6 ms·

Hope FBSD makes a comeback in mainstream computing. Used FreeBSD 4 for a mail server with sendmail until early 2000s with vinum RAID and afs distributed FS. Suc

Hope FBSD makes a comeback in mainstream computing. Used FreeBSD 4 for a mail server with sendmail until early 2000s with vinum RAID and afs distributed FS. Such an orderly, unconfused O/S.

nix23 6y ago
Testing out OpenServer6 with bhyve on FBSD12.2 ATM...so much for mainstream ;)
cyri 6y ago
same here! Until 2008/2009 I ran FreeBSD 5/6 on one of my internal business SCSI RAID servers, AKA home business cloud ;-) Compiled it myself, compiled PHP/MySQL/Apache, tweaked it and it always worked.
Zenst 6y ago
Well the Sony Playstation 4 based it's OS upon FreeBSD9 and they still update that today (3 days ago last checked). Unsure upon what the PS5 runs for certain, but can be sure that FBSD will live on and amazing how much from that codebase that people use. So whilst Linux for many put BSD's to distant past memories, the amount of code from it that is used in other projects/products down the line is larger than many realise and can imagine that more people run lines of code with FreeBSD origins today than early 2000's.
- trasz 6y ago
  There's plenty of products based on FreeBSD, not just PlayStation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_products_based_on_FreeBSD https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_products_based_on_Free...
- nix23 6y ago
  >>Regarding the use of FreeBSD 12 As an operating system in PS5 https://tekdeeps.com/ps5-will-have-an-825gb-ssd-but-only-700gb-free/ https://tekdeeps.com/ps5-will-have-an-825gb-ssd-but-only-700... They even asked Dev's from FreeBSD ;)
- MaxBarraclough 6y ago
  Does the PS5 use FreeBSD?
  - crest 6y ago
    Probably. A few long standing FreeBSD developers hinted at helping out when Sony ran into problems e.g. their own file system failed and they required help tuning FFS to make the most out of their blazing fast SSD.
    - loeg 6y ago
      Source?
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- drewg123 6y ago
  There are still some companies using FreeBSD. At Netflix, we serve a large percentage of the internet's traffic using our Open Connect CDN, which runs FreeBSD-current. WRT to the C10K problem mentioned below... We find FreeBSD scales quite well to at least several hundred thousand connections. Our largest experimental machines can serve nearly 400Gb/s of real customer traffic across hundreds of thousands of TCP conns from a single-socket AMD Rome. This is all with a "traditional" kernel-based workflow, serving media files with sendfile, and doing encryption of HTTPS traffic via kTLS (with NIC-based hardware TLS offload in this case). There is no DPDK or other userspace networking or storage.
  - gonzo 6y ago
    Netgate uses FreeBSD as the base for pfSense, and Scott Long (formerly of Netflix) now leads that effort.
  - chaosharmonic 6y ago
    There's also Sony, which has been using custom FreeBSD derivatives to power PlayStations since the PS3.
    - chaosharmonic 6y ago
      ...disregard this. I managed to reply to the wrong parent, I think :-/
- hnlmorg 6y ago
  Wasn't some of Nintendo's consoles also FreeBSD based?
  - 0xcde4c3db 6y ago
    They've used some code originating from BSD, but as far as I've read their actual operating systems have had a proprietary "embedded RTOS"-ish architecture rather than being based on (or even loosely resembling) any Unix lineage.
    - hnlmorg 6y ago
      I doubt we'll even know for sure, but there is a FreeBSD kernel license in the Switch's copyright notices[1] though Wikipedia does paint a very different picture[2] [1] https://www.freebsdnews.com/2017/03/08/nintendo-switch-runs-freebsd/ https://www.freebsdnews.com/2017/03/08/nintendo-switch-runs-... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_Switch_system_software https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_Switch_system_softwar...
      - 0xcde4c3db 6y ago
        According to the primary author of the Atmosphère custom firmware (which now contains an open-source clone of the Switch kernel), the "FreeBSD Kernel" copyright notice is only there because Nintendo used FreeBSD's sys/tree.h, with the actual kernel bearing no resemblance to FreeBSD [1]. [1] https://old.reddit.com/r/emulation/comments/hygtnx/mesosphere_opensource_nintendo_switch_kernel_now/fzhnjed/ https://old.reddit.com/r/emulation/comments/hygtnx/mesospher...
        hnlmorg 6y ago
        Interesting. Thanks for sharing
tyingq 6y ago
I'd like that as well, but my suspicion is that Linux is now "good enough" via things like io_uring that a highly visible comeback for *BSD is less likely.
- nix23 6y ago
  To be honest, Linux is also not highly visible, sure for the HN-Community it is. But for normal Customers? They know Android, Windows, MacOS..that's it.
  - tyingq 6y ago
    I had assumed "comeback" meant in the backend server space.
    - nix23 6y ago
      It's the back- and frontend of MANY services, like apache foundation, and add FreeNAS it's even much more.
      - tyingq 6y ago
        I'm not disputing that. But it seems like it's lost some of the C10K type usage as the Linux network stack and libraries have gotten better.
  - tutfbhuf 6y ago
    Well Android is a Linux distro with a kernel patchset for smartphones.
  - bch 6y ago
    Well... tell somebody you run a Unix operating system instead of Windows or Mac and keep notes on how many people say “Oh, you mean Linux?” Keep a smaller piece of paper for all the combined responses of “Oh, you mean [Open|Free|Net|Dragon Fly]BSD?” I’d be surprised if you need that second piece of paper at all. Written as a satisfied NetBSD user.

Hope FBSD makes a comeback in mainstream computing. Used FreeBSD 4 for a mail server with sendmail until early 2000s with vinum RAID and afs distributed FS. Such an orderly, unconfused O/S.

nix23 6y ago

Testing out OpenServer6 with bhyve on FBSD12.2 ATM...so much for mainstream ;)

cyri 6y ago

same here! Until 2008/2009 I ran FreeBSD 5/6 on one of my internal business SCSI RAID servers, AKA home business cloud ;-) Compiled it myself, compiled PHP/MySQL/Apache, tweaked it and it always worked.

Zenst 6y ago

Well the Sony Playstation 4 based it's OS upon FreeBSD9 and they still update that today (3 days ago last checked). Unsure upon what the PS5 runs for certain, but can be sure that FBSD will live on and amazing how much from that codebase that people use. So whilst Linux for many put BSD's to distant past memories, the amount of code from it that is used in other projects/products down the line is larger than many realise and can imagine that more people run lines of code with FreeBSD origins today than early 2000's.

trasz 6y ago
There's plenty of products based on FreeBSD, not just PlayStation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_products_based_on_FreeBSD https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_products_based_on_Free...
nix23 6y ago
>>Regarding the use of FreeBSD 12 As an operating system in PS5 https://tekdeeps.com/ps5-will-have-an-825gb-ssd-but-only-700gb-free/ https://tekdeeps.com/ps5-will-have-an-825gb-ssd-but-only-700... They even asked Dev's from FreeBSD ;)
MaxBarraclough 6y ago
Does the PS5 use FreeBSD?
- crest 6y ago
  Probably. A few long standing FreeBSD developers hinted at helping out when Sony ran into problems e.g. their own file system failed and they required help tuning FFS to make the most out of their blazing fast SSD.
  - loeg 6y ago
    Source?
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
drewg123 6y ago
There are still some companies using FreeBSD. At Netflix, we serve a large percentage of the internet's traffic using our Open Connect CDN, which runs FreeBSD-current. WRT to the C10K problem mentioned below... We find FreeBSD scales quite well to at least several hundred thousand connections. Our largest experimental machines can serve nearly 400Gb/s of real customer traffic across hundreds of thousands of TCP conns from a single-socket AMD Rome. This is all with a "traditional" kernel-based workflow, serving media files with sendfile, and doing encryption of HTTPS traffic via kTLS (with NIC-based hardware TLS offload in this case). There is no DPDK or other userspace networking or storage.
- gonzo 6y ago
  Netgate uses FreeBSD as the base for pfSense, and Scott Long (formerly of Netflix) now leads that effort.
- chaosharmonic 6y ago
  There's also Sony, which has been using custom FreeBSD derivatives to power PlayStations since the PS3.
  - chaosharmonic 6y ago
    ...disregard this. I managed to reply to the wrong parent, I think :-/
hnlmorg 6y ago
Wasn't some of Nintendo's consoles also FreeBSD based?
- 0xcde4c3db 6y ago
  They've used some code originating from BSD, but as far as I've read their actual operating systems have had a proprietary "embedded RTOS"-ish architecture rather than being based on (or even loosely resembling) any Unix lineage.
  - hnlmorg 6y ago
    I doubt we'll even know for sure, but there is a FreeBSD kernel license in the Switch's copyright notices[1] though Wikipedia does paint a very different picture[2] [1] https://www.freebsdnews.com/2017/03/08/nintendo-switch-runs-freebsd/ https://www.freebsdnews.com/2017/03/08/nintendo-switch-runs-... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_Switch_system_software https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_Switch_system_softwar...
    - 0xcde4c3db 6y ago
      According to the primary author of the Atmosphère custom firmware (which now contains an open-source clone of the Switch kernel), the "FreeBSD Kernel" copyright notice is only there because Nintendo used FreeBSD's sys/tree.h, with the actual kernel bearing no resemblance to FreeBSD [1]. [1] https://old.reddit.com/r/emulation/comments/hygtnx/mesosphere_opensource_nintendo_switch_kernel_now/fzhnjed/ https://old.reddit.com/r/emulation/comments/hygtnx/mesospher...
      - hnlmorg 6y ago
        Interesting. Thanks for sharing

tyingq 6y ago

I'd like that as well, but my suspicion is that Linux is now "good enough" via things like io_uring that a highly visible comeback for *BSD is less likely.

nix23 6y ago
To be honest, Linux is also not highly visible, sure for the HN-Community it is. But for normal Customers? They know Android, Windows, MacOS..that's it.
- tyingq 6y ago
  I had assumed "comeback" meant in the backend server space.
  - nix23 6y ago
    It's the back- and frontend of MANY services, like apache foundation, and add FreeNAS it's even much more.
    - tyingq 6y ago
      I'm not disputing that. But it seems like it's lost some of the C10K type usage as the Linux network stack and libraries have gotten better.
- tutfbhuf 6y ago
  Well Android is a Linux distro with a kernel patchset for smartphones.
- bch 6y ago
  Well... tell somebody you run a Unix operating system instead of Windows or Mac and keep notes on how many people say “Oh, you mean Linux?” Keep a smaller piece of paper for all the combined responses of “Oh, you mean [Open|Free|Net|Dragon Fly]BSD?” I’d be surprised if you need that second piece of paper at all. Written as a satisfied NetBSD user.