[geeks] NetBSD/OpenBSD: practical differences

[Dan Debertin]

Folks, I'm torn. I've been using NetBSD for a long, long time on various
architectures. I use OpenBSD for the standard uses one has for it:
firewalls, IPSEC machines, etc.

But I keep looking over at it and thinking "Hm. If OpenBSD is basically
NetBSD with security auditing, what the hell am I doing still using NetBSD
for general-purpose UNIX computing?". (And here by "general-purpose UNIX
computing" I mean workstation, webserver, DNS server, shell box, number
cruncher, etc.)

I know that, at a certain level, it doesn't matter what OS you choose; you
pick the right tool for the job. But I need some ammo before I'm really
qualified to even make that decision. So I need thoughts on this one
question:

What's good about NetBSD that makes it better than OpenBSD?

Substantive, technical answers are what I'm looking for, although comments
on the developer/user community are also important. But things like "Theo
is a dork" are certainly not important to me.

Dan
--
Dan Debertin
airboss at nodewarrior.org
www.nodewarrior.org