Distro comparison

[josephc at etards.net]

On Mon, 20 Oct 2003, David Kramer wrote:

> On Monday 20 October 2003 15:57, josephc at etards.net wrote:
> > On Mon, 20 Oct 2003, David Kramer wrote:
> > > As I've said, I need to upgrade my server's software.  I'm just done
> > > with Red Hat.  I've been using Red Hat on my server since version 4.0,
> > > but they finally pushed me over the edge.  My decision is a tough one,
> > > because my box is both my firewall/server and my workstation, so the
> > > mix of software is a little different than what most people need.
> >
> > Can I ask what exactly you dislike about Red Hat? The most common
> > complaint I hear is dependency issues, but up2date and apt4rpm have all
> > but eliminated that concern.
> 
> - The mangling of KDE and Gnome to the point that the two companies are now 
> on fighting terms.  I can no longer upgrade KDE on my Red Hat 7.3 box from 
> either Red Hat or KDE, though there are third parties

True, but a GUI is seldom installed on a production server (atleast when 
I'm doing the install).

> 
> - Their refusal to put programs on their distro that MPAA/RIAA might maybe 
> kinda sorta say is a bad thing one day
> 

This is where apt4rpm comes in.

> - No more boxed sets

The instant ISO's that come with my RHN account have made this issue moot, 
for me. I can grab all the CD's in less than an hour. :)

> 
> - Their graphical tools to maintain your box are largely undocumented
> 

Again, shun the GUI :)

> 
> > > FreeBSD would be the greatest departure from Red Hat.  It would also
> > > offer a cleaner kernel and possibly more efficient operation.  The
> > > ports system seems better than RPM's because I hate binary databases
> > > for system configuration.  I wish I knew more about FreeBSD, but what
> > > I've read about it I like.
> > > Questions:
> > > - Are ports for new versions of software generally available soon after
> > >   release?
> >
> > Yes and no. Popular software is generally ported within days. The more
> > obscure, though, the longer you'll have to wait.
> 
> Good to know.   Maybe I should just poke around them.  I assume there's a 
> list with versions and dates on their website.
> 

Yes, there is a list at freebsd.org

> > > - How different is it to maintain than Linux?
> >
> > Not very. There is almost no SysV relation (which, despite claims to the
> > contrary, does have some influence on Linux).
> 
> Meaning no /etc/rc.d stuff?  What other things are different?
> 

Yeah, there is no rc.d (there are rc.* conf files, though). Items like SSH 
and Sendmail are sort of built into the OS. So if a new version of SSH 
comes out due to a security explot, you DON'T install that OpenSSH port 
(you could, but you're going to get mad), you recompile the OS. It's not a 
big deal, just not what you would expect at first.