Introduction

When administering FreeBSD servers, it is important to understand the basic maintenance procedures that will help you keep your systems in good shape.

In this guide, we will be covering the basic processes needed to keep your server up-to-date and functioning properly. We will be covering how to update the base operating system that the FreeBSD team maintains. We will also discuss how to update and maintain optional software installed through the ports or packages systems.

If you need help getting started with FreeBSD, follow our guide here.

Updating the Base FreeBSD Operating System

One important thing to realize when working with FreeBSD is that the base operating system is built and managed separate from the other software on the system. This provides a number of benefits and allows the FreeBSD team to carefully test and develop the core functionality of the system.

Note: Read the note at the bottom of this section regarding a bug in the current update procedure before proceeding.

When you start using your server, there is a good chance that security updates have been published to the base system. To query the FreeBSD project’s servers for these updates, download any new files, and install them on your system, type the following command: Continue reading An Introduction to Basic FreeBSD Maintenance →