From the Archives: This article was resurrected from our white paper archives from back in December of 2004. Principles presented should be long-enduring, but there may have been some changes in the NetBSD/Linux/Unix marketplace since.
Important: Newer TS-7250-V2 Product Available. The TS-7250-V2 is the new and improved version of this product! Recommended for new designs.
Why NetBSD?
NetBSD is very similar to Linux (and actually can run Linux binaries), so you may be asking yourself why one would choose to run NetBSD instead of Linux? I will list the most common general reasons cited that apply to specifically to embedded systems designers. Wasabi Systems also has a very well written write-up describing Linux vs. NetBSD and even a guide for OEMs migrating from Linux to NetBSD.