pfSense® Software Embraces Change: A Strategic Migration to the Linux Kernel

[keyser]

@CreationGuy I’m certain its a joke given the date and the “BSD userland” comment, but honestly…
I really think they should consider a move to Linux even though that would be a massive undertaking.
Truth is BSD is dying when it comes to new hardware and developer support.
Fx: We need modern LTE/5G/WiFi support for more WAN flexibility.

It would be better to embrace it and try before its too late - because its going to become too late at some point.

[JonathanLee]

@YannTKO said in pfSense Software Embraces Change: A Strategic Migration to the Linux Kernel:

ARM

ARM is the future. You can embrace it or get out of the way for the next generation of professional programmers. I am sure everyone is well aware of the power of Raspberry PI ARM systems with the flag ship quad core x64 and it doesn't need heat sinks all under 100 dollars. ARM is are never going away. ARM will only grow its market share at this point. Apple has even jumped ship over to the M1-now M4. Get over it. The 2100-MAX is a work of programming art.

It reminds me of Cars 3

[YannTKO]

@JonathanLee
I edited my post with 32 bit CPU to be accurate.

[planedrop]

@keyser No BSD Userland is a thing, it's been done before, recently: https://www.phoronix.com/news/Chimera-Linux-2022

I don't think this indicates it's a joke at all.

[keyser]

@planedrop ?? What would be the point of making a stategic move to a modern kernel only to lock yourself into a frankenmonster that will be unflexible and missing everything you are missing on the current limited BSD world?

[planedrop]

@keyser I'm not sure, not a dev so I don't really know the ins and outs, I just know that it's been done before (see that article, it talks about some benefits).

[SteveITS]

https://www.reddit.com/r/freebsd/comments/1bhvt2e/comment/kvulz1m/

">...are you also saying Netgate is on a path to abandon FreeBSD?

No.
That doesn’t mean you won’t, say, see a variant of pfsense on Linux."

...and from the Reddit link I posted earlier:
"The FreeBSD userland (and musl for libc) is actually true"

[planedrop]

@SteveITS Interesting, yeah I'm still leaning towards this all being legit. Wish Netgate would confirm or would have put something at the top that clarified it's not april fools.

[AndyRH]

By saying nothing else, the ones that actually know get to see the debate and either enjoy the comments or look for the general mood of such a change. I am enjoying the debate...

If it matters, I do not care, I want to turn on the firewall, it to do the job for a year without interruption before the next code load and then go again. I just want super solid and to never to have to touch it. Linux, FreeBSD, AIX, IBMi, or C-64, just don't care.

[planedrop]

@AndyRH I too want stability, though I think it's worth saying that updates should be done anytime they are out regardless.

either way, I think with Linux being used we could see some nice features and possible better performance.

[AndyRH]

I actually update within a week of availability. I have to give my users notice, without notice the wife and kids can be mean.

[SteveITS]

@AndyRH The part I'd prefer to avoid is

https://docs.netgate.com/tnsr/en/latest/releases/release-notes-22.02.html#operating-system-change

[planedrop]

@AndyRH Yeah I get that for sure, didn't think you were implying to just leave things un-updated, just always like to note it in case people find threads on Google way later; only because so many seem to think updates are still not necessary looking at how many unpatched things exist lol.

[AndyRH]

@SteveITS I was thinking about that. By far not an expert in ZFS, but would it be possible to install the new OS into a 2nd boot environment? I suspect this would not work, but it would be cool.

[johnpoz]

You guys do understand this is April Fools joke right? heheh

[AndyRH]

@johnpoz said in pfSense Software Embraces Change: A Strategic Migration to the Linux Kernel:

heheh

I think there is a very high probability you are correct. But a port to run on Power HW would be a speed game changer...

[planedrop]

@johnpoz IDK, is it? I think it's not, most think it's not.

It feels very legit, Netgate hasn't confirmed anything about it online and it seems like a lot of effort to go through for something that isn't really funny.

TrueNAS did something similar saying they are moving to a Windows App (lol) but it is very obvious it's fake, not just because of course not, but it's written in a very silly and sarcastic manner and is a forum post not an official blog post.

It also said at the bottom that it is an april fools joke, this does not.

[johnpoz]

@planedrop haha - see the other thread about this where Jim himself Chimes in pointing to their other joke from 2017..

https://www.netgate.com/blog/building-a-behemoth-router

https://forum.netgate.com/post/1160479

Nobody is going to release such a statement on 4/1 without it being meant as a joke..

[planedrop]

@johnpoz OK sure, but they put this at the bottom:

But yeah I see the link, guess they got me good.

[LarryFahnoe]

So now that we're past April 1, my comment is that the 2018 announcement portended TNSR, though it certainly also made humorous references. I don't know Jim Thompson, but I do know that having something of a light heart is often a benefit in business. So does this year's announcement simply foretell another chapter in Netgate's evolution? It would seem logical to build upon the work that went into TNSR and the experience gained to create a new firewall product. Certainly seems logical to capitalize on the larger/broader development community, though as the recent xz issue illustrates, targeting and dominance are related. Rather than bemoaning an announcement like this, I see the opportunity to bring the experience gained in the FreeBSD world to bear upon tools from the Linux world. Design skill and methodology are often as or more important than the tools themselves.

--Larry