Alpine, Void, Devuan or Artix all would have allowed author to use Linux while addressing his points of concern. I don't think the BSD's have real advantages anymore since so much core performance stuff is in Linux first. When most of the software is available on all these platforms, it mostly comes down to user preference.
Why I run FreeBSD for my home servers (2024)
31–40 of 251 posts
Re: Why I run FreeBSD for my home servers (2024)
#32> ZFS is more efficient on FreeBSD (Insert Source) FreeBSD and Linux share the same ZFS codebase, openzfs. FreeBSD had its own zfs implementation but they had to drop it becayse they couldn't keep up with openzfs.
While they do share the same code base, personally (and therefore anecdotally) I have noticed an issue where on Linux with ZFS my programs will get OOM killed whereas they won't on FreeBSD+ZFS or on Linux+ext4. My theory was that the ARC pages on Linux weren't available for clearing under memory pressure whereas maybe they were in FreeBSD but that's just a guess. Hopefully someone knows more, but at least anecdotally even with the "same" ZFS code base, they can perform differently in situ.
Re: Why I run FreeBSD for my home servers (2024)
#33Curious what “home servers” are really for. I’ve gone decades without needing a home server — what am I missing out on?
I use both a home server and a cloud VM, and they work together. I'm thankfully able to use FreeBSD 14 on my cloud VM (just a preference).
I push data from my home server for easy access on my cloud VM. For example, weather data from my weather station, images/time-lapses from my weather cam. I have no ports open to my home network. Basically just fun stuff without exposing my home network.
I use the cloud VM as an SSH "jump box" into my home network. My OpenBSD box sets up a remote SSH tunnel port. I can then use the SSH -J option to jump through the cloud VM into that home OpenBSD box (as well as chain "jumps" to other home servers).
* This way I don't need any home server to trust a cloud VM.
* This mostly is for checking on my Home Assistant instance.
* I've also fixed some things remotely with an SSH session.
Re: Why I run FreeBSD for my home servers (2024)
#34> ZFS is more efficient on FreeBSD (Insert Source) FreeBSD and Linux share the same ZFS codebase, openzfs. FreeBSD had its own zfs implementation but they had to drop it becayse they couldn't keep up with openzfs.
But Linux makes it a faff because the license is incompatible so you have to run it as a 3rd party module and the kernel devs regularly break it. With FreeBSD it’s already there and you know it will work.
Re: Why I run FreeBSD for my home servers (2024)
#35ZFS is probably the biggest reason for me. I have a machine with a zfs pool running samba and nfsd. Philosophically I tend to prefer *BSDs over Linux. I have a few FreeBSD machines, one OpenBSD, and one Linux.
> ZFS is probably the biggest reason for me.
Maybe in the past there was an argument for that, but ever since FreeBSD started using OpenZFS implementation...what's the difference?
My ideal OS would be something like NixOS, but on FreeBSD and with better language than Nix.
Re: Why I run FreeBSD for my home servers (2024)
#36I notice FreeBSD admins tend to follow a 'pets not cattle' approach, carefully nurturing individual systems. Linux admins like myself typically prefer the 'cattle not pets' mindset—using infrastructure-as-code where if a server dies, no problem, just spin up another one. Leverage containers. Statelessness. I don't want to spend time meticulously configuring things beyond the core infrastructure my services run on. I…
The only thing I currently run on FreeBSD is my storage box. ZFS is absolutely amazing, and FreeBSD supports it fully and without any of the "jank" you'd get running ZFS on Linux. It Just Works (tm), bottom to top. Anything else, I want what I'm familiar with on Linux, like containers and systemd services. I know some people really love pf, but I've been using iptables for so long it would be annoying to switch at th…
> without any of the "jank" you'd get running ZFS on Linux.
What jank? Compile it in the kernel of load the module, install the zfs utils, then it's done. Very simple, no complications, where is the jank?
Re: Why I run FreeBSD for my home servers (2024)
#37Alpine, Void, Devuan or Artix all would have allowed author to use Linux while addressing his points of concern. I don't think the BSD's have real advantages anymore since so much core performance stuff is in Linux first. When most of the software is available on all these platforms, it mostly comes down to user preference.
To add to your list, Debian can be configured at installation to not use systemd (this option pretty well mooted Devuan) and MX Linux uses an optional shim to run their Debian spinoff without it if chosen at the Grub menu on bootup.
Re: Why I run FreeBSD for my home servers (2024)
#38Cheap Complexity.
https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2022/08/security-and-...
The article is directly talking about mass-produced electronic commodities. The same is even more so for bits where the cost of copying is not merely "low" as in microcontrollers, but essentially free.
In my opinion, systemd does solve a lot of problems, at a cost of somewhat more complexity and resource utilization. But it is the nature of material culture to complexify with time as more physical resources become available, i.e., "progress". More advanced commodities don't come out of a thin air of "better processes", but processes that interweave with other parts of the economy more intimately given the previously produced commodities. Something similar can be true inside the computer.
Re: Why I run FreeBSD for my home servers (2024)
#39Curious what “home servers” are really for. I’ve gone decades without needing a home server — what am I missing out on?
Piracy
Re: Why I run FreeBSD for my home servers (2024)
#40I started reading but stopped as soon as it was a systemd rant. systemd, while not for everyone is a good for most people.