FreeBSD 9.0
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Not sure, but when it comes to filesystems, I'd rather not play it fast and loose with options. Setting only what is necessary is best.
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Meanwhile OpenBSD will be releasing 5.1 in about a month: http://www.openbsd.org/51.html
meanwhile, was there any reasons why not simply run pfSense over OpenBSD instead of FreeBSD? Is there things only found on FreeBSD that pfSense would absolutely requires?
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Many.
http://doc.pfsense.org/index.php/Why_did_you_choose_FreeBSD_instead_of_%27insert_OS_here%27%3F
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Based on the status of each *BSD project 6+ years ago, I fully understand pfsense's choice to go with FreeBSD.
However it seems that most of OpenBSD's new developments and innovations are focused on exactly the firewall/router "security-appliance" niche, so much so that FreeBSD developer Bjoern A. Zeeb wrote back in 2009: "OpenBSD seems to move further and further in the direction to be an operating system around pf, rather than pf being a firewall implementation for the OS".
NetBSD is developing npf (check Introducing NPF, NetBSD's new packet filter) a MP scalable pf-like packet-filter.
Whereas FreeBSD seems to be taking a more generic "server OS" path, adding great features like ZFS and VM, but staying behind on the pf packet filter front and other related functionality (note: although FreeBSD native packet-filter ipfw does offer proper NAT of PPTP and NAT before IPsec, which just about any Linux-based firewall offers).
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that's nice, but i see a lot of movement of pfSense towards the general appliances too. Not that we strictly cater to one, but some have been combining duties.
Things like proxies, and reverse proxies and load balancer tend to cut into the general server workload area. One can never win them all.
It does probably have the larger userbase of the *BSDs which means it generally has decent hardware support.
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npf was still very much a dream last time I looked in on it, it was nowhere near capable enough (without commenting on the rest of NetBSD)… As for OpenBSD, I doubt that would ever happen.
While they do have some nice routing improvements over Free, their attitude toward projects based off of OpenBSD has not been very welcoming.
FreeBSD seems to still have the best possible combination of all factors involved. The others may edge it out in certain areas but they can't beat the total package.
