On Wed, May 24, 2006 at 10:15:00PM -0300, Donald Teed wrote: > Howdy, > > We are evaluating Redhat, Suse and Debian. I've > been working with Linux for several years, and my > preference comes down strongly on Debian fitting > in where BSD currently provides our core Internet services. > I have no problem supporting Debian and another > Linux distro where commercial software requires > Redhat or whatever. However we are trying hard for > just one distro to suit all needs. >
Experience with Red Hat Enterprise: very limited in choice and number of applications. You may have to hunt round the 'Net for things like development libraries / "odd stuff" that isn't part of the core RH EL. You NEED 'Net access for updates. SuSE / Novell: generally good at installation: need 'Net for updates. Can be limiting if you don't want to do things the SuSE way :) Only a couple of mirrors guaranteed for security and other updates. Debian - Sarge is a little too old for some new hardware. Other than that it "just works". No need for 'Net access if you have slightly more modern media - just apt-cdrom add ; apt-get update ; apt-get dist-upgrade > > If you have the time, I'd also appreciate any comments > you can share on pros and cons of Debian. I think > I'm aware of the basic features from my experience > running Debian, but I'm thinking of things that > might not come up until in a real life production > system with load factors, fires to put out, > maintenance windows, and hardware support of > stuff like iSCSI SANs. > RPM database is binary so if your installed packages list gets eaten you're in trouble :( dpkg --get-selections > file file < dpkg --set-selections is a lifesaver to install the same set of apps on two machines. .debs can be installed using basic tools: cpio and ar and installed by unpacking the resultant .tar.gz - I rebuilt a hosed system that way :) Cons: think long and hard before moving stable -> testing -> unstable because downgrading / moving back is (a) hard and (b) definitely not guaranteed :) [A similar effect can be had by just stopping upgrading for a few months: gradually change sources list from unstable to testing and then eventually to stable as packages progress in the other direction.] > You can send these to me off list if you like. Andy -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
