Date: Tue, 31 Jan 1995 09:04:52 -0800 (PST) From: Michael Nelson <nelson@seahunt.imat.com> To: questions@FreeBSD.org Subject: Discouraged... Message-ID: <199501311704.JAA00408@seahunt.imat.com>
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Machine: AMI 486/33 Ram: 16MB SCSI: 2 ea CDC 320MB drives on an Adaptec AHA-1740 1 ea Archive Viper 150 Tape 1 ea Toshiba 3101 CDROM Ethernet: WD (SMC) 8013 Video: ATI Graphics Ultra As a recent convert from Linux to FreeBSD, I must say I am becoming quite discouraged with FreeBSD. I had two main reasons for switching: First, I wanted to learn the "bsd way" of doing things. I was looking for experience with a bsd unix so that I could learn about the different ways as compared to SVR4 (which I ran for a couple years, Esix and Unixware), and Linux. FreeBSD seems to be fulfilling that goal for me. Secondly, I had gotten disenchanted with some of the little niggling problems with Linux's networking code, and had heard that FreeBSD had the best networking code of all, bar none. I am certainly NOT finding that to be the case! For _ME_, on _MY_ machine, FreeBSD's networking code has been very disappointing and troublesome. EXAMPLE - Networking -------------------- The "sup" program... I get an average of about 16cps on sup transfers from FreeBSD.ORG. That's right, SIXTEEN CPS. It takes so long to do a sup that it isn't even a practical alternative for me. Half the time the connection times out and can't even be made, and the rest of the time the sup transfers just stop for some reason. I let sup run for about 20 hours yesterday and it succeeded in updating only through /usr/src/etc. I finally aborted it. Using ncftp, I get about the same transfer speeds from that site, although other sites seem to be OK (1.5KB/sec... we're on a SLIP). Ping times and traceroutes look normal between here and FreeBSD.ORG. I have no idea what's wrong. And, at the same time, I can telnet to my roommate's Linux machine and get very good transfer speeds using ncftp from the same site, through the same slip connection. So I doubt it's network connections between our slip and FreeBSD.ORG. Example - HARDWARE SUPPORT -------------------------- Toshiba 3101 CDROM Drive: I have an older Toshiba CDROM drive. It's a 3101, and it worked fine for me under Linux, both as a data drive and as an audio cd player. I spent several hours trying to get it working under FreeBSD with both xcdplayer and with xmcd (which worked GREAT for me under Linux). I finally found a file somewhere in the source tree a file that had a comment to the effect that scsi-1 cdroms are not supported in audio play mode. So, it looks as if I am going to have to replace what has been a perfectly adequate cdrom if I want audio cd support under FreeBSD. I guess I can live with that, but I'll probably just have to do without audio cd support because I really can't afford to replace a perfectly good drive right now. Limitations like this really ought to be better documented in the FAQs. I certainly couldn't find any information describing this problem in any of the FAQs, which I read prior to switching over to FreeBSD. Archive Viper 150: FreeBSD seems to feel it necessary to insult my choice of tape drive by telling me that my drive, which has worked FINE under DOS, OS/2, Unixware, and Linux, is "a known rogue", every time I boot the system. It may be a "known rogue" as far as FreeBSD is concerned (it's given me no end of problems under FreeBSD), but it was as reliable as a stone axe under those other operating systems. Why can't FreeBSD deal with it? EXAMPLE - XWindows ------------------ Common programs such as "xload" periodically blow up and exit with a floating point exception error. I've been through the xload code with a fine tooth comb, and finally got it to compile absolutely clean with the gcc -Wall switch, but it STILL blows up. I don't think the problem is with xload, but with FreeBSD. SUMMARY ------- Since I can't sup, I am now in the process of ftp'ing the source tree for current from FreeBSD.ORG on my roommate's machine, because I can't do it from here. I'll try building that source tree, but if it doesn't work better than the 2.0-950112-SNAP release I'm currently using, I think I'm going to have to go back to Linux. I don't want to, but I need for the machine to be able to do the things I need it to do, and 2.0-950112-SNAP seems to be falling on its face rather regularly for me. The problems I experienced with Linux were minor compared to the hassles I've been going through with FreeBSD so far. -- Michael Nelson nelson@seahunt.imat.com San Francisco, CA http://www.imat.com/consult.html VOICE: 1-415-621-2608
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