Linux vs FreeBSD?

IceDigger

IceDigger

[H]F Junkie
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So I want to try out one of them and was wondering what the differences are?
 
I don't want to be a smartass, but the first thing to note is that FreeBSD is an actual OS while Linux is just a kernel. So, I think the more proper thing to ask would be "Linux distros vs FreeBSD", otherwise the question sounds like "Linux (kernel) vs FreeBSD (kernel)".

I'm not a FreeBSD user so I can't write too much about it. I would probably give FreeBSD a try but there's one huge difference between the two: market share. Linux desktop distros don't have a huge market share in the desktop world and FreeBSD desktop presence is exponentially lower. You get significantly lower hardware and software support. With that said, FreeBSD can run a lot of Linux binaries via it's Linuxulator at native speed, AFAIK. There are some limitations to that (again, AFAIK) and plenty of software won't run and/or would take a lot of effort to make it run. Plus, I feel like a Linuxulator system becomes some kind of Linux/FreeBSD binary monstrosity.

Personally, I'd give FreeBSD a try as a work OS. I've tried to do just that before only to find out that my X-Fi won't work, so I reverted back to Arch as my OS. Another disappointing thing to me was that Gnome 3 is a no-go, and so I had to use KDE4. Gnome 3 kinda sucks but I've never been a big KDE fan, so it's Gnome 3 for me. Also, forget about Steam.
 
FreeBSD excels most at firewalls & servers. It really depends on what you're trying to learn.

If you're learning the server side, I would probably go FreeBSD first. If you're looking for more desktop-oriented stuff, I'd lean towards Linux-based systems. However, there is PC-BSD, which is a "linuxy" desktop-oriented FreeBSD distribution.

Personally, I've used a lot of OpenSuSE on laptops and such and have had a lot of good luck with it, but my file server runs FreeBSD.
 
I work on all three, Learn freebsd, going freebsd to linux is way easier and you will get the concepts of jails and the like and will actually understand what is better for what. Also the freebsd community is AMAZING. I've seen stuff introduced into the kernal in 2 weeks. Also their documentation is WAY better.

just to add even more weight to the freebsd: freebsd is like learning the standard before you learn some varient of something.
 
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So its best to start out with FreeBSD?

Thanks. I'll throw it on a vm.
 
FreeBSD might be more picky about hardware, and you'll have less software to choose from overall. But the main thing about BSD though is that it's more consistent, it doesn't change as much compared to Linux. There's only a few distros of BSD, not 100s like there is of Linux. Not many people actually learn Linux very well because they're so busy distro hopping, or installing 40 different pieces of software to do the same thing. If you have the compatible hardware, and want to learn things in a more technical way, try FreeBSD. If you want to just jump in and go and learn on your free time, try a popular Linux distro, like Ubuntu.

OT:
Whoever wrote vi is a cruel and angry individual, thank god for EE and Nano. Fear not though, I'm slogging through vi at my own pace. :D
 
If your using the built in windows hypervisor freebsd is 100% compatabile just so you know
 
FreeBSD to Linux is what Linux is to Windows :)
tbh I just wanted to say that, I am not sure if that statement makes any sense.
 
OP wants to try out a new operating system, not learn 17 volumes of shit about unix to install FreeBSD and compile X. And then make a choice of desktop environments from 3 or 4 random names offered, each having their own random names for file managers and text editors and other necessary software. "What's KDE? How is it different from Gnome?" OP doesn't know this yet. He's in no position to install some build-it-yourself anything.

Unless he's taking a class in Unix setup, OP needs a big popular full-fledged Linux desktop distro that installs itself with lots of software and lots of answers on the internet. This is a job for Linux Mint.
 
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paret0 said:
OP wants to try out a new operating system, not learn 17 volumes of shit about unix to install FreeBSD and compile X. And then make a choice of desktop environments from 3 or 4 random names offered, each having their own random names for file managers and text editors and other necessary software. "What's KDE? How is it different from Gnome?" OP doesn't know this yet. He's in no position to install some build-it-yourself anything.

Unless he's taking a class in Unix setup, OP needs a big popular full-fledged Linux desktop distro that installs itself with lots of software and lots of answers on the internet. This is a job for Linux Mint.
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While I do agree, there are some people that do enjoy high learning curve. I remember trying Gentoo about 10 years ago while having basically no experience with *nix. It took me probably 3 days to set things up and the system probably lasted a couple of days before I got into some somewhat-unrecoverable situation with portage. I then used Gentoo for a year or two.
 
Just go RHEL/CentOS, or a Debian base and be done with it. Solaris is good too for no BS unix.
I run Mint current release for desktop uses, and Ubuntu Server and Solaris for server uses.
 
Have you considered any of the other BSD derivatives? My personal favorite is openBSD.
 
I always consider the payoff when putting in the effort to learn something. While FreeBSD is a great operating system to learn but if you want to gain experience for employment learn Linux such as Redhat or CentOS.
 
Are you saying the Linux distros are more popular with employers than BSD?

mi7chy said:
but if you want to gain experience for employment learn Linux such as Redhat or CentOS.
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I assume Debian would go somewhere on that list as well.
 
Large companies tend to run mostly Linux then Windows for web, application and database server OS. For Linux it's usually Redhat for the commercial support and certification.

Netcraft site has useful statistical data and can be used to look up what a web site is running. As an example, Yahoo used to be a big FreeBSD shop but it looks like they've now switched mostly to Linux.

On the network hardware side FreeBSD powers some high profile equipment from Juniper, etc.

http://uptime.netcraft.com/perf/reports/Hosters

http://searchdns.netcraft.com/?restriction=site+contains&host=yahoo.com&lookup=wait..&position=limited
 
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IceDigger said:
So I want to try out one of them and was wondering what the differences are?
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The main differences are going to come down to package management.

I recommend you read up on the various package management systems and then decide which one sounds interesting to try.

Then look at the forums for the distribution you decided to try and assess it for assistance and whether the members are going to be helpful.

The first point is what I do when I want to try a new distro and the second is what I did when I was starting out (I also started with Gentoo, which is an excellent way to roll your sleeves up and get dirty and come out understanding exactly how and why things work the way they do under the hood).
 
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