Chapter 1 . Discusses the OpenBSD documentation available both in the installed system and on the Web. You need to understand what you’re getting into before installing OpenBSD.

Chapter 2 . Discusses installation on a standard amd64 (also known as the 64-bit Intel-compatible) system. Making some decisions before you install OpenBSD will ensure that you don’t need to reinstall it later.

Chapter 3 . Carries you through every step of a real OpenBSD installation. The OpenBSD installer assumes a certain level of knowledge about computer hardware and OpenBSD that you might not yet possess. This walk-through will guide you through the rough spots.

Chapter 4 . Discusses the basic steps you should take after installing OpenBSD to make your system secure, stable, and usable.

Chapter 5 . Covers system startup. Different situations require different startup methods, and we’ll cover them all. We’ll also discuss how OpenBSD starts its component software.

Chapter 6 . Discusses how to add, remove, and restrict OpenBSD user accounts.

Chapter 7 . Discusses controlling user privileges and permissions. OpenBSD includes powerful tools such as classes and limits, as well as the privilege management tool sudo(8).

Chapter 8 . Covers disk management with the standard OpenBSD filesystems.

Chapter 9 . Covers advanced filesystem topics such as the Network File System (NFS), working with disk images, software RAID, and encrypted disks.

Chapter 10 . Considers how to maintain security using tools such as file flags, securelevels, OpenBSD security announcements, and some basic cryptographic tools.

Chapter 11 . Reviews the basics of TCP/IP versions 4 and 6, and covers some of OpenBSD’s tools for examining and troubleshooting the network.

Chapter 12 . Takes you through configuring OpenBSD’s network stack for Ethernet, trunks, and virtual local area networks (VLANs).

Chapter 13 . Describes OpenBSD’s add-on software tools. You’ll learn how to install precompiled software, compile your own software, and verify and remove software.

Chapter 14 . Describes each major file in /etc that isn’t covered elsewhere, and discusses how you might want to use those files.

Chapter 15 . Covers the various ways OpenBSD maintains itself and how you can make those processes fit your environment and workflow.

Chapter 16 . Covers configuring software integrated with OpenBSD. You’ll learn about the system logger and log file management, the DHCP server, the web server, and more.

Chapter 17 . Covers software useful to OpenBSD as a desktop, such as the window manager cwm(1) and Xenocara. This chapter includes coverage of important software that makes using OpenBSD with a desktop easier, such as SSH keys and tmux.

Chapter 18 . Discusses the various tools available to configure a standard kernel. Unlike many other free Unix-like operating systems, OpenBSD does not expect or require the system administrator to compile a kernel. You can tune the standard kernels without recompiling.

Chapter 19 . Discusses how to recompile a kernel in those rare instances when you must.

Chapter 20 . Covers how to upgrade OpenBSD, either from a snapshot or from source.

Chapter 21 . Documents OpenBSD’s integrated packet-filtering engine, PF. It includes discussions of real-world situations and how to handle them.

Chapter 22 . Introduces things that the packet filter can do beyond just filtering packets.

Chapter 23 . Includes tidbits that didn’t fit anywhere else but are not large enough topics to merit their own chapters. This includes diskless OpenBSD, building bootable USB installation media, and making custom OpenBSD installation sets.