Install the Orb Sensor on FreeBSD
Orb supports FreeBSD 13, 14, and 15. These instructions install Orb with the pkg package manager; run the commands below as root.
Add the Orb repository and key
Create the directories used by pkg and download the Orb repository configuration and public key:
mkdir -p /usr/local/etc/pkg/repos /usr/local/share/keys
fetch -o /usr/local/etc/pkg/repos/Orb.conf https://pkgs.orb.net/stable/freebsd/Orb.conf
fetch -o /usr/local/share/keys/orb-repo.pub https://pkgs.orb.net/stable/freebsd/repo.pubInstall Orb
Force-refresh the package catalogue, then install Orb:
pkg update -f
pkg install orbThe package installs the Orb service script at /usr/local/etc/rc.d/orb.
Enable and start Orb
Enable Orb at boot and start the service:
sysrc orb_enable=YES
service orb startConfirm that Orb is running:
service orb statusFreeBSD-specific Configuration
Measure router responsiveness (optional)
By default, the Orb service runs as the unprivileged orb user. With these permissions, Orb cannot measure responsiveness to your router.
Running Orb as root gives the service full system privileges. Only make this change if measuring router responsiveness is required and you accept the additional security risk.
To run Orb as root, set the service user and restart Orb:
sysrc orb_user=root
service orb restartEnvironment variables (optional)
To configure the Orb service with environment variables, create /usr/local/etc/orb.env. Each variable must be written as a shell export. For example, to enable ephemeral mode:
export ORB_EPHEMERAL_MODE=1Ephemeral mode stores measurement data in memory instead of a local database. This prevents frequent disk writes, but the locally stored measurement data is lost whenever Orb stops or restarts.
Restart Orb after creating or changing the environment file:
service orb restartYour FreeBSD system is now running an Orb sensor. See Linking an Orb to your account to connect it to your Orb account.