[BBLISA] Comparison of BSD vs Linux? (here goes the flame war!)

[Bob Keyes]

On Thu, 15 Nov 2007, Steven M Jones wrote:

> Scott Ehrlich wrote:
> > I'm in a class at Usenix/Lisa and the instructor is a BSD fan and
> > hates Linux.

Yes, there seems to be one in every crowd.

>> I'd like to get insight from the list of viewpoints,
> > security, comparisons, package availability, etc, of the differences
> > between the basic worlds of UNIX-like distros.
>
> First lesson I'm sure you already know -- you can't treat "Linux" as a
> monolithic offering. There are hundreds of different Linux
> distributions. Some very similar, some dissimilar, and others which have
> nothing but the kernel family in common.

Well said!

> I'll second what Dave Pascoe wrote: Find the best tool for the job.
> Don't forget to include supportability in your evaluation -- will you be
> able to keep the platform up to date, get new drivers you're likely to
> need, be able to integrate it into your environment, etc etc.

In the past, Linux was famous for lots and lots of available software.
FreeBSD was known for its tight integration and focus on x86 (though it
has expanded beyond x86). NetBSD was known for its conservative design and
that it ran everywhere ("Of course it runs NetBSD!"), whereas OpenBSD was
based upon the premise of security first.

Over time, things have changed. Linux now runs on more platforms than
NetBSD. OpenBSD has become far more user-friendly. FreeBSD has ventured
out from x86. NetBSD changed its logo.

Linux (both the kernel and OSs which use it) has become much more solid
than it was in the days when FreeBSD could claim that as an advantage.

OpenBSD as a project has done much for the world, such as spawning
OpenSSH, now used everywhere. They've also been very forceful and zealous
about what constitutes open source, in that they will not accept 'binary
objects' from vendors for inclusion into the operating system. Sometimes
this can be a pain in the ass, but the work that these developers has done
to create drivers without kowtowing the vendors shows in the finished
product.

Right now, I can think of only one personal reason for using BSD, and that
is that the wifi subsystem in Linux is undergoing major changes, and there
are some long unfixed bugs which may cause some users with special uses
some great concern (ad-hoc mode on atheros, for instance). In this
situation, the BSDs are in far less tumult. There may be other reasons for
choosing BSD as well, but none that rank very high in my estimation. This
is not to say that they are inferior operating systems. I have experience
with all three (particularly OpenBSD) and they have their strengths, but
for my specific purposes, and in general, I see no reason to switch from
Linux. I'll stay with Debian/Ubuntu, unless there's a reason to pick
another OS.