Debian galore.
My distribution of choice has been Debian for quite some time now (at least several years), and I’ve had only one complaint with the entire system - the installer.
I’ve switched over to using Debian at work whenever I can (previously I’d used things like RedHat due to support for Oracle). However, the installation process has been a nightmare due to a how massively outdated the boot image kernels are. Most of the systems at work are HP D325 desktops - which you can buy with Linux - so I figured Debian would be a snap. Unfortunately, neither the nForce2 chipset or 3Com590 NIC are supported on the old-ass Debian installers I’ve used. So to get the system on quickly I resorted to using an extra NIC - one detectable by the 2.2/”2.4bf” kernel - and then using apt-get to pull down enough of the system to roll my own modern kernel. That was horrible due to the lack of DMA transfers on the IDE system (meaning disk performance was utterly horrible).
No longer though. There’s a superb - and I mean superb - new installer for Debian that I’ve somehow missed all this time. It works flawlessly on these systems, and the actual procedure itself is nice and streamlined. The only thing missing from the base install was ACPI support (which I could add separately, but the only advantage that gives me is a soft power switch on these systems).
So that’s it. If you want to try Debian, I highly recommend trying this new installer.
derek said,
June 17, 2004 @ 4:59 pm
Linux is for commies.
Ron said,
June 18, 2004 @ 2:09 am
Does that mean that even I could do it now? All I need to do is find a good Linux guinea pig. Goods, you still have that old beater for me? I’ll get it one of these days, honest!
Luke said,
June 18, 2004 @ 2:16 am
Probably. If you’re new to Linux I’d still recommend Mandrake or Fedora though.
Ron said,
June 18, 2004 @ 2:55 am
Bah, I’ve installed Mandrake a couple of times. Too easy! Bring on the good stuff! Besides, you’re always trying to get me to use Debian whenever the question comes up… is that just to spite James? ;-)
Luke said,
June 18, 2004 @ 2:58 am
Hahaha. I wouldn’t intentionally spite James. If you’ve done Mandrake before, and you’re looking to learn and have a bit of challenge do a Gentoo Stage 1 install. Be prepared to let it compile a lot, but it lets you build a working Linux system step by step. Cool stuff.
Luke said,
June 18, 2004 @ 3:00 am
To elaborate though: for servers I always recommend Debian. It’s just the best choice to keep a machine constantly running and up to date without massive update releases that take entire CDs.
For desktop - if you’re actually going to use the desktop, not just for screwing around - I suggest Debian (unstable branch) or Mandrake.
derek said,
June 18, 2004 @ 9:03 am
Nah. If you want to learn, Open/FreeBSD is the way to go.
And, you can’t beat it for a stable server environment.
Of course, if you’ve got a few weeks you could probably configure it to serve some static html, but that might be stretching it. ;)
Mandrake kicks ass for desktops. Highly recommended.
Luke said,
June 18, 2004 @ 9:16 am
*BSD: If you think hardware support in Linux sucks, you got another think comin’.
Luke said,
June 18, 2004 @ 9:24 am
Maybe I was too rash in my last comment. If one defines hardware support as just a platform (x86, MIPS, whatever), then Free/Net/OpenBSD is fairly decent. If you’re trying to do anything with modern x86 hardware, then good luck.
And the lack of commercial applications, drivers and even games is brutal. Try doing 3D accelerated anything. Sun’s Java runtime runs in Linux emulation mode. For some things BSD is cool, and I actually have OpenBSD on a box of mine, but for tinkering around I still strongly recommend Linux.
For further proof, please surf and BSD article on Slashdot with the comment threshold set to -1.
derek said,
June 18, 2004 @ 2:36 pm
I should have added the dripping sarcasm emoticon in my last post.
I wouldn’t wish a BSD install on my worst enemy (well, err.. maybe) but, that being said, it is a good way to learn. Every other installer is 100% easier to use and besides, it’s not as though you would use BSD for anything but a highly secure server environment (or testing) anyway.
I’d stick with Mandrake for Desktop, and RH Advanced Server for servers. The debian installer looks promising, and if I ever get off my lazy ass one of these days, I might try it out.
Luke said,
June 18, 2004 @ 10:40 pm
Heh, gotcha. One thing I love about FreeBSD is how fast it boots. It’s just nearly instant, even compared to my Linux systems (which are fast as it is).
Ron said,
June 19, 2004 @ 2:50 am
Ah, I love all the input from the *nix nerds! When I get around to it, I’d planned to use it for an always-running, nearly silent jukebox with browsing etc. Some old Small form factor system that I’d slap a big hard drive into. And, of course, experimentation. So it looks like it’s either Mandrake or Debian.
James said,
June 22, 2004 @ 2:00 am
Hey, James loves Debian too. . . I just happen to be a Mandrake fanboy. . . Mostly for historic reasons. They included KDE when Redhat wouldn’t, and back in the day getting a Debian system up and running was (even more) of a PITA. Especially since I only had one computer to muck up, and it kind of had to work (can’t get the docs cuz I can’t connect to the web, can’t connect to the web because I can’t get the docs, X, X, why won’t you go, I’m starting to hate this F**king console. . .)