On 10 Oct 2024 15:41 +0100, from c...@isbd.net (Chris Green): > 1 - Is keeping a Debian system up to date just like Ubuntu, i.e. one > just needs to run 'apt update;apt upgrade' at regular intervals? ... > and of course autoremove and clean as required.
Yes. I usually use apt-get update && apt-get dist-upgrade; for apt you might want apt full-upgrade; but this only matters if packages are held back. (This can be relevant for example if there are kernel ABI version upgrades, but either tool will let you know if this is the case.) There are also multiple ways of automating it, including the unattended-upgrades and cron-apt packages. (I use cron-apt, which in the default configuration will run once daily, download updates, not install them, but send an email if there are any.) > 2 - Can I easily make a 'server' type installation without a GUI? This > is for a backup system in my garage which is (usually) headless. Even > better can I do the installation via ssh? Not sure about remote installation over SSH, but yes you can definitely make a no-GUI installation. If you run the installer manually it'll ask you IIRC about mid-way through what "tasks" to install; simply pick the SSH server task and no GUI task to get what you want. You can also prepare a preseed configuration for the installation; I have an example on my web site at https://michael.kjorling.se/debian-12-bookworm-preseed/ which should largely meet your needs for an initial installation, but assumes a pristine system. The gory details are in the Debian installation guide, Appendix B. https://www.debian.org/releases/bookworm/amd64/apb.en.html > 3 - Piece of string type question - what versions to install? On the > backup system stable is obvious. The other two systems are my desktop > which is also used as my mail server (running postfix) and my laptop. > I think I'll go for testing on the laptop but I'm not sure whether > stable or testing would be best for the desktop. I tended to keep my > desktop running Ubuntu LTS releases, would I get about the same 'feel' > with Debian stable? If I recall correctly, Ubuntu is largely based on then-current Debian Testing plus Canonical's own special sauce, but is then largely fixed in time until the next release. This makes it more similar to Stable than to Testing, especially with Ubuntu LTS's release cadence which roughly matches that of Debian Stable (approximately once every two years; Debian's is _slightly_ less predictable than Ubuntu's). I would suggest going with Debian Stable on all systems unless you have a specific requirement that can only be met by Testing. You can add the backports component if you want newer versions of packages; or you can upgrade to Testing; but both of those have their own caveats. It's a lot easier to upgrade from Stable to Testing than to downgrade from Testing to Stable (except right around the pre-release freeze) if you change your mind. -- Michael Kjörling 🔗 https://michael.kjorling.se “Remember when, on the Internet, nobody cared that you were a dog?”
