OpenBSD Journal

Call for snapshot testers

Contributed by Dengue on from the download-a-snapshot-today dept.

In order to make the coming 3.0 release the best yet, Theo is calling for users to test the latest snapshots. Please use the closest mirror . Users are needed to test on all architectures. Following is the proper method of reporting problems with -current (culled from http://www.openbsd.org/report.html ):

How to create a problem report

Always provide as much information as possible. Try to pin-point the exact problem. Never give vague instructions, or detail vague problems like "it crashes or "I get strange interrupt issues on this one box that I built." Talk to others on IRC or some other forum to confirm that it is new, repeatable, etc. and make sure it is not a local problem.

Please don't start fixing problems that require significant work until you are sure you understand them, especially during our release periods when we must not change major sections of code. If you are going to write significant amounts of code, check various forums to make sure that someone else is not working on the problem (saving duplication of effort).

The following items should be contained in every bug report:

  1. The exact sequence of steps from startup necessary to reproduce the problem. This should be self-contained; it is not enough to send in a bare command without the arguments and other data you supplied to it. If a bug requires a particular sequence of events, please list those. You are encouraged to minimize the size of your example, but this is not absolutely necessary. If the bug is reproducible, we'll find it either way.
  2. The output you got. Please do not say that it "didn't work" or "failed". If there is an error message, show it, even if you don't understand it. If OpenBSD panics with a particular error, say which. If nothing at all happens, say so. Even if the result of your test case is a program crash or otherwise obvious it might not happen in our testing. The easiest thing is to copy the output from the terminal, if possible. Note: In case of fatal errors, the error message provided might not contain all the information available. In that case, also look at the output in the system log files, such as those stored in /var/log. Also, if you are dealing with an application that has its own log files, such as httpd, check for errors where it keeps its logs (in the case of httpd, this is /var/www/logs).
  3. The OpenBSD kernel output. You can get this with the dmesg command, but it is possible that your dmesg output does not contain all the information that is captured in /var/run/dmesg.boot. If this is the case, include information from both. Please include this in all bug reports.
  4. If you run third-party software which has to do with your bug, say so, including any subversion that software may have. If you are talking about a CVS or FTP snapshot, mention that, including its date and time.
  5. A traceback from your kernel panic. If your kernel panic'ed, and you are at a ddb> prompt where you can type traceback, then please do so. Submit the traceback output in your bug report. This is essential whenever possible.

Do not be afraid if your bug report becomes rather lengthy. That is a fact of life. It's better to report everything the first time than us having to squeeze the facts out of you. On the other hand, if your input files are huge, it is fair to ask first whether somebody is interested in looking into it.

Finally, when writing a bug report, please choose non-confusing terminology.

(Comments are closed)

Comments

  1. By Robi () on

    When is OpenBSD 3.0 planned to come out?

    Comments

    1. By Anonymous Coward () on

      stupid question, RTFM.

      Comments

      1. By Dan () danstr@netvision.net.il on mailto:danstr@netvision.net.il

        To the brave soul, who is willing to attack other member of the OpenBSD community: You are just rude and Anonymous Coward!!!!

        Comments

        1. By diana () dianaer@theperuvian.com on mailto:dianaer@theperuvian.com

          Give me a break, since I started using OpenBSD in 1997 I've seen a release every 6 months. Even then people asked the same bloody question.

          Do some homework people, if you search in the "misc" archives for something half way intelligent you'll find this question pops up way too often. Does no one ever read the OpenBSD homepage?, first thing I see is "Project Goals";
          http://www.openbsd.org/goals.html
          Whoa!, Guess what it sez right there,
          "Make a CDROM-based release approximately every six months, in particular to fund the project..."

          Now let's see, last release was about June 1, hmmm, MAYBE, it'll be Dec. 1, or right around there.

          Oh yeah, and what happens if it doesn't ship every 6 months like it's supposed to, does the world end? Nope.

          g,day

          Comments

          1. By niekze () niekze@yahoo.com on http://www.nothingkillsfaster.com

            Good Point! Maybe the professors at my university should take the same approach.
            "Give me a break, since I started teaching Network Programming in '91, I've heard this question about server socket binding every semester. Even after 20 semesters, they still ask."
            "Why don't they just read 4 chapters ahead in the book?"

            I have no sympathy for people who complain about repeated questions. Half of learning something new is learning how to find the information to answer your questions. Especially when people bitch about OpenBSD ISO questions. People want to try out OpenBSD. If they like it, they will want to learn more. If they don't like it, they will *not* want to learn more. Since most free *nix systems have downloadable ISOs, it would make sense that OpenBSD would also. We all know that they don't. (well, atleast not "official" ones) Why do some members of the OpenBSD community think such a question is outrageous? Does it really hurt to politely reply "no" and give the URL that explains why or simply explain to the person why? Unless you were born being experienced with every facet of human knowledge, you've been in a situation where you had to ask questions, that in retrospect, looked quite dumb. What help would rude behavior provide to your questions?

            Comments

            1. By Anonymous Coward () on

              Well said, and I do agree with you... Mind you, as of the OpenBSD .iso question, well, the reason is simple. To promote CD sales, and help financially support the OpenBSD project. Unlike Linux, it's non-commercialized/bloated/insecure/fragmented/uver-hyped/etc/etc/etc/ and doesn't have the same type of financial backing.

              Unfortunatley, most companies are only harming themselves making products out of GPL and not BSD - not always, but mostly. Too bad for them, they have to legally re-release the source and allow another competitor to take on their work from the same level and improve upon it, hence becoming a new 'competitor' in this market.

              - This is all, and only, IMHO -

              Comments

              1. By niekze () niekze@yahoo.com on http://www.nothingkillsfaster.com

                I know, just using it as an example.:) But, if you think about it, would ISO's really be detrimental to the project? Bear with me....

                If someone doesn't know enough about OpenBSD to know that there isn't an official ISO, why would they buy an OpenBSD CD? If you try it, you'll either love it and buy CD's or hate it and not look at it again...I started using OpenBSD at 2.5. However, I didn't buy a cd till 2.6. I think that would be a good poll topic:

                I bought an OpenBSD CD:

                When I first tried it.
                the next release after I tried it.
                Somewhere between when I tried it and now.
                Havn't bought an OpenBSD CD yet.

    2. By Anonymous Coward () on

      they release about every six months, more or less like clockwork. just go look to see when 2.9 came out. :-) (if they take a little longer this time it's to be expected, it is a major release and all...)

      Comments

      1. By niekze () niekze@yahoo.com on http://www.nothingkillsfaster.com

        See. Although this person has probably heard this question a bajillion times, he/she still replied with a polite answer. I'm sure this exhibition of reasonable human behavior did not strain the resources or capacities of its author in any way. The OpenBSD Journal has "A Resource For The OpenBSD Community" in its title for a reason.
        anyways...It's nice to see someone who doesn't feel that common questions are not above him/her.

  2. By skull crusher () like_you_are_gonna_email_me@punk.com on http://localhost/default.ida?NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

    It says..."if you have a problem, check with someone on IRC (...) before sending in a bug report"...

    hypothetical irc session of 3.0Beta tester on efnet #openbsd:

    tester3.0> hey I am having problem booting after installeding 3.0beta

    john> that is because you suck. go install 2.9. 3.0 beta is for real he-men, not lame lusers who come whining here. what does this look like a help channel?

    tester3.0> oh. thanks!

    Comments
    1. Comments

    2. By Anonymous Coward () on

      LOL!!! Very true! Try #openbsd, undernet. #openbsd in Efnet has nothing but ignorant people. Undernet I find to be quiete, but more friendly and helpful. They need more people to make it a more active channel.

      Comments

      1. By Anonymous Coward () on

        i think all of efnet is like that. it's the same damn situation with #perl and #linux.

        Comments

        1. By Anonymous Coward () on

          haha efnet is full of "bad ass"

    3. By Niekze () niekze@yahoo.com on http://www.nothingkillsfaster.com

      Don't worry about John; he knows more about being an ass than he knows about OpenBSD. If he wants to be act that way, fine. But it does present the idea that the OpenBSD community consists of iltempered children with the social grace and mentality associated with morning show radio DJs. As a sidenote, radio show DJs are amusing and their lack of grace is primarily their draw. However, it does not work similarly for 4.4BSD-based Unix-like operating system develepors/enthusiasts. Look at what most people say about Theo:
      1. he's smart.
      2. he's an ass.

      I don't care how 'good' OpenBSD appears, if the community pisses people off, people won't want to use it. Yes, I already know the response to that: "we don't care if they use it or not." But, when they stop buying $30 CDs, we'll see how that attitude works out. I've submitted 2 errors in the FAQ more than once and they don't get changed and I never hear a response. What gives?

      take a look yourself:

      in networking (6.8.7) it stats that "Bind 4 allows transfers from entire classes so it is not as exact." Letting the non-existent comma slide, it is still incorrect. Bind 4 will let you allow AXFR queries to any *specific* host or network. All you have to give is a netmask after it. e.g. 209.142.221.5&255.255.255.255 Therefore, it *is* as exact.

      The other one pertains to grammar. I'm not going to submit 'errors' about misplaced commas or the like, but in 6.5 - PPP, it states: "Also, make sure, that if your not using a GENERIC kernel, that you have this line in your configuration file:" *your* and *you're* are two different words with two different meanings. *your* is a possesive form of *you*. *you're* is a contraction of *you* and *are*.

      It's been 3 months since i've submitted these and I just re-submitted them this weekend. I don't expect them to change this time around or *ever*. Still, quite ironic for a project that emphasizes "standardization, correctness..."


      So, to sum up: Not everyone in #OpenBSD is an ass, just some of the people with an @ by their name ( /ignore john works wonders). The calls for testing and the like need to remove any reference to irc if the operators of #openbsd are join to allow operators like john to act in such a way. Furthermore, a small portion of the community needs to discontinue their imitations of neglected, attention-seeking youth so that, of the many things OpenBSD is known for, childish and disrespectful behavior are not included.(for which I fear it is already too late.)

      Comments

      1. By gruntled user () on

        I don't know about personality issues. I suspect if I knew the MS people, I wouldn't like them, perhaps. Or maybe not? However, on the issue of a faq correction, it's funny as I sent in my first and so far only correction to a faq about the cvs line which was missing a : so it was functionally useless (unless you knew what you were doing, but then why would you be reading the FAQ, eh?). The error was fixed quite quickly, though with a complaint about my bug report being sufficiently vague as to cause unnecessary searching (true enough). I believe it was Theo himself who responded. My brush with (brusque) greatness.

        It's like D.J. Bernstein. I thought he was an impolite person from his postings on bugtraq before I even knew he wrote good software. Perhaps it's some sort of free perq that we actually get to know what the developers are like. I mean, do you know what kind of person the developer of (insert_name_of_software_here) is like?

        -Gruntled User

      2. By John Kerbawy () john@maKintosh.com on mailto:john@maKintosh.com

        05:03:44: (join.#openbsd) niekze!~niekze@HubE-ubr-24-165-208-229.midsouth.rr.com
        05:09:13: yo
        05:09:18: sup
        05:09:23: anyone have a snapshot ports tree?
        05:10:01: i found an error for MASTER_SITE= in /usr/ports/editors/hexedit in 2.9 -release
        05:10:10: What's wrong with CVS?
        05:10:29: it is http://pixel.linuxave.net and should be pixel.linuxwave.net
        05:10:32: What's wrong with CVS?
        05:10:32: What's wrong with CVS?
        05:10:39: not a damned thing
        05:10:47: OK then.
        05:10:49: i just found a type in a port makefile
        05:10:53: err typo
        05:11:11: and if it isn't there in the current tree, i can ignore it
        05:11:16: If it has something to do with 2.9 or 3.0, file a bug report.
        05:11:17: if it isn't i can report it
        05:11:23: Why don't you go look?
        05:11:43: because if someone here has the -current ports tree, they can look for me
        05:11:56: You lazy fuck.
        05:12:03: ports trees near a new release always BREAK my shit
        05:12:26: Thought about using cvsweb or pulling it elsewhere?
        05:12:48: you know what. i really don't care enough
        05:12:53: if it gets on the cd, fuck it
        05:12:54: OK, shut the hell up.
        05:14:03: http://www.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/cvsweb/ports/editors/hexedit/Makefile.diff?r1=1.16&r2=1.15&f=h

        Comments

        1. By John Kerbawy () john@maKintosh.com on mailto:john@maKintosh.com

          So much for plain text... but guess who's who. :)

        2. By fansipans () on

          rrrrright....s

          monkey: "HEALP MEA FIEND TEH CURANT VOERSION!"

          #obsd:"..."

          monkey: "MUSAT FIEND CORANT VOERZSION!!!!"

          #obsd: "...cvs? cvsweb? bug report?"

          monkey: "NUO!!! TEALL MAE ANSWOR TO QYAZTON! YUO LAMOR LINUXBSD HOMO!"

          *written in crayon across irc channel*
          http://www.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/cvsweb/ports/editors/hexedit/Makefile.diff?r1=1.16&r2=1.15&f=h
          */written in crayon across irc channel*

          monkey: "WUAT IS TIHS LAM0R HTTP COMPUTORE SCIEYNCS HORES HOCKEY!! I EEM NOT COEM HERE TO BECAUSE I CODE !!?? GIEVN ME ANSWEERERR!!!"

          *ban set on monkey*

          really, there should be a /set +crayon for these people

          Comments

          1. By fansipans () fansipans@dub.gmu.edu on mailto:fansipans@dub.gmu.edu

            I'd like to say something quick before i go to bed: for all of "you" who complain about -current being for "real men" or "advanced users" ... have you ever considered that in order to really learn something...a solution to a problem, or more importantly a solution to a class of problems (think compile errors, ports errors, hardware errors) are best learnt on one's own?

            i mean asking someone on irc a solution to a certain specific problem is all well and good, if your aim is to only find the solution to that problem and nothing more. but isn't the point of using advanced software (at least partially) just plain LEARNING? what happens when you have no network connection and you get linker errors? Or some stupid "poop.h" not found on a build in -current? These are simple errors that take some stomping around to solve, but once you've seen it - and solved it yourself - a couple of times, you can breeze through it - and others like it - at a remarkable pace.

            i'm reminded of my highschool spanish classes, when people would cram for the tests and memorize every word from ventana through paneria, and ace the test, but a week later they couldn't remember squat. This isn't to say that some people don't have things they need to work NOW (businesses especially), but if you memorize and memorize and always look for the quick solution you won't learn anything.

            For those who need answers for a pressing and immediate problem: please ask! go for it! But for those who are poking around, or don't need a new feature...please, learn it yourself. Yes, it's a bitch. Yes, it's tedious. Yes, it's been done before by someone else. Yes, it's been learned before by someone else... but it hasn't been learned by you!

            It's amazing what you can learn if you push yourself, and it can even be worth it :]

            --fansipans

            Comments

            1. By niekze () niekze@yahoo.com on http://www.nothingkillsfaster.com

              You look at this as though everyone who tests -current has capable programming knowledge in C relating to operating systems. Your Spanish analogy doesn't quite work. An appropriate counter-example would be someone who test drives a prototype automobile. This is also real world since many automobile companies hire professional drivers to test their prototypes. If the driver finds something wrong, he might not have sufficient engineering knowledge to present a solution. Nor would he have the means to apply the solution. Furthermore, he drives cars; he most likely doesn't care about car design. But, reporting the problem is well within his means. Likewise, the engineer might not be able to notice such an error or simply not have the time to test drive the car sufficiently. The driver can relay problems in the performance to the engineer and the engineer can then identify the cause of the problem then fix it. The driver could ask the engineer to explain the work done then he would better understand the situation. I've found bugs in certain areas of OpenBSD. Some I have been able to understand and even present a solution. In other cases, I had no idea what was the cause. I remember the dc0 driver (i think dc0) in a -current version of 2.7 incorrectly identified the MAC address. I didn't know anything about physical layer networking or device drivers (and still don't) to know what was the cause.
              One might even point out the large contradiction in the point of your analogy. If you mean to express that people should learn things themselves, why would they, not to mention you, be in a *class* in the first place? If you had to be in the class, then the point of learning Spanish, most likely not something many of the students really wanted to learn, would not hold.

              Comments

              1. By fansipans () on

                (hehe)

                highschool is compulsory in the united states. (hence why i would be in a class to learn something)

                all i'm sayin is that if i can spend time (maybe it's *wasting* time to other people) cajoling something to get it to work, i do. and i enjoy it, and take pride in getting it to work, and that i alone learned how to do it :]

                like i said, something may be a bitch to fix or understand, but (to me) sometimes it's worth it.

                Comments

                1. By SESH EYE ON!!! () on

                  YUO SEEM LEIK YOU KNO LOTS ABOUT OPANBSD

                  MABYE YUO CAN ANSERW MY QUEZTIN!!!

                  I HAVE DOWL-KLOADED CURREWNT VERIZON AND IT WON'T INSTALL PORTS!!! I CD TO :USERPORTS AND IT SAY "LILO FAILED'!"!!!!

                  WHAT DO I DO? IS THEER A UTIRLITY I CAN LERan FOR HELPIANG BSD PROLBA;LMS!!!

                  HELPS PLZ THX!!!

                  Comments

                  1. By Anonymous Coward () on

                    LOL! I've actually seen real things like this on IRC too.

                2. By Anonymous Coward () on

                  Fixing something, troubleshooting something, researching something, researching how to fix something, running into problems, yada yada yada..... That's the fun part!

            2. By Anonymous Coward () on

              That's the problem with most people, they want and easy and quick way out. They don't want to really learn a core OS, how it works, how to use it. Some of them want their hands held, and don't even want to read (to learn more) on anything.

              What you said about memorizing... So true...!
              Sounds like M$ MCSE's too. M$ MCSE = Must Consult Someone with Experience.

              Comments

              1. By niekze () niekze@yahoo.com on http://www.nothingkillsfaster.com

                ok. so what? If my car breaks, I just want it fixed. Some people like networking, some people like programming userland, and others like programming the OS. If someone wants the "easy and quick way out," perhaps it is so they can get back to learning something they are interested in.
                As to people who want to fix their box so they can get their super elite eggdrop bot back up, alteast maybe they'll learn something by you that motivates them to try something a little more meaningful.

        3. By niekze () niekze@yahoo.com on http://www.nothingkillsfaster.com

          Thanks for posting an example. Sure, there are many way I could have gone to verify that the -current ports tree was in error or not. If you can handle some simple math, you see that my complaints go hand in hand. The log only shows you being your normal wonderful self. The problem is that out of atleast 9 bug reports i've submitted since 2.5, only 2 have even gotten responses, yet alone a fix. (i'd bet that the gnuls, part of the fileutils port, still has the -w overflow bug. Just pass it an arbitrarily high value and watch it eat all your ram while typing to format width. BTW, I think this port is the only gnuls on *earth* that still doesn't have a boundary on -w) I think I submitted this bug 3 times via sendbug and mentioned it on #openbsd well over 2 years ago). On the contrary, when I mention a bug on irc, there is usually someone there that can fix it or explain it otherwise. I remember a problem with the dc0 driver in 2.7 -current about 2 months before it was released. I mentioned the problem and i forgot who I talked to, but they worked on it and had me test it a few times until it worked. This was 2 weeks after I submitted a bug report. Asking in #openbsd might get someone with commit access to check it. If they had checked it and the error was infact there, they could go ahead and change it, instead of me sending a bug report that most likely would end up in /dev/null. Nevertheless, you've shown anyone that hasn't seen your childish behavior in #openbsd a glimpse of the joy that is dealing with you.

          As a side note, I found the problem with the 2.9 hexedit port Makefile *while* I was doing some work. I thought I could get on #openbsd and mention it to someone quickly as to *not* take time away from my work. I ask why the need to make an ass out of yourself? You could have typed: "no, i do not have a -current ports tree," "I do have a -current ports tree, but I can't be bothered with looking, perhaps someone else can," or even "yes, I do. Let me take a quick look." It would have taken less time. Perhaps you should have just not typed anything at all.

          Comments

          1. By AsIf () bob@i-am-not-bob.com on http://www.microsoft.com

            Perhaps you should have just not typed anything at all. I thought the same thing about Theo when I visited #openbsd. Some newbie stopped by and instead of letting someone who would answer the question do so Theo just attacked with some smart aleck unhelpful reply. Why? If you don't want to reply don't! #openbsd is just place for lame people like Theo to have hissy fits... What a waste and a bad front for the project. Rock on FreeBSD.

            Comments

            1. By John Kerbawy () john@maKintosh.com on mailto:john@maKintosh.com

              Clearly you have not stopped by #FreeBSD on EFnet. If you're going to judge a project by the respective EFnet channels, Windows 2000 will definitely beat out OpenBSD, FreeBSD, and Linux.

              Come on.

              Comments

              1. By niekze () niekze@yahoo.com on http://www.nothingkillsfaster.com

                Your justification for being rude, hateful, and childish is that you're not as bad as the people from other channels? Lemme guess...they started it first. Your insight *truly* amazes me.

                Comments

                1. By fansipans () on

                  for me, personally, my justificatin for being childish, rude, and "hateful", and supporting those who act that way, is that people are rude, childish and "hateful" by insisting that someone help them when they haven't even looked through the faq, LET ALONE type "my problem here" into google. in quotes. really, it does miracles.

                  also....
                  a large portion of open source exists because a developer(s) says "maybe someone can make use of this code that i have written, and maybe they will add features to it". these developers are NOT altruism faeries who's SOLE desire in life is to help people and give things away for free.
                  so yes, rtfm. even when the manual is the source itself, before asking questions


                  btw bis rocked tonight at the black cat, seriously...thank you bis

                  -fansipans

    4. By Anonymous Coward () on

      http://www.ircnews.com/ LOL!

    5. By Anonymous Coward () on

      LOL! This still cracks me up

  3. By Anonymous Coward () on

    Anyone know if the logo is done yet, or where I can get a sneak peak at it?

    Comments

    1. By Miod Vallat () miod@openbsd.org on mailto:miod@openbsd.org

      Yes it's done, it rocks, and you'll have a sneak peak of it when the cd-roms will be available for preorders.

      Comments

      1. By Anonymous Coward () on

        Naw, it's been previewed all the times before.. C'mon, please.. >=)

  4. By Anonymous Coward () on

    Hi.

    Does anybody know if UltraSparc port going to be in 3.0 release or not yet?

    One more question:
    What about mounting root on raid device feature?

    Thanks to anybody who can shed some light on these topics!

    Comments

    1. By Eric Jackson () ericj@monkey.org on mailto:ericj@monkey.org

      Raidframe patches sent to tech@ a while ago allow you to mount your root disk with raidframe, im sure these are to be put in after 3.0.. as to not put in any possible instability.

    2. By Anonymous Coward () on

      check this out

      I believe Theo himself answers that ?

      enjoy

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