Re: Why Linux, Why Debian
On Thu, Feb 12, 2004 at 05:09:46PM -0600, Manoj Srivastava wrote:
> 1) Do you think that OpenBSD 's repuation as a secure OS is
> justified?
Somewhat, but not entirely.
> Does the secure part of OpenBSD provide a useful platform for your
> needs?
Not really, one needs more software.
> Would SELinux meet or exceed the needs for a secure OS for you?
Exceed. Most of my machines are single-user machines anyway.
> 2) Is the userland in openBSD too inconvenient to work with?
It might be mostly because I'm used to the GNU one, but I think so. I
really like OpenBSD's default text editor, though.
> 3) Do you think that BSD kernels have better quality than Linux
> kernels?
No opinion.
> 4) Do you think that network performance of the BSD's is better than
> that of Linux, including that of the 2.6 kernels? What about NFS
> performance?
No opinion.
> 5) Are upgrades easy for the BSD OS's?
No, they are not. Since 2.8 or 2.9, OpenBSD said at least two times to
i386 users "upgrade not supported / not recommended, do a fresh
install".
> 6) Are security fixes available in a timely fashion for the BSD's?
I think so.
> For Linux in general?
Yes.
> For Debian?
There have been some fixes that have taken more time than reasonable
to come out, but generally it is very good.
> 7) are security patch mechanisms convenient for the BSD's?
Yes, they are.
> For Linux in general? For Debian?
Yes, they are.
> 8) Is the hardware support for the BSD's as good that of Linux? Does
> NetBSD support more architectures than Linux does? Which of these
> architectures is important for you?
No opinion.
> 9) Does the gentoo configurability deliver significantly better
> performance?
No opinion.
> Is the added step of compilation too much of an inconvenience?
In some cases. This additional step could be optional, and hops! the
best of both worlds.
> 10) Does the BSD ports system compare favorably to gentoo or sorceror
> Linux?
Never tried Gentoo or Sorceror.
> are upgrades to individual packages easy, using
> ports/portage/emerge?
Upgrades are not easy with OpenBSD ports.
> 11) Is it easy for you to discover new software when not using
> Debian?
When using Debian, it is. On other machines, I simply ssh to a Debian
machine or use http://packages.debian.org/ and then install the same
software.
--
Lionel
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