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Date:      Tue, 25 Jun 2002 13:42:36 -0500
From:      Christopher Schulte <schulte+freebsd@nospam.schulte.org>
To:        David Wilk <admin@cia-g.com>, Christopher Schulte <schulte+freebsd@nospam.schulte.org>
Cc:        Fernando Gleiser <fgleiser@cactus.fi.uba.ar>, David Kramer <david@thekramers.net>, freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG
Subject:   Re: FreeBSD, Linux or Solaris
Message-ID:  <5.1.1.6.2.20020625132254.046a0f00@pop3s.schulte.org>
In-Reply-To: <20020625120402.A7861@cygnus.wks.Gallup.cia-g.com>
References:  <5.1.1.6.2.20020625121305.03d1f270@pop3s.schulte.org> <Pine.LNX.4.44.0206251236040.24044-100000@kramer.thekramers.net> <20020625135153.M403-100000@localhost> <5.1.1.6.2.20020625121305.03d1f270@pop3s.schulte.org>

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At 12:04 PM 6/25/2002 -0600, David Wilk wrote:
>However, I gotta disagree with the linux comments.  First, the linux kernel
>is developed independant of the distributions, but not without regard to the
>userland utilities that it will work closely with.  Second, it is the
>distributions job to integrate these two worlds so that they work seamlessly.
>Third, if you have not tried it, check out Debian.  This *huge* group of
>developers work very hard to make an incredibly large number of packages
>available that are all tested as part of a complete system.  Package 
>management
>is awesome.  two commands bring your installed base up-to-date with both 
>security
>and bugfixes - services shutdown and restarted automagically.  Releases take
>a while, so a system can seem a bit out-of-date, but are always solid.

Thanks for the Debian heads up.  I'll certainly give that a whack next time 
I have time to evaluate new OS distributions.

>having the kernel separate from the system has the advantage of being able to
>do a complete release upgrade without taking down the system (you lose each
>service for a few seconds), or, upgrading the kernel for some new feature
>without having to upgrade the entire system.

FreeBSD is much more anal about userland/kernel synchronization than 
linux.  If you just want to compile a new kernel without updating the 
source, that is easily done.  `make kernel KERNCONF=MYBOX`

If you need to update your kernel source to use a newly imported feature or 
bugfix, then officially you must also update your userland world.  On the 
upside of this downside: the process is implemented well, and when done 
with care should not cause problems.

Keep in mind there are situations even in linux where newer libraries 
(libc?) do need a minimum kernel revision..... but yes it's generally much 
more flexible than FreeBSD in this respect.  I myself do not place a high 
weight on this due to my systems' configurations and update routines.

As always, YMMV.  Try a few different systems, use the one which jives best 
with your personality, requirements, and environment.

>Dave

--
Christopher Schulte
http://www.schulte.org/
Do not un-munge my @nospam.schulte.org
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