Date: Sat, 16 Nov 2002 19:45:21 -0500 From: Lee Nelson <jld123@pobox.com> To: freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.org, c.hodapp@softhome.net Subject: Re: Advantages over GNU/Linux? Message-ID: <WVGEDAQN93YFEWRLNHBB961W2VGB.3dd6e6a1@lee> In-Reply-To: <courier.3DD6A875.00001D6F@softhome.net>
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I switched to FreeBSD earlier this year. Advantages
that convinced me are:
It comes from a single source. There are no arguments
over this or that driver, kernel patch, whatnot. This
means that I don't have to spend my time figuring out
which patches to apply, or who's version of the kernel
is best for me.
Also security notifications come from a single source,
making them easy to keep track of.
The code base changes more slowly than Linux. I found
it difficult to keep up with the "kernel of the week"
with Linux. This has saved me and my clients a LOT of
money.
The only Linux versions that I will use are Redhat,
Suse, and Debian:
FreeBSD is much more up to date than Debian.
Redhat make off-the-wall decisions, like building
everything with a beta compiler or having every
major package require PHP.
Suse - well they're not so bad but Yast is a pain.
FreeBSD's 'package manager' is simple and civilized.
There are no excessive dependencies in the package
system. The ports tree has everything you could ever
want, preconfigured for installation on FreeBSD, and
is dirt simple to use.
Lastly, FreeBSD is very well documented, meaning
that you are never left wondering, for example, how
the init scripts work, or where the source is for this
or that. The lack of murky psuedo-proprietary components
is also nice.
Disadvantages of FreeBSD include less complete support
of desktop environments and a monolithic base install.
Not to run down Linux - I think it's great. I run
Debian on my file server, and love apt/dselect. Redhat
6.2 ran solid for a year on my web and DB servers. And
the linux guys have all kinds of cool toys that we don't -
cdparanoia and video support are both good examples. But
for boring server stuff, I prefer FreeBSD.
-Lee
P.S. if you need a virus scanner on FreeBSD check out
VirusScan from Network Associates. They have a
command line scanner that integrates with Amavis
and is very simple to install and update.
Not affliated, just impressed.
11/16/02 3:20:05 PM, c.hodapp@softhome.net wrote:
>Okay, propaganda time. Why should I use FreeBSD instead of GNU/Linux? What
>advantages does it offer?
>
> -Chris Hodapp
>
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