Celebrating FreeBSD Day with Tara Stella: A Journey from Linux to FreeBSD

In the spirit of FreeBSD Day 2024, we spoke with Tara Stella, a distinguished architect with a long history in open source development. With three decades of experience, Tara’s transition from Linux to FreeBSD is inspiring and insightful.

A Legacy in Open Source

Tara’s journey in open source began in 1995 with Linux. Her career includes roles at organizations such as Sun Microsystems and IBM, where she focused on large enterprise projects. Despite her extensive experience with Linux, she found a new passion in FreeBSD, appreciating its simplicity and stability in real-life scenarios.

The Appeal of FreeBSD

During our live stream on FreeBSD Day, Tara shared her initial reluctance to switch from Linux. However, a friend’s introduction to FreeBSD opened her eyes to the system’s “neatness and stability.” She emphasized how FreeBSD adheres to the KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) principle, which she values greatly. According to Tara, the complexity of Linux had increased over time, making FreeBSD’s straightforward and efficient approach more appealing.

Community, Contribution, and the Future with FreeBSD

Tara is a proud member of BSD Café, a small but passionate community that started in Italy. She highlighted the importance of community in open source projects, noting that BSD Café embodies the true spirit of community-driven development. Unlike some segments of the Linux community, which she feels have lost this sense of togetherness, BSD Café fosters a welcoming environment where contributions of all kinds are encouraged.

Being an advocate for giving back to the community, she believes that using open source software comes with the responsibility to contribute. Her involvement in FreeBSD includes contributing patches and promoting the system within the enterprise space.

And talking about giving back, Tara is excited about FreeBSD’s potential in virtualization and containerization, especially within private cloud environments. She is eager to see how FreeBSD can be leveraged in enterprise deployments, providing stability and simplicity to large-scale projects.

Encouraging Exploration

For those new to FreeBSD is clear: Tara says – give it a try. She believes that even if users stick with their current operating systems, exploring FreeBSD can provide valuable insights and a fresh perspective. She also praises FreeBSD’s excellent documentation, both online and through its comprehensive man pages, which make it accessible to users at all levels.

Final Thoughts

As we celebrate FreeBSD Day, Tara’s journey reminds us of the importance of community, simplicity, and giving back in the open source world. Her passion and dedication to FreeBSD are inspiring, and we look forward to seeing her continued contributions to the community.

For those interested in learning more about FreeBSD or contributing to the project, Tara recommends starting with the FreeBSD project site and engaging with the community through platforms like BSD Café.