BSD Router Project — Don’t Buy a Router,Download It
- 60% of MD5 Password Hashes Can Be Cracked in Under an Hour with a Single GPU
- Dirty Frag: Root Access on Every Major Linux Distribution — No Patch, No Warning
- Ubuntu 26.04 LTS (Resolute Raccoon): The Most Ambitious Ubuntu LTS in a Decade
- Proton Mail: Data Transferred to FBI Again!
- How Close Are Quantum Computers to Breaking RSA-2048?
- How to Prevent Ransomware Infection Risks?
- What is the best alternative to Microsoft Office?
BSD Router Project — Don’t Buy a Router,
Download It
The BSD Router Project (BSDRP) is a free, embedded, open-source router distribution built on FreeBSD. Aimed at ISPs, data centers, enterprise networks, and lab environments, it combines the battle-tested FreeBSD networking stack with powerful routing suites — FRRouting and Bird — to turn ordinary servers, ARM boards, and virtual machines into professional-grade routers.
Origins & Philosophy
BSDRP was initiated by FreeBSD community developer Olivier Cochard-Labbé with a clear mandate: create a lightweight, stable, auditable, and customizable professional routing system. The project’s unofficial motto captures it perfectly — “Don’t buy a router: download it!”
Rather than being a general-purpose OS, BSDRP is laser-focused on routing. It relies on FreeBSD’s mature kernel and network stack, targets a minimal footprint, and supports multiple processor architectures. Everything is open-source, transparent, and fully customizable.
Release History
-
BSDRP 2.2 — FreeBSD main snapshot (2026/05/21); added
geom_mirrorkernel module; upgraded FRR 10.6.1, Bird 2.18.1, OpenVPN 2.7.4, strongSwan 6.0.6, and many more packages. 2026-05-21 Latest - BSDRP 2.1 — Continued refinements on the FreeBSD main / ports base. 2026-03-13
- BSDRP 2.0 — Major milestone; rebased on FreeBSD 16 branch; switched build system to poudriere-image; added aarch64 support. 2025-09-28
- BSDRP 1.994 — Transitional release; dropped legacy NanoBSD; introduced 4 GB minimum disk requirement. 2025-01-21
Routing Protocols & Core Packages
BSDRP bundles two complementary routing stacks that together cover virtually every protocol a production network could require:
FRRouting (FRR): BGP, RIP & RIPng, OSPF v2 & v3, IS-IS, PIM (multicast).
Bird: BGP, RIP & RIPng, OSPF v2 & v3.
ExaBGP: BGP automation and traffic engineering.
VPN: OpenVPN, WireGuard, IPsec (IKEv1/v2 via strongSwan), GRE, GIF.
System Specifications
| Base OS | FreeBSD (embedded build via poudriere-image, tracking main branch) |
| Architectures | x86_64 (amd64) · ARM64 (aarch64) |
| Minimum storage | 4 GB USB key or CompactFlash |
| Minimum RAM | 1 GB (512 MB sufficient for virtualized lab use) |
| Recommended RAM | 2 GB+ for production workloads |
| Management | CLI (local console, serial, SSH); no GUI by default |
| Firewall | PF (with pfsync, CARP, VRRP) |
| QoS | IPFW + dummynet (FIFO, WF2Q+, RR, QFQ) |
| Monitoring | SNMP v1/v2c/v3, NetFlow (ng_netflow), syslog, monit |
| Automation | Ansible, SaltStack, Python-based tools; cloud-init support |
| Multi-tenancy | Isolated routers / firewalls per customer (jail + vnet) |
| Source code | github.com/ocochard/BSDRP (BSD License) |
Who Is It For?
Things to Know Before You Start
⚠ CLI-only by default. BSDRP has no graphical interface. All configuration is done through the command line — FRR’s VTY shell, Bird’s CLI, and standard FreeBSD tools.
⚠ Networking knowledge required. You should be comfortable with routing protocols (BGP, OSPF, etc.) and the FreeBSD network stack. BSDRP is not designed for beginners.
⚠ Configuration complexity. Power comes with complexity. Setting up multi-tenant VPN fabrics, MPLS, or advanced BGP policies requires careful study of FRR or Bird documentation.
Summary
BSD Router Project is a serious, production-ready open-source routing distribution. It combines
FreeBSD’s proven stability and security with the full feature set of FRRouting, Bird, ExaBGP,
OpenVPN, and strongSwan — all packed into an image that fits on a 4 GB flash drive. Now tracking
FreeBSD’s main development branch, BSDRP 2.2 (May 2026) brings fresh package updates, improved
PF and IPFW stack fixes, and the new geom_mirror kernel module.
Whether you are building a lab, running a small ISP, or engineering a data center fabric, BSDRP offers a compelling alternative to proprietary routers — fully open, fully auditable, and completely free.
