The best way to get an OpenBSD release (-release) and support us is to buy a 3-CD set. More informations are available on our ordering page.
If you choose not to buy an OpenBSD CD-ROM, OpenBSD can be also installed with a CDROM you burnt yourself. To achieve this, you have to download an ISO (i.e. install42.iso for 4.2) for the architecture you are running, on one of our mirror. ISOs are roughly 200MB in size, and you will not need anything else but the application packages.
Note that the paragraph above is also valid for the people interested by running -current. You can fetch install42.iso of the latest snapshot and install or upgrade your system very quickly.
OpenBSD can be also easily installed via FTP. Typically you need a single small piece of boot media (e.g., a boot floppy) and then the rest of the files can be installed from a number of locations, including directly off the Internet. Follow this simple set of instructions to ensure that you find all of the documentation you will need while performing an install via FTP. With the CD-ROMs, the necessary documentation is easier to find.
Read either of the following two files for a list of ftp mirrors which provide OpenBSD, then choose one near you:
Connect to that ftp mirror site and go into the directory pub/OpenBSD/4.2/ which contains these files and directories. This is a list of what you will see:
ANNOUNCEMENT amd64/ mac68k/ sparc64/ Changelogs/ armish/ macppc/ src.tar.gz HARDWARE avioon/ mvme68k/ sys.tar.gz PACKAGES ftplist mvme88k/ tools/ PORTS hp300/ packages/ vax/ README hppa/ ports.tar.gz zaurus/ SIZES i386/ root.mail XF4.tar.gz landisk/ sgi/ alpha/ luna88k/ sparc/
It is quite likely that you will want at LEAST the following files which apply to all the architectures OpenBSD supports.
README - generic README HARDWARE - list of hardware we support PORTS - description of our "ports" tree PACKAGES - description of pre-compiled packages root.mail - a copy of root's mail at initial login. (This is really worthwhile reading).
Read the README file. It is short, and a quick read will make sure you understand what else you need to fetch.
Next, go into the directory that applies to your architecture, for example, i386. This is a list of what you will see:
INSTALL.i386 cd42.iso floppyB42.fs pxeboot* INSTALL.linux cdboot* floppyC42.fs xbase42.tgz MD5 cdbr* game42.tgz xetc42.tgz base42.tgz cdemu42.iso index.txt xfont42.tgz bsd* comp42.tgz install42.iso xserv42.tgz bsd.mp* etc42.tgz man42.tgz xshare42.tgz bsd.rd* floppy42.fs misc42.tgz
Many ways to perform a new installation are available on our mirrors and you will have to choose one of the following methods:
Consult the Installation Guide to get an exhaustive list of the different ways to install OpenBSD, and learn how to make a bootable OpenBSD install media.