OpenBSD boosts hardware support

The latest version of the Unix-like operating system OpenBSD aims to offer better hardware support and adds RAID management capabilities.

Theo de Raadt, the founder and lead developer of the open-source OpenBSD, said Tuesday's release includes changes in various subsystems.

"Version 3.8 provides significant improvements, including new features, in nearly all areas of the system," de Raadt said in an e-mail announcing the release.

OpenBSD, which celebrated its 10th birthday on October 18, now includes support for the accelerometer found in some IBM ThinkPad laptops and for additional Ethernet adapters.

Developers have also added a number of new utilities, including a RAID management program. The tool only carries out basic administrative functions to make it easier to support all types of controllers, de Raadt said in an e-mail last month.

"The functionality supplied is very basic, almost minimal. But this is done like this on purpose since we believe that we could support this functionality on all RAID controllers in the same way, without special -- 'but that controller is so different' -- mindsets entering the picture," said de Raadt.

The tool will only work for AMI RAID controllers initially, but de Raadt hopes that support will be added for controllers from other vendors at a later stage, according to the e-mail.

Earlier this year, de Raadt criticised the quality of the code in the Linux operating system, claiming that it was full of "cheap little hacks."

The latest version of OpenBSD can be downloaded from the organisation's Web site.

ZDNet UK's Ingrid Marson reported from London. For more coverage from ZDNet UK, click here.

Like this article? Click below to send it to your mobile for free!

Talkback 0 comments


Latest Videos

Sponsored content

Power Centre - Content from our premier sponsors

Blogs

  • Renai LeMay Australian Govt funds IT start-ups
    This week Australia's Federal Government announced it had allocated $3.6 million in funding to 57 local research projects so that they could be commercialised, with many of them being web or IT-related start-ups.
  • Array Google should come clean on datacentres
    It's nice that Google says it has put an effort into making its datacentres more energy efficient, but the search giant's pledges won't mean much until it discloses just how many of the beasties it's actually running.
  • Array US shows what OPEL could have been
    Sprint's WiMAX roll-out in Baltimore will prove the Australian government's decision to worm its way out of the Opel WiMAX contract was a short-sighted, and ultimately damaging, political stunt that has benefited nobody.
  • More blogs »

Tags

Back to top

Featured