FreeBSD Desktop Users: Suggestions for a New User? reddit / freebsd ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ben_wills · 2023-02-16 18:39 I learned Linux faster when I made it my main desktop almost 10 years ago, and would like to make the same switch to FreeBSD. This coincides with a commitment I've made to FreeBSD on the server side. Aside from hardware compatibility, what are some difficulties you expect I might run into, and any other recommendations you might have as I make the transition? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- domzen · 2023-02-16 19:12 Yes, just like I wish to fully convert to BSDism I read the book from the author Michael W. Lucas “Absolute FreeBSD 3rd. Edition” ---------------------------------------------------------------------- mss-cyclist · 2023-02-16 19:24 You could install the same desktop environment as you are used to. Probably you can even keep using your config files for all apps / packages you used. Differences are the way wlan is configured and the system commands. For instance BSD's still use 'ifconfig'. You will not find something like 'ip a'. Maybe some of these things will be familiar to you. Pre - systemd Linux was more comparable to \*Nix than it is now. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ben_wills · 2023-02-16 19:29 Thanks. I started reading it a while back and will pick it back up. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ben_wills · 2023-02-16 19:30 Thanks. I'll likely run XFCE as I've been running it on Linux since then. And yeah, I much prefer the pre-systemd way of doing things, which is part of the reason for making the switch. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- mss-cyclist · 2023-02-16 19:36 That + zfs was my motivation years ago. Never looked back. Installing the same software and transferring my carefully crafted configs resulted in a system which was almost not to distinguish from my previous one. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- vermaden · 2023-02-16 22:08 What is your hardware? CPU? GPU? WiFi card? NIC? Fast startup - GhostBSD - which is FreeBSD 13-STABLE with MATE desktop and GTK/GUI installer and some GTK tools. Slower startup/more learning - plain FreeBSD 13.1-RELEASE and setup our own desktop - there are many guides - you will find some here: - https://vermaden.wordpress.com/ Regards. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- lenzo1337 · 2023-02-16 22:08 Hardware compatibility and wifi. You'll find a lot of the hardware issues are actually already solved or have sysctl settings for them that you just didn't know about. I've found myself `sysctl -ad | grep ` all the time to find the right settings. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 964racer · 2023-02-16 23:10 I’m using xfce and it runs great on FreeBSD . ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 964racer · 2023-02-16 23:14 Having just done a recent desktop install / config, I Would strongly recommend a bare metal install rather than going with a VM. Orders of magnitude better performance for me .I still need windows , so I boot FreeBSD from a separate 1TB SSD drive on usb 3.0. It’s blazingly fast . You don’t get sleep/ suspend tho. Xfce pretty much worked out of the box . I have an nvidia 980 card so I get 3D acceleration. Had a few glitches with dual monitor setup but it’s now working perfectly. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Ayrr · 2023-02-16 23:51 I'm trying it at the moment too. Some thoughts I have after a week. * laptop battery will be a bit worse so plan around that accordingly if you're using a laptop. * drm-kmod is needed, but not installed by default. * ~~Ports seems to be ahead of pkg.~~ A default install puts you on quarterly, which may be significantly older than latest. * Wifi networking is a lot harder even with Intel. There isn't the integration that network manager on Linux has. I ended up with supplicant gui. * While a lot is similar, there are many things which are entirely different from Linux. So while with most distros the arch or Gentoo wikis are extremely helpful, that knowledge isn't always the greatest. * some programs that should compile because you have the required dependencies just won't build. Vorta is an example I've found. * get very familiar with the handbook and man pages. They are excellent. * Michael Lucas' books are extremely helpful too. See if you can get Absolute FreeBSD from your library, or just buy it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- nmariusp · 2023-02-17 03:45 https://www.reddit.com/r/freebsd/comments/10tk3t1/i_want_to_move_from_ linux_to_bsd/ https://www.reddit.com/r/freebsd/comments/10ncjvg/should _i_just_migrate_to_bsd/ https://www.reddit.com/r/freebsd/comments/1038 0ue/switching_to_freebsd/ https://www.reddit.com/r/freebsd/comments/zg edpo/my_first_bsd_some_beginner_questions/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- chesheersmile · 2023-02-17 07:02 Wi-Fi management is such a chore bordering with nightmare. I like OpenBSD method way more, it's not dissimilar from saying "Hey, Dave, won't you mind setting up Wi-Fi for me? Here's the SSID and password" "You got it, mate". Other than that FreeBSD really feels amazing: if you need graphics driver, you just install it and say: "Load this on boot". And it just does. I like this explicit way of talking with system: no convoluted menus, no obscure scripts doing something magical, no config files that say "DO NOT TRY TO TOUCH THIS, THE WHOLE THING IS GONNA BLOW". ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Antoine-Darquier · 2023-02-17 09:26 It will depend on your skills and your willingness to learn things. But overall, I'd say the switch from Linux to FreeBSD is more of a small leap. Many tools you normally use in the shell are exactly the same. Much of the software you use on Linux works all or much the same on FreeBSD. There are some specific things that work differently, but you also have those differences with Linux distros. NixOS works very differently from Ubuntu and Arch Linux in certain areas. FreeBSD has some tools that Linux doesn't, and you may already be familiar with ZFS. Btrfs was really just designed to address the licensing issues with ZFS that Linux developers have been dissatisfied with, but ZFS is also used on Linux. You have bhyve, poudriere, sh, kernel, rc.conf, OSS, pkg, UFS, DTrace, Jails, ports, VNET and another firewall. FreeBSD's firewall is perhaps the best out there. As in Linux, you find all the info via the man command. There is a lot of talk about FreeBSD's poor wi-fi support. This has been worked on for the last few years so you should be able to easily find hardware that is compatible. Another way is to use an extender and then connect the laptop/desktop via an ethernet cable. You also have the Wifibox project that appears to work well: [https://eldapper.wordpress.com/2023/01/15/wifibox-on-my-ghostbsd- laptop/](https://eldapper.wordpress.com/2023/01/15/wifibox-on-my- ghostbsd-laptop/) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Playful_Gap_7878 · 2023-02-17 09:41 >Ports seems to be ahead of pkg Since pkg is made from ports, that would make sense. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Ayrr · 2023-02-17 10:29 Yeah, but its a bit odd coming from my experiences with 'ports-like' systems in the linux world, where ports are available for software that isn't included as pre-built in the repositories. In FreeBSD, Ports seem closer to 'factory' or 'testing' rather than additional applications. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Playful_Gap_7878 · 2023-02-17 10:32 No. Ports are configurable where packages are not. A package is only a pre-configured port. Ports should run as well as packages and are not less stable in any way. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Ayrr · 2023-02-17 11:31 my confusion stemmed from being on the quarterly branch while having ~~updated ports.~~ an up to date port tree. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Playful-Hat3710 · 2023-02-17 17:33 The first time I saw the wireless config for OpenBSD I immediately thought "why doesn't everyone else do it this way?" It's so simple. Agreed on FreeBSD and the rc.conf.....foo_bar=YES.....very straightforward ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Playful-Hat3710 · 2023-02-17 17:34 more evidence that some sort of sticky thread is needed for questions like these ---------------------------------------------------------------------- scratchifoo · 2023-02-17 22:50 As long as your hardware is well supported, you shouldn't have many issues. If you used linux, you shouldn't have too much issues with freebsd. But if you are running the latest gen hardware, with wifi ax and not nvidia gpu (nvidia are the only ones who have drivers for their latest gpus, but are not open source like intel and amd), then you will have issues and need to implement hacky workarounds for the next few years until its all upstreamed. Good luck! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- CodeCompost · 2023-02-17 22:54 I've been running FreeBSD as my primary desktop for a couple of weeks now and I have fallen in love with it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ben_wills · 2023-02-18 00:29 * EPYC 7302p * Older-ish Nvidia card I've checked should be compatible * No wifi * BCM57416, built into the Supermicro motherboard I hadn't considerd GhostBSD, but might give it a shot. Also tempted to go the slower route to better understand how it's implemented. And thanks a ton for all of your work documenting FreeBSD stuff. I've referenced your site a lot over the last several months. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ben_wills · 2023-02-18 00:31 This is awesome, thank you. I imagine drm-kmod would be something I'd trip up on if you hadn't mentioned it. I'll be installing first on a workstation without wifi. Then likely moving my t490 over to it, which I got specifically because it's shown to work well with FreeBSD. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ben_wills · 2023-02-18 00:34 Thanks for that command line tip. I can imagine using that quite a bit. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Ayrr · 2023-02-18 00:36 I'm using a t470! drm-kmod was a tripping up point for me. It's a very odd difference between linux and freebsd. Didn't need it for OpenBSD on a spare optiplex either. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- vermaden · 2023-02-18 00:48 The AMD CPU should work just fine. Older NVIDIA card will be supported by one of the older drivers: % pkg search -o nvidia-driver x11/nvidia-driver NVidia graphics card binary drivers for hardware OpenGL rendering x11/nvidia-driver-304 NVidia graphics card binary drivers for hardware OpenGL rendering x11/nvidia-driver-340 NVidia graphics card binary drivers for hardware OpenGL rendering x11/nvidia-driver-390 NVidia graphics card binary drivers for hardware OpenGL rendering x11/nvidia-driver-470 NVidia graphics card binary drivers for hardware OpenGL rendering You will have to check NVIDIA Release Notes about your model - to know which driver to use. The *BCM57416* is supported by `bnxt(4)` driver: - https://man.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=bnxt&sektion=4&format=html > I hadn't considered GhostBSD, but might give it a shot. Also tempted to go the slower route to better understand how it's implemented. Keep in mind that even if You install GhostBSD (to have some faster startup) you can create separate ZFS Boot Environment with additional FreeBSD installation from scratch. Details here: - https://vermaden.wordpress.com/2021/02/23/upgrade-freebsd-with-zfs- boot-environments/ - https://vermaden.wordpress.com/2021/10/19/other-freebsd-version-in- zfs-boot-environment/ > And thanks a ton for all of your work documenting FreeBSD stuff. I've referenced your site a lot over the last several months. Thanks mate. I obviously did not covered everything there so feel free to ping me if you face any issues. Either by Reddit or by CONTACT on my blog. Regards.