Update and modernize the features.xml page
Translators take note: this is a full rewrite. Starting with old content will likely not be helpful. Submitted by: Chris Petrik <c.petrik.sosa@gmail.com> Submitted by: Isaac (.ike) Levy <ike@blackskyresearch.net> Reviewed by: -doc Approved by: bcr (mentor)
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Eitan Adler
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<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
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<head>
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<head>
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<title>&title;</title>
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<cvs:keyword xmlns:cvs="http://www.FreeBSD.org/XML/CVS">$FreeBSD$</cvs:keyword>
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@ -13,222 +13,120 @@
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<body class="navinclude.about">
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<h1>FreeBSD offers many advanced features.</h1>
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<h1>&os; offers many unique features.</h1>
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<p>No matter what the application, you want your system's resources
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performing at their full potential. FreeBSD's focus on
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performance, networking, and storage combine with easy system
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administration and excellent documentation to allow you to do just
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that.</p>
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<p>No matter what the application, you want your system's
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resources performing at their full potential. &os;'s focus
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on performance, networking, and storage, combined with easy
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system administration and excellent documentation to allow
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you to do what you want.</p>
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<h2>A complete operating system based on 4.4BSD.</h2>
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<p>FreeBSD's distinguished roots derive from the <b>BSD</b>
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software releases from the Computer Systems Research Group at the
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University of California, Berkeley. Over ten years of work have been
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put into enhancing BSD, adding industry-leading SMP, multithreading,
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and network performance, as well as new management tools, file
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systems, and security features. As a result, FreeBSD may be found
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across the Internet, in the operating system of core router products,
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running root name servers, hosting major web sites, and as the
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foundation for widely used desktop operating systems. This is only
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possible because of the diverse and world-wide membership of the
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volunteer FreeBSD Project.</p>
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<p>&os;'s distinguished roots derive from the <b>BSD</b>
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software releases from the Computer Systems Research Group at
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the University of California, Berkeley. Over fifteen years of
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work have been put into enhancing &os;, adding
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industry-leading scalability, network performance, management
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tools, file systems, and security features. As a result,
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&os; may be found across the Internet, in the operating system
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of core router products, running root name servers, hosting
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major web sites, and as the foundation for widely used desktop
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operating systems. This is only possible because of the
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diverse and world-wide membership of the
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volunteer &os; Project.</p>
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<h2>FreeBSD provides advanced operating system features, making it ideal
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across a range of systems, from embedded environments to high-end
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multiprocessor servers.</h2>
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<p><b>FreeBSD 7.0</b>, released February 2008, brings many new features
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and performance enhancements. With a special focus on storage
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and multiprocessing performance, FreeBSD 7.0 shipped with support
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for Sun's <b>ZFS file system</b> and <b>highly scalable
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multiprocessing performance</b>. Benchmarks have shown that FreeBSD
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provides twice the MySQL and PostgreSQL performance as current Linux
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systems on 8-core servers.</p>
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<p><b>&os; 9.0</b>, brings many new features
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and performance enhancements with a special focus on desktop
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support and security features.</p>
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<ul>
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<li><b>SMPng</b>: After seven years of development on advanced SMP
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support, FreeBSD 7.0 realizes the goals of a fine-grained kernel
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allowing linear scalability to over 8 CPU cores for many workloads.
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FreeBSD 7.0 sees an almost complete elimination of the Giant Lock,
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removing it from the CAM storage layer and NFS client, and moving
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towards more fine-grained locking in the network subsystem.
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Significant work has also been performed to optimize kernel
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scheduling and locking primitives, and the optional ULE scheduler
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allows thread CPU affinity and per-CPU run queues to reduce
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overhead and increase cache-friendliness. The libthr threading
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package, providing 1:1 threading, is now the default. Benchmarks
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reveal a dramatic performance advantage over other &unix; operating
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systems on identical multicore hardware, and reflect a long
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investment in SMP technology for the FreeBSD kernel.</li>
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<li><b>Capsicum Capability Mode</b>:
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Capsicum is a set of features for sandboxing support, using
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a capability model in which the capabilities are file
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descriptors. Two new kernel options CAPABILITIES and
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CAPABILITY_MODE have been added to the GENERIC kernel.</li>
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<li><b>ZFS filesystem</b>: Sun's ZFS is a state-of-the-art file
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system offering simple administration, transactional semantics,
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end-to-end data integrity, and immense scalability. From
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self-healing to built-in compression, RAID, snapshots, and volume
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management, ZFS will allow FreeBSD system administrators to easily
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manage large storage arrays.</li>
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<li><b>Hhook</b>: (Helper Hook) and khelp(9) (Kernel Helpers)
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KPIs have been implemented. These are a kind of superset of
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pfil(9) framework for more general use in the kernel. The
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hhook(9) KPI provides a way for kernel subsystems to export
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hook points that khelp(9) modules can hook to provide
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enhanced or new functionality to the kernel. The khelp(9)
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KPI provides a framework for managing khelp(9) modules,
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which indirectly use the hhook(9) KPI to register their hook
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functions with hook points of interest within the kernel.
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These allow a structured way to dynamically extend the
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kernel at runtime in an ABI preserving manner.</li>
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<li><b>Accounting API:</b> has been implemented. It can keep
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per-process, per-jail, and per-loginclass resource
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accounting information. Note that this is not built nor
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installed by default. To build and install them, specify
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options RACCT in the kernel configuration file and rebuild
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the base system as described in the FreeBSD Handbook</li>
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<li><b>10Gbps network optimization</b>: With optimized device drivers
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from all major 10gbps network vendors, FreeBSD 7.0 has seen
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extensive optimization of the network stack for high performance
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workloads, including auto-scaling socket buffers, TCP Segment
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Offload (TSO), Large Receive Offload (LRO), direct network stack
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dispatch, and load balancing of TCP/IP workloads over multiple CPUs
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on supporting 10gbps cards or when multiple network interfaces are
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in use simultaneously. Full vendor support is available from
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Chelsio, Intel, Myricom, and Neterion.</li>
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<li><b>Resource-limiting API:</b> has been implemented.
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It works in conjunction with the RACCT resource accounting
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implementation and takes user-configurable actions based on
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the set of rules it maintains and the current resource
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usage. The rctl(8) utility has been added to manage the
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rules in userland. Note that this is not built nor
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installed by default.</li>
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<li><b>SCTP</b>: FreeBSD 7.0 is the reference implementation for the
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new IETF Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) protocol,
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intended to support VoIP, telecommunications, and other
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applications with strong reliability and variable quality
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transmission through features such as multi-path delivery,
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fail-over, and multi-streaming.</li>
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<li><b>Usb:</b> subsystem now supports USB packet filter.
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This allows to capture packets which go through each USB
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host controller. The implementation is almost based on
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bpf(4) code. The userland program usbdump(8) has been
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added.</li>
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<li><b>Wireless</b>: FreeBSD 7.0 ships with significantly enhanced
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wireless support, including high-power Atheros-based cards, new
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drivers for Ralink, Intel, and ZyDAS cards, WPA, background
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scanning and roaming, and 802.11n.</li>
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<li><b>Infiniband support:</b>, OFED (OpenFabrics Enterprise
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Distribution) version 1.5.3 has been imported into the
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base system.</li>
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<li><b>New hardware architectures</b>: FreeBSD 7.0 includes
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significantly improved support for the embedded ARM architecture,
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as well as preliminary support for the Sun Ultrasparc T1
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platform.</li>
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<li><b>TCP/IP network:</b> stack now supports the mod_cc(9)
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pluggable congestion control framework. This allows TCP
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congestion control algorithms to be implemented as
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dynamically loadable kernel modules. The following kernel
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modules are available cc_chd(4) for the CAIA-Hamilton-Delay
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algorithm, cc_cubic(4) for the CUBIC algorithm, cc_hd(4)
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for the Hamilton-Delay algorithm, cc_htcp(4) for the H-TCP
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algorithm, cc_newreno(4) for the NewReno algorithm, and
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cc_vegas(4) for the Vegas algorithm. The default algorithm
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can be set by a new sysctl(8) variable
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net. inet. tcp. cc. algorithm.</li>
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<li><b>SU+J:</b> &os; Fast File System now supports soft
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updates with journaling. It introduces an intent log into a
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softupdates-enabled file system which eliminates the need for
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background fsck(8) even on unclean shutdowns.</li>
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</ul>
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<p>FreeBSD has a long history of advanced operating system feature
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development; you can read about some of these features below:</p>
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<p><b>&os; 8.x</b> brings many new
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features and performance enhancements. With special focus on
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a new USB stack, &os;-8.x shipped with experimental support
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for NFSv4. As well as a new TTY layer. Which improves
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scalability and resources handling in SMP enabled systems.</p>
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<ul>
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<li><b>A merged virtual memory and filesystem buffer cache</b>
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continuously tunes the amount of memory used for programs and the
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disk cache. As a result, programs receive both excellent memory
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management and high performance disk access, and the system
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administrator is freed from the task of tuning cache sizes.</li>
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<li><b>Netisr framework:</b> has been reimplemented for
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parallel threading support. This is a kernel network
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dispatch interface which allows device drivers (and other
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packet sources) to direct packets to protocols for directly
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dispatched or deferred processing. The new implementation
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supports up to one netisr thread per CPU, and several
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benchmarks on SMP machines show substantial performance
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improvement over the previous version.</li>
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<li><b>Compatibility modules</b> enable programs for other operating
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systems to run on FreeBSD, including programs for Linux, SCO UNIX,
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and System V Release 4.</li>
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<li><b>Linux emulation:</b> layer has been updated to version
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2. 6. 16 and the default Linux infrastructure port is now
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emulators/linux_base-f10 (Fedora 10)</li>
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<li><b>Soft Updates</b> allows improved filesystem
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performance without sacrificing safety and reliability.
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It analyzes meta-data filesystem operations to avoid having
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to perform all of those operations synchronously.
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Instead, it maintains internal state about pending meta-data
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operations and uses this information to cache meta-data,
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rewrite meta-data operations to combine subsequent
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operations on the same files, and reorder meta-data
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operations so that they may be processed more efficiently.
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Features such as background filesystem checking and
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file system snapshots are built on the consistency
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and performance foundations of soft updates.</li>
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<li><b>File system snapshots</b>, permitting administrators to take
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atomic file system snapshots for backup purposes using the free
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space in the file system, as well as facilitating <b>background
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fsck</b>, which allows the system to reach multiuser mode without
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waiting on file system cleanup operations following power outages.
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</li>
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<li>Support for <b>IP Security (IPsec)</b> allows improved security in
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networks, and support for the next-generation Internet Protocol,
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IPv6. The FreeBSD IPsec implementation includes support for a
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broad range of <b>accelerated crypto hardware</b>.</li>
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<li><b>Out of the box support for IPv6</b> via the KAME IPv6 stack
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allows FreeBSD to be seamlessly integrated into next generation
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networking environments. FreeBSD even ships with many applications
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extended to support IPv6!</li>
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<li><b>Multi-threaded SMP architecture</b> capable of executing the
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kernel in parallel on multiple processors, and with <b>kernel
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preemption</b>, allowing high priority kernel tasks to preempt
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other kernel activity, reducing latency. This includes a
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<b>multi-threaded network stack</b> and a <b>multi-threaded
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virtual memory subsystem</b>. Beginning with FreeBSD 6.x, support
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for a fully parallel VFS allows the UFS file system to run on multiple
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processors simultaneously, permitting load sharing of
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CPU-intensive I/O optimization.</li>
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<li><b>M:N application threading via pthreads</b> permitting threads
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to execute on multiple CPUs in a scalable manner, mapping many user
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threads onto a small number of <b>Kernel Schedulable Entities</b>.
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By adopting the <b>Scheduler Activation</b> model, the threading
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approach can be adapted to the specific requirements of a broad
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range of applications.</li>
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<li><b>Netgraph pluggable network stack</b> allows developers to
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dynamically and easily extend the network stack through clean
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layered network abstractions. Netgraph nodes can implement a broad
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range of new network services, including encapsulation, tunneling,
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encryption, and performance adaptation. As a result, rapid
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prototyping and production deployment of enhanced network services
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can be performed far more easily and with fewer bugs.</li>
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<li><b>TrustedBSD MAC Framework extensible kernel security</b>,
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which allows developers to customize the operating system security
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model for specific environments, from creating hardening policies
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to deploying mandatory labeled confidentiality of integrity
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policies. Sample security policies include <b>Multi-Level
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Security (MLS)</b>, and <b>Biba Integrity Protection</b>. Third
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party modules include <b>SEBSD</b>, a FLASK-based implementation
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of <b>Type Enforcement</b>.</li>
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<li><b>TrustedBSD Audit</b> is a security event logging service,
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providing fine-grained, secure, reliable logging of system events
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via the audit service. Administrators can configure the nature and
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granularity of logging by user, tracking file accesses, commands
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executed, network activity, system logins, and a range of other
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system behavior. Audit pipes allow IDS tools to attach to the
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kernel audit service and subscribe to events they require for
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security monitoring. FreeBSD supports the industry-standard BSM
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audit trail file format and API, allowing existing BSM tools to
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run with little or no modification. This file format is used on
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Solaris and Mac OS X, allowing instant interoperability and unified
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analysis.</li>
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<li><b>GEOM pluggable storage layer</b>, which permits new storage
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services to be quickly developed and cleanly integrated into the
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FreeBSD storage subsystem. GEOM provides a consistent and
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coherent model for discovering and layering storage services,
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making it possible to layer services such as RAID and volume
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management easily.</li>
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<li>FreeBSD's <b>GEOM-Based Disk Encryption (GBDE)</b>, provides
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strong cryptographic protection using the GEOM Framework, and can
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protect file systems, swap devices, and other use of storage
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media.</li>
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<li><b>Kernel Queues</b> allow programs to respond more efficiently
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to a variety of asynchronous events including file and socket IO,
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improving application and system performance.</li>
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<li><b>Accept Filters</b> allow connection-intensive applications,
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such as web servers, to cleanly push part of their functionality into
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the operating system kernel, improving performance.</li>
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<li><b>Network Virtualization:</b> Container named vimage has
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been implemented, extending the FreeBSD kernel to maintain
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multiple independent instances of networking state.
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vimage facilities can be used independently to create fully
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virtualized network topologies, and jail(8) can directly
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take advantage of a fully virtualized network stack.</li>
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</ul>
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<h2>FreeBSD provides many security features
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to protect networks and servers.</h2>
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<p>The FreeBSD developers are as concerned about security as they are
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about performance and stability. FreeBSD includes kernel support for
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<b>stateful IP firewalling</b>, as well as other services, such as
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<b>IP proxy gateways</b>, <b>access control lists</b>, <b>mandatory
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access control</b>, <b>jail-based virtual hosting</b>, and
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<b>cryptographically protected storage</b>. These features can be
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used to support highly secure hosting of mutually untrusting
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customers or consumers, the strong partitioning of network segments,
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and the construction of secure pipelines for information scrubbing
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and information flow control.</p>
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<p>FreeBSD also includes support for encryption software, secure
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shells, Kerberos authentication, "virtual servers" created using
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jails, chroot-ing services to restrict application access to the
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file system, Secure RPC facilities, and access lists for services
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that support TCP wrappers.</p>
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</body>
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</html>
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