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BSD Operating Systems

Embedded OpenBSD Running the Stallion ePipe 61

Posted by Nik from the NP:-the-sound-of-my-backup-tapes dept.
Louis Bertrand noted that in another win for free software, OpenBSD can now be found in the guts of the Stallion ePipe, a dial-up network gateway, a little like the IBM InterJet we mentioned a few days ago. Playing to OpenBSD's strengths, the core processor is a Motorola ColdFire 5307 VL-RISC chip, and the encryption is provided by OpenBSD's built-in encryption code. They've even written a cooperative press release about it, complete with OpenBSD's very cool blowfish.
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Embedded OpenBSD Running the Stallion ePipe More

Embedded OpenBSD Running the Stallion ePipe

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  • link (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    >What's the link to that Moreton Bay nettel?

    here's that Moreton Bay link i think: NETtel [moretonbay.com]
  • Yeah, but is it any better? Let's not get into the trap of thinking all things Linux == gold.

    I like many Linux distros, but the developers had a very good reason for picking OpenBSD over a Linux distro.

    Bullet proof VPN, and not a fast IPO, I think was the goal here. Check out the article, it's neat.
  • In Australia, where Stallion is based, ISDN is avaliable at userous prices for small businesses, despite what the unbelievably ignorant Richard Alston said when he came to office.
    DSL is being trialled by Telstra but they are never in a hurry to deploy as there is no *real* competition at the local call, local copper wire.
    I use a permanent modem connection and in fact, Telstra's IAP arm - Big Pond Direct - offers permanent modem (to 56k) as an option.
    PSTN dial lines are therefore often the only real option for a lot of businesses.
  • Ya gotta get up pretty early in the morning to find a first post that actually says something worthwhile instead of "First Post".
  • Then execute kill -9 in the lord's name.
  • So safer but slightly slower disk I/O means less usable to to you?
  • Okay to be faster than the nitpickers...

    I obviously didn't proofread my post in dispite of the warnings etcetctec yadda yadda

    and "him" should be "her"

    and i won't proofread this one either :P
  • Yeah, I think you're right.

    Personally I live in the Netherlands. We pay per minute for local phonecalls. My american girlfriend asked me once "why?"

    So I told him "Why not? I use it, don't I? So why shouldn't I pay for it?" She saw my point ;)

    If you cherish your free local phone calls, don't screw it by using ePipe.
  • Well, first my post was intended to be slightly humorous.
    Second, I have no idea about the non-obviousness E2B. I know next to nothing about security, and thus am a very bad source for this information. I was just trying to point out that Stallion had applied for a software patent, something generally considered to be not such a good idea.

    Sam TH
  • thats the point dough-head. it doesnt install a whole bunch of hole filled 3rd party apps. its part of the security first approach. it also (iirc) doesnt start anything from within the inetd unless you turn it on by hand. the logic is if something is needed the admin will add it, as opposed to installing everything and letting some clueless shit configure it after. personally i like a nice small minimal install to work from, adding what i want, beats the shit out of removing the junk after.
  • Its less usable at first.
    Once you actually start installing packages, its just another distro - Just more secure.
    Having the extra security isn't a bad thing ... Unless you add NOTHING from the base install. Which is pretty useless anyway ...
  • If it used cable or DSL, then it surely would have stated so ... Its a "dial-up gateway" ... You know ... For dialing-up.
    Some areas just don't have cable or DSL yet. Some countries don't have cable or DSL yet.
    In England we're just now getting DSL ...
    If I had to use dial-up, and knew my dial-up gateway was running OpenBSD as opposed to something like NT ... I'd be happier, knowing I were using a secure ISP and probably have better connection speeds too! :o)
  • Hrm. Patents aren't necessarily evil. E2B didn't immediately strike me as obvious, although this may be due to a general lack of information -- this was after all a press release, so as little information as possible is included to avoid confusing the media.

    Could you perhaps provide some links to, or details about, what E2B really is, so that I can evaluate your claim that this is obvious technology?

    TIA

    Johan
  • Is it really data costs you pay for with ISDN, FR, etc, or scarcity? I think economies of scale result in dirt cheap telco lines, whereas the (comparatively) limited markets and the business centric nature for data lines cause their prices to be very high.

    Anyhow, in any decent urban market, DSL at 128k (at the minimum) is cheaper than two bonded telephone lines (for 112k max) plus ISP fees or point to point fees. It might even be safe to make that statement for 324k DSL. ISDN FR and ATM carry a business premium resulting from target market and perceived ability to pay.

    matt
  • ... and it's rather offtopic.

    Is that the ePipe is useful because it "potentially saves up to 80% in telco charges".

    This is because it uses bonded dialup connections instead of ATM, FR, ISDN, etc.

    Guys, this is immoral. We highly salaried, wealthy individuals are exploiting the free-or-fixed local telephony charging regime to leave our data connections nailed up for weeks at a time.

    Who really pays for this? It's the moms, pops and ordinary businesses who make their three minute voice calls and then get the hell out of the PSTN.

    The ePipe would not exist if there was a fair telephony charging regime.

  • hrmmmmm....
    just wondering how 'usable' my system would be when back orfice and netbus are competing for processor cycles...
    or how usable my data is when it is gone...
    ...
    or how usable when I am staring at another bsod...

    just a thought.
  • I've heard from some people that OpenBSD is so secure it's less useable than other OSes. What sort of effect might this have?


    ---
  • Telcos typically charge businesses higher rates, so shed no tears for the Telcos, they can take care of themselves.

  • I'm one of the coders on the ePipe project. On the contrary, ePipe exists to save money in a *timed call* environment. A VPN or bonded 'net access link can be dialled-on-demand, and add or subtract extra lines based on bandwidth usage. The outgoing lines don't even have to go to the same ISP, so you can use two different ISPs and the VPN stays up even if one ISP goes off the air. You can use it with modems, ISDN, cable modems, or whatever you like.
  • Another reason to have a patent is that (certain people think) it looks good in the glossy marketing blurb.
  • I'm one of the coders on the ePipe project.

    Most of the world doesn't have cable or DSL.

    However, with the appropriate version of ePipe, it will do its stuff over DSL or cable or whatever. eg. If your cable modem uses an ethernet link, you'd ePipe model with two or more ethernet devices. There are many versions in the pipeline.

    If you think PSTN modems are expensive, you should see ISDN costs in Australia!

  • First, install Linux instead of *BSD. (Actually, I didn't know the EvilOne[TM] was the mascot of OpenBSD, I thought it was only FreeBSD).

    In Linux, you will find that most Daemons are started by different script files, usually contained in the /etc directory. Look for commands that run files named *d, such as pppd, smbd, etc.

    Delete all commands that start such programs and you'll find yourself completely free of those pesky Daemons that cause all the trouble you mentioned.

    The only Daemon you don't need to worry about is Maxwell's Daemon, because that one does not exist. He was the fruit of James Clerk Maxwell's gin-fogged imagination (Maxwell was British, you know...).

  • How does me using 8 phone lines at once at a fixed cost affect someone who makes a 3 minute call?
  • Actually the base distro already comes with XFree86 and fvwm. Not the most advanced window manager, but its small size helps when they're auditing all the source in the base distro.

    Yes you have to edit all the .conf files by hand (no weak ass linuxconf), but overall the init scripts and config files are very simple, very well organized and very easy to understand. OTOH the "easy-to-use" Linux distros are very complex under the hood. I run Caldera and Redhat on some other machines, and I've given up on admining by editing the conf files for fear of breaking something in the GUI config tools.
  • Exactly, the purpose of the source code audit is to be proactive. If you want to minimize the number of firmware updates for security, OpenBSD is one of your best choices. If you look at the number of security alerts for OpenBSD in the past, it's much less than Linux or the commercial Unix's. The main problem has been all the notoriously buggy (security-wise) open-source software (e.g. sendmail, bind, wu-ftpd), and they shouldn't be running those services on an embedded router anyway.
  • OpenBSD (and Linux) are immoral. We highly salaried, wealthy individuals are exploiting free software to have our systems up for weeks at a time.

    Who really pays for this? It's the moms, pops and ordinary businesses who have their three minute uptime and then reboot the hell out of their Windows.

  • It's good to see OpenBSD get the recognition...
  • I just installed an OpenBSD box at my church... I guess I better start doing those mea culpas.

    --

  • It's been noted a number of times now that the majority of patents by companies AREN'T for the purpose of screwing others out of the technology. Rather, it's to prevent themselves from losing the right to use it when someone ELSE patents it.

    Now isn't that acceptable? After all, even Linus has a copyright on the name Linux.
  • We highly salaried, wealthy individuals are exploiting the free-or-fixed local telephony charging regime to leave our data connections nailed up for weeks at a time.

    Yes, in fact some people do--from their homes. But I doubt they expect home use to be their main market. In almost all areas only residential phone service is flat-rate, while business rate is metered. Using bonded dialups is expensive, though is some cases it's all that's available. (One exception: Centrex, though even that is usage-charged in some areas; besides, since Centrex is restricted to a single CO, using it doesn't tie up inter-office trunks, which is where the highest cost of a nailed-up dialup accrue.)

    -Ed
  • I mean, the whole point of a security audit is so that you fix the stuff that's (become) broken, right?

    Being no OpenBSD expert, I guess what the OpenBSD guys try to do is more proactive -- they want to find and fix all the holes before they get found out about by others.
    They don't want to fix it after someone else has found the hole and it has been widely publicised. I believe they have a number of techniques in place to make the OS overall less vulnerable to certain types of problems.
  • To enhance stability, OpenBSD takes a more cautious disk write approach, which might slow down disk accesses some.

    Specific information about tuning the disk subsystem for speed (and to eliminate above delay) can be found here [openbsd.org].
  • While can't Slashdot give each of the handful BSDs their own icon, given that every Linux distribution on earth have them (and I imagine quite a few can't compare with the userbase the BSD distributions have).
  • Here [samsung.co.kr].

    4.0 inches True Color TFT LCD

    = YOPY's display supports 65,536 colors (240×320 pixels)and its clarity will be attractive enough with its bright backlight.

    High Performance 32-Bit Microprocessor

    = 206MHz speed Microprocessor will enable you to run any exciting application on YOPY.

    Embedded internet Web Browser

    = YOPY is a multimedia powerhouse that enables users to view films or surf the internet in vivid color with rich stereo sound.

    CompactFlashTM Slot

    = YOPY provides you with CompactFlashTM Slot which is industry-standard for storage, memory and additional features.(TV, Digital Camera, GIS, etc.)

    Graphic Game

    = Enjoy the game of 65,536 colors with powerful stereo sound.

    MP3 Player

    = You can enjoy MP3 Stereo music and improve foreign language skills.

    4Mbps-speed Infrared Transceiver(IrDA)

    = You can exchange messages and informations with speed up to 4Mbps and range within 1 meter distance around you

    Voice Recording

    = It is easy for voice recording by just pressing quick start button and unidirectional microphone allows you to record ideas, reminders and voice memos.

    Stereo Earphone with Remote keys

    = YOPY provides you with stereo earphone with remote button.
    With this, you can listen to MP3 music, radio broadcasts, various sound of games and also you can control and select all the functions of YOPY.

    Docking Cradle

    = YOPY's docking cradle includes RS232C & USB Serial Port for synchronize with PC and automatic recharge.

    Handwriting Recognition with YOPY? Stylus Pen

    = Put in information on touch screen with YOPY's stylus pen and it add the nobility of your style. Access E-mail and Internet with YOPY. Organize your schedule and customer information with YOPY's PIMS (Personal Information Management System).

    LED Indicator while recharging, data exchanging and alarming.

    = Vibration when you need quiet Alarming.
    Quick stsrt buttons and scroll action button makes you easy to access applications you want.


  • Since they use OpenBSD, there goes any chances of messing internally with the machine. If it were running RedHat, i could just find the Root-Exploit-Of-The-Day-Advisory warning and be on my way. Damn I love OpenBSD. Once SMP support is released, Its all over for everything else.
  • I'm one of the coders on the ePipe project.

    Upgrading the OS is as simple as downloading a new
    OS image and rebooting. Last time I checked
    you need to reboot a PC to upgrade the BSD kernel
    too. :-)
  • Yeah, but too bad they are rolling it into a suite that they have applied for a patent on. Not really in the flavor or spirit of OpenBSD.
  • The parent comment here has been posted at 6:46 EDT, and was initially labelled "funny", which it was in a somewhat mild and inoffensive way. Then some asshole re-labelled it "flamebait". In about 12 hours, the comment got 3 (three) responses, none of them flames. WHY is it flamebait? If I was in charge of /., I would perpetually ban that moderator for terminal stupidity.
  • A tailored version of the operating system is embedded into firmware within ePipe.
    ...
    OpenBSD's reputation for security is due largely to its ongoing, comprehensive security audit process, which has been operational for the past 3 years. This process minimizes operating system vulnerabilities that become known to hackers.
    Okay, correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't these two statements contradictory? I mean, the whole point of a security audit is so that you fix the stuff that's (become) broken, right? If it's embedded into firmware, it's harder to upgrade; you have to flash the firmware to upgrade. Is it just me, or does this seem less secure than having it on disk? Does one have to reboot in order to flash the firmware?

    I suppose that downtime's not going to be that critical to the epipe, since it's only a dialup gateway. (Security being less of an issue, too -- they can't reach you all that easily when your line keeps crapping out on you, right? ;) ) This looks kinda similar to a RAQ3, but for dialup. Is that right?

    Can anybody tell me where I'm wrong here?

  • Patents are bad (Score:4)

    by Romen ( 10819 ) on Saturday March 04, 2000 @01:43AM (#1226385) Homepage
    Unfortunately, it seems like our good poster failed to notice that Stallion has committed the ultimate sin - they have applied for a software patent.
    To quote the press release
    "Stallion has applied for a patent for E2B."
    E2B appears to be simply a method for hardening the connection to the ISP. I don't know nearly enough about security, and they don't tell nearly enough about their technology, to have a reasonable opinion about this patent, but my knee-jerk reaction to it would be opposition, as it is a software patent.


    Sam TH

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