LEAF Bering-uClibc

LEAF Bering-uClibc is an open source distribution of Linux built around the LEAF (Linux Embedded Appliance Framework) project, a secure, customizable and feature-rich embedded Linux network appliance. It is based on the well-known Bering Linux distribution developed by Jacques Nilo and Erik Wolzak.

Supports 32-bit and 64-bit hardware platforms, distributed as Live CDs

The operating system is available for download as a binary archive that can be installed on disk drives, flash cards or USB devices, as well as various Live CD ISO images with ISOLINUX and SYSLINUX boot loaders, supporting the 32-bit (i486 and i686) and 64-bit (x86_64) instruction set architectures.

Minimal boot menu

When booting either of the ISO images from the BIOS of a computer, using a CD disc or a USB thumb drive, you will encounter a boot menu with two options, the ability to start the live system with normal configuration or to perform a throughput hardware test. By default, you will be dropped to shell prompt, as the distribution comes with no graphical desktop environment.

Designed to be used as an Internet gateway

The LEAF Bering-uClibc distro has been designed from the offset to be used as an Internet gateway, firewall, wireless access point, or router. It allows users to create an inclusive environment where LEAF project members and community members are free to release content to the public.

LEAF Bering-uClibc's main goals

LEAF Bering-uClibc's main goals are to support the continued development of current LEAF releases and branches, create new LEAF releases and branches with current Linux kernels and libraries, maintain as small a footprint as possible for release and branch target installations, and promote the creation of packages usable by all LEAF releases and branches.

Its capabilities can be extended

The distribution’s capabilities can be easily extended to support SNMP, VPN, bandwidth management, intrusion detection, wireless connections, IPv6 firewall, as well as traffic accounting.

What is new in this release:

• Bering-uClibc-5.0.3-beta1 provides updates for the kernel, tor, openssl, minicom, samba, pcre, ddclient and usb-modeswitch-data to latest upstream versions.
• Newly build openssl enables thread support and improvements for x86_64 platform.
• dropbear enables sha2_256, sha2_512, AES128 and ECC (elliptic curve) support.
• A new package batctl is available to start support for open mesh networks. smartmon and ppp-hsh has received small fixes.

What is new in version 5.2.4 / 5.2.5 RC1:

• Bering-uClibc-5.0.3-beta1 provides updates for the kernel, tor, openssl, minicom, samba, pcre, ddclient and usb-modeswitch-data to latest upstream versions.
• Newly build openssl enables thread support and improvements for x86_64 platform.
• dropbear enables sha2_256, sha2_512, AES128 and ECC (elliptic curve) support.
• A new package batctl is available to start support for open mesh networks. smartmon and ppp-hsh has received small fixes.

What is new in version 5.2.4:

• Bering-uClibc-5.0.3-beta1 provides updates for the kernel, tor, openssl, minicom, samba, pcre, ddclient and usb-modeswitch-data to latest upstream versions.
• Newly build openssl enables thread support and improvements for x86_64 platform.
• dropbear enables sha2_256, sha2_512, AES128 and ECC (elliptic curve) support.
• A new package batctl is available to start support for open mesh networks. smartmon and ppp-hsh has received small fixes.

What is new in version 5.2.2:

• Bering-uClibc-5.0.3-beta1 provides updates for the kernel, tor, openssl, minicom, samba, pcre, ddclient and usb-modeswitch-data to latest upstream versions.
• Newly build openssl enables thread support and improvements for x86_64 platform.
• dropbear enables sha2_256, sha2_512, AES128 and ECC (elliptic curve) support.
• A new package batctl is available to start support for open mesh networks. smartmon and ppp-hsh has received small fixes.

What is new in version 5.2:

• Bering-uClibc-5.0.3-beta1 provides updates for the kernel, tor, openssl, minicom, samba, pcre, ddclient and usb-modeswitch-data to latest upstream versions.
• Newly build openssl enables thread support and improvements for x86_64 platform.
• dropbear enables sha2_256, sha2_512, AES128 and ECC (elliptic curve) support.
• A new package batctl is available to start support for open mesh networks. smartmon and ppp-hsh has received small fixes.

What is new in version 5.1.5 / 5.2 RC1:

• Bering-uClibc-5.0.3-beta1 provides updates for the kernel, tor, openssl, minicom, samba, pcre, ddclient and usb-modeswitch-data to latest upstream versions.
• Newly build openssl enables thread support and improvements for x86_64 platform.
• dropbear enables sha2_256, sha2_512, AES128 and ECC (elliptic curve) support.
• A new package batctl is available to start support for open mesh networks. smartmon and ppp-hsh has received small fixes.

What is new in version 5.1.4 / 5.2 Beta 3:

• Bering-uClibc-5.0.3-beta1 provides updates for the kernel, tor, openssl, minicom, samba, pcre, ddclient and usb-modeswitch-data to latest upstream versions.
• Newly build openssl enables thread support and improvements for x86_64 platform.
• dropbear enables sha2_256, sha2_512, AES128 and ECC (elliptic curve) support.
• A new package batctl is available to start support for open mesh networks. smartmon and ppp-hsh has received small fixes.

What is new in version 5.1.3 / 5.2 Beta 1:

• Bering-uClibc-5.0.3-beta1 provides updates for the kernel, tor, openssl, minicom, samba, pcre, ddclient and usb-modeswitch-data to latest upstream versions.
• Newly build openssl enables thread support and improvements for x86_64 platform.
• dropbear enables sha2_256, sha2_512, AES128 and ECC (elliptic curve) support.
• A new package batctl is available to start support for open mesh networks. smartmon and ppp-hsh has received small fixes.

What is new in version 5.0.2 Beta 1:

• This beta version provides a major fix for an issue where the standard editor showed garbage on x86_64 images.
• A new boot logo (including CLI access and hardware tests during boot) has been added for ISO images.
• Of the usual package and kernel updates, the update of libusb (and addition of a libusb-compat package for packages relying on the old version) is the most visible one.

What is new in version 5.0.1 RC1:

• This release candidate provides a minor kernel update, and a few more packages have been updated to their latest upstream versions.

What is new in version 5.0.1 Beta 1:

• Bering-uClibc-5.0.1-beta1 provides major package updates, a kernel update to 3.4.53, a few fixes, minor improvements for the toolchain, and two new packages to support wireless Internet connections.
• A probably more important change of the packages will be the move from libnl to libnl3.
• Packages affected are hostapd, ipvsadm, keepalived, and kismet.

What is new in version 5.0:

• Changes from 5.0 release candidate 1 include updated packages, a minor kernel update, and new packages for iscsi and lua.

What is new in version 5.0 RC1:

• The 5.0 release candidate provides package and kernel updates as well as bugfixes (especially regarding updatetime and web configuration).

What is new in version 5.0 Beta 2:

• This version is based on a recent kernel with longterm support (3.4.x), supports X86 CPUs (with 32-bit and 64-bit images), and starts to provide support for other CPU architectures.
• A basic ARM version and Raspberry Pi support are available in the repositories.
• Some packages has been moved into the core, and most others have been updated to their latest upstream version.

What is new in version 4.3.4:

• This is a maintenance release providing fixes for OpenSSL.
• It adds more SUN ethernet drivers and package updates for Quagga, OpenVPN, and Tor.

What is new in version 4.3.3:

• This is a maintenance release fixing a major flaw in dnsmasq.

What is new in version 4.3.2:

• This maintenance update provides fixes for apkg, lrcfg.backup, Openswan, and sorting of Ethernet interfaces in webconf.
• A regulatory database file for wireless drivers has been added to the kernel.
• dnsmasq and lmsensors packages have been updated to the latest upstream versions.

What is new in version 4.3.1:

• This release adds a new package with support for naming network interfaces (nameif/bbnameif).
• Other changes are updates for tor and dnsmasq, and fixes for iproute and ulogd.

What is new in version 4.3:

• The highlights of this release are automatic loading of pre-requisite packages, an upgrade of BusyBox to 1.20.2, dnsmasq supporting dhcpd6 and router advertisements, various other new upstream versions, improved boot support for USB devices, and support for Apple Filing Protocol through netatalk.

What is new in version 4.3 Beta 1:

• This version adds the long-awaited Package Dependency Auto-Loading enhancement, support for the Apple Filing Protocol (AFP) server, the NDP Proxy Daemon, and an update of dnsmasq to the latest version, with dhcpd6 and router advertisement features.

What is new in version 4.2.1:

• Bering-uClibc-4.2.1 provides a new upstream version of asterisk and a few minor fixes.
• Dummy network drives has been removed from the kernel to modules.
• For ISO images (loading LEAF Bering-uClibc from cdrom) /dev/sda1:vfat has been added to LEAFCFG and PKGPATH, so configuration changes can be stored to an attached harddisk.
• A new cgi gives information about active IPv6 connections in webconf.

What is new in version 4.2.1 RC1:

• This version adds new upstream versions for packages, adds libiconv, fixes a few minor bugs and annoyances, and improves hardware autodetection.

What is new in version 4.1.1:

• Only one change since rc1 with the addition of the busybox watch applet.
• This release provides new packages like squid with IPv6 support, sshblacklist, reinstates asterisk, adds ClamAV and HAVP to build an antivirus proxy scanner, and updates packages to their latest upstream versions.

What is new in version 4.1.1 RC1:

• This version reinstates asterisk, adds SSH blacklisting, speeds up boot time, and has package updates to upstream and minor improvements.

What is new in version 4.1.1 Beta 1:

• Important changes are the update of OpenSSL to 1.0.0.e, a squid version with IPv6 support, and the newly added packages ClamAV and HAVP.

What is new in version 4.1:

• This version fixes two minor bugs from the release candidate.
• Changes from 4.0 includes kernel and other package updates and, for the first time, DHCPv6 server support.

What is new in version 4.1 RC1:

• This release candidate of Bering-uClibc 4.1 provides support for hotplugging, dhcp with ipv6, and the usual update of shorewall to the latest upstream version.

What is new in version 4.1 Beta 2:

• Updates the kernel to 2.6.35.14 and busybox to 1.19.
• New upstream versions of dnsmasq and tinyproxy.
• Fixes for mbusd, systsat, and ppp-hsh, and improvements in the nut package.

What is new in version 4.1 Beta 1:

• general:
• replace old mail script with busybox sendmail. It allows user authentication, provding a FQDN and connecting via SSL/TLS (untested)and is a lot smaller. (fixes Trac ticket #53)
• moved arc4 and ecb kernel modules from geode-only list to common list, added sha1_generic to common list, added modprobing of modules that listed in /etc/modules during hwdetect (to pull all dependencies)
• kernel:
• updated to version 2.6.35.13
• including a kernel review to remove useless options/modules from different kernels/images (still under construction)
• Fixed link state flood in syslog for r6040 (kernel bug #29122)
• shorewall:
• updated to version 4.4.20.3, closes also Trac ticket #44
• openssh:
• updated to version 5.8p1
• openvpn:
• updated to version 2.2.0
• zlib:
• updated to version 1.2.5
• binutils:
• updated to version 2.21 for gcc 4.6.0 (e.g. on Fedora 15), closes also Trac ticket #49
• keepalived:
• updated to version 1.2.2
• nttcp:
• the binary has been long around for tcp performance tests - now packaged. Closes Trac ticket #28
• at:
• compiles without the need of (/usr/bin/)sendmail on build host.
• igb:
• updated Intel Gigabit drivers to 3.0.22
• bind:
• add new package bind
• openswan:
• updated to version 2.6.33
• haserl:
• updated to version 0.9.29
• uclibc:
• enabled WCHAR (wide character) support
• mysql:
• added _r (reeentrant) library to libmysql.lrp
• openldap"
• added OpenLDAP 2.4.25 client library, libldap.lrp
• radius:
• replaced Cistron RADIUS 1.6.8 with FreeRADIUS 2.1.10. Closes Trac ticket #43
• dibbler-server:
• new Package dibbler-server.lrp which implements a DHCPv6 server
• webconf:
• updated webconf to version 1.2, which accommodates changes for haserl-0.9.x, a GUI for ping, traceroute and reboot and a javascript framework for tooltips.
• netsnmp:
• add support for lmsensors
• busybox:
• enabled 'nice' command (required for Asterisk) and also 'cpio' command (fixes Trac ticket #26)
• radvd:
• updated to latest upstream version 1.8
• etc:
• fix inetd start/stop
• mbusd:
• new package for Modbus/TCP to Modbus/RTU proxy seeMODBUS/TCP to MODBUS/RTU gateway server
• sysstat:
• new package - The sysstat package contains the sar, sadf, iostat, nfsiostat, cifsiostat, mpstat, and pidstat commands for Linux. See sysstat

What is new in version 4.0 RC1:

• This version provides mostly minor package updates, a few bugfixes, and fine tuning. The most notable changes are enhanced hardware detection with hwdetect, added ip6tables to all images by default, a working yate, and more Openswan fixes.

What is new in version 4.0 Beta 2:

• general:
• update kernel to version 2.4.34.6
• enable ppp multilink support (patch provided by "Pierre G. Martineau")
• new busybox upstream version 1.12.4
• add bb applet traceroute
• enabled malloc_compat in uclibc (developers only) (patch provided by NiTr0)
• buildenv patched to be build with any gcc on the host (developers only) (patch provided by NiTr0)
• ipv4zones kernel patch (patch provided by NiTr0)
• Linux IMQ kernel patch (patch provided by NiTr0)
• Gigabit Ethernet driver for Marvell and SysKonnect network adapter cards (sk98lin) (patch provided by NiTr0)
• webconf:
• new page for Network Settings
• a reminder to set a password after first login
• ping and traceroute in webconf
• ppp:
• ipv4zones patch (patch provided by NiTr0)
• iptables:
• support for ppp multilink (patch provided by "Pierre G. Martineau")
• support for Linux IMQ (patch provided by NiTr0)
• dnsmasq:
• new upstream version 2.47
• dropbear:
• new upstream version 0.52
• shorewall:
• enable traceroute from fw to net
• cleanup icmp rules

What is new in version 4.0 Beta 1:

• LEAF Bering-uClibc 4.0 is basically Bering-uClibc 3.x brought up to date with the latest versions of the main software components.
• The most important changes are that the Linux kernel is upgraded from 2.4.x to 2.6.x, the uClibc library is upgraded from 0.9.28 to 0.9.30, and shorewall has been upgraded to the Perl-based current version, including shorewall6. Other packages have been updated to the latest upstream versions.

What is new in version 3.1.1 Beta 3:

• general:
• IntelPro/1000 driver added to modules tarball
• the modules tarball again includes the i2c driver from lmsensors package
• shorewall
• fix permission for /etc/shorewall/zones
• ppp:
• fix broken ppp in beta2
• webconf:
• changed the get_interface function to cover ppp interfaces which
• do not show an an address in the default route
• modules:
• fix indentation while parsing /etc/modules