# How is FreeBSD different than Windows



## jeetu (Sep 4, 2013)

How is Free BSD FreeBSD different than *W*indows and how it is better*?* How can I use it for my office employees strength of 200 people*?*

I prefer Linux presently*.*


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## Whattteva (Sep 4, 2013)

jeetu said:
			
		

> How is Free BSD FreeBSD different than *W*indows and how it is better*?* How can I use it for my office employees strength of 200 people*?*
> 
> I prefer Linux presently*.*


I'm guessing you prefer Linux, but you don't actually use Linux?

I find it a bit mind-boggling that someone that uses a POSIX variant does not know how FreeBSD is different from Windows... I mean, FreeBSD is different from Linux, but it's still a POSIX system, so a lot of what you know from Linux would still be valid.


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## fonz (Sep 4, 2013)

[red]*Staff warning:*[/red]

Please stick to facts.
Please keep it civil and mature (that includes window$, winblows and other childish forms of "creative spelling").
Please do not troll.
When you spot a troll, please do not feed it.
This thread will be closed if it gets out of hand.


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## SirDice (Sep 4, 2013)

jeetu said:
			
		

> How is FreeBSD different than Windows and how it is better?


The differences are many. For starters FreeBSD is a completely open source operating system whereas Windows is closed source. And which one is better depends on your definition of "better". Windows is better if you play a lot of games. FreeBSD is better if you want to run a lean web server. Which one is best for you depends on your requirements and your requirements may be different from mine.

I think you need to clarify what exactly you want to do and what you expect FreeBSD to deliver.


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## throAU (Sep 4, 2013)

Pro-FreeBSD

It's free.
It's Open Source.
It's Unix, done the Unix way (as opposed to Linux, which is Unix done the Windows way in many respects - systemd for example).
Support for advanced networking functionality (firewall, routing, various network services) either built in or readily available.
The documentation is excellent.

Con-FreeBSD

Not all hardware is supported, and new hardware often takes some time to be supported.
Programmers are not good UI designers generally.  Yes, the Unix world has some interesting/good GUI concepts, but the Unix UI is haphazard at best.
Commercial software support is lacking.


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## ShelLuser (Sep 4, 2013)

jeetu said:
			
		

> How is Free BSD FreeBSD different than *W*indows and how it is better*?*


For my (home/small) office I use two Windows 2003R2 servers and quite frankly I consider them to be the better choice for the things I need them to do. Which basically consists of some in-house websites which were built on ASP.NET and providing global services such as DHCP, storage (the well known shares) and DNS (for intranet usage).

For my Internet services on the other hand, customer websites with back-end databases, e-mail (with associated services such as a virus and spam filter) and miscellaneous services such as IRC and even Mono (ASP.NET on a non-Windows environment) I don't only fully rely on FreeBSD but also consider it to be the better choice.

Bottom line: this question can't be answered without knowing what your goals are. And as others seem to agree on; it's also one of those questions which give me an eery feeling.

Considering that you favour Linux, and maybe also use it, I'd turn it around if I were you.

Check the differences between Linux and Windows instead. In general they'll also apply to FreeBSD. Then concentrate on the differences between Linux and FreeBSD. I think that will give you a much better picture. For starters you could check out the FreeBSD handbook on these differences.


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## keyvin (Sep 4, 2013)

*Use it as a server*

I used FreeBSD in a production environment. Because of hardware support headaches I used Linux for the majority of the workstations. Windows was installed on the rest. FreeBSD ran on the servers. It made a great firewall, Samba and NFS (for network attached storage/shared drives), SMTP, POP3, DNS, DHCP, and probably a few more that I no longer remember.

Originally I started with Red Hat Linux for these tasks. Because of the way Red Hat maintains their kernel, I got hit with kernel bug after kernel bug that caused panics and system hangs. I never had a single issue with FreeBSD. One server had an `uptime` of over a year and a half before a severe thunderstorm knocked out power for three days!

To summarize, use the right tool for the job. You wouldn't turn a screw with a wrench.  Without knowing more specific details about what you want FreeBSD to do for you, this forum (or anyone else for that matter) isn't going realistically be able to determine if FreeBSD is a hammer, a wrench, or a screwdriver for your needs.


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## throAU (Sep 5, 2013)

keyvin said:
			
		

> To summarize, use the right tool for the job.



Hit the nail on the head.  Whilst using say, Windows as a router or FreeBSD as a media workstation is possible, unless you're a masochist it is probably less awkward using an OS which is strong in those respective areas.


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## zspider (Sep 5, 2013)

jeetu said:
			
		

> How is Free BSD FreeBSD different than *W*indows and how it is better*?* How can I use it for my office employees strength of 200 people*?*



For a server or a workstation? I wouldn't advise using raw FreeBSD for such a large number of office workers. Use Windows, Linux or PC-BSD.



			
				throAU said:
			
		

> Pro-FreeBSD
> [*]Commercial software support is lacking.



To be fair, FreeBSD is much more open to ports of proprietary software than Linux users would be, at least that's the impression I've gotten.


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## jb_fvwm2 (Sep 6, 2013)

Maybe set up a mini-network of three ghostbsd.org machines, and when all the software you want to use is up and configured, deploy it several machines at a time to the rest of the network?  After a backup plan of course...


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## throAU (Sep 6, 2013)

zspider said:
			
		

> To be fair, FreeBSD is much more open to ports of proprietary software than Linux users would be, at least that's the impression I've gotten.



In terms of philosophy, sure.

In terms of the number of commercial vendors who publish for it, not so much.


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## Beeblebrox (Sep 6, 2013)

> my office employees strength of 200 people


I would set[]up powerful FreeBSD servers with all the necessary protection (firewall, power supply, backups, RAID, etc.). These servers would also provide host environments for diskless (PXE booted) clients.

I would then remove all the hard disks on the client machines and in the future only purchase thin client boxes.

Finally, I would install on the servers www/eyeos as desktop environment of client machines, thereby standardizing the environment and eliminating all extra complications from multiple programs, desktops, etc.

And yes, I am a compliance-nazi.


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## fonz (Sep 6, 2013)

gpatrick said:
			
		

> There isn't just one operating system that can do it all, for me at least.  Use the best tool for the job in the simplest manner possible.


Hear, hear.


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## sulman (Sep 6, 2013)

gpatrick said:
			
		

> I also use Windows for editing pictures taken on my DSLR camera and it is also used for printing.



As an aside, do have a look at some of the open source photography tools around at the moment; they have come a long way, and I think outperform proprietary software in many respects. I have even taken to using these on my Macbook Pro (they're all ported) over aperture. There is not - as far as I know - a good database organiser (or to use the lingo, 'Digital Asset Management' :\ ) such as that offered by lightroom or iphoto but I went for many years without and continue to do so. 

Two of my favourites that are available for FreeBSD in the ports collection:



Darktable: graphics/darktable

Rawtherapee: graphics/rawtherapee

As well as those, at a more basic level you can get a pretty efficient workflow with geeqie > ufraw > gimp.

I don't know what's changed, but it does seem to me that we've got more choice than ever before, and that includes Windows; what it does, it does very well. 

As others have said, pick the right tool for the job, or whatever you're most comfortable with.


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