Alex wrote:
>
> >> > Support for the 80386 processor has been removed from the GENERIC
> >> > kernel. The default FreeBSD kernel is now more optimized for modern
> >> > CPUs. No longer do you have to settle for performance draining
> >> > compatibility with hardware you haven't owned in a decade.
> >>
> >> I don't feel this is a good decision. (I still have a 486, act as
> >> a small server and a 286 witch is in storage) This basally means
> >> that any one who doesn't have the latest processor can't install
> >> FreeBSD. (I could be wrong) Having a option during the installation
> >> to use GENERIC or PENTIUM (IV) would be far better. A option to
> >> enable/disable hardware compile one own kernel would be great to. I
> >> never owned any SCSI devices in a decade.
Since people here seems a bit touchy on this subject, I'll try to
explain it to you.
Today's world is one of plug&play devices (of the real type, not that
ISA backwards-compatible sham), devices that can come and go (like
cardbus and usb), of systems that can control fan speed, enter stand by,
sleep and hibernate modes then come back. It is a world where 4 Gb RAM
suddenly seems like just a slightly heavier lower-end server, where we
count the days 'till Tb hard disks, and make do until then with RAID
devices. A world of SMP, and highly sophisticated processors.
Well, 80386 was the first step in this direction, and there was much
that was left out of it, which people realized later would be needed. It
got to a point that supporting 386 implied huge performance penalties
for the rest of the ia32 line (and SMP was out of question altogether).
Not only that, but 386 was by and large based on ISA devices, and
*those* are also out of the window as we expect devices to identify
themselves, and negotiate the resources they'll be using. Not only 5.0
GENERIC kernel does not have support for 386, but it also won't play
nice at all with old ISA devices.
It is not a matter of simply supporting them. They were _hampering_ all
other stuff. So we still support them. Just not where they'll get in the
way of the newer stuff.
But, to be entirely honest, what would someone want with 5.0 on a 386?
You go take a look at the new features of FreeBSD 5.0-R, and try to find
any that will be of any use on such a system. ACPI, devfs, SMPng, new
software RAID system, support for crypto hardware... I'm sorry, but a
386 just won't be able to take advantage of those things. There is
really little point in installing 5.0 on a 386, unless you are one of
those who _need_ to have the latest. And, if that's the case, then what
would you be doing with a 386? :-)
Even on the embedded systems market the 386 has passed away. So, when we
throw all those things together, the benefits of kicking 386 out of
GENERIC far surpass the possible backlash of angry/disappointed 386
owners. And FreeBSD has always carried the flag of taking most benefit
of current hardware. There are other operating systems out there that
take great pleasure in supporting more obscure hardware (and, yes, 386
is obscure nowadays).
--
Daniel C. Sobral (8-DCS)
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
"Fundamentalist Debianites, core children of the Linuxen....
sounds like it could come from the Book of Mormon, or Tolkien on
a bad day..."
To Unsubscribe: send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
with "unsubscribe freebsd-current" in the body of the message
