thought.
                > >
                > >
                >
                > I only pointed out that the statement "ISO images did not appear until the foundation was formed." does not support your opinion in any way.

                Thank you, for letting me know that the foundation did not have anything to do with it.

        2. By Pizza is your friend (68.124.164.168) on

          > > my personal opinion the openbsd foundation might have something to do with it. ISO images did not appear until the foundation was formed.
          >
          > Classical logical fallacy. Event A occurring earlier than event B does not imply that A causes B.
          >

          I agree.

          There are few positions that Theo was always adamant about not changing or changing since I started using OpenBSD at version 2.7.

          Those being; getting rid of all GPLed code from OpenBSD's base, not providing an official install ISO, and not pursuing non-profit status because of the additional burden that would take away from development.

          Development has been paramount to Theo and anything that got in its way was not considered worth the time it would take to debate its merits. The solution has always been thought to have been development, donations, and sales of Official CDs; the solution is still the same, but there is now hope that what the OpenBSD Foundation collects, will balance the loss of CD sales that the install ISO will cause.

          He's now changed his position on two of these accounts; both events were significant in the history of the project. I can't help but wonder if he's having second thoughts about the GPL. =P

          Comments

          1. By Anonymous Coward (172.141.108.196) on

            > He's now changed his position on two of these accounts; both events were significant in the history of the project. I can't help but wonder if he's having second thoughts about the GPL. =P
            >
            >
            EEK!

      2. By Anonymous Coward (165.228.157.146) on

        > > Does anyone know the reasons that motivated the change? I'm curious considering that this issue alone has been of much debate in the past.
        >
        >
        > my personal opinion the openbsd foundation might have something to do with it. ISO images did not appear until the foundation was formed.

        I personally believe that it had something to do with my 34th birthday.

  6. By Joe Price (68.43.169.37) on

    I think it's a good idea in general. I hope it doesn't affect income for the project.

    It is probably a good idea to have the collective ISO in an easy 'free' fashion for people to use. I try to get a donation or CD sale for each OpenBSD machine I install as well as each upgrade (and the stickers pwn) at work. Personally I've bought a shirt, poster or CD for each version since about 2.5

    I don't think much will change for me. I hope each user that uses the ISO file donates if they enjoy the product (which is unavoidable of course).

  7. By glthornberry (207.15.10.10) on

    from now on the ISO image wants to be called "Loretta"

  8. By baldusi (200.68.102.49) on

    I recieved my 4.1 set last week, ordered of course before the May 1st. But it's quite obvious the I buy the sets for support (and I like my collection since 2.6 :)
    This will greatly help us Third Worlders.

    Comments

    1. By Anonymous Coward (24.37.242.64) on

      > I recieved my 4.1 set last week, ordered of course before the May 1st. But it's quite obvious the I buy the sets for support (and I like my collection since 2.6 :)
      > This will greatly help us Third Worlders.

      Yeah, I have from 2.6 too - makes a nice collection.

  9. By Shane J Pearson (59.167.252.29) on

    Since the OpenBSD project are now providing bootable install iso's with install sets included, will distribution via BitTorrent be entertained?

    I have about 2Mbit/s upstream bandwidth which I would gladly leave permanently open to provide OpenBSD iso's via BitTorrent. Not much bandwidth I know, but it all adds up.

  10. By unixlust (81.184.26.79) on http://unixlust.com

    I notice the install42.iso wasn't updated since 8/28/2007. I was wondering how often will this image be generated.. ?

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