On Linux and Solaris systems, the confstr() function and the sysconf() and pathconf() system calls can be used to programatically retrieve system, file and path limits. Periodically I need to view the value of a variable returned by sysconf(), pathconf() or confstr() from the command line. When these situations arise, I turn to the getconf [...]
The watchdog daemon (watchdogd) was introduced in OpenBSD 3.8, and can be used to help machines automatically recover from system hangs. If the OpenBSD hardware watchdog daemon is enabled, it will periodically update the hardware watchdog timer built into the system. If this timer is not reset for a period of time, the hardware will [...]
On the last Metallica tour I got to see Godsmack open for James Hetfield and company. Prior to the concert, I had only heard a few Godsmack songs, and those were the tunes that got played excessively on the radio. Since I was there to see Metallica, I said what the heck, and decided to [...]
I have performed a number of OpenBSD installations in the past, and have always used the installer to set the timezone. One system that I recently built didn’t have a timezone set, which required me to run the zic(8) utility manually to change the timezone on the system. To set the servers timezone to Eastern [...]
I run OpenBSD on a few Soekris 4801s. To get an image “prepped” for the Soekris, I use the directions on the Installing OpenBSD on Flash website. Periodically I need to apply patches to the images, which requires me to adjust the “make install” process to install the package to an alternative location. To apply [...]
