Discussion

FreeBSD 14.4-RELEASE Announcement

basemi: > Bhyve virtual machines can now share a filesystem with the host via the new p9fsNice!

sidkshatriya: 14.4 is a maintenance release. If you're installing FreeBSD today, use 15.0Why FreeBSD ?- Well manicured OS, excellent docs. More performant than OpenBSD in every way and approaches Linux performance in some areas (e.g. Networking)- FreeBSD tends to have fewer features on almost all areas compared to Linux which makes it more approachable and more difficult to mess up.- Though it has fewer features, it still has a lot of features -- many big companies (Netflix most famously) still use it today for critical functions.- FreeBSD Kernel and Userland developed together -- it has got that undefined "cohesive" feel- Has less layers of abstraction than Linux, gets the job done. Because there are fewer layers it's easier to understand what is going on and potentially easier to fix.- FreeBSD is great if you want to learn pf, zfs, ...- Worth your while if you are bored of the Linux monoculture and just want to try something a bit different (but not tooo different)- Changes slowly, so good for setting up on a server that you want to just leave running without too much maintenance- Will increase your Linux skills because diversity always helps the human brain- Very simple daemon configuration via /etc/rc.conf

drewg123: If you're installing FreeBSD today, use 15.0Or just run -current in production, like we do. See https://people.freebsd.org/~gallatin/talks/OpenFest2023.pdfOr https://papers.freebsd.org/2019/fosdem/looney-netflix_and_fr...

pisikesipelgas: I heard, that BSD is dying...

colinhb: Wild! Fun to see 9p filesystem protocol continue to have a life in this form.

sidkshatriya: Yes, FreeBSD current is quite usable. It's fun to start using the new features as they are added to kernel and userland immediately !

sidkshatriya: NetBSD - situation does not seem that good. Project feels less active now.OpenBSD - has a fanatical band of security obsessed users. Not going away anytime soon.FreeBSD - It chugs along. Why is FreeBSD worth trying out ? See my reply above.

user3939382: NetBSD has their new npf firewall which is quite nice. Of all the options their internal architecture is the cleanest. It gets less fanfare than the others because it has less drivers, although even that is partially due to a commitment against binary blobs.FreeBSD is more practical but for example you find the config files scattered about the file system whereas in NetBSD they’re always exactly where I expect. SDF.org has a great NetBSD system if anyone wants to try it out.

ux266478: It's also worth mentioning that FreeBSD lives outside of Redhat's influence. If you find yourself lamenting the direction Linux is moving in, FreeBSD remains an attractive escape hatch. It's not perfect (rc.d is definitely not as nice as runit, it's still focusing on LVM filesystems for the future, last I tried to use it OSS4 had some issues), but I would be straight up lying to you if I implied these were anything but contrivances.

dismalaf: Ish. Most FreeBSD installs still make use of stuff like Wayland and a lot of Linux parts.

jmmv: Huh, in a point release?But excited to try it out ASAP! I haven’t made the leap to 15 on my server yet (in part because I can’t decide whether to go with pkgbase or not…), but sharing data more easily with VMs will surely be nice.What’s the performance like?

compass_copium: >Will increase your Linux skills because diversity always helps the human brainIs this still true, given how much runs through systemd now? I thought about trying out FreeBSD last time I got a new computer, but decided on sticking with Debian to help skill building on other Linux systems

sidkshatriya: Diversity of programming languages, operating systems, cultures, human languages, countries, music etc. always gives a fresh perspective I've found. You may go back to what you prefer at the end but it gives you learnings that are at a "higher level" :-)> Is this still true, given how much runs through systemd now?Yes, still true. On FreeBSD you will realize what complexity systemd might be hiding from you and what additional features it provides. BTW I don't actually like rc init on FreeBSD that much ! I feel that rc.d can learn a lot from more modern init systems like systemd, dinit etc. I don't like reading highly complex rc scripts !!

sidkshatriya: > in part because I can’t decide whether to go with pkgbase or not…pkgbase is optional in FreeBSD 15 BTW.One way to upgrade the base system and another to upgrade packages just feels inconsistent to me and pkgbase finally resolves that. I've not had any problems with pkgbase. I love it and would highly recommend it.