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FreeBSD

FreeBSD

Overview

What is FreeBSD?

FreeBSD is an open-source operating system that is designed to provide a secure, reliable, and efficient platform for various applications. According to the FreeBSD Project, it is suitable for businesses of all sizes, from small startups to large enterprises. FreeBSD is used by a wide range of professions...

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FreeBSD has gained a reputation among users as a reliable and secure operating system for keeping networks in sync. Its strong and stable …
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Product Details

What is FreeBSD?

FreeBSD is an open-source operating system that is designed to provide a secure, reliable, and efficient platform for various applications. According to the FreeBSD Project, it is suitable for businesses of all sizes, from small startups to large enterprises. FreeBSD is used by a wide range of professions and industries, including web hosting providers, software development companies, internet service providers, networking and telecommunications companies, research institutions and universities, IT professionals and system administrators, software developers and programmers, web hosting companies, and network infrastructure providers.

Key Features

Robust Security: FreeBSD emphasizes security with features such as secure memory management, SSH support, access control lists, and a built-in firewall to protect against unauthorized access and malicious attacks, according to the vendor.

High Performance: FreeBSD is known for its excellent performance, thanks to efficient memory management, advanced networking stack, and support for multi-core processors. According to the FreeBSD Project, it is optimized for high throughput and low latency, making it suitable for demanding applications.

Scalability: According to the FreeBSD Project, FreeBSD is highly scalable and can handle large workloads and high traffic volumes. It supports symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) and can efficiently utilize multiple processors and cores for improved performance.

Extensive Hardware Support: FreeBSD boasts broad hardware support, including various architectures, network interfaces, storage devices, and peripherals. The vendor states that it is compatible with a wide range of hardware, making it versatile and flexible for different use cases.

ZFS File System: FreeBSD includes the ZFS file system, which provides advanced features such as data integrity, snapshots, compression, and RAID-like functionality. According to the FreeBSD Project, ZFS ensures data reliability and offers efficient storage management capabilities.

Jails: FreeBSD's jail feature allows for the creation of lightweight virtual environments, enabling secure isolation of processes and resources. According to the vendor, jails provide a secure and efficient way to run multiple applications or services on a single FreeBSD system.

Ports Collection: FreeBSD's Ports Collection is a comprehensive collection of third-party software packages that can be easily installed and managed using the package management system. It offers a wide range of applications, libraries, and tools, allowing users to customize their FreeBSD system to their specific needs, according to the FreeBSD Project.

Documentation: FreeBSD is well-documented, with extensive and detailed documentation available online. The documentation covers various topics, including installation, configuration, administration, and development, providing users with the resources they need to effectively use and manage FreeBSD, according to the vendor.

OpenZFS: FreeBSD includes the ZFS file system, which combines software RAID, volume management, and file system capabilities. It provides data integrity, pooled storage, and high-performance features, supporting advanced features like snapshots, data deduplication, and compression, according to the FreeBSD Project.

Kernel Virtualization: FreeBSD supports kernel-level virtualization through technologies like bhyve and Xen. According to the vendor, these virtualization solutions enable users to run multiple operating systems with near-native performance.

FreeBSD Technical Details

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Reviews and Ratings

(6)

Community Insights

TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!

FreeBSD has gained a reputation among users as a reliable and secure operating system for keeping networks in sync. Its strong and stable UNIX-based OS provides developers and users with the tools needed to effectively solve problems and complete tasks. Many users have enjoyed using FreeBSD because it allows them to learn new skills with its powerful command line. This makes it suitable for both novice users who want to expand their knowledge and experienced users who require advanced functionalities.

One of the key use cases of FreeBSD is its support for advanced virtualization features such as Jails and Zones. This makes it an ideal choice for creating and managing isolated virtual environments. Users have found great success in utilizing these features to develop and test applications in a controlled environment, ensuring the stability and security of their systems.

Another important use case of FreeBSD is its versatility as a server platform. Numerous users have reported using FreeBSD as a server for over 10 years without any issues. It has been employed for various projects, including serving as a development environment for technologies like NodeJS and MongoDB. This highlights its reliability and robustness in handling demanding workloads.

Additionally, FreeBSD's speed on older hardware has been highly valued by users. It enables them to make efficient use of machines that would otherwise be deemed obsolete, saving both resources and costs. Moreover, FreeBSD's performance has been praised by users who appreciate having access to a direct descendant of UNIX, allowing them to work with a tried-and-true operating system that meets their performance requirements.

In summary, FreeBSD provides a range of use cases that cater to different user needs. Its reliability, versatility, and robustness make it an attractive option for network synchronization, skill development, virtualization, server deployment, and working with older hardware.

Reviews

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I have been using FreeBSD as a development environment on several machines for work and personal projects - mainly NodeJS and MongoDB based. I chose FreeBSD as my environment initially because of its speed on older hardware, it allowed me to make use of older laptops and machines that would have otherwise been thrown out. FreeBSD is a modern operating system under active development and to be able run that on older hardware and have it perform so well - is actually quite amazing. I first tried different distributions of Linux, but I had trouble getting them to install or they did not perform on older hardware well at all. From my use of FreeBSD I have come to really really like it, I appreciate it's robustness and performance and I also like that I am using a direct descendant of UNIX.
  • Performs really well, even on older hardware
  • Secure
  • Robust
  • Package manager (pkg) is excellent
  • Large collection of ported software from Linux
  • Documentation is excellent (FreeBSD Handbook)
  • Installation can be tricky for first timers
  • You need to be comfortable using a command line terminal most of the time
FreeBSD is an excellent choice to continue using older hardware and have it perform, it is a great choice for a UNIX based development environment. Although I haven't used it as a server, it is most suited for this - it would make an excellent, secure and robust server for and I would love to start using it for this as well.
  • Active development and strong community
  • Documentation
  • Security
  • Robustness
  • Performance
  • XFCE
  • Support for NodeJS and MongoDB
  • Package management
  • As FreeBSD is free - the ROI is at least the cost of some commercial Linux or Windows based OS (which can be very expensive)
  • Allowed the re-use of older hardware that would have otherwise been disposed
  • No cost development environment
  • Opportunity for a no cost server setup also
FreeBSD was the only operating system out of many I tried to install easily on older hardware and to run in a very performant way. For example, I had a lot of trouble trying to get Ubuntu to install on older hardware and when it did, it was too slow to use. FreeBSD installed quite easily and even after installing a desktop such as XFCE - it still run surprisingly fast. I was very impressed with it's performance, which it seems is a goal of the FreeBSD project.
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