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Re: [hendrik@topoi.pooq.com: Is the AMD-64 ready for reliable use? (possibly on K8V-MX moptherboard)]



On Thursday 22 December 2005 15:34, hendrik@topoi.pooq.com wrote:
> I'm considering buying a box and putting the AMD64 port of sarge
> on it.
>
> I can see lots of problems with the AMD64 port on the mailing
> list, but that doesn't make it clear whether troubles are normal
> or unusual.  Very few happy users ever write in to say how happy
> they are,

Ok, I am very happy with my Debian SargeAMD64 system. And most of the troubles 
you have heard of are probably connected with getting everything working. 
Sarge AMD64 itself is rock stable on my system, however, the setup with an 
32bit chroot is not as easy as the setup of a 32bit debian. The only real 
problem I met with was the 2.6.8 kernel in Sarge, which had trouble with the 
USB on the ASUS A8V Deluxe mainboard. So I switched to the 2.6.12 Etch kernel 
- and everything went smoothly.

> I have had it proposed to me that I might set up a server for
> my LAN (not the internet gateway) as a Sempron system running
> Linux.  Specifically, an Asus K8V-MX Athlon 64 motherboard,
> an AMD Sempron64 2600, 512 meg DDR PC-3200 w/o ECC.
> to quote from the quotation.
>
> My question is, is the Debian AMD64 platform ready for such use?
> Presumably I'd be using the unofficial sarge release ... or has it
> become official in the meantime?  Or is etch actually more reliable right
> now?

It is indeed ready for use. However, it depends on your demands. I would 
suggest looking up if the applications you need are available in the AMD64 
port. If not, on a server I would personally stay with the 32bit Sarge. 
Considering your listing, I would believe everything is in thze AMD64 port 
(which is still unofficial). Ans as security is a severe problem on any 
server, I would recommend staying with Sarge/Stable and applying all security 
updates (which aren't available in Etch/Testing an Sid/Unstable).

> The server will initially be running an NFS server that serves from a
> software RAID (hard disks presumably partitioned using LVM).  I'm
> considering putting everybody's home directory on it so that they will
> have their bookmarks, configurations, etc. available whatever machine
> in the house they are actually sitting at.  But if the are running on
> one of the substantially less powerful machines, they will use the
> Sempron remotely using XDMCP or VNC.  Oh, yes.  One or two of my users
> are collecting video files (mostly .mpg). Would accessing them from
> another machine using NFS (100 MHz ethernet) be fast enough for them to
> view them?  Even if two users did it at the same time?  (not from the
> legacy 100MHz pentium, though, of course).
>
> Any comments on whether this plan is feasible?  Do others have good
> experiences with that motherboard?  Or should I backtrack and specify an
> old reliable 32-bit Pentium instead?

You don't have to ga back to an 32bit CPU - just install the standard 32bit 
Sarge on an AMD64! It runs withpout any problem, and its only marginally 
slower than the AMD64 port.

> -- hendrik
>
> Please CC: me as I am not subscribed to this list -- although I will
> eventually see replies in the archives anyway, and will probably
> subscribe if I go ahead with the project.

-- 
Clemens Bergmann
Schwertlilienweg 14
68259 Mannheim

mail@clemens-bergmann.de



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