Re: Possible convert to Debian

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To: debian-user@lists.debian.org
Date: Mon, 07 Jun 2004 23:52:37 -0400

John Fleming wrote:

> 1. It sounds like Sid is actually pretty stable, I'm guessing especially
> for the basic mail and webserving things I use. Would you recommend I go
> with Sid, or with testing or stable?

Overall, Sid is rather stable. However, every thread on this topic I have
seen in the last six months had the same answer: unless its a personal
server, run Stable.

Unstable is in a constant state of flux, and with that flux comes a much
higher chance of something being broken. These problems do get sorted out
eventually, but you really don't want to have a production server suddenly
down for a few days due to a broken package.

> 2. It seems that installing from the Knoppix CD might be a bit easier for
> a newbie?

Perhaps. At the same time, though it lacks the nice GUI of other installers,
the Woody installer isn't very difficult to use. You could also use the new
Debian Installer, which I can say from experience is much improved over the
installer used in Woody.

> I've never tried something like woody 3.0r2 on new technology -
> only on an older limited computer, and I had problems with NIC being
> recognized and others.

I've run into the same problem. The general solution is to build a custom
kernel with newer 2.4 kernel sources.

> 4. Correct me if I'm wrong, but as I understand it, if I use Sid and keep
> it updated, I should never have to do a complete reinstall of the OS as
> recommended for Fedora upgrades. And if I use the stable version, I can
> do an apt-get dist upgrade and upgrade to the new version(s) as available
> without a complete reinstall, right?

Correct.

> Any other comments for this relative newbie that's old (>50) and not a
> sysadmin by trade? Thanks a bunch for your time!

Don't give up - instead, view each challenge as a valuable learning
experience. One of the benfits of an OS that doesn't try to do everything
for you (besides not getting in the way) is that it forces you to
understand it better.

That knowledge is very handy in the event something goes wrong.

As for those questions I didn't answer (because I felt I lacked sufficient
knowledge to be helpful), try Google and the list archives - odds are they
have been previously discussed and answered somewhere.

Adam

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• Previous message: Nick Smith: "Re: apt-get error"
• In reply to: John Fleming: "Possible convert to Debian"
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