“How’s the hardware support?” I tend to hear that a lot, and my answer is usually, “In my experience, OpenBSD and other free systems tend to just work.”
But for some reason, there is a general perception that going with free software means that getting hardware components that will actually work will be a serious struggle. In the past, there was some factual basis for this. I remember struggling to install FreeBSD 2.0.5 on the hardware I had available. I was able to boot off the installation CD, but the install never completed because my CD drive was not fully supported.
But that was back in June 1995, when PC CD drives usually came with an almost-but-not-quite IDE interface attached to a sound card, and cheap PCs did not come with networking built in. Configuring a machine for network use usually meant moving jumpers around on the network interface card or the motherboard, or running some weird proprietary setup software—if you had the good luck to be on a system with an Ethernet interface.
Times have changed. Today, you can reasonably expect all important components in your system to work with OpenBSD. Sure, some caution and a bit of planning may be required for building the optimal setup, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Getting the right hardware for your system is essentially a matter of checking that your system meets the needs of your project and network:
Check the online hardware compatibility lists.
Check the man pages or use
aproposkeywordcommands (wherekeywordis the type of device you are looking for).Search the archives of relevant mailing lists if you want more background information.
Use your favorite web search engine to find useful information about how well a specific device works with your operating system.
In most cases, the hardware will work as expected. However, sometimes otherwise functional hardware may come with odd restrictions.
Quite a number of devices are designed to depend on firmware that must be loaded before the operating system can make use of the device. The motivation for this design choice is almost always to lower the cost of the device. When some of those manufacturers refuse to grant redistribution rights for the firmware, the decision becomes a problem because it means that operating systems like OpenBSD can’t package the firmware with their releases.
Problems of this type have surfaced in connection with several different types of hardware. In many cases, the manufacturers have been persuaded to change their minds and allow redistribution. However, this does not happen in all cases. One example is the Intel-based wireless networking hardware that is built into many popular laptop models. The hardware is supported in many operating systems, including OpenBSD via the wpi and iwn drivers. But even with those drivers in place, the hardware will simply not work unless the user has manually fetched and installed the required firmware files.
Note
Where supported hardware is restricted, the OpenBSD man pages usually note the fact and may even include the email addresses of people who might be able to change the manufacturer’s policy.
It would take only a minor change in the manufacturer's licensing policy to make life easier for free software users everywhere and boost sales. It’s possible that most situations like these will be resolved by the time you read this. Be sure to check the latest information online, and be prepared to vote with your wallet if a particular company refuses to act sensibly.
If you shop online, keep the man pages available in another tab or window. If you go to a physical store, make sure to tell the clerks you will be using a BSD. If you’re not sure about the parts they are trying to sell you, ask to borrow a machine to browse the man pages and other documentation online. You might even ask for permission to boot a machine with the hardware you’re interested in from a CD or USB stick and study the dmesg output. Telling shop staff up front about your project could make it easier to get a refund if the part does not work. And if the part does work, letting the vendor know is good advocacy. Your request could very well be the first time they have heard of your favorite operating system.