Am I right?

[Barrucadu]

Am I right in thinking this? I'm just trying to get my head around the BSDs.


OpenBSD focuses on networking and security (such as cryptography), this makes it an excellent secure server.
FreeBSD also focuses on networking and security, but is more cutting-edge and so may be slightly less suitable as a secure server than OpenBSD.
NetBSD yet again focuses on networking and security, and also focuses on being portable and interoperatable with other systems.


The BSDs have been high in my list of Things to Try for a while, and I may have a look at them soon.

[Barrucadu]

I have been reading through the FreeBSD website and have decided to install it on the second harddrive of my 'experimenting' computer.

[Bachstelze]

Definitely go for it :) Even if you don't keep it, it will be a great learning experience.

[Barrucadu]

That's what I'm after, it's more the learning experience than how much I like it. That's the reason why I see a random distro, download it, install and configure it, then remove it to do the same with a completely unrelated distro.

[jnbek]

Your thinking is generally correct, OpenBSD focuses on Security and Crypto stuff, NetBSD focuses on being portable on nearly anything, and FreeBSD is geared towards tjhe server. Now it is important to keep in mind, each are awesome in their own right, but FreeBSD is the most popular simply because it works and it's stable, and their version of Daemon looks the cutest :-P. Most of the security implementations made in OpenBSD end up in FreeBSD very quickly, and while FreeBSD doesn't concern itself with being installed on toasters, as does NetBSD, it does have stable ports to most of the common platforms, alot of which is provided from NetBSD code. My experience has been OpenBSD is awesome and secure once installed, but the ports tend to be broken, and you must rely on pre compiled packages, I posted a bug report to the OpenBSD ports team and was mocked, for 'not giving enough information' when I pasted nearly the entire output in the bug report, so this likely has not changed, and my only beef with NetBSD is it's kinda awkward to install and there aren't nearly the number of applications available in pkgsrc as FreeBSD ports. I recommend you spend a couple months getting your head around BSD, you may find yourself never looking back... I love the power and flexibility I get with FreeBSD with either the 6.x series or the 7.X series.

[kellemes]

That's what I'm after, it's more the learning experience than how much I like it. That's the reason why I see a random distro, download it, install and configure it, then remove it to do the same with a completely unrelated distro.

Great attitude..
Although I don't just randomly choose a distro, there must be some aspect I need to know about. I am curious by nature and constantly on my guard to not get locked in. Currently I'm struggling to get a functional FVWM desktop ;-) Just because I need to know.
Always keep moving..

[Barrucadu]

I got frustrated and just deleted it... Which I really regret because it took hours (about 9) to download the packages and install, and I'm going to have to do it again... I suppose the moral of this story is to never give up - or at least, give things a chance before giving up.

I might see if I can somehow fit in my second DVD drive so I can grab all the packages off of CD2.

[cardinals_fan]

OpenBSD: Secure as a Swiss vault
NetBSD: Runs on anything (even toasters)
FreeBSD: A nice mix of the two

[Bachstelze]

Yeah, FreeBSD's goal is more like being an "all-around" OS, that can be used for any purpose and therefore is not geared towards one goal in particular.