Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2000 03:06:29 -0800 From: Boris <koester@x-itec.de> To: Murray Stokely <murray@osd.bsdi.com> Cc: freebsd-hackers@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: FreeBSD vs Linux, Solaris, and NT Message-ID: <16785804580.20001219030629@x-itec.de> In-Reply-To: <Pine.BSF.4.21.0012181442290.25125-100000@pike.osd.bsdi.com> References: <Pine.BSF.4.21.0012181442290.25125-100000@pike.osd.bsdi.com>
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Hello Murray, Monday, December 18, 2000, 2:51:25 PM, you wrote: MS> I'm trying to come up with a comprehensive comparison that shows off MS> the strengths of FreeBSD when compared to alternative operating MS> systems. In particular, I would like information about : Here are some suggestions to your comparisation. I think they are a little bit realistic, I am several years in business with windows and linux, since some month I dropped linux and went to FreeBSD (and i was really surprised, wow what a great os). Linux and *BSD are both great systems - no question. If I have time to do what I want, I will develop all necesssary things I need, but until then it will take some years. I am using a mix between Win2k and FreeBSD, and I am very happy with it. Win2k is my development platform at the moment and the BSD machine is my network platform, acting as sendmail server, nat, webserver, and so on. I will develop apps for freebsd soon, too (we will see what will happen with the years). The only reason why I am not completely moved to *BSD are some tools I need. Ok, well here are some additions to your comparisation. They are realistic and it reflects the years I spend with several OSes. Reliability ------------ 1. "Blue Screen" on Win2k ? I have never seen it with Win2k, these days are nearly over. Better: Win2k destroys itself after some month and no one know why. Destroyed DLLs, a lot of bugs in Internet-Explorer, randomly crashes of OS specific applications, no control about administrative tools. It need to be reinstalled approx every 3 monts or less, regarding to its use (and depends on the skill of the admin)! Performance ----------- Win2k requires a lot of memory, a lot of ressources and it produces fragmented directories. After some month, a Win2k machine slow downs a lot. Even 128 MB seems to be not enough to simply work with win2k. Transferring files via Windows SMB is slow. Security -------- Win2k security is not bad at all. It has not the probem with closing ports or buffer-overflows as much as linux has (for example). There are less ports opened, and you need less time for administer your server to secure it against attacks or similar. But if you need a firewall, you have to buy one. On *BSD you have a free, very good and advanced packet filter and a lot of intrusion detection tools (more or less useful *ggg). Device Drivers -------------- I donīt like binary only device drivers. The code of an operating system is more complex than a driver. if a company does not want to publish the sourcecode, the should go away. I think this is a good idea from the linux peoples. If one person begins with stopping publishing their sources, other people will do this, too. And suddenly we have the same lame situation as on windows. I have moved to FreeBSD because I want to understand how everything is working. I will not use code in binary-only form on an operating system like FreeBSD - trust no one. Development environment ----------------------- You should not forget that if you are developing applications, that some people want to make money. So you need to buy a developing environment for windows to make money by yourself. Itīs ok and some of us need the money. You are only comparing how many development tools are free, but you forgot the quality. Visual C++ or Delphi are really great tools and there are a lot of free components available for delphi (www.torry.ru for example). Thousands of routines and components. The generated code is not bad at all. Support ------- Support for Win2k is as good as for Linux or FreeBSD - maybe even better because there are a lot of qualified people out to solve problems with win2k or other operating systems. It takes less time to sove a win2k problem than solving a *nix problem. Mostly you only need to reinstall a service pack or similar, and thatīs all. Price, and Total Cost of Ownership ---------------------------------- The time for configuring a Win2k machine in the first time is less than configuring a *nix machine and the learning curve for a newbie is higher as on *nix. BUT some weeks later, it costs MORE time to keep a Win2k machine up and running as a *nix machine. If FreeBSD is running, it keeps running. If Win2k is running, it works for some weeks, suddenly it makes any troubles and no one knows why. Meanwhile the BSD machine is still funny working without any problems. They are great uptimes, and win2k users can only dream about it. If you need a trouble free network, you need a qualified win2k administrator or a qualified unix admin. MS> The current work in progress is available at : MS> http://people.freebsd.org/~murray/ -- Best regards, Boris Köster mailto:koester@x-itec.de MCSE, CNA MS> The current work in progress is available at : MS> http://people.freebsd.org/~murray/ MS> I want to create a comprehensive body of knowledge that can then be MS> used to make fliers to hand out to Linux weenies at trade shows, MS> published on bsdi.com and/or freebsd.org, etc.. MS> Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. MS> Thanks, MS> - Murray MS> To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org MS> with "unsubscribe freebsd-hackers" in the body of the message -- Best regards, Boris mailto:koester@x-itec.de To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-hackers" in the body of the message
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