[nycbug-talk] New to BSD (dont know which one to get)

[Scott Robbins]

On Sun, Apr 04, 2004 at 01:37:32PM -0400, Tilly wrote:
> Hello
>  
> I have been using linux for about 2 years now and i have been doing some
> research online but i am little confused on what BSD i should use. I am looking
> for running a server and i have heard many thing about Freebsd.

Firstly, you should probably not post in html.  (It's the default in
Outlook Express, and can be fixed by going to tools=>options=>send.)
Most *nix based lists frown upon it.  :)

Greg Lehey, author of "The Complete FreeBSD" once posted somewhere
(FreeBSD forums?) one of the best answers to this question. He said that
each BSD's slogan gave a good clue.

FreeBSD.  "The power to serve."  Probably the easiest for a newcomer,
has the widest selection of 3rd party software, probably the fastest
(but that is COMPLETELY subjective) and perhaps most designed for being
a server on an x86 platform.

NetBSD.  "Of course it runs NetBSD".  Widest variety of supported
platforms. If you have some obscure hardware, it might be the best fit.
~I~ think it's a bit less intuitive than FreeBSD, but intuitive often
equals what you're used to using.  

OpenBSD. Err, I forget the exact slogan, but something like Only one
security hole since its inception.  The most secure of the BSDs.
Possibly a bit harder to install, but again, that's subjective.  (My
biggest problem was finding a floppy that worked--floppy disk quality
control seems to be a thing of the past).

All three have installation guides and other docs on their website, so
you might take a look there and see which one seems to suit you best.  

HTH



-- 

Scott Robbins

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