[aclug-L] Re: Why Debian?

[Jonathan Hall <jonhall@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> > Debian does have a longer release cycle, so the current version is
> > usually older then the current RedHat. But it uses that time to make it
> > very stable and secure and ensure there are no major bugs in the system. 
> 
> Seriously though, is a Debian release really all THAT much more stable then 
> any
> other distro?

Out-of-the-box, Debian is probably far more stable and secure than most of
the commercial Linux distributions (RH, Mandrake, Caldera, etc).
Any Linux distribution could be made to be as secure and stable as Debian,
though... provided you installed the same versions of software that comes
with the Debian installation, etc.

An important thing to remember is that "potential stability/security" is not
always (and in fact rarely is) the same as "default stability/security".


> > So you can get a system installed very quick now, but If you have a lot
> > of software you don't care about the configuration, why install it? Why
> > not spend the time to lean it out, and get rid of things you don't need,
> > and get the things you do, to work right.
> 
> 'Cause I have a lot of disk space and I'd rather have stuff installed that I
> don't need then to come back later and have to install a bunch of stuff that I
> wanted that wasn't installed (that's my complaint with Slackware...). I'm

I'm the other way... I'd rather go back and install WHAT I NEED when I NEED
IT, than to have Red Hat or some other company decide what's best for me.


> > Thats it exactly Debian doesn't make you install tools and recommend you
> > not edit the files, editing the config files give you the power to set
> > options the GUI doesn't have. 
> > 
> > If your installing a server you don't need X, and you don't need a X
> > installer that might not work with your video card and old monitor
> 
> Red Hat has most of the config tools available in a command line form or some
> flavor. You don't have to run X to administer it. That would totally suck...

I avoid most command-line/console-based config tools, too... I prefer
editing raw config files most of the time.  Gives me much more
flexibility... Plus, that's the way I've learned to do it (my first distro
was Slackware).

I do occasionally use Debian's configuration scripts for sendmail or
magicfilter, etc... But for many things I'm a "hard core purist".  I always
set up PPP manually :-)


--
Floppy disk tip #6: Periodically spray diskettes with insecticide to prevent
system bugs from spreading.....
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  Jonathan Hall  *  jonhall@xxxxxxxxxxxx  *  PGP public key available
 Systems Admin, Future Internet Services; Goessel, KS * (316) 367-2487
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