FreeBSD may be obtained in a variety of ways. This section focuses on those ways that are primarily useful for obtaining a complete FreeBSD distribution, rather than updating an existing installation.
FreeBSD -RELEASE distributions may be ordered on CDROM or DVD from several publishers. This is frequently the most convenient way to obtain FreeBSD for new installations, as it provides a convenient way to quickly reinstall the system if necessary. Some distributions include some of the optional, precompiled “packages” from the FreeBSD Ports Collection, or other extra material.
A list of the CDROM and DVD publishers known to the project are listed in the “Obtaining FreeBSD” appendix to the Handbook.
You can use FTP to retrieve FreeBSD and any or all of its optional packages from ftp://ftp.FreeBSD.org/, which is the official FreeBSD release site, or any of its “mirrors”.
Lists of locations that mirror FreeBSD can be found in the FTP Sites section of the Handbook, or on the http://mirrorlist.FreeBSD.org/ Web pages. Finding a close (in networking terms) mirror from which to download the distribution is highly recommended.
Additional mirror sites are always welcome. Contact <freebsd-admin@FreeBSD.org> for
more details on becoming an official mirror site. You can also find useful
information for mirror sites at the Mirroring
FreeBSD article.
Mirrors generally contain the ISO images generally used to create a CDROM of a FreeBSD release. They usually also contain floppy disk images (for applicable platforms), as well as the files necessary to do an installation over the network. Finally mirrors sites usually contain a set of packages for the most current release.
This file, and other release-related documents, can be downloaded from ftp://ftp.FreeBSD.org/.
For questions about FreeBSD, read the documentation before contacting <questions@FreeBSD.org>.
All users of FreeBSD 7.4-STABLE should subscribe to the <stable@FreeBSD.org> mailing list.
For questions about this documentation, e-mail <doc@FreeBSD.org>.