Comparison between OpenBSD and Arch Linux

I seems to me that philosophy of Arch Linux is similar to OpenBSD in many ways. I have not used Arch to a large extent so these thoughts is mostly based on available documentation.

If I would need to go to Linux for some reason I would really check out Arch first.

Similarities

• Minimalistic base installs
• Similar package system with support for both precompiled packages and compilation from source. Good dependency handling.
• Package installs does not activate/configure services automatically. A “user-centric” “do-it-yourself” approach is used.
• OS and service configuration is performed in /etc/rc.conf. OpenBSD have moved some configuration to separate files e.g. for network configuration. FreeBSD still keeps most configuration in /etc/rc.conf.
• BSD style rc.d based init are used.
• Rolling release schedule similar to “following current” on OpenBSD. OpenBSD does however create releases (with extended testing and support) twice yearly which are recommended for most users.
• Focus on great documentation. OpenBSD man pages are probably a few notches better than Arch.
• Simplicity of functionality and implementation and minimalism.
• Flexibility. Because all services are configured explicitly by the user the system may be configured with much freedom. For instance neither OS provide a default window manager.

Differences

• Completely different kernel and legacy. Arch is based on Linux kernel and OpenBSD is based on BSD 4.4 architecture.
• OpenBSD support many hardware architectures while Arch mainly focus on i686 and x86-64.
• Arch support a larger number (30000 vs 6000) of packages.
• Arch aim to deliver bleeding edge version of software packages. OpenBSD has higher focus on reliability.
• OpenBSD main focus is security and correctness.

References

• Arch Compared to Other Distributions
• Arch Linux is what you make it - Commented by me.
• An Arch Tale - Commented by me.