utmp out, utmpx in

The headline is a little misleading; umtpx has been in DragonFly forever, but now utmp is really retired and programs adjusted to match.  The change is not that user-affecting and utmp data is still accessible; this is part of the ABI change alluded to over the past week.

If you are not familiar with utmp(5) and utmpx(5), they are databases in /var that track user logins and system restarts.  utmpx is of course better cause it has an X.

dsynth details on DragonFly

First, history: DragonFly has had binaries of dports available for download for quite some time.  These were originally built using poudriere, and then using the synth tool put together by John Marino.  Synth worked both to build all software in dports, and as a way to test DragonFly’s SMP capability under extreme load.

Matthew Dillon is working on a new version, called dsynth.  It is available now but not yet part of the build.  He’s been working quickly on it and there’s plenty more commits than what I have linked here.  It’s already led to finding more high-load fixes.

In Other BSDs for 2019/08/24

Incidentally, my employer, REDCOM, uses FreeBSD as a base for its main product, is deployed in rough areas and in high-security government locations, and is one of the few electronics manufacturers still working entirely in the U.S..  REDCOM also has jobs to fill in New York, where I work.  Please, apply if you see a job that interests you – and tell me.

Colo upgrade for dragonflybsd.org, plus future

Matthew Dillon posted an extensive writeup about the hardware changes for dragonflybsd.org; price to performance ratio has been improving so much for multiprocessor machines that we can jump forward both for hosting hardware and for a testbed.

He also mentions his immediate thoughts on what to tackle next, since SMP has been so relentless improved in DragonFly.  It resulted in a very long conversational chain as people weighed in with opinions, so I’ve held off posting it until the conversation finished.  (I chimed in too.)