Linux vs FreeBSD

Kenneth_Crayton

Been looking into FreeBSD more recently after using it on a few servers beside Linux, but other than FreeBSD seems to have a more stable and overall better code base than Linux, what other differences are there? Most software that runs on Linux works just fine on FreeBSD too. And that's on the server side.

What is it like to run FreeBSD on a desktop machine or Laptop compared to Linux?

Frederik_Madsen

Well it's hard to tell really, I'm using the gnome desktop on both my Linux and FreeBSD machines, so it looks and feels pretty much the same on desktop and laptop. As for servers I've noticed a bit better stability in FreeBSD.

Marco_Weiss

Here's some of the main key differences:

Linux is more like a kernel, while FreeBSD is a complete operating system
Linux is licensed under GNU (General public license), while FreeBSD is licensed under it's own BSD licence, this provides some better freedom
Linux apparently has better symmetric multiprocessing support, tho FreeBSD is catching up
They both have good community and vendor support
Linux supports Oracle and ERP applications, FreeBSD doesn't
FreeBSD may have slightly better performance thanks to better optimized drivers (depends on distro)
FreeBSD has better security features https://forums.freebsd.org/threads/freebsd-vs-linux-10-points-of-superiority-including-motiv.41750/
Filesystem support are pretty much the same
Linux has excellent support for Dell, HP and IBM servers, FreeBSD doesn't

Pepe_The_Frog

Separation between kernel and the rest of the system is probably what makes FreeBSD the more stable choice, at least for servers. For desktops I don't know, tho it does seems to support most desktop environments such as Gnome, KDE and a few other common ones.

Kauko_Laaksonen

Unix/BSD are superior in most areas, Linux has just gained popularity for other reasons. Try it out and see for yourself, 99Stack seems to have the most recent versions of FreeBSD in most locations.

Kenneth_Crayton

Kauko_Laaksonen Thanks for the advice, didn't see that before.

Orson_Deforest

FreeBSD for servers, Linux for desktops, that would be my recommendation.

JesseWells

Orson_Deforest This 👆

Knut_Engstrom

Agree with Orson