From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Sat Aug 20 17:52:53 2011 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [IPv6:2001:4f8:fff6::34]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id E6CD31065679 for ; Sat, 20 Aug 2011 17:52:53 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from dave-freebsd@pooserville.com) Received: from smtp.pooserville.com (mail.pooserville.com [69.26.223.253]) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 9FCF78FC14 for ; Sat, 20 Aug 2011 17:52:53 +0000 (UTC) Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=mail.pooserville.com) by smtp.pooserville.com with esmtp (Exim 4.72) (envelope-from ) id LQ8L49-0020ZM-NY for freebsd-questions@freebsd.org; Sat, 20 Aug 2011 12:12:09 -0500 Received: from [76.183.154.110] (account dave-sa@pooserville.com HELO [192.168.74.51]) by mail.pooserville.com (CommuniGate Pro SMTP 4.2.10) with ESMTP-TLS id 983133 for freebsd-questions@freebsd.org; Sat, 20 Aug 2011 12:12:09 -0500 User-Agent: Microsoft-MacOutlook/14.12.0.110505 Date: Sat, 20 Aug 2011 12:12:00 -0500 From: Dave Pooser Sender: Dave Pooser To: Message-ID: Thread-Topic: A quality operating system In-Reply-To: <86wre8inmi.fsf@gmail.com> Mime-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Subject: Re: A quality operating system X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: User questions List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Sat, 20 Aug 2011 17:52:54 -0000 On 8/20/11 1:49 AM, "Test Rat" wrote: >There is an ongoing discussion on arch@ about this. > > http://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-arch/2011-August/011412.html Thanks for posting that link; it covered some of the reasons I'm retiring my office FreeBSD servers in favor of Solaris and Linux. My own take: 1) I really don't see the Handbook as all that great. It's great that a volunteer team put it together, but when I compare it to or , I don't think the FreeBSD handbook compares well. 2) Lack of geek-on-the-street support. If I'm looking for an experienced Linux administrator, I'll get thousands of applications; for a Solaris administrator, I'll get hundreds. For a BSD admin? Maybe half a dozen? 3) Updates are a mess. It's cool that I *can* compile a new kernel, but that I *have* to is ridiculous. Updating a server should not be more difficult than "yum update" -- full stop. 4) Poor support from running FreeBSD under virtualization. When I start to think about deploying a new server, I'll generally spin up a new VM on my workstation or on an ESXi host. If I have trouble with that VM, my first response is not going to be to try again with the same OS, it's going to be to fall back to a configuration I know works. There are some things I liked a lot about FreeBSD -- its support for DTrace and ZFS was the reason I looked into it in the first place. But from where I sit, technologies like that are just duct-taped on to the base system rather than integrated. (For example, why isn't there something like the [Open]Solaris beadm, where the system creates a ZFS snapshot automatically before any major updates to let you revert to not just an earlier kernel but an earlier world?) Just my $.02. -- Dave Pooser Cat-Herder-in-Chief, Pooserville.com "...Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in one pretty and well-preserved piece, but to slide across the finish line broadside, thoroughly used up, worn out, leaking oil, and shouting GERONIMO!!!" -- Bill McKenna