Why does FreeBSD not use the Linux kernel?
Michael Sierchio
kudzu at tenebras.com
Wed Jun 17 17:55:51 UTC 2020
On Wed, Jun 17, 2020 at 5:19 AM Polytropon <freebsd at edvax.de> wrote:
> On Wed, 17 Jun 2020 11:33:25 +0800, kindu smith wrote:
> > Why does FreeBSD not use the Linux kernel? The structure of FreeBSD is
> > very good, such as the startup and directory structure, and the user
> > island program. The only shortcoming is poor hardware support. This is
> > mainly due to the lack of drivers provided by the kernel.
>
> While there are certain basic drivers in the kernel, the
> majority of drivers is provided by loadable kernel modules,
> either developed by the FreeBSD team itself, or available
> from the ports collection. They use interfaces provided by
> the kernel.
>
>
The chief difference from my perspective is that it is possible in FreeBSD
to create a monolithic kernel and prohibit the loading of kernel modules,
foiling one step in the chain of a rootkit. It's especially convenient for
embedded devices, security appliances, etc.
Some features cannot work as loadable kernel modules, such as kernel NAT in
ipfw supplied by LIBALIAS.
--
"Well," Brahmā said, "even after ten thousand explanations, a fool is no
wiser, but an intelligent person requires only two thousand five hundred."
- The Mahābhārata
More information about the freebsd-questions
mailing list