Re: Possible convert to Debian
On Monday 07 June 2004 10:10 pm, John Fleming wrote:
> Consider me a newbie, but with enough experience to be dangerous. I started
> learning Linux with RH8.0 about a year ago. I later installed Fedora Core 1
> and have upgraded to FC2, but I'm not happy with the upgrade process (they
> recommend a fresh install of each upgrade, and of course, Fedora has a
> relatively frequent planned upgrade cycle). For my intended uses, I don't
> care about support for the latest whiz-bang USB devices, cameras,
> Centrino/ProWireless etc - I just want easy to install and maintain basic
> server functions with decent security. With my FC2 server (Dell 600SC), I
> have these things going: pop and imap mail, Squirrelmail, Mailman,
> SpamAssassin, Webmin, and Apache with several virtual hosts.
>
> I've toyed with Debian and Knoppix a bit, but haven't tried to fully
> implement the above services yet and have a few questions.
>
> 1. It sounds like Sid is actually pretty stable, I'm guessing especially
> for the basic mail and webserving things I use. Would you recommend I go
> with Sid, or with testing or stable?
If its just for your own use, Sid; if it's used by others, Testing; if
it needs to be up 24/7/365, Stable.
>
> 3. If I start with the Knoppix CD, I really do end up with the same Debian
> Sid distro as if I started with the unstable CDs themselves?
Nope, Knoppix is a strange blend of Sid and Testing; and has
been known to burst into flames when attempting to update.
If it was me, I'd boot off knoppix and have a look at lsmod
(will list the kernel modules used), and the XFree86 config file generated by
knoppix and simply use them on Debian.
> 4. Correct me if I'm wrong, but as I understand it, if I use Sid and keep it
> updated, I should never have to do a complete reinstall of the OS as
> recommended for Fedora upgrades. And if I use the stable version, I can do
> an apt-get dist upgrade and upgrade to the new version(s) as available
> without a complete reinstall, right?
That is indeed correct, you only have to install Debian once. I installed
stable, then edited /etc/apt/sources.list to apt-get dist-upgrade myself
to Sid. Be advised however, that while its easy to move up a level
moving down can be difficult. (Individual packages can be installed using
apt-get -t $Release_Level $Package_Name. (ie you may run Testing, but
want FooBar from Sid; just apt-get install -t unstable FooBar))
> Any other comments for this relative newbie that's old (>50) and not a
> sysadmin by trade? Thanks a bunch for your time!
> -John
Go for it, I moved to Debian from SuSE and I am not /ever/ going back.
--
We're sysadmins. Sanity happens to other people. -- Chris King
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