Re: [Fwd: Re: AKLUG server]

Quoting Damien Hull <dhull@digitaloverload.net>:

> You make some good points. However, compiling from source is not always
> possible. I don't think anyone will find it easy to setup a workstation
> from source. Compiling X, Gnome and what ever else one might need is
> crazy. Sure one might learn something but at some point I need to get
> work done. I only mention this because I've tried.

I thought we were building a server and not a workstation?

> We could all run LFS.
>
> As a business owner and network/system engineer I have to evaluate
> everything I do. Lets use my current clients as an example.
>
> 1. New server
> 2. about 2 tarabytes of data at the moment
> 3. Website, data storage, email are all on this server
>
> Lets say I decided to use Slackware. It's stable and secure so why not.
> What happens if Patrick Volkerding ( the Slackware founder ) decides not
> to do Slackware any more. Or worse he dies. It almost happened. He got
> sick from brushing his teeth a few years back. It almost killed him.
> Back then he was the only guy maintaining Slackware. Lets say for
> argument sake there is no more Slackware. What do I do?

This is not slack specific, this could happen to a distro that is supported by
more than one person.

>
> 1. I've got an OS that can't be updated
> 1. No security patches
> 2. No upgrading to a new version

You should be able to apply all security patches yourself until you can move to
a new OS. At this point you now need to switch to a new OS, but again, this can
happen
with any distro.

> 2. I've got 2 tarabytes of data that need to go somewhere
> 1. Maybe I don't want the data on the server because it can't
> be updated (security)
> 2. Maybe the client doesn't want his/her data on the server
> because it can't be updated

You should be able to update the server and applications yourself, in the event
of the above scenario happening. It is open source and you do have access to
the updates yourself.

> 3. Who pays for the cost of the reinstall and data transfer
> 1. I was the one who recommended the Slackware OS
> 2. Who pays for the down time the business will experience
> while the server is down

Then you should have been running your own distro that you do control. But,
because you don't, you do charge for support, right? Grab a new distro and add
in the applications then transfer the data.

>
> In this little scenario Linux didn't go away but Slackware did.

RedHat went away, it was the community that took it and created Fedora. What are
all of those businesses now doing with their Redhat servers? Suse, for all
intents and purposes, has also gone away. There is an element
of risk when you use a distro you do not control. On the other hand, Nevaeh
actually encourages you to maintain your own packages

>
> Lets say I decide to compile all my applications from source to keep
> them updated. That will work for a while. However, the libraries in
> Slack will become old. At some point I will no longer be able to use
> them. One of my applications will look for a new library and I will be
> SOL. I could try and update the Libraries but then I'm maintaining my
> own distribution. I don't want to do that.

Then you are at the mercy of whoever maintains your chosen distro. Besides, on a
server how many applications do you have running? Obviously you wouldn't run a
GUI on a server only the applications that you need, running a GUI opens you up
to a lot more security risks.

>
> I should have used Novell for the above scenario. Think of all the
> servers out there running SUSE. What will they do when Novell is gone.

The same thing they are doing now that Redhat is gone, moving to a new OS.

>
> The above is the business side of me. The geek in me wants to compile.
> Maybe it's time I do LFS.

I would actually recommend that to everyone, it really helps you to understand
the nuts and bolts of a Linux system.

> Oh, hope those Slackware packages are working out for you. I could be
> wrong but aren't those just tar files? Also RTFM before you upgrade to a
> new version. You have to do it the "Slackware way". I guess they didn't
> like the "standard" method of upgrading Linux. If you do it wrong you
> could end up with a broken system. ;-)

I am sure the slack packages are fine, but I use Nevaeh Linux and maintain my
own package repository. And the one slack box I do run is a server and has only
what is needed installed. I never upgrade to a new version, I always re-install
fresh and rebuild from backup.

Jon

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Received on Sat Dec 30 15:12:29 2006