Possible convert to Debian
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?
2. It seems that installing from the Knoppix CD might be a bit easier for a
newbie? I've never tried something like woody 3.0r2 on new technology -
only on an older limited computer, and I had problems with NIC being
recognized and others. I have installed Sid using the Knoppix CD on my Dell
laptop after first partitioning with Partition Magic and have a dual boot
going with Sid and that other OS. I have done some preliminary
experimenting using apt-get to install Squirrelmail and Webmin, tinkering
with the sources list and so forth, so I'm a little familiar with how that
works.
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?
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?
5. I am interested in software RAID 1 and have 2 identical HDDs. Is there
an option during the install from Debian CDs (didn't see it in the Knoppix
HD install) to setup RAID? If not, any recs on the easiest way to get RAID
1 going after the initial installation?
Any other comments for this relative newbie that's old (>50) and not a
sysadmin by trade? Thanks a bunch for your time!
-John
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