This, being a Linux list, is a horrible place to get into this discussion...
On Thu, 30 May 2002 00:59:15 +0300, Raider wrote: > Bottom > line - OpenBSD doesn't even bother with the usability. > In what sense are you referring to usability? Where I've never been able to make sense of Linux's packet filtering, it took me about 15 minutes to configure it on an OpenBSD system. From my perspective, OpenBSD's model of packet filtering is much more in line with how packet filtering is actually used and what it's actually needed for. It seems to me a lot simpler. For me, this is a major win. I'm no Linux networking guru but I've found OpenBSD's networking configuration relatively easy to sort out. The ifconfig and route commands are different, but similar enough to what you'll find on Linux that I doubt these would be a serious problem. (Look at the man pages and, really, you'll figure it out.) OpenBSD (and I think the other BSDs) use a different device naming convention so, for example, where Linux calls most high bandwidth interfaces ethn (where n is a unit number), you'll find a variety of names under OpenBSD for the same devices. This is a little harder, but I found it surprisingly straight-forward. OpenBSD doesn't use the shadow suite for password management; instead, it keeps the real passwords in /etc/master.passwd, along with some other crucial information. That's simply different, not really harder. (FreeBSD, by the way, does something similar.) One of the first things I have to do to a new OpenBSD system is to install zsh. OpenBSD (and I think all BSDs) come with a real sh, not bash, which is really crude. I'm really gritting my teeth until I manage to get through this, so I'll acknowledge that this is definitely harder. The solution, for me, is to understand that installing a shell that I can live with is a top priority, higher than working on what the system is actually going to be used for. Another thing I have to do early on is to install vim. That's not because I can't use vi. It's because I'm in the habit of typing vim. Installing qmail is a bit harder; Dave Sill's Life with Qmail doesn't cover OpenBSD and there are a couple places where you need to figure out the OpenBSD-equivalent procedures for what he's telling you to do. It's not bad enough that I've felt compelled to write Dave offering suggestions on how he could better cover OpenBSD, though I probably should, since he's generally done a fine job trying to take the guesswork out of installing qmail. I just recently upgraded an OpenBSD 3.0 installation to OpenBSD 3.1. This was truly painless. The only thing I had to fix was the symbolic link for qmail's sendmail wrapper -- which I knew I'd have to do. It was also fast. I was probably through it in about 15 minutes. (Initial installations are also very fast.) There are a few things like the examples I mention above. Some things are harder. Some things, I think, are easier. But a statement that OpenBSD doesn't even bother with usability really seems to miss the mark. For me, it still comes back to how I ended my previous posting. The choice of operating system depends on how each meshes with how you're going to use each system and with your own operating style. -- David Benfell, LCP [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- Resume available at http://www.parts-unknown.org/resume.html
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