Suggestion on Linux Distro

[Michael Kennedy]

I'm going to wind up swapping a ton of hardware on my Linux server and I want to redo a few things, so I've decided it might be best to go ahead and look into finding a new distro for my Linux server.  I've been using Mandrake 9 with no problems, but it might be time to move to something different.

The biggest thing this distro needs are updated versions of all the necessary server software so I don't need to update everything right off the bat (ie- Apache, BIND, mySQL, mail, etc).

So, what distros do you guys use for servers and what are the pluses and minuses of each?  I'd start a poll on this, but I'm sure to leave a bunch of popular distros off.

So, should I switch or should I hold out for Mandrake 9.2 (which should be out fairly soon)?

[Guest]

Personally, I'm planning on using Mandrake 9.2 next.  I used to have RedHat 7 a long time ago, and then I switched to Mandrake, which I've been using ever since.  I've always liked Mandrake since I first tried it.

Just my two cents.

[R. Andrew Lamonica]

The CS Department currently uses RedHat 9 for its Linux servers. (Including the server that hosts caos.siue.edu)  The main reason we use it is because it is comparatively simple and there is lots of help out there because of its popularity.  Recently, we subscribed to RedHat Network (http://rhn.redhat.com) and now we can do cool things like install and uninstall packages from their website plus any security holes get patched and the updated packages installed on our systems with little intervention on our part.  I suspect that other distributions have features like this, but few of them have a commercial institution (whose reputation depends on their diligence) keeping an eye on things.  

Since RedHat is so popular most open-source linux projects have a release for it.  This site uses Apache and mySQL so I know they both work on RedHat 9.

Mike Grim runs a few non-RedHat systems for us, but (aside from solar.cs.siue.edu) they are not used for anything critical.  He might be able to recommend his favorite.  I think he wants to put up a firewall on a BSD system for us to try out so you might ask him what he likes about BSD.

[Stiffler]

RedHat, Mandrake, and SuSE are blotted systems. If you want absolute security and stability, choose Debian. Since Debian is outdated and Gentoo takes a long time to compile (You can use GRP which are prebuilt packages for various processors.), I would recommend trying Slackware 9.1. Click Here for a review. The review is for rc1, but not much has changed. Slackware 9.1 uses all the newest packages. Click Here for the announcement. It has some sweet specs, and I'm a Gentoo/SuSE enthusiast.

Hope this helps!

Jon

[Michael Kennedy]

OK, thanks for the replies.  It'll be a few days or weeks until I wipe and start over (I usually wait until things are working before I destroy a system :-D) so I'll look into these suggestions and let you guys know what I decide.  :)

Oh- one question, though- what major differences would I see with a Slackware install vs. a Redhat/Mandrake install?

[Stiffler]

Here is the complete install guide with pictures so you can see for yourself.

Also, there is a new tool for Slackware that acts like Gentoo's eBuild tool, or RedHat's updater. It checks the ftp site for new programs, does a dependency check, and then downloads all needed updates. Click Here for the homepage. There are screenshots of this tool as well.

Jon

[Michael Kennedy]

FYI- I'm installing Slackware right now using VMware.  My first impression is that Slackware needs to adapt an installer like Mandrake, etc.  It's one thing to be efficient and not take up much space by not being overly graphical and pretty, but it's much easier to navigate Mandrake's installer.  Anyway, I'll report how things go tomorrow.  I'm gonna install and shut down right after so I can get some sleep.  :)

[Michael Kennedy]

Last night I must have installed LILO improperly for a VMWare setup because now I'm just getting a blank screen when I try to boot into it.  So, how do I change the LILO configuration?  If I reboot back with the CD1 I dont see how I can actually change the lilo.conf or anything like that?

This setup is weird being with VMware, I know, but this works best for me to at least test things.  :)

[edit]
Actually, my problem isnt with the LILO config file, but the fact that the MBR isn't pulling it up properly.  Any idea how to fix that?  Thanks.
[/edit]

[DaleDoe]

Yea.  Slackware doesn't exactly configure LILO for you.  It tries a default configuration and if that fails, you have to do it yourself .  You usually have to edit /etc/lilo.conf.  I don't know exactly how you would have to change it to make it work with VMWare :-?.  Then when its configured properly, you run a utility to load the configuration into the MBR.  I forget exactly what the name of util is :-?, but I think its name starts with lilo.  I haven't used lilo in a long time, so it's a little sketchy.  So I'd try typing in "lilo" and hit tab to see what it comes up with.  I think I figured it out by reading the man pages on lilo.  

If this util tells you it failed, your lilo.conf isn't right .  

[Michael Kennedy]

Yeah, my problem seems to be with simply getting it into the MBR.  Here's what I'm trying, but not having any luck.  When I boot normally I just get a blank screewn with a cursor in the uppler left.  So, nothing is happening.  When I boot off the CD again I can enter the setup, etc for Slack, but it wont help me setup LILO without reinstalling (not a terrible option, but not that desirable either).  Also, "find / -name "*lilo*" won't come up with *any* LILO files for me to mess with.

So, I mounted /dev/hda1 to /home (just cause it's easy to remember) to see if that helps.  I am able to get into /home/sbin and liloconfig doesnt do anything and when i try "./lilo -M /dev/hda mbr" to install the MBR I'm getting the error "Fatal: creat /boot/boot.0300: No such file or directory".

So, I'm gonna continue to muck around with the options, but I dont seem to be getting anywhere so far.

Thanks for the help so far, guys.  :)

[DaleDoe]

Try mounting /dev/hda1 (I :censored:ume that's the one its installed on) onto /  That way it will be able to write to /boot/boot.0300  This is byond my expertise, but that's the first thing I'd try.  Most linux programs use absolute paths to get to their files, and that would likely be causing you problems.

If that doesn't work, I might recommend using Grub instead.  I like it because once its loaded into the MBR, you can get a grub console and start typing in grub commands until you figure out how to boot it.  Also, I'm more familiar with grub.  That's how I have my Slackware configured.  But it didn't come that way.

Apparently I can't :censored:ume.  Doing so is censored.

[Michael Kennedy]

I just now got it.

When I boot off the CD it was giving me the chance to set booting params and I kept overlooking it.  I remember reading that part a few times, but it never clicked that I should be doing that.  :P  Anyway, went in and did the "/sbin/lilo -M /dev/hda mbr" thing, rebooted, and it works now.  :)

Thanks for the suggestion- but is mounting to / a good idea?  Just curious for future problems.

[Michael Kennedy]

I have Mandrake 9.2 if someone wants me to upload it anywhere.  I'd much rather upload the ISOs than take this route, but Torrent files are also available my email if you can't find them online.

[William Grim]

On nis.cs, we are only currently carrying Red Hat and SuSE ISOs.  However, they are horribly out-of-date; I need to fix this at some point.

There isn't enough space on those servers to add more large files like this atm.

[Michael Kennedy]

OK, if that situation changes let me know.