OpenBSD 7.5 now available

Created by Theo de Raadt in 1995 as a fork of NetBSD 1.0, OpenBSD had its initial release, labeled 1.0, in July 1996. The latest is dated April 5 and, according to the official page, is the 56th OpenBSD release. The previous version, obviously labeled 7.4, was released last year, on October 16th, and will receive support until November 2024.

OpenBSD 7.5 comes with a long list of changes that includes all the essential areas of the operating system. In addition to the usual minor bug fixes and tweaks, there are plenty of highlights, including:

• Kernel enhancements such as better per-CPU caching lead to better performance on multi-CPU machines.
• SMP improvements that allow sending UDP packets using multiple threads, concurrent access, and more.
• Direct Rendering Manager was updated to Linux 6.6.19, as well as new drivers for the Apple display coprocessor.
• Multiple VMM/VMD improvements.
• Improved hardware support for parts labeled Rockchip, Allwinner, Aero, and more.
• Added or improved wireless network drivers alongside changes in the network stack.
• Security improvements.
• Fixes and new features for OpenSSH 9.6 and OpenSSH 9.7.
• A long list of pre-built packages for all supported architectures, including LibreOffice 24.2.1.2, Chromium 122.0.6261.111, Audacity 3.4.2, Gnome 45, Sudo 1.9.15.5, and much more.

The list of supported architectures to run OpenBSD 7.5 on includes amd64, alpha, armv7, arm64, i386, powerpc64, sparc64, and a few others. OpenBSD 7.4 users should check out this upgrade guide to avoid wasting time on a full install that's usually pointless for them.

Although some might not find it suited to their needs, many users of this operating system should check out OpenBSD Mastery: Filesystems by Michael W. Lucas. This book is currently available in paperback form, priced at $29.99.