It's confusing, primarily due to BSD kernel history. OpenBSD uses a monolithic kernel*, so all its drivers must be predefined in the kernel you are booting, they cannot be loaded later. Since the early days of BSD, admins could use config(8) to intentionally disable a driver or modify existing driver flags, and make other limited kernel changes. But config(8) interferes with OpenBSD's Kernel Address Randomized Link (KARL) process, a feature added to OpenBSD for enhanced security.
The bsd.re-config(8) mechanism is the way config(8) provisions can be integrated into the environment with KARL. Prior to bsd.re-config(8), making local kernel changes required us to run with KARL disabled.
* Kernel module support existed at one time, but it was removed from OpenBSD a long time ago. My memory is hazy but without researching I'd say at least 15 years ago.
|