Date: Thu, 16 Dec 1999 09:37:59 -0800 (PST) From: Matthew Jacob <mjacob@feral.com> To: current@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Linux vs. OpenBSD vs. FreeBSD vs. NetBSD (fwd) Message-ID: <Pine.BSF.4.05.9912160937410.23583-100000@semuta.feral.com>
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fyi ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 16 Dec 1999 12:15:48 -0500 (EST) From: Paul B. Brown <pbrown@btechnet.com> Reply-To: axp-list@redhat.com To: axp-list@redhat.com Subject: Re: Linux vs. OpenBSD vs. FreeBSD vs. NetBSD Resent-Date: 16 Dec 1999 17:15:54 -0000 Resent-From: axp-list@redhat.com Resent-cc: recipient list not shown: ; > Is there a handy collection of arguments over which OS is better? Hummmm . . . . this is a much debated topic. In a nutshell: Linux: 1. More prevalent 2. More support 3. More software ported 4. Multi-platform: Intel, Alpha, Sparc, Mac, PowerPC, etc. 5. GPLed Even though I think Linux needs further tweaking to become as high stress as FreeBSD, I still believe it is the best bang for the buck. There is more interest in this OS than any of the other "free" OSes. This is a plus and a minus. The plus is that it will continue to advance as an OS and a production platform. The minus is that now business needs may begin to drive Linux and that will skew the original intent of Linux and it's reason for being as good as it is. I've been talking to some Systems Operations boys at NASA HQ in Washington, DC who have done (and continue to do) testing on the "free" OSes as stable platforms for research and production at NASA. They found that even now, FreeBSD or OpenBSD are their choice either because of stability or speed. I found that interesting given some of the claims I've seem on this list, and others, that Linux is now as stable and high performance as FreeBSD on Intel. The NASA boys don't think so. FreeBSD: 1. Higher performance especially in the network stack. 2. Can run any Linux application using emulator. 3. BSDL 4. Intel Only: This means the OS is tweaked for max performance. This is a very stable, very robust, high stress-capable OS for Intel platforms only. If you want to get the max out of your production Intel platform, use FreeBSD. Yahoo does. The choice at NASA HQ. NetBSD: 1. Runs on a lot of old hardware: PDP, VAX, 3B2, etc. 2. Very stable. 3. BSDL. This one is used if you have some old hardware lying around and want to get it functional again. This is great for older companies, Universities, and research facilities. OpenBSD: 1. Runs on a lot of old hardware: PDP, VAX, 3B2, etc. 2. More secure out of the box than any other xBSD. 3. Offshoot of NetBSD. 4. Very stable. 5. BSDL. The same as NetBSD except it's security features are it's main selling point. There is my $0.02 worth. :-) Paul --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Paul B. Brown pbrown@btechnet.com President Brown Technologies Network, Inc. http://www.btechnet.com/ Systems and Applications Design, Development, Deployment, and Maintenance --------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- To unsubscribe: send e-mail to axp-list-request@redhat.com with 'unsubscribe' as the subject. Do not send it to axp-list@redhat.com To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-current" in the body of the message
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