Some General OpenBSD Questions

Lately I've been finding myself less enthusiastic about Linux as a viable production environment and I've found my mind wandering toward the BSD systems... particularly, OpenBSD 3.2. I like the idea of running a system that includes only the basic necessities by default, and, as a result, has a security track record that would shame Fort Knox.

However, I have some reservations and I would like to hear others' thoughts on them:

1. OpenBSD doesn't get the attention that Red Hat Linux does, and I had some hardware compatibility problems even with RH 8.0. How difficult is it to find drivers for BSD systems compared to Linux systems?

2. The "1 year official support" thing that OpenBSD does sort of bugs me. Has anyone found this to be a problem?

3. How much more difficult is a BSD system to use than Linux? This isn't so much a problem, as a "how will I need to budget my time" thing.

I intend to still keep the RH 8.0 and Wintendo installations for testing/development and gaming respctively. I will probably be installing the OpenBSD system on an older PII or even just P1 box sans an X Server. Thanks in advance for any feedback related to OpenBSD or BSD systems in general. Honestly, regardless of what I hear, I'm sure I'll go with eventually.. this will just decide with how much vigor I attack the project

Well Ctb, I have to agree that the Iraq resolution is gaining steam -- oh damn wrong thread!


Personally I use FreeBSD, I have no experience with OpenBSD but from what I have heard about it, it's very similar, but with stronger default install emphasis on security. (FreeBSD is also a very secure system, just that OpenBSD has a very strong emphasis on the security aspect -- it's what it's famous for).

As for FreeBSD, it's more difficult to setup and run than Linux, but in my experience it is WAY easier to administer once you get it up and running. (Personally I found the install process pretty easy, it's just ascii text based so it can come across as unpolished, since there aren't any pointy-clicky things).

If you are a veteran of UNIX, you will love a BSD system. It's very clean and tight, I felt "at home" the first time I installed it, and all the familiar tools that have been around for the past 30 years are all there.

The plethora of cloned tools (a personal gripe/opinion of mine) that plague a default Red Hat install, aren't on FreeBSD. It will install the OS, standard bin tools (like ls, netstat, etc), SSH, and Sendmail, by default. THAT'S IT. The rest that you want to put on there, is completely up to you. You don't need to worry about shutting down FTP or telnet, or wonder why the hell your harddrive keeps lighting up every 10 seconds.

The ports/packages system is similar to the RPM system, and is a clean way of getting applications installed and running FAST, and without headaches.

As mentioned, you can add applications as you go along, and keep the system minimal and tight.

I'm sure you've seen the famous Netcraft page that lists the top web servers that have been up the longest without a reboot (some of these servers have been up for YEARS). Guess which kind of OS every single one of them is running:

http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/today/top.avg.html

For a wider variety of opinions, check out this forum, the guys there are more than happy to help, and there is even a forum dedicated to OpenBSD:

http://www.bsdforums.com

FreeBSD 5.0, major upgrade, is due out in a couple of weeks, there are alot of performance enhancements in this release, including improved multiprocessor support and better threading support.

Good luck!

Ctb.. I made the switch about a year ago from Red Hat to FreeBSD. I still use Red Hat for my Linux desktop needs but for a business solution BSD is the way to go. Coming from Linux to BSD, the first thing I noticed was how clean BSD keeps the port installs (similar to Linux RPMs), the installs are very consistent not like RPMs that just install where ever they want. BSD keeps a tighter reign on the file structure for sure as well as keeping most ports secure. I use FreeBSD for my firewall, VPN, email, web, file storage solutions for several clients and they just RUN !!!! FreeBSD is way cool. I encourage you to set a box up and go at it.. I was a bit shy at first to make the switch but now I'm sure glad I did.

I'm not concerned about the jump to BSD (yea, it's a long fall if you miss, but if you can jump far enough... ), and I LIKE Linux... I just like Linux as an all around "jack-of-all-trades" toolbox as it were, not a serious production environment. What really caught my eye about OpenBSD was it's KISS approach to installation. The one thing that irks me about Linux more than anything else (and, a lot of other people I've noticed) is that it just grabs a handful of crap and throws it on your disk whether you want it or not. I spent almost 2 hours meticulously picking through the tools I wanted in RH 8.0 and somehow the damn thing still installed about 900 megs worth of garbage on my disk!

The next system I add is either going to be FreeBSD or OpenBSD.... I just need to decide which...

Ahhh you leave My free BSD outta this!!

err ted, a little off topic here, i notice you post alot, what do you do all day?

Both Free and Open BSD are easy to install. I use OpenBSD to run DHCP and DNS for my LAN. I haven't had any problems with it at all.

FreeBSD is cool too. It's less restrictive than OpenBSD... sendmail will spoof any domain you want right out of the box... OpenBSD won't let you "pretend" to be anyone else... FreeBSD also has a ton of games and stuff if you really really want 'em And the "fire" screen saver is the best!!! OpenBSD doesn't have any screen savers...

But, like I said.. OpenBSD is an awesome OS...

I also have Mandrake Linux on my brand new Sony Vaio PCG-GRX560 dual booting with WinXP... I'm thinking about getting rid of Mandrake because I hardly ever use it... Everything but the sound card works great! I can't live without my music... If the soundcard drivers worked, it would most defiantly replace Windows!!! We'll see if someone writes a better driver for my yamaha soundcard....

That's exactly the sort of crap I'm trying to get rid of