FreeBSD Training
You know Linux. Same job, different operating system.
Coming soon
33 sections map your Linux habits onto FreeBSD 15.1: rc where you expect systemd, ZFS as the default and not an add-on, jails and bhyve for compartments, pf for the firewall, one source tree for everything. Labs run in a throwaway VM, and the translation table stays within reach the whole way.
Status: all 33 sections are written and in final review. Enrollment opens soon.
Self-paced and text-first. You read, you type, you check — no video timeline to scrub.
From first boot to production operations.
Every section pairs a concept refresher with a hands-on lab and a knowledge check — 479 questions across the course. Open a part to see its sections.
Environment check, conventions, and how the course works
Part I Orientation 3 sections
- 1 One System, Whole: The FreeBSD Model
- 2 The Translation Table: FreeBSD for Linux Eyes
- 3 The Lab: FreeBSD 15.1 on Proxmox with OpenTofu
Part II First Boot to First Service 6 sections
- 4 Installing FreeBSD: From bsdinstall to Unattended
- 5 The Boot Chain: Firmware to /sbin/init
- 6 Init, rc, and Service Management
- 7 Software Management with pkg
- 8 Users, Authentication, and Login Classes
- 9 Batteries Included: The Base-System Daemons
Part III Storage and Data 4 sections
- 10 GEOM and UFS: The Traditional Storage Stack
- 11 ZFS Fundamentals
- 12 ZFS in Operation
- 13 Backup and Disaster Recovery
Part IV Networking 3 sections
- 14 The Network Stack: Links, Routes, and TCP
- 15 Plugging In: DHCP, IPv6, and Name Resolution
- 16 Firewalls: pf, ipfw, and Traffic Shaping
Part V Compartments: Jails and Virtual Machines 3 sections
- 17 Jails: The Model
- 18 Jails in Production
- 19 bhyve: Virtual Machines
Part VI Production Operations 6 sections
- 20 Staying Current: pkgbase, freebsd-update, and Security Advisories
- 21 Cross-OS Interop: SMB, NFS with Linux, and Foreign Disks
- 22 High Availability: CARP, pfsync, and HAST
- 23 Security Architecture and Hardening
- 24 Observability: DTrace, Tracing, and Crash Dumps
- 25 Performance Tuning
Part VII Under the Hood 4 sections
- 26 The Kernel: GENERIC, Modules, and sysctl
- 27 Building Your Own: Ports and poudriere
- 28 Building FreeBSD from Source
- 29 The Developer's FreeBSD: Toolchain and Contributing
Part VIII Ecosystem and Interop 3 sections
- 30 The Linuxulator: Running Linux Binaries
- 31 FreeBSD on Your Hardware: Wi-Fi, Graphics, and the Desktop
- 32 The Project: Governance, Releases, and the Adoption Playbook
Read a little. Break it in a lab. Prove it stuck.
The same rhythm in every section, so the course gets out of your way and the material does the work.
Read a little
Each section opens with a compact refresher in the browser — a few minutes of reading that sets up exactly what the lab needs, and nothing more.
Break it in a lab
Numbered steps with checkpoints, run in your own terminal. Solutions stay one click away, not in your face. For FreeBSD, a throwaway 15.1 VM — local or cloud — carries every lab.
Prove it stuck
A knowledge check closes every section: 70% to pass, unlimited attempts, and the multi-select questions are all-or-nothing — exactly correct or try again.
self-paced · text-first · runs in your browser and your terminal
For people who work in a terminal already.
No graded deadlines and no cohort schedule. The course assumes you are busy, curious, and allergic to filler.
- Linux administrators and SREs adding FreeBSD boxes to an estate that never planned for them.
- Storage-minded engineers who want ZFS where it grew up.
- Platform teams weighing jails and bhyve against another round of container sprawl.
Coming soon.
This list exists to tell you when FreeBSD Training opens for enrollment. Expect a launch note, not a newsletter.
The signup uses double opt-in. Every message includes an unsubscribe link.