Date: Sat, 1 Dec 2001 08:00:28 -0800 (PST) From: Mark Tinka <aknit444@yahoo.com> To: matthew@starbreaker.net, "Tsalicoglou, Isaak" <tisaak@student.ethz.ch> Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: From Linux to FreeBSD [formerly "*NIX Selection"] Message-ID: <20011201160028.69170.qmail@web20902.mail.yahoo.com> In-Reply-To: <200111301906.0229@starbreaker.net>
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hi Matthew.. i understant your plight with Linux.. but one thing i have learned in the last 3 years i have used Linux is that, if u stick to the distributors ports as much as possible [those that come on the distro CD i mean], u won't have much of a problem, just as it's advisable to use the FreeBSD ports rather than download the tar ball.. sure, it's easy tp just go to the net and download a tar ball, but u may run into one that requires all sorts of dependencies, many of which might not be contained in the distro base system, such as GLIBC-2.2 .. i have seen several users on other lists that have decided to load source programs that need the library set, which is relatively new, and quite efficient... personally, i run a hybrid network, with FreeBSD and Linux under the hood.. i will not try and compare the two, as u already know which OS u would choose to do what, but, i must say they both do it for me.. i run SuSE 7.2-Pro .. which, i should say, is really a breeze... in reaction to some of the problems u mentioned.. such as kernel configuration and compilation.. my experience has shown me that, stick to SuSE kernel, and u won't have a problem.. stick to Slack's kernel, and u won't have a problem.. most of these Linux distros take Linus' kernel and adapt it to their system, in terms of adding functionality, drivers, code and installation handling.. this happens in both the source and RPM versions of the kernel.... these distros enable only the most necessary options, which should allow for hassle free console and X configuration.. with hardly any need to re-compile it.. for instance, once i downloaded kernel 2.2.19 from kernel.org, so i could compile a kernel with transparent proxy enabled... after loading all my configs i started the compilation.. everything went well, until i started compiling my modules.. after 2 minutes into this, i got all sorts of errors, i remember something like toshiba.c failing to compile, and various others.. i was stuck!!! well, after checking SuSE FTP server, i found kernel source code for 2.2.19, which included all their additions and modifications... making it a little bigger, but bearable... configuration was easy.. SuSE includes their .config file for the already installed/RPM kernel.. the simplest way to compile your kernel is copy the running .config file to your /usr/src/linux directory, and then run the 'make menuconfig' command.. this will pick up the .config configuration, and all u have to do is add your option.. e.g, SMP [albeit an SMP SuSE kernel already exists.... :-)]... after that, u go thru the compilation routine.... u don't even need to edit your LILO configuration.. just re-run /sbin/lilo and u are good to go.. after a reboot.. the only difference u will notice with your system is that your motd include the appended SMP to your kernel version.. if u used another option.. u won't even notice anything.. but u will acheive the reason u re-compiled the kernel.... i know i may be blowing a little too much for SuSE here, but YaST has gotten a whole lot better.. upgrading from an older version has never been easier... hardware detection and installation eg sound cards, ethernet cards, printers, scanners, USB devices, modems and more, is easily possible with the 'yast2' tool.... my point is... once u have a distribution, FreeBSD, Linux, OpenBSD, Tru64, u are better off trying to make any major changes such as kernel configuration and the like, if u use source or ports that have been designed on and for that particular flavor of UNIX... one would be mad trying to run a NetBSD port/source on FreeBSD, or even an internet-based port/soruce when FreeBSD has the port already... once u follow this principle, your distributions will always be your babies... always initially establish what support your system has for a certain configuration or add on before you go out trying to find one somewhere... most times, i have seen many searching the web for all sorts of progz like OpenSSL, when these ports already exist on the user's distribution and CDs... i hope u understand where i am coming from, and i am glad that FreeBSD has done it for u.. coz it has for me too... good luck.. AKNIT --- Matthew Graybosch <matthew@starbreaker.net> wrote: > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- > Hash: SHA1 > > On Friday 30 November 2001 12:35, you wrote: > > What more is there in BSD that's not in Linux? I > am a Linux user > > since some years and I would be interested to run > BSD on my old > > machines. > > Well, BSD seems to yield better performance than > Linux, and I've had > a much easier time configuring it. I started with > Red Hat, and moved > to Mandrake after a week. After a few months I moved > over to SuSE > 'cos I wanted a more recent distro and there was a > copy of 6.4 > sitting in a CompUSA bargain bin for twenty bucks. > > I used SuSE up until August of this year, until I > got frustrated > with the piecemeal approach to upgrading (an RPM > here, a source > tarball there, and heaven help you if you try to use > YaST to update > the whole system). After that, I spent a couple of > months with > Slackware 8. > > Pardon my French if you're a religious man, but my > experience with > configuring and building Linux kernels is that it's > a hard-working > dirty bitch of a job. I've spent whole afternoons > downloading the > kernel, working through the options in Tcl/Tk config > tool, building > the kernel, and then hacking LILO to make the damn > thing walk and > talk. > > Then there's the ALSA drivers to contend with. I use > an SBLive! for > sound. While SuSE took care of the sound for me, I > had to download, > configure, and build ALSA when I moved over to > Slackware, which > meant another evening down the toilet. Add another > day getting my > printer and X11 to work the way I want them to. > > On the other hand, with FreeBSD I can configure the > kernel in about > 10 minutes, most of it spent reading the Handbook > and the kernel > config file, about 20 minutes going though the build > process, and > then 5 minutes to reboot. It took me that long to > get sound working > on a kernel tuned to my Athlon compared with roughly > an 8-hour > workday and a half setting up Linux. > > If I need to RTFM, I can find most of the info I > need at the > freebsd.org site. I can pick and choose the > ports/packages I like, > and if I build from source I don't have to settle > for prebuilt > generic binaries. > > Granted, I had similar customization options with > Slackware, but > there's that beastly Linux kernel to contend with. > Besides, why > settle for a Linux distro that apes BSD? Why settle > for a Unix-like > OS when you can have real Unix? > > Mind you, I'm not knocking Linux or claiming that it > sucks. However, > having used Linux at home for two years before > switching to FreeBSD, > I must conclude that I like FreeBSD better. > > - -- > Matthew Graybosch > http://www.starbreaker.net > GnuPG Key ID: 0x7D488659 > "Sex, Unix, and rock 'n roll" > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- > Version: GnuPG v1.0.6 (FreeBSD) > Comment: For info see http://www.gnupg.org > > iD8DBQE8CCP4cCiK1X1IhlkRAm3jAKDMAAlvMfo801fMqzXsQRDx8bPcTwCfeVpT > pcYTPS2iMN34JkgYhu9zQ/0= > =zb7F > -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- > > To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org > with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of > the message __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Buy the perfect holiday gifts at Yahoo! Shopping. http://shopping.yahoo.com To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
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