On Sat, 2003-06-14 at 17:22, Alfredo Valles wrote: > On Saturday 14 June 2003 4:27 pm, Mark L. Kahnt wrote: > > On Sat, 2003-06-14 at 12:35, Alfredo Valles wrote: > > > You can pass the init=3 parameter to the kernel at boot time to start in > > > runlevel 3 which should be console only, with networking. > > > Now, in debian for some reason I don't undestand, runlevels 2, 3 and 5 > > > have the same init scripts, so you have to fix that first. > > > > I guess it has been two weeks since the last person got this all wrong > > and needed a public humiliation of being forced to use Windows 1.0 ;) > > Thank you for the correction. However I think I didn't got it all wrong. > I noticed long time ago that by default runlevels 2, 4 and 5 have the same > symlinks. What I don't undestand is why debian do that when all other distro > provides you with a suitable runlevel configuration by default. > After all, a system administrator can always change runlevels later. It's > pointless to provide by default a configuration that would save no time > neither to those who use debian as a server nor to those who use it as a > workstation (my case). The Debian outlook tends to be rather that if some software should be on a machine and available on a runlevel, it is best for the decision to be made by the sysadmin, rather than some guesses/judgements by Debian maintainers whether something belongs in certain runlevels rather than others - sort of a DFSG-type of reasoning (ie. don't restrict the end sysadmin's room to make things the way they feel is necessary.) The idea also lets the sysadmin decide what software to install on the machine, be it a server, a workstation, a PDA, a game console, a websurfing station. > > What's wrong with providing by default settings that 90% of people will need? Consider a situation I dealt with a couple years back when my other computer, hosed, was still running. I had Apache running as my webserver for access via dwww to the documentation on the system, a second http server, this one IBM's edition of Apache for some IBM-specific references on port 81, and Icecast on port 8000. I wanted to work on Lotus Domino (I have a test/demo license for it and various other IBM software,) but unfortunately it wants to work on only port 80. I had my reasons for wanting Apache to regularly be on port 80 when I was using the box as a workstation, so what I did was run two separate runlevels, one configured for general X and workstation as 2, and the Lotus Domino workstation/server as 3. Runlevel 4 happened to be DB2, but I never really pushed it because I didn't get the time to really try to be sure I had it correctly configured, and runlevel 5 was the basic Debian software. I'd offer that it is quite rare for systems to be used in sufficiently different ways to warrant specifically configuring into more than [Single,Operational,Reboot,Halt] in today's desktop and/or server roles. At least the Debian approach does let the local sysadmin make the decision about the details of how the three other typically multiuser runlevels. > > Well, I've defended my self the best I could, but if I'm still guilty: am I at > least granted to use Windows 3.11 insted of 1.0? ;-) > Nah - I actually put Windows 1.0 to use for a couple years on an Olivetti-built AT&T PC powered by an 8088, running PageMaker 1.0. A prime example of "it makes our brain hurt to figure out how to create proper windows, so we'll just tile everything to get this thing out the door." > > > > Debian sets the runlevels 2-5 identically by default, so switching to > > runlevel 3 gets you the identical results as runlevels 2, 4 and 5. It is > > up to the system's administrator to decide and sculpt the runlevels to > > whatever is considered appropriate. This means that if you run [gkwx]dm, > > you get it for each of those runlevels, unless you specifically remove > > it on a particular level. > > > -- Mark L. Kahnt, FLMI/M, ALHC, HIA, AIAA, ACS, MHP ML Kahnt New Markets Consulting Tel: (613) 531-8684 / (613) 539-0935 Email: kahnt@hosehead.dyndns.org
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