Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2000 17:38:12 +0200 (EET) From: Dimitris Hatzopoulos <dimitris@hypernet.hyper.gr> To: www@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Article in ComputerWorld about *BSD better than Linux Message-ID: <200002231538.RAA08571@hypernet.hyper.gr>
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For your "FreeBSD in the Press" section: http://www.computerworld.com/home/print.nsf/All/000207E972?OpenDocument&~f Three Unixlike systems may be better than Linux SIMSON L. GARFINKEL By SIMSON L. GARFINKEL 02/07/2000 SIMSON L. GARFINKEL Before you deploy Linux within your organization, you should look beyond the hype and consider other Unixlike operating systems. Like Linux, these systems can be deployed without paying licensing fees. And like Linux, they are open source. But in many cases, these other Unixlike systems deliver better performance, more security and other features that today's Linux offerings still can't touch. These other Unix systems are descended from Berkeley Software Distribution and were originally developed by the University of California at Berkeley's Computer Science Research Group. The three systems -- FreeBSD, NetBSD and OpenBSD -- have strong followings among Unix insiders for their performance, reliability and security. To be fair, the differences between the BSD systems and Linux are minor compared with the differences between these systems and Windows NT. All of the Unix systems use the same graphical user interface based on the X Windows System. They all have the ability to share files and printers to Windows 95/98/NT desktops using the Samba remote file system. They can all run the Apache Web server. And they all come with the free GNU C Compiler and development environment. But there are significant differences between Linux and the BSDs. The differences result from philosophy and the mix of individuals working on the different distributions. For years, the Linux developer community was a rowdy bunch of hackers who were interested in just putting together a Unixlike operating system that they could freely distribute. Development was fast and furious -- sometimes a little too much so. The frenzy produced great diversity, a number of different Linux versions, some incompatible changes with other Unix systems and more than a few security bugs. The BSD developers have had different motivations. The NetBSD group (www.netbsd.org) has concentrated on making its system run on as many different platforms as Linux; today it runs on more than twice as many architectures. NetBSD is also the only free Unix operating system that comes with support for the next-generation Internet Protocol, IPv6. FreeBSD (www.freebsd.org) was developed by a NetBSD group that splintered largely over management issues. Today, the FreeBSD developers strive to make their operating system as fast and reliable, but they stick largely to Intel-based hardware. Like Linux, FreeBSD supports symmetric multiprocessing (the ability to run on computers with multiple CPUs), but it also has automatic memory allocation, diverting to programs or the disk cache as necessary. FreeBSD also has a very easy-to-use installation and configuration system. OpenBSD (www.openbsd.org), despite its name, was designed to be the most secure Unixlike system. More than a dozen people in the OpenBSD group have spent several years auditing the operating system's source code, correcting bugs like potential stack-overflows and buffer overruns. OpenBSD is also Unix that comes with 128-bit cryptography built-in, skirting U.S. export restrictions because it's distributed from Canada. One common, yet interesting feature in all the BSDs is that they can run software compiled for Linux as well as one another. This lets you choose an operating system based on its strengths rather than on which applications it happens to support. I know of several Internet service providers that use FreeBSD on their Web server farms. Others have set up old 486s or low-end Pentiums running NetBSD or OpenBSD as low-cost routers and virtual private network boxes. If you have a traditional Microsoft-based environment and you're making your first foray into free operating systems, go with the more established Linux brand. You can buy it preinstalled on a variety of systems, you can get service contracts for around-the-clock support and if you ever get static from senior management you can always refer them to Red Hat's stock price. But if you're trying to get the most for your money or if you want a higher level of security, take a look at the BSDs. The rewards can be considerable. To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-www" in the body of the message
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