On Thu, 16 Nov 2000, John Gold wrote:
>Hi, I am in the process of setting up a web/database server and was
>wondering if anyone had any comments regarding the operating system. I
>was all set to use linux but have heard that freebsd is pretty good -
>has anyone had any experience in this area?
Depends what you mean by "good". As far as I can tell, the best OS is
the one you feel most comfortable with and can admin most effectively-
all the technical superiority of a system is worthless if you can't use
it. If you feel more comfortable in Linux, the chances are that you will
admin a Linux server better than you would a FreeBSD one, irrespective
of whether any random BSD guru could do better- they're not you.
Our best servers are the ones we understand best and can therefore
configure and update properly. Our last manager loved FreeBSD but no-one
else did- while he was here the FreeBSD servers worked well. Now,
because there is no-one to admin them, they are the most unstable and
least popular.
Likewise, at the time our Sun servers were awful, but having taken on
a Solaris nut, they're now doing a lot of the work the BSD boxes were
doing before. It all depends on the people and their experience, much
more than the technical specs of the OS.
That said, our web and database servers both run on Linux, because I
admin them, and I'm waaay better at Linux support than anything else.
Despite what the FreeBSD folks would have you believe, it is much easier
to get support and software for Linux than freebsd, excellent though the
ports system may be.
Cheers,
Mike
--
Mike Wyer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> || "Woof?"
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