Date: Thu, 24 Jul 1997 02:37:49 +0000 From: Randy DuCharme <randyd@nconnect.net> To: Victor Manuel Carranza Gonzalez <victor@usac.edu.gt> Cc: FreeBSD Questions mailing list <questions@freefall.freebsd.org> Subject: Re: SMP: Should I abandon FreeBSD? :-( Message-ID: <33D6BFFD.9DF4E877@nconnect.net> References: <Pine.OSF.3.96.970723181528.4964C-100000@ns.usac.edu.gt>
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Victor Manuel Carranza Gonzalez wrote: > > Hello, everybody! > > I am just wondering if my totally-happy-FreeBSD-user days are coming to an > end. I need to instal a couple of servers, with two 200 MHz Pentium Pro > processors each one; but I'm not sure about the idea of using > FreeBSD-current (the only tree including SMP) for a serious application... > you know... I don't want the system crashing unexplainably, or any > sort of weird behaviour (I plan to use PostgreSQL and manage big databases > on those servers). > > Please give me some advise... Should I try another free OS? 9if so, which > one?) Or should I stick with FreeBSD and take the risk of running > -current? (If I can't find a suitable free OS, I will probably be another > victim of Bill Gates; so, please HELP :-) Greetings, I've read all the warnings about -current being potentially unstable, and it sometimes *is* during various stages of it's growth. However I use it on 3 SMP machines, 2 of which stay very busy. All of them are for the most part *FAR* more stable and reliable ( and efficient ) than any of my NT 4.0 machines ( Service packs and hotfixes installed ) doing similar types of tasks. I run the mySQL database on 2 of those machines and PostgreSQL on one of them. I can't say enough good stuff about the O/S. One thing I'm careful about is backups of stable source trees prior to attempting upgrades. When I do plan upgrades I generally watch the mailing lists and plan sups during times when bug/problem reports are few. I've *never* experienced an unexplained crash with it, tho' I'm probably one of the lucky ones as there are those that have. I don't know if this influences your decision at all, and I was apprehensive at first too, but if you've ever had to fight with an NT machine, I'm sure you'll find -current to be a welcome reprieve. I know I did. All in all -current is still under development and the general recommendation seems to be to *not* use it in mission-critical applications. The SMP Kernel is undergoing some major changes right now, so it may be wise to wait until a little dust settles if you are going to try it. Based on my experience with it however, I wouldn't be without it!!! This is just my opinion however, others may have had different experiences with it! -- Randall D DuCharme Systems Engineer Novell, Microsoft, and UNIX Networking Support Computer Specialists BSDI Internet Success Partners 414-253-9998 414-253-9919 (fax) BSD/OS Authorized Resellers
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