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Subject: First pass at OS pros and cons
Date: Tue, 28 Nov 2006 18:37:49 -0800
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Thread-Topic: First pass at OS pros and cons
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From: "Larry Scheer" <larry.scheer@onstor.com>
To: "Andy Sharp" <andy.sharp@onstor.com>

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Andy,
   Knowing that we meet with Tim on Thursday to discuss OS possibilities
I started writing up what I see as pros and cons of possible candidates.
Here is my outline...

OpenBSD 2.8
Summary:
		This is the OS and version we are currently using in our
software distribution.

Pros:
		Developers are familiar with it
		Code modifications exist for our current products
		It is managed by the SCM system (Perforce)
		No licensing agreement needed. We are free to modify it
and distribute it
		We have added open source upgrades to existing libraries
and applications and added new ones as needed
		  - LDAP, SSH, SSL, Kerberos, XML2

Cons:
		Old, out of date BSD code (code base released in 2000)
		Old compilers, libraries, and cross-tools chain
		It is really a pre 2.8 release (2.7 with additions)
		Poorly documented
		Minimal threads support
		The loader, ld.so, is barely functional (many features
missing in code)
		Difficult to build
		Difficult to add newer software to distribution
		Minimal support for updating cross-tool chain
		Don't know if it has support for newer MIPS Chip-set we
want to use

OpenBSD 4.0 (current release)
Summary:
		This is the latest release of OpenBSD, (November 1 2006)
which is the OS we currently use on our embedded system.
		OpenBSD is a multi-platform 4.4BSD-based UNIX-like
operating system.
=20
Pros:
		No licensing agreement needed. We are free to modify it
and distribute it
		Has new open source libraries and tools - LDAP, SSH,
SSL, Kerberos, etc. -
		It should look familiar to developers (maybe only Max?)
		POSIX Threads support
		Potentially fewer changes needed to NFX code to support
this OS
		Potentially know what BSD code needs to change to
support NFX

Cons:
		It is difficult to port. OpenBSD assumes you are
building it on an OpenBSD system
		Poor cross-tool chain support
		Poor distribution support compared to NetBSD and Linux
		More time to needed to get the cross-tools and user
space code built
		Unknown support for MIPS (SGI only port listed)
		Unknown support for PCMCIA and other components/drivers
we might need
		Hard to update with patches or new versions of OpenBSD


NetBSD
Summary:
		NetBSD is another free open source BSD distribution.
NetBSD 3.1 is the current revision.

Pros:
		No licensing agreement needed. We are free to modify it
and distribute it
		Has new open source libraries and tools - LDAP, SSH,
SSL, Kerberos, etc. -
		Some developers may be more comfortable with it than
Linux
		Highly portable
		Strong support for embedded systems
		Several MIPS platforms including BSPs for Sibyte and
Brocade evaluation systems
		Easy to build the cross-tool chain
		Easy to cross-compile user space code (I built NetBSD
2.1 cross-tool chain and user space for MIPS in a day or two.)
		As new packages are added or updated with security
patches it is easy to fetch and update the distribution (i. e. Kerberos,
LDAP, SSL, SSH, etc)
		POSIX Threads support
		Up-to-date OS
		Strong open source support (Apple's OS X was based on
NetBSD.)
		Updating from OpenBSD to NetBSD in the field may be
transparent

Cons:
		Not a lot of experience in house with this OS
		Code Changes in NFX needed especially to support POSIX
Threads
		Potential changes in OS code needed to support NFX
		Don't know all the ramifications of porting to this OS
may be slight maybe more

FreeBSD=20
Summary
		FreeBSD is another free open source BSD distribution.
FreeBSD 6.1 is the current release.
		Although they claim support for the MIPS platform, all
of their MIPS work is in development and may be targeted primarily for
SGI systems.

Due to their weak MIPS support FreeBSD should not be considered a
candidate.


GNU-Linux
Summary
		Linux is an open source UNIX-like operating system
initially created by Linus Torvald. It is married with applications from
the Free Software Foundation (aka GNU) to provide the basic
functionality of this OS.
		Many commercially supported distributions exist such as
Red Hat, SUSE, Debian, to name a few. Latest stable kernel revision is
2.6.18.3. Most kernels found in the well known distributions are older
than this.

Pros:
		Huge user group contributing code
		If you want something you can probably find it ported to
Linux
		Perhaps the best MIPS platform support
		Strong support for embedded processors
		Best driver availability for any platform, including
MIPS embedded systems
		Linux porting effort was nearly complete when project
was put on indefinite hold
		Highly portable
		POSIX Thread support
		Modern OS that is kept current with the times
		Can leverage Debian and Red Hat packages built for MIPS
		Open source packages and updates are readily available
(i. e. LDAP, Kerberos, etc.)
		Large availability of applications and libraries
		Binary code available for MIPS platforms via Debian
distribution
		There are several packaging methods to choose from (RPM,
Debian, etc.)
		Even if our developers are not familiar with Linux we
can find someone who is or find support on-line
		Some of the difficult areas in porting NFX are known

Cons:
		Potential changes in Linux code needed to support NFX
		Linux is licensed under a GPL which means we need to
publish our changes to development community
		Code Changes in NFX needed especially to support POSIX
Threads
		It is a new OS and not a variant of the existing one.
Porting effort will not be slight
		Could be larger than our existing OpenBSD distribution
requiring larger compact flash
		Field upgrade from OpenBSD to Linux could be tricky

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<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">Andy,</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">&nbsp;&nbsp; Knowing that we meet with Tim on =
Thurs</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">day to discuss OS =
possibilities I started writing up what I see as pros and cons =
of</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"> <FONT =
SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">possible</FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial"> candidates. Here is my outline</FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">&#8230;</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><B><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">OpenBSD 2.8</FONT></B></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">Summary:</FONT></SPAN></P>
<UL><UL>
<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">This =
is the OS</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"> =
<FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">and version</FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"> <FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">we are currently using in our software =
distribution.</FONT></SPAN></P>
</UL></UL>
<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">Pros:</FONT></SPAN></P>
<UL><UL>
<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">Developers are familiar with it</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Code =
modifications exist for our current products</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">It =
is</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"> <FONT =
SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">managed by</FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"> <FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">the SCM system (Perforce)</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">No =
licensing agreement needed. We are free to modify it =
and</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"> <FONT =
SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">distribute</FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial"> it</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">We =
have added open source upgrades to existing libraries and applications =
and</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT =
SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial"></FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"> <FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">added new ones as =
needed</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">&nbsp; - LDAP, SSH, SSL, Kerberos, XML2</FONT></SPAN></P>
</UL></UL>
<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">Cons:</FONT></SPAN></P>
<UL><UL>
<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Old, =
out of date BSD code (code base released in 2000)</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Old =
compilers</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">,</FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial"> libraries</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">,</FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial"> and cross-tools chain</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">It is =
really a pre 2.8 release (2.7 with additions)</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">Poorly documented</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">Minimal threads support</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">The =
loader,</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"> =
<FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">ld.so</FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">,</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial"> is barely functional (many =
features missing in code)</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">Difficult to build</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">Difficult to add newer software to =
distribution</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">Minimal support for updating cross-tool =
chain</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">Don</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">&#8217;</FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">t</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"> <FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">know</FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial"> if it has s</FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">upport for newer</FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"> <FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">MIPS</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial"> =
Chip-set</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial"> we want to =
use</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN></P>
</UL></UL>
<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><B><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">OpenBSD 4.0 (current release)</FONT></B></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">Summary:</FONT></SPAN></P>
<UL><UL>
<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">This =
is the latest release of OpenBSD, (November 1 2006) which is the OS =
we</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT =
SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial"></FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"> <FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">currently use on our =
embedded system.</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">OpenBSD is a multi-platform =
4.4BSD-based</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial"></FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"> <FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">UNIX-like operating system.</FONT></SPAN></P>
</UL></UL>
<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">&nbsp;</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">Pros:</FONT></SPAN></P>
<UL><UL>
<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">No =
licensing agreement needed. We are free to modify it =
and</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"> <FONT =
SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">distr</FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">ibute</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial"> it</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Has =
new open source libraries and tools - LDAP, SSH, SSL, Kerberos, etc. =
-</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">It =
should look familiar to developers (maybe only Max?)</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">POSIX</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial"> Threads =
support</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">Potentially fewer changes needed to NFX code =
to</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"> <FONT =
SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">support</FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial"> this OS</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">Potentially know what BSD code needs to change to support =
NFX</FONT></SPAN></P>
</UL></UL>
<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">Cons:</FONT></SPAN></P>
<UL><UL>
<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">It is =
difficult</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial"> to port. OpenBSD assumes =
you are building it on an OpenBSD system</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Poor =
cross-tool chain support</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Poor =
distribution support compared to NetBSD and Linux</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">More =
time to needed to get the cross-tools and user space code =
built</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">Unknown support for</FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"> <FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">MIPS (</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">SGI only port =
listed)</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">Unknown support for PCMCIA and other components/drivers =
we might need</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Hard =
to update with patches or new versions of OpenBSD</FONT></SPAN></P>
<BR>
</UL></UL>
<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><B><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">NetBSD</FONT></B></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">Summary:</FONT></SPAN></P>
<UL><UL>
<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">NetBSD is a</FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">nother free open source BSD distribution. NetBSD 3.1 is =
the current revision.</FONT></SPAN></P>
</UL></UL>
<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">Pros:</FONT></SPAN></P>
<UL><UL>
<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">No =
licensing agreement needed. We are free to modify it =
and</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"> <FONT =
SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">distribute</FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial"> it</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Has =
new open source libraries and tools - LDAP, SSH, SSL, Kerberos, etc. =
-</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Some =
developers may be more comfortable with it than Linux</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">Highly portable</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">Strong support for embedded systems</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">Several MIPS platforms including BSPs =
for</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"> <FONT =
SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">S</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">ibyte =
and</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"> <FONT =
SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">B</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">rocade evaluation =
systems</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Easy =
to build the cross-tool chain</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Easy =
to cross-compile user space code (I built NetBSD 2.1 cross-tool chain =
and</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT =
SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial"></FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"> <FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">user space for MIPS in a =
day or two.)</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">As =
new packages are added or updated with security patches it is easy to =
fetch</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial"></FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"> <FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">and update the distribution (i. e. Kerberos, LDAP, SSL, =
SSH, etc)</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">POSIX</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial"> Threads =
support</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">Up-to-date OS</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">Strong open source support (Apple's OS X was based on =
NetBSD.)</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">Updating from OpenBSD to NetBSD in the field may be =
transparent</FONT></SPAN></P>
</UL></UL>
<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">Cons:</FONT></SPAN></P>
<UL><UL>
<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Not a =
lot of experience in house with this OS</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Code =
Changes in NFX needed especially to support</FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"> <FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">POSIX</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial"> Threads</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">Potential changes in OS code needed to support =
NFX</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Don't =
know all the ramifications of porting to this OS may be slight maybe =
more</FONT></SPAN></P>
</UL></UL>
<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><B><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">FreeBSD </FONT></B></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">Summary</FONT></SPAN></P>
<UL><UL>
<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">FreeBSD is a</FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">nother free open source BSD distribution. FreeBSD 6.1 is =
the current release.</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">Although they claim support for the MIPS =
platform</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">, a</FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">ll of their MIPS work is in development and may be =
targeted primarily for SGI systems.</FONT></SPAN></P>
</UL></UL>
<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Due =
to their weak MIPS support FreeBSD should not be considered a =
candidate.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<BR>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><B><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">GNU-Linux</FONT></B></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">Summary</FONT></SPAN></P>
<UL><UL>
<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Linux =
is an o</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">pen source UNIX-like =
operating system initially created by Linus Torvald</FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">. It is</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial"></FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"> <FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">married with applications from the</FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"> <FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">F</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">ree</FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"> <FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">S</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">oftware</FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"> <FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">F</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">oundation (aka =
GNU)</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT =
SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial"> to provide the basic functionality of this =
OS.</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">Many</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"> <FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">commercially =
supported</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"> =
<FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">distributions exist such as Red Hat, SUSE, =
Debian, to name a few. Latest stable</FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial"></FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"> <FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">kernel revision is =
2.6.18.3. Most kernels found in the well known =
distributions</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial"></FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"> <FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">are older than this.</FONT></SPAN></P>
</UL></UL>
<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">Pros:</FONT></SPAN></P>
<UL><UL>
<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Huge =
user group contributing code</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">If =
you want something you can probably find it ported to =
Linux</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">Perhaps</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"> <FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">the</FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"> <FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">best MIPS platform support</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">Strong support for embedded processors</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Best =
driver availability for any platform</FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">,</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial"> including MIPS embedded =
systems</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Linux =
porting effort was nearly complete when project was put on indefinite =
hold</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">Highly portable</FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">POSIX =
Thread support</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">Modern OS that is kept current with the =
times</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Can =
leverage Debian and Red Hat packages built for MIPS</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Open =
source packages and updates</FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial"> are</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial"> readily available (i. e. =
LDAP, Kerberos, etc.)</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Large =
availability of applications and libraries</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">Binary code available for MIPS platforms =
via</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"> <FONT =
SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">D</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">ebian =
distribution</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">There =
are s</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">everal =
packaging</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"> =
<FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">methods</FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"> <FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">to choose from (RPM, Debian, etc.)</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Even =
if our</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"> =
<FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">developers</FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial"> are not familiar with Linux we can find someone who =
is</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT =
SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial"> or find support on-line</FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Some =
of the difficult areas in porting NFX are known</FONT></SPAN></P>
</UL></UL>
<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">Cons:</FONT></SPAN></P>
<UL><UL>
<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">Potential changes in Linux code needed to support =
NFX</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Linux =
is licensed under a GPL which means we need to publish our changes to =
development community</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Code =
Changes in NFX needed especially to support</FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"> <FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial">POSIX</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial"> Threads</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">It is =
a new OS and not a variant of the existing one. Porting effort will =
not</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT =
SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial"></FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"> <FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">be =
slight</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Could =
be larger than our existing OpenBSD distribution requiring =
larger</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"> =
<FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">compact</FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Arial"></FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"> <FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">flash</FONT></SPAN></P>

<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Field =
upgrade from OpenBSD to Linux could be tricky</FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"></SPAN></P>
</UL></UL>
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