On FreeBSD 14.2, users will see major changes from the earlier versions 13.1 and 13.2. You can find all the change logs of all the major to minor updates of this new version here in the official notes. The new release of FreeBSD 14.2 has some major updates, including the OCI container image and system firmware update for image enhancement.
For a long time, the FreeBSD operating system has been used mostly for its compatibility and unique use case. Geeks mostly use it for servers and embedded platforms like gaming consoles and Nintendo’s. Despite having a standalone FreeBSD kernel-based OS, it has been releasing regular features and security updates for users.
A huge number of changes will be noticed on the bootloader, EFI boot system, and boot performance on the FreeBSD 14.2. Even as the booting system is added on the kernel level, users might need to upgrade the bootloader to get a smoother booting experience. The major update on the booting part is that they have changed the boot partition from /boot/efi to /boot/efi/efi/freebsd/loader.efi. During the GPT bootstrap update, the old ZFS root was replaced with auto decryption-based OpenZFS.
On the enhancement side, noticeable changes will also be seen in the Universal 2nd Factor (U2F) and MGB networking systems. On the shell side, FreeBSD is for the first time using the SH tool, which may add new features to the terminal and shell. The TPM module will also be available in the fresh 14.2 release of FreeBSD.
This release also solves the invalidation page issues of Intel Alder Lake, Raptor Lake, and other hybrid CPUs. The swap partition, UEFI firmware, IPv4 protocol issues, and NVME error that earlier versions of FreeBSD had also been fixed in the latest 14.0 release. Several cross-platform utility tools have been deployed to decode the Linux machine’s functionalities.
Also, on the networking part, FreeBSD 14.2 has added kernel-level WireGuard to serve the Virtual Private Network (VPN) facilities and MAC filtering.
As the GPart is included on FreeBSD 14.2, the previously used fdisk has been eliminated from the new release. Along with fixing the CPU issue, they also added Realtek’s powerful RTW89 WiFi driver for better connectivity with the IEEE 802.11 internet protocol.
The FreeBSD team will ensure the security patch and compatibility in future updates. Keeping the system daemons updated and without compromising the desktop environments.
