Re: LTS versions - confusion
On Tue 14 Sep 2021 at 22:42:12 -0400, The Wanderer wrote:
> On 2021-09-14 at 16:33, Tanstaafl wrote:
>
> > On 9/13/2021 11:02 AM, Brian wrote
> >
> >> On Mon 13 Sep 2021 at 10:18:54 -0400, Tanstaafl wrote:
> >>
> >>> Hello,
> >>>
> >>> So, I'm considering Debian for a new homebrew MX gateway I want
> >>> to set up, but it depends...
> >>>
> >>> I'm a former Gentoo user, and really appreciated the rolling
> >>> release aspect, since it meant no huge jumps between LTS releases
> >>> with other distros.
> >>
> >> About the closest in Debian to this concept is the unstable
> >> distribution (sid).
> >
> > Hmmm... ok, so, I could run sid 'forever', as long as I keep it
> > updated regularly?
>
> In theory you could, but in practice it would break well before that.
>
> I used to track sid on my primary computer; the system developed warts
> and instabilities under my feet, became partly broken and if not
> irreparable then at least more trouble to repair than the benefit would
> have been worth, and drove me to build a replacement computer to migrate
> away from the broken setup.
>
> The guiding principle of running a system that tracks sid is "if it
> breaks, you get to keep all the pieces".
>
> It is NEVER advisable to track sid on a computer you're not willing to
> blow away and reinstall on demand if necessary. (As distinct from
> installing specific selected packages from sid on a case-by-case basis -
> but be careful even about that, as the dependencies of those packages
> might pull in enough other things to lead to a hybrid Debian system and
> potentially break things.)
>
> I would advise against tracking sid on any computer other than one
> you're running specifically to contribute to the process of testing the
> contents of sid before they migrate into testing.
>
> > Anyone do this for important (maybe not 'mission critical') servers?
>
> I certainly hope not. (And am mildly horrified that someone who posts as
> much good advice here as I believe I've seen from Brian has said that he
> does.)
I am in agreement with what you say as regards stable vs unstable. For
the avoidance of doubt, I would always advise stable for a user. It has
been thoroughly tested, gets timely security upgrades and is supported
by the images team with point releases. What is there to dislike about
it?
My response was simply to indicate that some users do run unstable,
hopefully knowing what they are doing. I see it as a way of contributing
to a future stable and would not use it on an important machine. Someone
has to watch out for Debian and upstream bugs in packages of interest to
the user.
I was also rather hoping Tanstaafl would contribute a few words on how
the unstable model contrasts with Gentoo's rolling release model.
--
Brian.
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