Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2000 06:16:58 -0800 From: Cy Schubert - ITSD Open Systems Group <Cy.Schubert@uumail.gov.bc.ca> To: freebsd-stable@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Let 3.x die ASAP? Message-ID: <200003301417.GAA22155@cwsys.cwsent.com> In-Reply-To: Your message of "Wed, 29 Mar 2000 20:54:34 EST." <NDBBILKDCLLECBCLPMBICEBJCAAA.cjm2@earthling.net>
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If I may add my 1.36 cents (2 cents Canadian) worth here, my general
impression has been that FreeBSD has become more stable over the years.
I've been using FreeBSD since 2.0.5 and have experienced fewer
problems and have had better stability with 3.4 than with any other
release. Generally FreeBSD has become more stable over time, though
there have been some times where stability did suffer, e.g. 2.0.5,
which was more stable than Linux at the time, and early releases of 2.2
and 3.1. There have also been times when stability really shone, e.g.
2.1.6 (sorry, 2.1.7 was less stable in my opinion), 2.2.8, and 3.4.
It is unfortunate that some have had less than stellar stability.
Could it be hardware as some say? Could it be software? In some cases
we'll never know -- too bad most PC's don't have ECC memory or even
parity memory. Not all PC's are made to the same standard.
I think that a poll should be taken, and PLEASE not on this list or in
direct response to my ramblings here, to inventory the hardware that is
running FreeBSD, what it's being used for, and the level of
satisfaction or the types of problems experienced. We might be
surprised to find some correlation between certain configurations of
hardware and types of problems experienced. This information could be
used to:
1. Prepare a list of recommended configurations, or
2. Prepare a list of what works and what doesn't, or
3. Help us focus in on where most of the problems are where to put
most of
our effort.
How can we collect this information? The Web and postcards shipped
with each CDROM set might be a start. Maybe we should collect the
statistics from the PR database and if the problem is not in the PR
database it doesn't exist. (That's what I tell my customers: If they
haven't called the Customer Service Centre to open an Alert, I don't
know that the problem exists and as far as I'm concerned it doesn't
exist). People should then be encouraged to submit PR's for problems
that have already been documented (duplicates) in the PR database to
add weight to the selection of which problem is solved next. Three
workable ideas. We just have to choose one.
Occasionally on this list we get into discussions like this where one
or a few say "I have a problem here and it sucks badly" which starts
yet another huge argument. On the other hand the developers are doing
a terrific job with the variety of hardware that they have, not to
mention the fact that we have a limited pool of developers. Having the
commercial backing of BSDI will IMO help in this area of concern,
however a few statistics might go a long way in telling us which might
be the high impact (HIPER) problems to work on.
That's my 1.36 cents worth.
Regards, Phone: (250)387-8437
Cy Schubert Fax: (250)387-5766
Team Leader, Sun/DEC Team Internet: Cy.Schubert@osg.gov.bc.ca
Open Systems Group, ITSD, ISTA
Province of BC
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