Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1998 10:39:37 +1000 From: Sue Blake <sue@welearn.com.au> To: Terry Brady <bradyt@choiceconnect.com.au> Cc: freebsd-questions <freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG> Subject: Re: Apples and oranges? FreeBSD and MacOSX Message-ID: <19980723103937.20775@welearn.com.au> In-Reply-To: <199807222218.IAA04355@smople.thehub.com.au>; from Terry Brady on Thu, Jul 23, 1998 at 08:17:44AM %2B1000 References: <199807222218.IAA04355@smople.thehub.com.au>
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On Thu, Jul 23, 1998 at 08:17:44AM +1000, Terry Brady wrote: > In the *very* near future (like next week) I'll be trying to set up a unix > machine to act as router, proxy and web server for our Apple Reseller > business. When it becomes possible to do so I intend to use MacOSX Server > (aka Rhapsody) for the task, but I need to get something happening > straight away. > > Given that MacOSX includes a full implementation of BSD4.4, is it > reasonable to think that I could set up a FreeBSD box now and learn the > basics... then make a transition later on without too much difficulty? > > Just looking for somebody to point me in the right direction. First let me say I'm just a fairly new FreeBSD user who doesn't know a lot about FreeBSD and has seen very little of Rhapsody (stopped following the mailing lists a couple of months ago), but recently I have had lively discussions with someone in almost the same situation as you :-) Aplogies in advance if I go off track with guesses here. Assuming Rhapsody, or MacOSX Server, is going in the direction it was a few months ago, I imagine you'll have a very vaguely BSD-oriented (rather than SysV-oriented) system and be using GUI tools a lot, though I could be wrong on both counts. If you are going to install some unix system now, you couldn't get anything closer than FreeBSD to do the task well. Some parts of your learning will be directly transferrable, and most if not all of the underlying concepts will be similar. At least the names of your tools and the interface will be different, but I'd guess that having used FreeBSD already you'd have a very good understanding of what they're intended to do and what they might be capable of. If MacOSX Server gives you a choice, for example, between using GUI or commandline methods (I don't know if that's still the strategy), you'll have a general feeling for what extras the commandline might be able to offer you that simply wouldn't fit in any dialog box, if you need them. I'd expect that FreeBSD would lend itself very well to picking up the concepts that you're going to need to rely on in the future. It will also give you a fast and robust server that should satisfy your needs even when needs change, without needing to purchase any additional software. Try to get hold of the book The Complete FreeBSD (2nd edition) before you install, then keep it for later reference. If you haven't seen it around Brisbane, try http://www.cetustech.com.au in Sydney, quick reliable service a couple of days away by mail. Meanwhile there are FreeBSD documents on line at http://www.freebsd.org. Whichever way you go, good luck! -- Regards, -*Sue*- To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
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