NetBSD

Overview

NetBSD is a free, open source Unix-like operating system derived from BSD (Berkeley Software Distribution). It is known for its portability, simplicity and code quality and is widely used in servers, embedded systems, desktop environments and research. NetBSD is maintained by the NetBSD project and provides a complete operating system, including kernel, drivers, user space tools and documentation. It supports 70+ architectures (x86_64, ARM, RISC-V, MIPS, SPARC, etc.) and is the most cross-platform compatibility-focused member of the BSD family. Its slogan is "Of course it runs NetBSD". NetBSD provides a pkgsrc package management system that supports flexible software installation and is suitable for embedded devices (such as routers, NAS) to high-performance servers (such as clusters in research institutions).

History and Development

• Origin:
  • NetBSD originated in 1993 and was created by Chris Demetriou, Theo de Raadt, Adam Glass and Charles Hannum from the 386BSD branch, aiming to provide a cross-platform, portable BSD system.
  • NetBSD 0.8 was released in 1993 as the first official version, based on 4.3BSD.
  • OpenBSD branched from NetBSD in 1995 due to differences in development concepts.
• Development history:
  • 1994-2000: NetBSD 1.0 introduced pkgsrc, 1.3 supported 10 architectures, laying the foundation for portability.
  • 2005-2010: NetBSD 4.0 introduced SMP (multi-core processing), and 5.0 supported Xen virtualization and more architectures.
  • 2015-2020: NetBSD 7.0 enhances DRM (graphics driver), 8.0 supports ARM64 and RISC-V.
  • 2021-2025: NetBSD 10.0 (March 2024) optimizes NVMe, Wi-Fi 6 and Rust support, 10.1 (expected in 2025) continues to improve.
  • X post says "NetBSD 10.0 is unmatched on embedded devices."
• Community and Support:
  • Maintained by the NetBSD Foundation (non-profit organization) and the community, hosted at netbsd.org and GitHub.
  • Provides NetBSD Guide (www.netbsd.org/docs/guide), mailing lists, forums, and X communities (such as @NetBSD).
  • 2-year release cycle (each version is supported for about 2 years, 10.0 to 2026).
• Open Source License:
  • Adopts BSD license (2-Clause and 3-Clause), allowing free use, modification and distribution without mandatory open source derivative works.

Main Features

NetBSD is known for its portability, simplicity and code quality, suitable for embedded and server environments. Here are its main features:

1. Cross-platform portability
   • Architecture support:
     • Supports 70+ architectures, including x86_64, ARM64, RISC-V, MIPS, SPARC, PowerPC, etc.
     • Runs on embedded devices (such as Raspberry Pi), servers, and old hardware (such as Amiga).
2. Pkgsrc package management
   • Features:
     • pkgsrc is a cross-platform package management system that supports 20,000+ packages and can be used on NetBSD and other Unix systems (such as Linux, macOS).
   • Advantages:
     • Source code compilation (similar to FreeBSD Ports) and binary packages (similar to OpenBSD Pkg).
3. Security
   • Features:
     • W^X (write or execute), ASLR (address space randomization) and stack protection are enabled by default, similar to OpenBSD.
     • Provides PF firewall (ported from OpenBSD) and Veriexec (file integrity check).
4. Desktop and Server Support
   • Desktop Environment:
     • Supports XFCE (lightweight by default), GNOME, KDE Plasma, etc., which need to be configured manually.
   • Server:
     • No GUI by default, suitable for running Apache, Nginx.
     • Supports Xen virtualization and cgd (encrypted disk).
5. Simplicity and Documentation
   • Simple Design:
     • Minimize the kernel and tools to reduce the attack surface, similar to OpenBSD.
     • X post said "NetBSD's code is as clean as a work of art."
   • Documentation:
     • NetBSD Guide and man pages provide detailed guidance (refer to www.netbsd.org/docs).

Advantages and Limitations

Advantages

• Portability:
  • Supports 70+ architectures, suitable for embedded, server and old hardware.
  • X post said "NetBSD can run on any device."
• pkgsrc system:
  • Cross-platform package management, supports source code and binary installation, and is more flexible than FreeBSD and OpenBSD.
• BSD license:
  • More relaxed than GPL, suitable for commercial and open source projects.
• Code quality:
  • Strict auditing, reducing vulnerabilities, similar to OpenBSD.
• Lightweight design:
  • Suitable for low-power devices (such as Raspberry Pi).

Limitations

• Learning curve:
  • Configuration (such as pkgsrc, PF) is more complicated than Linux, and you need to be familiar with BSD commands.
  • Solution: Refer to the Chinese guide at www.netbsd.org/docs/guide/zh-cn.
• Software ecosystem:
  • The number of pkgsrc packages (20,000+) is less than FreeBSD (30,000+) and Linux (80,000+, such as Arch).
  • Solution: Install using pkgsrc, or run Linux containers via Xen.
• Hardware compatibility:
  • Driver support is not as good as Linux and FreeBSD, Wi-Fi and GPU need to be configured manually.
• Community size:
  • Smaller than FreeBSD and Ubuntu, with fewer resources.
  • Solution: Combine NetBSD Guide and X tutorials (such as @NetBSD).

Summary

NetBSD is a free, open source Unix-like operating system featuring portability, pkgsrc package management, and BSD license, suitable for embedded devices, servers, and research environments. It supports 70+ architectures and runs on a variety of hardware from Raspberry Pi to high-performance servers. NetBSD is more suitable for cross-platform and embedded deployments.