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On 2008-04-30, GuestUser <guestuser@mailer-fake.org> wrote:
> What are your thoughts about Slackware versus OpenBSD as a highly stable
> and secure infrastructure server for the following roles - firewall,
> gateway, file and print, DNS, and SMTP mail?

Keith summed it up most succintly, but I'll go into a bit more detail
for your edification.[0]

OpenBSD pros: pf beats the hell out of netfilter for ease of use,
performance (at least in my limited testing), sanity, and feature-set.
Also, OpenBSD's documentation is without equal due largely to their
policy of treating any short-coming in the man pages as a full blown
bug equal to any problem with the actual code. OpenBSD also tends to
"push the envelope" on things in ways that other OS OSs don't.[1]

Slackware pros: Better driver support, particularly for oddball
things.[2] Generally easier upgrade path than OpenBSD. Better CPU
performance, particularly with SMP systems. Easier choice for getting
proprietary apps like Oracle and the like to run.

For your needs, either will do justfine. I myself would probably
choose OpenBSD in order to use pf, but that's a personal preference
really; netfilter will do just fine.

[0] Contrary to popular belief yours truly is intimately familiar with
the grammatical and vocabular parameters of the English language.
[1] For example, OpenBSD has really hammered vendors to give
documentation for wireless chipsets and agree to things like allowing
free redistribution of their binary firmware.
[2] For example, the drivers for popular TDM cards are only available
for Linux, not *BSD due to their being GPL only drivers.

- --
It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise,
Than for a man to hear the song of fools.
Ecclesiastes 7:5
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