64-bit

Like Linux, FreeBSD is a free Unix-like operating system. DragonFly BSD in particular was forked from FreeBSD in 2003 over differences about the direction of development. Its subsequent development was influenced by the old AmigaOS, which founder Matthew Dillon had previously worked on.

From the start, DragonFly BSD has focused on redefining the basic core of BSD. The latest release is no exception. It features virtual kernels, a rewritten network subsystem, support for up to 55TB of swap space, and optimization for the swap cache of solid state drives (SSDs). Of particular interest, DragonFly BSD's filesystem, HAMMER2, shares many of ZFS's features, including easy access to as many as 60 one-day snapshots for backup and instant recovery after a crash. In addition, the latest release includes new enhancements for a mail agent, with support for local mail delivery and basic remote mail transfers. These technical innovations are joined by thousands of ported third-party applications.

DragonFly BSD will appeal especially to those with a knowledge of the internal workings of Unix-like systems. However, DragonFly BSD is also user-friendly enough to be a perfect place to start learning how the BSD family of operating systems compares to Linux.