Best BSD alternative(s) to FreeBSD?

Spartrekus

Spartrekus

Hello,

In any case you cannot run, install,... FreeBSD, which other option would you have ?
e.g. OpenBSD, NetBSD, ...

which one would be the best alternative ?

thank you!
With best regards
 
OpenBSD and NetBSD are both good. i used them in the past. To get a feeling of the different culture just look at their equivalent of our handbook.
 
I've run OpenBSD before, and was very happy with it. Honestly, even happier than with FreeBSD, because the system is even more clean and organized. I had to give up on it due to missing features.

The question is though: in what scenario would one not be able to run FreeBSD? There might be exotic hardware platforms where FreeBSD isn't supported, but I doubt that OpenBSD would support them. NetBSD has a long tradition of running on a lot of older and more diverse hardware.

In reality, the correct question to ask is not "which alternate BSD would one use in general". The correct question to ask is this: What is the intended hardware platform, what is the intended use of the system, what is the desired operation/maintenance/upgrade mode, and is the system for production or for education/tinkering/hobby. That will really determine what OS to use.
 
Like ralphbsz, I'm curious about the situation. OpenBSD often runs, with less work for X, mouse, and so on, on laptops. Otherwise, I'd like to hear the situation, but if it is a matter of the hardware not working well with FreeBSD, my first choice for another BSD would be OpenBSD.
 
Alternative to FreeBSD for what, and what architecture?

Server? Muen (if x86/64) + MirageOS/Solo5.
Desktop? DragonFlyBSD.
Ports system? Ravenports
 
drhowarddrfine said:
Do you not know? Have you never tried? After all, you've been around here for a year, and constantly have something to say about everything on a daily basis, so I am curious why you feel the need to ask this question and have not discovered it on your own.
Click to expand...
I think he's asking what our opinion is on the matter.
 
Spartrekus said:
In any case you cannot run, install,... FreeBSD, which other option would you have ?
e.g. OpenBSD, NetBSD, ...

which one would be the best alternative ?
Click to expand...

None actually ...

You can not replicate all these on anther system ... Linux is close but definitely Illumos/OpenBSD/NetBSD are not.

  • WINE
  • ZFS
  • beadm
  • up-to-date packages (latest) with pkg(8)
  • Jails
  • performance
  • VirtualBox
  • Bhyve
  • FUSE
  • exFAT/ext4/NTFS filesystem support
  • GELI
  • GEOM framework
  • pkg(8) + Ports Framework with 32000+ packages


In the past:

  • Opera 12.x and earlier browser was available for FreeBSD only.
  • I used Nvidia binary drivers (they are FreeBSD only)
 
As vermaden points out if you chose FreeBSD you had reasons to do so;)

But, here is a real world example where we needed to try another *BSD.

My cousin found a Sun workstation in our building, we wanted to install FreeBSD, we failed, here is the reference post. Since what we really wanted was pf, then we gave OpenBSD a try and it run. That machine is still running OpenBSD.
 
Nicola Mingotti said:
As vermaden points out if you chose FreeBSD you had reasons to do so;)

But, here is a real world example where we needed to try another *BSD.

My cousin found a Sun workstation in our building, we wanted to install FreeBSD, we failed, here is the reference post. Since what we really wanted was pf, then we gave OpenBSD a try and it run. That machine is still running OpenBSD.
Click to expand...

I guess OpenBSD and NetBSD have the best references.

Illumos and driver issues is common.

6631
 
Nicola Mingotti said:
As vermaden points out if you chose FreeBSD you had reasons to do so;)

But, here is a real world example where we needed to try another *BSD.

My cousin found a Sun workstation in our building, we wanted to install FreeBSD, we failed, here is the reference post. Since what we really wanted was pf, then we gave OpenBSD a try and it run. That machine is still running OpenBSD.
Click to expand...


If its SUN workstation then its possible that Solaris or Illumos is the best choose.
 
vermaden said:
If its SUN workstation then its possible that Solaris or Illumos is the best choose.
Click to expand...

What is best depend no what you want;)
We wanted to use a *BSD, pf and we wanted a system we are already familiar with. OpenBSD was the first to run. NetBSD would have been next attempt.

P.S. I think i saw the documentation of Solaris many years ago. In print, it was very good AFAIremember. But, i never used it nor Illumos.
 
Nicola Mingotti said:
What is best depend no what you want;)
We wanted to use a *BSD, pf and we wanted a system we are already familiar with. OpenBSD was the first to run. NetBSD would have been next attempt.

P.S. I think i saw the documentation of Solaris many years ago. In print, it was very good AFAIremember. But, i never used it nor Illumos.
Click to expand...
...actually, I would have attempted to run NetBSD (NB) first, and then OpenBSD, because NB could even run on a toaster ;)
 
Spartrekus said:
what do you mean? More info would be helpful. IoT?
Click to expand...
Internet of Things = IoT
Light bulbs with a web server are pretty common these days, and cheap too. Here's the first link that came up for me.
Also, IKEA has a whole line of them.
 
OJ said:
Internet of Things = IoT
Light bulbs with a web server are pretty common these days, and cheap too. Here's the first link that came up for me.
Also, IKEA has a whole line of them.
Click to expand...

Internet of things
Description
The Internet of things is the extension of Internet connectivity into physical devices and everyday objects. Embedded with electronics, Internet connectivity, and other forms of hardware, these devices can communicate and interact with others over the Internet, and they can be remotely monitored and controlled. Wikipedia

What do you think about "Internet of things"? Do You like this thing?
 
Spartrekus said:
What do you think about "Internet of things"? Do You like this thing?
Click to expand...
I'm going to start another thread because we're getting too far off topic here. And yes, I have a thing or two to say about it, and I'm sure others do too. :)
 
Spartrekus said:
...actually, I would have attempted to run NetBSD (NB) first, and then OpenBSD, because NB could even run on a toaster ;)
Click to expand...

My cousin set up other servers with OpenBSD and FreeBSD in the past but has never used NetBSD. The SUN is his hardware so our order of testing was pretty much the one of lest surprise.
 
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