wikiFreeBSD
The operating system FreeBSD is originally from 386BSD. However, the codebase was changed on 4.4BSD-Lite from version 2.0. FreeBSD is licensed under the BSD-license and the source code is free available. FreeBSD supports a lot of different hardware, which can be used in desktop and server area. It is particularly widespread in the server sector due to its stable and reliable architecture and is, for example, used by Netflix and NetApp[1][2]
Current versions
| version | date of publishment | support until[3] | release announcement | important renewals (in excerpts) | more information |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FreeBSD 14.1 | 14.2 + 3 months
(14.* in general Nov. 2028) |
14.1R |
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| FreeBSD 14.0 | 14.1 + 3 months | 14.0R |
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| FreeBSD 13.3 | 13.4 + 3 months
(13.* in general Apr. 2026) |
13.3R | |||
| FreeBSD 13.2 | 13.3 + 3 months | 13.2R |
License
FreeBSD is licensed under the BSD-license (Berkeley Software Distribution).[4] Software under the BSD-license can be freely used, copied, changed and widespreaded. The only condition is that the Copyright-note must not be removed from the original program.[5] This license is less restrictive compared to GPL of the Linux-based operating systems. The source code does not have to be published. [6] Software under BSD-license is suitable as a basis for proprietary software.
Comparison between Linux-based operating systems
The following paragraph shows selected similarities and differences between FreeBSD and Linux-based operating systems.
Similarities
FreeBSD and BSD-based systems in general have many similarities with Linux-based operating systems.[7][8] Both system failures are not commercial, free and open source, as well as systems similar to UNIX. Due to many similarities, such as a similar file system structure, FreeBSD and Linux-based operating systems share many tools and applications. In some cases, applications differ, but they can be ported more easily than to a non-UNIX-like system.
Differences
In addition to the general commonality of Free BSD and Linux-based operating systems, there are also differences between the systems. This already starts at the underlying license. Furthermore, when developing a FreeBSD version, the kernel and the base operating system are developed jointly by the FreeBSD team. This is not the case with Linux, as the term itself refers exclusively to the kernel and is maintained by developers specifically responsible for this task. The further development of Linux happens independently of the distributions. The composition for a Linux distribution is made by other developers.
The development of all components of a FreeBSD-version enables an exact administration as well as a high integration and good predictability for the condition of the system. The software, which is contained in theFreeBSD basic operating system, is separated by the optional installing software packages. The FreeBSD core-system is independently updated by the optional software as a whole.
Another difference of Linux-based operating systems are the so-called ports.[9] At Linux-distributions, the installable packages are already pre-compiled and at FreeBSD, you can choose between pre-compiled and self compilable packages. These packages, that can be compiled on your own, are called ports. The /usr/ports directory holds up to 30.000 applications.
Development-branches
The development of FreeBSD versions is based on two different development branches: FreeBSD-CURRENT and FreeBSD-STABLE.[10]
CURRENT
This branch contains the so-called "bleeding edge" code, which is the latest version of the components. This branch is relevant for developers and testers. As the containing code may be erroneous, it is not suitable for end users.
STABLE
The description "Stable" suggests a stable and production-ready code, but this is also a development branch. After the tests in the CURRENT branch were successful, the code is transferred to this branch. The versions for the major-releases are created from this code afterwards. The usage of STABLE-issues of FreeNAS is not recommended for the general use.
Support model
Since FreeBSD 11.0, there is a new support model.[11] The main version has been supported for 5 years. The (.X) sub-versions receive updates for three months, after the following subversion has been published.
References
- ↑ FreeBSD - Where the Code Comes From (freebsdfoundation.org)
- ↑ Maintaining a FreeBSD Fork: Best Practices by Netflix (Video, FreeBSD Vendor Summit November 2023)
- ↑ Supported FreeBSD releases (www.freebsd.org/security)
- ↑ BSD-license (de.wikipedia.org)
- ↑ The FreeBSD Copyright (freebsd.org)
- ↑ A comparison between BSD and Linux (freebsd.org)
- ↑ A comparison between BSD and Linux (freebsd.org)
- ↑ A comparative Introduction to FreeBSD for Linux Users (digitalocean.com, 14.01.2015)
- ↑ The FreeBSD port collection (freebsd.org)
- ↑ Follow a development branch (freebsd.org)
- ↑ The FreeBSD support model (freebsd.org)
More information
- FreeBSD Handbuch (freebsd.org)
- FreeBSD – the unknown giant (heise.de, 19.02.2010)
- FreeBSD (de.wikipedia.org)
- 27 Years of Code, Community, and Collaboration (Open Source Summit North America 2020, Deb Goodkin – Executive Director The FreeBSD Foundation)
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Author: Thomas Niedermeier Thomas Niedermeier working in the product management team at Thomas-Krenn, completed his bachelor's degree in business informatics at the Deggendorf University of Applied Sciences. Since 2013 Thomas is employed at Thomas-Krenn and takes care of OPNsense firewalls, the Thomas-Krenn-Wiki and firmware security updates.
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Author: Werner Fischer Werner Fischer, working in the Knowledge Transfer team at Thomas-Krenn, completed his studies of Computer and Media Security at FH Hagenberg in Austria. He is a regular speaker at many conferences like LinuxTag, OSMC, OSDC, LinuxCon, and author for various IT magazines. In his spare time he enjoys playing the piano and training for a good result at the annual Linz marathon relay.
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Translator: Alina Ranzinger Alina has been working at Thomas-Krenn.AG since 2024. After her training as multilingual business assistant, she got her job as assistant of the Product Management and is responsible for the translation of texts and for the organisation of the department.
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