FreeBSD vs Solaris. What to try next....?

[ddaas]

Hi,

I've tried a lot of Linux distro: redhat8, redhat9, rhel3, rhel4, fc3,suse 9.2, slack 10 - 10.1, ubuntu.

I want to try another UNIX derived OS.

My mind goes to FreeBSD 5.4 or Solaris 10. What do you advice me to try? I have downloaded both of them and now I am waiting to decide myself....

Which do you think would be more appreciated / used in the future?

What about the industry demand?

[techieMoe]

Hi,

I've tried a lot of Linux distro: redhat8, redhat9, rhel3, rhel4, fc3,suse 9.2, slack 10 - 10.1, ubuntu.

I want to try another UNIX derived OS.

Just to point out, Linux is not UNIX-derived. It is a clone developed independently by Linus Torvalds made to act like UNIX, but it does not contain any UNIX code.

BSD on the other hand was once a spinoff of UNIX (though now AFAIK they don't have any proprietary AT&T code anymore). BSD could be called "UNIX-derived" because at one time it was based on UNIX code.

Solaris is UNIX, if I'm not mistaken. Sun has paid royalties to The Open Group and been blessed with the official seal that says their proprietary OS meets the standards set by the Open Group to be called "UNIX."

[ddaas]

Just to point out, Linux is not UNIX-derived. It is a clone developed independently by Linus Torvalds made to act like UNIX, but it does not contain any UNIX code.

Only the kernel was developed by Linus. Linux is more than the kernel.

You are right Linux contains no Unix code.

Anyway Unix could be divided in BSD (from Berkeley) and System V Release 5 from AT&T (SVR5) - just as a historical point of view.
AFAIK Solaris was based on the code from BSD at the beginning, but now it is based on SVR5.
Other SVR4 commercial Unix (AIX, HP etc.).

The BSD style Unix are: OpenBSD, NetBSD, FreeBSD etc.

I could be wrong and I am waiting for someone to correct me.

So, what should I try: Solaris or FreeBSD?

[darkprince]

I'd try BSD as solaris has many issues on i386 hardware.

Unless you have a sparc machine lying around ....then i'd still say, go with *BSD.


just FYI


FreeBSD is an advanced operating system for x86 compatible (including Pentium® and Athlon™), amd64 compatible (including Opteron™, Athlon 64, and EM64T), Alpha/AXP, IA-64, PC-98 and UltraSPARC® architectures. It is derived from BSD, the version of UNIX® developed at the University of California, Berkeley.

[George Harrison]

Solaris sucks on x86, IMO. I have the four cd's to Solaris 10, I eventually installed it without too much trouble. I chose the Java Desktop (Gnome) and went from there. I kinda felt uncomfortable using it.. the Java Desktop was pretty, there were some decent apps, but it was like sitting in a pretty lounge at the dentists office just waiting to get that root canal (ok not that bad), but it is pretty uncomfortable I thought. I just thought to myself "O..K.. now what do I do with this thing?" I took it off after I said that. In something like Debian or Gentoo I immediately start toying around with apt or portage files, have some fun, get some packages, start a home. With FreeBSD, ports is just too cool and I like using it in CLI. With Solaris it was just.. meh.

It's your choice, but I would have to recommend FreeBSD by a longshot.

[zacam87]

where does one go about finding solaris? do you need to pay for it?

[techieMoe]

where does one go about finding solaris? do you need to pay for it?

No, you can download the latest build of Solaris from Sun's website for free. It's 4 CDs or 1 DVD if I'm not mistaken.