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Home > Archive > Linux/Unix > February 2001 > FreeBSD or OpenBSD?
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FreeBSD or OpenBSD?
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| I'm on a learning frenzy. I love this stuff. Linux had really got me going  I need more!!!  so now I want to try unix, and see how everything interrelates. Which should I use, open or free? What are the benifits/drawbacks to each? | |
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| FreeBSD in general is more stable then Linux, is easy to install and has a lightning TCP/IP stack. It has tons of docs to refer to and makes for an excellent web server of any kind . . . . the net was basically designed around this one.
OpenBSD is not much different. It is even more stable and more security oriented Its main focus is security which has the added benifit of also making it more stable. It supports less chrome than FreeBSD and lots of other distros but that's all really window-dressing anyway. Docs? Forget about it.
Both of these have the disadvantage of not having the "levels" of startup that you get in those SysV-based distros, so you can;t always choose what you start up with.
I usually go with FreeBSD because of the extensive documentation, but they are more alike than different.
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| I agree with Randy. FreeBSD is definately the one to start out with because of being easier to use and having better documentation. The OpenBSD instalation is more difficult but no where near as bad as I'd been told it is.
I heard someone use an analogy with automobiles once, but forgot the specifics, so I'll reinvent and expand it.
Windows is a go cart. Easy to drive, but slow, and it crashes a lot. You can't really do much more then play games with it. Linux is a Van. It's faster and more stable then the golf cart and can do a lot of things. FreeBSD is a car. Goes faster then the van and is more reliable, but not as versatile. If you've ever watched "Night Rider" think of Kit; that's OpenBSD (if not let me know and I'll explain). NetBSD is an airboat. It works on everything, but there are usually better choices. Solaris is a motorcycle. It's extremely fast on the highway (SPARCs), but lags behind offroad (PCs). | |
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| Thanks again guys, you're always so helpful! |
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