FreeBSD jail(8) Overview, the Secure Virtual Server by Isaac Levy
Channel: EuroBSDcon
Date: 2020-07-05

FreeBSD jail(8) provides a time-tested, secure, virtual server which follow in the tradition of classical, modular UNIX design principles.

The earliest history of UNIX gave us process and resource sharing, to make better use of expensive hardware. These concerns have been largely forgotten in computing with the rise of desktop PCs, and large farms of inexpensive servers in the data center. Today, as more density and power gets stuffed into 1u than ever, server resources can be effectively consolidated to securely separate sophistocated services in the same hardware server, using secure virtual UNIX machines.

This presentation is aimed at both experienced BSD/jail(8) users, and new UNIX users alike, covering:

Mutually Untrusted Users (why jail(8))
How Jails Work, what is jail(8), the technical nitty-gritty
How to setup jails, practical examples
Overview of maintaining Jailed Clusters
jail(8) security vulnerabilities/considerations
attacking and breaking out of jail(8)
mitigating the risks of attacks and jail(8)breaks
Jails compared to similar tech., fundamental technical differences (Linux UML, XEN, VMware, Solaris Zones, etc...)

Isaac Levy, (ike) is a freelance BSD hadker based in NYC. He runs Diversaform Inc. as an engine to make his code feed itself, (and ike). Diversaform specializes in *BSD based solutions, providing 'IT special weapons and tatics' for various sized business clients, as well as running a small high-availability datacenter operation from lower Manhattan. With regard to FreeBSD jail(8), ike was a partner in the first jail (8)-based web hosting ISP in America, iMeme, and has been developing internet applications in and out of jails since 1999.

Ike's personal passion lies in object-relational persistent data systems, and UNIX hacking, particularly any kinds of internet or network applications. His 'young adult' life in computing has been lived almost entirely in Open Source, as well as on the internet, and ike aspires to give back to the Open Source community that has raised him. Isaac is a proud member of NYC*BUG (the New York City *BSD Users Group), and a long time member of LESMUUG, (the Lower East Side Mac Unix Users Group).