I like both OpenBSD and NetBSD equally, I cannot decide which one I like better :)
But for appliance use, I think NetBSD has a very slight edge over OpenBSD:
* NetBSD has very long release cycles. OpenBSD's 6 month release means you will have to upgrade all appliances at least once per year.
* On install, NetBSD allows you to install a very small subset of the system. OpenBSD recommends installing all packages. But with that said, both systems are very small when compared to Linux.
OpenBSD to me has one advantage I can think of right now. Upgrading is a easier, if you keep upgrading every 6 months. They seem to be heading to fully automated upgrades.
But with NetBSD, it is possible to skip releases (ie: 8.x to 10.x) if you know what you are doing. I went from 7.1 directly to 9.3 and got a workable system. But that did mung pkgsrc, a bit of hacking got that "workable". Once the "emergency" was over, I did a full reinstall of 9.3.
Anyway, yes, I agree just about any BSD would be great for appliance use.
But for appliance use, I think NetBSD has a very slight edge over OpenBSD:
* NetBSD has very long release cycles. OpenBSD's 6 month release means you will have to upgrade all appliances at least once per year.
* On install, NetBSD allows you to install a very small subset of the system. OpenBSD recommends installing all packages. But with that said, both systems are very small when compared to Linux.
OpenBSD to me has one advantage I can think of right now. Upgrading is a easier, if you keep upgrading every 6 months. They seem to be heading to fully automated upgrades.
But with NetBSD, it is possible to skip releases (ie: 8.x to 10.x) if you know what you are doing. I went from 7.1 directly to 9.3 and got a workable system. But that did mung pkgsrc, a bit of hacking got that "workable". Once the "emergency" was over, I did a full reinstall of 9.3.
Anyway, yes, I agree just about any BSD would be great for appliance use.