free bsd vs centOS vs other? - GoFuckYourself.com

longdongsilver · 01-08-2008, 08:52 PM

what do most use for their server OS? and are there any real advantages of one over another?

baddog · 01-08-2008, 08:53 PM

We recommend CentOS.

CS-Jay · 01-08-2008, 09:45 PM

I love freeBSD and have ran it for years. But some will say mysql runs better on a linux box. I feel freebsd is more of a complete os, not just a kernel. I guess it's what I'm used to. I do run RH on some boxes so I can say centos, aint that bad.

Ycaza · 01-09-2008, 12:01 AM

centos is a much easier install than fbsd at least in their latest iterations, after that its really what you prefer

Supz · 01-09-2008, 12:05 AM

ive always ran bsd, although they both have there pro's and con's

Evil E · 01-09-2008, 12:06 AM

Linux for compatibility. FBSD for performance/stability.

minddust · 01-09-2008, 12:07 AM

solaris is pretty neat

mike-al · 01-09-2008, 12:08 AM

The community of freebsd is getting too SNOBBISH, and hurting them as their management in regards to third party utilities/tools/drivers/ etc is not being managed properly and when you whine they actually tell you to go to linux...

So after 12 years of being a little Red Devil, I took their advice and am now a penguin.

Seriously a true story about the guy telling me to go to linux, and he was responsible for some of the ports and they continually had installation bugs
some of them the same bugs that returned from 10 years ago...

gentoo · 01-09-2008, 12:25 AM

Cent OS, a free version of Red Hat Enterprise. In my honest opinion Red Hat has sucked ever since the end of Red Hat 9 and I will never go back. Further more if you are looking for an easy server to manage and has a lot of 3rd party support then go with Debian for your server needs, and or Ubuntu though very close Ubuntu may be easier for a guy less experienced with linux to play with.

Overall if you do not mind putting in extra time and doing things right FreeBSD is the way to go. As said earlier it is not just a kernel, the Operating System is more complete and honestly I think you have a lot more in depth control.

Just my

rowan · 01-09-2008, 02:37 AM

If you're not admin'ing the server yourself and you're not planning to push out 500Mbps from a single box then it's probably irrelevant, most high level applications will work just fine on either OS and the lower level differences won't matter at that load.

mike-al · 01-09-2008, 02:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mike-al

The community of freebsd is getting too SNOBBISH, and hurting them as their management in regards to third party utilities/tools/drivers/ etc is not being managed properly and when you whine they actually tell you to go to linux...

So after 12 years of being a little Red Devil, I took their advice and am now a penguin.

Seriously a true story about the guy telling me to go to linux, and he was responsible for some of the ports and they continually had installation bugs
some of them the same bugs that returned from 10 years ago...

That's like me working at AT&T taking phone calls and me telling you to go to sprint.. lol, they really need to axe half their contributors and audit who is supporting their cause..

TidalWave · 01-09-2008, 03:01 AM

If you're asking the question than it doesn't really matter and you should let the people managing your machine make the decision.

as Rowan 1 post above me said, it really makes no difference. you won't really see a increase in performance in any of the O/S. Anyone who tells you otherwise is just exaggerating things. real world it doesn't matter. whats more important is making sure everything is secure, updated and optimized (which most relies on apache/mysql/php being optimized which has nothing to do with the OS).

if you want a performance increase that is noticable switch from Apache to Lighttpd.

NinjaSteve · 01-09-2008, 03:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by baddog

We recommend CentOS.

Why's this baddog?

gentoo · 01-09-2008, 04:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TidalWave

If you're asking the question than it doesn't really matter and you should let the people managing your machine make the decision.

as Rowan 1 post above me said, it really makes no difference. you won't really see a increase in performance in any of the O/S. Anyone who tells you otherwise is just exaggerating things. real world it doesn't matter. whats more important is making sure everything is secure, updated and optimized (which most relies on apache/mysql/php being optimized which has nothing to do with the OS).

if you want a performance increase that is noticable switch from Apache to Lighttpd.

You must be smoking crack. I am not even going to bother getting into it with you.

Lycanthrope · 01-09-2008, 08:16 AM

This can be (and has been) argued to death.

Each BSD variant and GNU/Linux distro has their strengths and weaknesses. Some are faster (source based distros with kernels and apps compiled on / for that machine such as Gentoo). Some are more secure by default (say OpenBSD), others still are (arguably) easier to maintain and administer.

Use what you are comfortable / familiar with. If you don't know what you are doing, let your host run with what they support and are comfortable with.

With today's cheaper hardware costs, speed though measurable, is almost a non-issue. So while most Linuces may handle loads of MySQL calls better than FreeBSD (though initial benchmarks in the upcoming version 7 release look to bring a change to this) it shouldn't be the sole determining factor. Likewise, security - arguably better on a stock FreeBSD box than a stock Linux box, is also a non-issue if (and they sure as hell better) your techs / admins know what they are doing.

Like has been said, there are many other variables - apache, php and mysql configs for starters, that come in to play with regards to both performance and security.

I like minimalism and stability, so I'm personally more comfortable on say a FreeBSD or Slackware box than I am on a Fedora or Debian based box. Others feel the opposite.

Hosts also have to consider the end user - bloated and pre-compiled fancy schmanzy control panels are not always available for all distros.

Whatever one chooses is not necessarily right nor wrong, just right (or wrong :P ) for them. The fact that there are choices is the beautiful thing.

teg0 · 01-09-2008, 08:26 AM

Nothing wrong with CentOS, but FreeBSD is definately a better choice for some hardcore traffic / cpu intensive server

Brad Mitchell · 01-09-2008, 09:05 AM

As stated above... yes there are truly pros and cons to all O/S choices and there's no real 'winning' of that argument.

I will say that our choice of O/S is CentOS and that we are pleased enough with it to have it installed on over 600 servers. When installed and configured properly it is very capable of hosting demanding sites and applications.

Cheers,

Brad

gentoo · 01-09-2008, 12:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brad Mitchell

As stated above... yes there are truly pros and cons to all O/S choices and there's no real 'winning' of that argument.

I will say that our choice of O/S is CentOS and that we are pleased enough with it to have it installed on over 600 servers. When installed and configured properly it is very capable of hosting demanding sites and applications.

Cheers,

Brad

Well Said, but not everyone has pimpin hardware like you guys have. Saw your video and was highly impressed.

Socks · 01-09-2008, 12:21 PM

FreeBSD is generally promoted by the oldschool hardcore geeks who've been through the 90's. They're used to it, and why change now?

However the newschool generally goes with Linux for it's compatibility.

I'd recommend whatever the person who will be administrating your box recommends, as they'll be the one doing the work, and the person who has to be comfortable in the environment. That's what it really comes down to.

We use both on different servers.

01-08-2008, 08:52 PM	#1
longdongsilver Confirmed User Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 378	free bsd vs centOS vs other? what do most use for their server OS? and are there any real advantages of one over another?

01-08-2008, 09:45 PM	#3
CS-Jay Confirmed User Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Command Central, West Palm Beach, Fl Posts: 1,794	I love freeBSD and have ran it for years. But some will say mysql runs better on a linux box. I feel freebsd is more of a complete os, not just a kernel. I guess it's what I'm used to. I do run RH on some boxes so I can say centos, aint that bad. __________________ I do stuff - aIm CS_Jay_D

01-09-2008, 12:01 AM	#4
Ycaza Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: the 805 Posts: 4,290	centos is a much easier install than fbsd at least in their latest iterations, after that its really what you prefer __________________ Caz Thrush Head Honcho [email protected] http://thrushtech.com ICQ: 304883574 do people still icq?

01-09-2008, 12:06 AM	#6
Evil E Confirmed User Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Lazyness is a lifestyle Posts: 3,201	Linux for compatibility. FBSD for performance/stability. __________________ A girl once told me "Give me 8 inches and make it HURT". So, I fucked her twice and hit her with a brick.

01-09-2008, 12:08 AM	#8
mike-al Confirmed User Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 691	The community of freebsd is getting too SNOBBISH, and hurting them as their management in regards to third party utilities/tools/drivers/ etc is not being managed properly and when you whine they actually tell you to go to linux... So after 12 years of being a little Red Devil, I took their advice and am now a penguin. Seriously a true story about the guy telling me to go to linux, and he was responsible for some of the ports and they continually had installation bugs some of them the same bugs that returned from 10 years ago... __________________ Delete this account, i am done here Last edited by mike-al; 01-09-2008 at 12:10 AM..

01-08-2008, 08:53 PM	#2
baddog So Fucking Banned Industry Role: Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: the beach, SoCal Posts: 107,089	We recommend CentOS.

01-09-2008, 12:05 AM	#5
Supz Arthur Flegenheimer Industry Role: Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: New York City Posts: 11,057	ive always ran bsd, although they both have there pro's and con's

01-09-2008, 12:07 AM	#7
minddust Confirmed User Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 2,438	solaris is pretty neat

01-09-2008, 12:25 AM	#9
gentoo Confirmed User Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 116	Cent OS, a free version of Red Hat Enterprise. In my honest opinion Red Hat has sucked ever since the end of Red Hat 9 and I will never go back. Further more if you are looking for an easy server to manage and has a lot of 3rd party support then go with Debian for your server needs, and or Ubuntu though very close Ubuntu may be easier for a guy less experienced with linux to play with. Overall if you do not mind putting in extra time and doing things right FreeBSD is the way to go. As said earlier it is not just a kernel, the Operating System is more complete and honestly I think you have a lot more in depth control. Just my

01-09-2008, 02:37 AM	#10
rowan Too lazy to set a custom title Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Australia Posts: 17,393	If you're not admin'ing the server yourself and you're not planning to push out 500Mbps from a single box then it's probably irrelevant, most high level applications will work just fine on either OS and the lower level differences won't matter at that load.

01-09-2008, 03:01 AM	#12
TidalWave Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 2,706	If you're asking the question than it doesn't really matter and you should let the people managing your machine make the decision. as Rowan 1 post above me said, it really makes no difference. you won't really see a increase in performance in any of the O/S. Anyone who tells you otherwise is just exaggerating things. real world it doesn't matter. whats more important is making sure everything is secure, updated and optimized (which most relies on apache/mysql/php being optimized which has nothing to do with the OS). if you want a performance increase that is noticable switch from Apache to Lighttpd. __________________ www.SwiftNode.com

01-09-2008, 08:16 AM	#15
Lycanthrope Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 4,517	This can be (and has been) argued to death. Each BSD variant and GNU/Linux distro has their strengths and weaknesses. Some are faster (source based distros with kernels and apps compiled on / for that machine such as Gentoo). Some are more secure by default (say OpenBSD), others still are (arguably) easier to maintain and administer. Use what you are comfortable / familiar with. If you don't know what you are doing, let your host run with what they support and are comfortable with. With today's cheaper hardware costs, speed though measurable, is almost a non-issue. So while most Linuces may handle loads of MySQL calls better than FreeBSD (though initial benchmarks in the upcoming version 7 release look to bring a change to this) it shouldn't be the sole determining factor. Likewise, security - arguably better on a stock FreeBSD box than a stock Linux box, is also a non-issue if (and they sure as hell better) your techs / admins know what they are doing. Like has been said, there are many other variables - apache, php and mysql configs for starters, that come in to play with regards to both performance and security. I like minimalism and stability, so I'm personally more comfortable on say a FreeBSD or Slackware box than I am on a Fedora or Debian based box. Others feel the opposite. Hosts also have to consider the end user - bloated and pre-compiled fancy schmanzy control panels are not always available for all distros. Whatever one chooses is not necessarily right nor wrong, just right (or wrong :P ) for them. The fact that there are choices is the beautiful thing. __________________

01-09-2008, 08:26 AM	#16
teg0 Confirmed User Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Gringo in Puerto Rico Posts: 4,204	Nothing wrong with CentOS, but FreeBSD is definately a better choice for some hardcore traffic / cpu intensive server

01-09-2008, 09:05 AM	#17
Brad Mitchell Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Southfield, MI Posts: 9,813	As stated above... yes there are truly pros and cons to all O/S choices and there's no real 'winning' of that argument. I will say that our choice of O/S is CentOS and that we are pleased enough with it to have it installed on over 600 servers. When installed and configured properly it is very capable of hosting demanding sites and applications. Cheers, Brad __________________ President at MojoHost \| brad at mojohost dot com \| Skype MojoHostBrad 71 industry awards for hosting and professional excellence since 1999

01-09-2008, 12:21 PM	#19
Socks Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: May 2002 Location: Toronto Posts: 8,475	FreeBSD is generally promoted by the oldschool hardcore geeks who've been through the 90's. They're used to it, and why change now? However the newschool generally goes with Linux for it's compatibility. I'd recommend whatever the person who will be administrating your box recommends, as they'll be the one doing the work, and the person who has to be comfortable in the environment. That's what it really comes down to. We use both on different servers.