linux/freebsd kernel differences

[Jason Stewart]

On Tue, 2003-04-22 at 10:15, beemern at ksu.edu wrote:
> "there is no difference between linux and freebsd kernels, except that
> linux has much better driver support.. WHY use obscure freebsd?"

Because FreeBSD has a mature codebase, while the codebase for Linux is
relatively young. There is anecdotal evidence that FreeBSD performs
better under heavy loads and the VM subsystem is more mature and robust.

The person who stated that there is "no difference between the Linux and
FreeBSD kernels" has not done their due dilligence in researching both
OS'es. It sounds more like a comment coming from the fear of having to
learn a new "obscure" OS instead of making a decision based upon the
facts.

While it is true that Linux supports more devices, FreeBSD tries to make
the devices that are supported as stable as possible. FreeBSD coders do
not like to write drivers for crappy hardware. If you are running a NFS
server, then you probably do not forsee yourself adding a bunch of
esoteric hardware to your machine, and chances are that all of your
harware is already supported by FreeBSD.

I come from a Linux background and can honestly say that FreeBSD has
been easier to administer once I figured out the fs hierarchy.

Just my $0.02. Good luck with your decision.

Jason Stewart