Crafting Reproducible OpenBSD Server Configs

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Crafting Reproducible OpenBSD Server Configurations

Building on our previous OpenBSD exploration from May 30th, today we'll dive deeper into using OpenBSD as a server operating system with a focus on creating reproducible, version-controlled configurations.

We'll create a small demo app with an httpd reverse-proxy to it with all configuration files managed as code within the app's repository.

Setting up a basic server configuration

  • httpd (OpenBSD's built-in web server) with reverse proxy configuration
  • pf (packet filter firewall) with appropriate rules for our services
  • Creating a custom daemon for an application we're building
  • Configuring rc.conf.local for daemon startup

Making the configuration reproducible

  • Using GNU Stow to manage symlinked configuration files
  • Version controlling our configurations with Git
  • Organizing configs within the application repository
  • Creating deployment scripts to apply configurations

If we have time, we'll look into using answerfiles to automate the actual system installation.

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