DragonFly BSD Resources
DragonFly BSD is improving daily, however, the online resources can
be a little difficult to find. DragonFly is not yet aimed very much
at the beginning user, but someone experienced with any of the BSDs
shouldn't have many problems with it--it still has many
similarities to the 4.x branch of FreeBSD, but already, there are
major differences. The handbook has become outdated, though many
chapters are still accurate. So, here are a few links to save the
reader a bit of searching.
Installation (as of July 2005)
The handbook chapter on installation is dated. It has become far
simpler. I have a little guide, complete with screenshots.
My DragonFly installation
guide.
Using the NetBSD packages collection
After installation, one would most like either wish to upgrade
their source tree or start installing various software. A bit of
digging indicates that DragonFly is moving away from ports and will
be concentrating their efforts on pkgsrc. There is a patch listed
on the wiki and a complete patchset for pkgsrc listed in the
DragonFly digest. Use the patch from the digest page.
(NOTE: On Monday, 11, July, the digest page was down. The patch is
available here for the moment. However,
if you view this page after 11 July, 2005, please check the digest
page first. (I put the patch up here for a friend planning to
install tonight). Here are some resources.
The wiki
article
The article on gobsd.com's
site.
The DragonFly
Digest
My extra tips
The wiki is perhaps the most complete. The gobsd.com article and
my article cover a few things that weren't covered in the wiki.
Updating sources
The handbook article on upgrading sources is still good. Note that
it's a bit different than FreeBSD, one does an installworld before
rebooting, along with some other differences, so read the chapter.
(However, sometimes, if the kernel version is outdated, make
installworld will fail and tell you to reboot with the new kernel
before running it.)
The chapter also has a section on updating ports. Remember, that is
outdated. Instead, view the resources listed above for using
pkgsrc. The handbook chapter should only be applied to updating
system sources, not ports.
The
DragonFly handbook's chapter on updating sources.
These few resources, while far from complete, should be enough
to get the newcomer started. For other resources, including the
mailing lists, see the DragonFly home page.