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From: Bill Pechter <pechter@lakewood.com>
Message-ID: <199708261624.MAA00502@i4got.lakewood.com>
Subject: FreeBSD on low end boxes
In-Reply-To: <9708261442.AA133031@csemail.cropsci.ncsu.edu> from "rdkeys@csemail.cropsci.ncsu.edu" at "Aug 26, 97 10:42:24 am"
To: rdkeys@csemail.cropsci.ncsu.edu
Date: Tue, 26 Aug 1997 12:24:35 -0400 (EDT)
Cc: freebsd-chat@freebsd.org
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> > Some of
> > us even have older, slower hardware than the core team.  ;^)  (This
> > message is being chiseled into the electrons on a 486/66, for instance.)
> 
> Well, this dummy's boxes are half a dozen lowendian 386/486 junkers, and
> I really can't complain, at all, since 2.1.7.1/2.2.x/3.0.x is up and
> running fine on all of them.  What I was after was a rock stable unchanging
> system for the home boxes (2.1.7.1 is fine there), a good carefree system
> for the office boxes (2.2-RELENG is fine there) and one 3.0 play box
> (current is fine there).  Your detailed explanation helped immensely.
> What was confusing me was what the 2.2 stable actually was.
> 
> > (Yes, this is a mild slam directed at Linux, the various SVR4 PC
> > platforms, and especially SCO.)
> 
> I run aix/minix/linux/FreeBSd, and support your slam, although there
> is one source that I can compile fine on suns/aix/linux but it blows up
> every gcc on every version of FreeBSD (runs fine on gcc on the sun and the
> linux box, tho).  I am still scratching my head on that one.  Krazy parsing
> error with no evident code anomalies.

Wierd.  I've got AIX, Linux and FreeBSD as well, the Linux use is mostly
because FreeBSD doesn't run on token ring...

My old play box is a 386/25 going to a 486/66 -- since the 386 is going to
be a print server.

My stuff ranges from 386sx to AMD 586/133 (basically an upgraded 486/33).
I'm amazed how much more stable the BSD is than a number of commercial 
Unix boxes I ran a couple of years ago... (SunOS4.1.3, Solaris 2.3, HPUX9.0.x).

While Linux seems faster when run single user on low end boxes, FreeBSD seems
more solid there.  (However, Linux used to run on more old, low-end disk 
controllers.) 

A friend of mine is going to FreeBSD after Linux stopped working with his
Mitsumi double speed CDROM... FreeBSD worked just fine with it.

Bill