Integrated by Design
Why the Best Systems Are the Ones You Don't Notice
FreeBSD, from philosophy to practice.
Editions
Release: April 2026
Where to get it
| Format | Amazon | Bookshop | Direct |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardcover | available now | from this autumn | not available |
| Paperback | available now | from this autumn | not available |
| not available | not available | available now |
Coming to the book trade
Both print editions are going into wholesale distribution this autumn. Once that is live, any bookshop can order either edition for you: Barnes & Noble and the independents in North America, Waterstones and Foyles in Britain, the trade across continental Europe, Booktopia and Fishpond in Australia and New Zealand, Kinokuniya and Magrudy in the Middle East. University libraries are covered through the usual library suppliers.
Books are printed in the region where they are ordered, so nothing is flown across an ocean to reach you.
Until then, print means Amazon. If you would rather wait than buy there, that is a reasonable position and it will not be a long wait.
Read Before You Buy
This preview covers the full front matter (cover, imprint, about the author, preface and the complete table of contents) together with two sample chapters:
- Chapter 1: Assembled vs Integrated — lays out the book's central argument.
- Chapter 5: The Safety Net — shows what a finished chapter looks like: ZFS Boot Environments, contextual sources, comparison boxes, timelines, and code examples.
Roughly 50 pages. Preview edition, not for sale.
Contents
Part I: The Problem
- Assembled vs Integrated
- The Fragmentation Tax
- “But It Works on My Machine”
Part II: The Evidence
- Containers Without Orchestrators
- The Safety Net
- Storage Without Layers
- The Firewall That Fits on One Page
- Package Management Without Fear
- Init Without an Empire
- Networking That Makes Sense
- Documentation as Commitment
Part III: The Pattern
- One Team, One System
- Boring Is a Feature
- The Unix Philosophy, Actually
- Constraints as Design
Part IV: The Practice
- From Zero to Server
- Your First Jail
- A Web Stack Without Complexity
- Jails in Production
- From Server to Laptop
- The Upgrade That Doesn't Break
- Monitoring With Base Tools
Appendices: FreeBSD vs Linux Feature Matrix, Migration Guide, Further Reading, Endnotes by Chapter, Index, Glossary of Technical Terms.
Help improve this book
Found a typo? A command that does not work on your version? An explanation that could be clearer? Every correction makes the next edition better. Contributors are acknowledged by name.
Downloads
All scripts and configuration files from the book, ready to use.
This book is self-published through Voss'scher Verlag. I set the prices, the print editions are printed and shipped by the retailer, and the PDF comes straight from the publisher.