What distro do you run?

adpowers · 2003-12-16, 08:44

What distro do you run? What is your favorite distro?

When I first installed Linux on my old PIII 450, I used Mandrake. I didn't know much about Linux at the time and I wanted something easy. However, I was disappointed with the package management. It was too hard to get updates for old version of the distro.

I tried installing Gentoo on my brothers computer, but he was too impatient to get it working.

I just got a new server and installed Gentoo on it. It was easier than before, now that I know more. Everything was compiled from scratch with a custom kernel based of the Gentoo server sources. I have two instances of mprime up and running now :). I have installed most of the server apps I want, but now I need to configure them. I have samba and proftpd working, but not fully. Samba is working anonymously, but not with users' home directories, while proftpd is running with home directories, but not with anonymous.

Gentoo rockxors the majxors d00ds! Hehe. Anyway, it is really cool

because you compile everything from source for your own system.

Andrew

PS: Just be careful to include the -X and -pdflib USE flags in your /etc/make.conf file or (at least in my case), it will try to install X as a depedency of PHP.

BotXXX · 2003-12-16, 10:48

The first one was RedHat 5.something ;) but very fastly switched to TurboLinux and stayed there mostly. Also had a box with NetBSD to try it out. And it worked nicely as a web and file server ;) which is all i needed at that moment.

Also fooled around with Stormix and Trustix as little test but never got past the testing it out phase.

Pablo the Duck · 2003-12-16, 11:30

Libranet 2.8 (for daily use)
Libranet 2.8 (on the laptop)
Libranet 2.7 (on the print server)
Slackware 9.1 (on the test box)

I used to like Slack best but Libranet (a Debian based distro) has overtaken it as my favourite distro for everyday use. Very stable, everything works and no problems with package installation.

QuintLeo · 2003-12-17, 00:48

I started out with Yggdrasil, back in the days when that and SLS were the *ONLY* distributions available - and I'm not *cetain* SLS was around when I first started playing with Yggdrasil, though by the time I built my first dedicated Linux box SLS was around.

After Yggdrasil went over a year without an update (they eventually did produce an update, but it was almost a 3 year gap, and that update turned out to be the final Yggdrasil version, circa '96 I think?) I switched over to Slackware, as it was getting updated frequently and I liked Walnut Creek (who was the Slackware on CD distributor at the time).

I have seen no reason to switch from Slackware since then, except for some usage of muLinux for a floppy-based D.Net client setup (and I ended up building a custom kernal from Slackware sources for that anyway).

I've used RedHat, but disliked a lot of it's defaults - not saying it's bad, but it wasn't what I was used to. Ditto Gentoo.

Interesting part - of all the Linux distributions that currently exist, Slackware is the oldest - it predates any other Linux distributions EXCEPT Yggdrasil and SLS, both of which are long gone....

For reference - I've also worked with AT&T Unix Version (NOT System) 5 and 6 (yes, Virginia, I did learn to program on DEC PDP-11 machines), some BSD (DEC PDP-11 and DG Nova hardware), and SunOS 4.x (Sun 3 series machines) before I started working with Linux.

My farm currently runs a mix of Slackware versions, mostly 7 and 8 series, as I don't bother upgrading a "farm" box unless I have a major failure or do some sort of major upgrade to it. I do have a couple boxes running 9.0, though, and have the ISOs for 9.1 around for when I do my next system build.

geoff · 2003-12-17, 01:49

I run Debian now (Sarge), I like the packaging system and the volunteer philosophy. My first distibution was Slackware, installed from a small pile of floppies, I can't remember what version it was but it installed kernel 1.09.

GP2 · 2003-12-17, 04:56

Quote:

Originally posted by QuintLeo
My farm currently runs a mix of Slackware versions, mostly 7 and 8 series, as I don't bother upgrading a "farm" box unless I have a major failure or do some sort of major upgrade to it.

For farm boxes I run Knoppix... the entire operating system runs off a single CD, which has several benefits:

No hard drive = less heat and less power, no pressing need to regularly upgrade the OS, you can pick up boxes and move them around and shake them while they're still running, never have to worry about lost data due to hard drive failure or crashes or viruses, you don't have to bother with a UPS (just a surge supressor), you never have to worry about hard drive failure due to the inside of your case being too hot, etc.

You can buy a cheap old crappy slow CD-ROM from eBay, since they're rarely used except at boot time. Whereas you'd never dare get an old, used hard drive... even brand new ones have an alarmingly high failure rate.

For permanent data storage, a floppy disk is a little too small, so you can just use a small USB memory stick (32 MB) and put your mprime directory on it.

For a non-farm box that you actually sit in front of and work on, I use Red Hat.

optim · 2003-12-17, 20:43

I use Slackware 9.1. Have tried RedHat 6.xx (disliked it), SuSE 7.2 (liked it), and I also have Debian 3.0 but I havent tried it.

I have also tried FreeBSD (liked it). One time I tried to install openBSD but the install was awful and hard so I didnt installed it.

optim · 2004-06-23, 14:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by optim

I use Slackware 9.1. Have tried RedHat 6.xx (disliked it), SuSE 7.2 (liked it), and I also have Debian 3.0 but I havent tried it.

I have also tried FreeBSD (liked it). One time I tried to install openBSD but the install was awful and hard so I didnt installed it.

Update: Now I use SuSE 9.1 Pro on two boxen. Debian is also great. I will switch one box to Slackware once it releases a new updated version.

Only one of my laptops uses Windows 2000, but I never felt the need to use Windows again after I installed SuSE 9.1.

thes1001 · 2004-06-23, 21:23

I started out trying a knoppix CD I got from a friend. Eventually I got an older machine and did a stage one Gentoo install on it (well, it actually took like three tries when I made severe errors with configuration that made a new install easier than fixing it). Now I'm going to be taking that computer (slightly upgraded to a 1.3 duron with 128MB ram--hopefully enough for what I need) to college for all my wordprocessing and internet needs.

Xyzzy · 2004-06-24, 13:50

Debian on all my boxes here...

paulunderwood · 2004-06-24, 18:04

I run Mandrake 9.2 on most of my boxes. On my dual boot P4 2.4 Ghz, wine runs LLR 15-20% faster than Windoze 98

Needless to say I try and keep this box runing linux as much as possible; It will save me 4 hours a day

Oh, linux is much cheaper and with all that extra money I would have to spend on software licences I can divert to more new hardware

2003-12-16, 08:44	#1
adpowers Sep 2002 2⁴·5 Posts	What distro do you run? What distro do you run? What is your favorite distro? When I first installed Linux on my old PIII 450, I used Mandrake. I didn't know much about Linux at the time and I wanted something easy. However, I was disappointed with the package management. It was too hard to get updates for old version of the distro. I tried installing Gentoo on my brothers computer, but he was too impatient to get it working. I just got a new server and installed Gentoo on it. It was easier than before, now that I know more. Everything was compiled from scratch with a custom kernel based of the Gentoo server sources. I have two instances of mprime up and running now :). I have installed most of the server apps I want, but now I need to configure them. I have samba and proftpd working, but not fully. Samba is working anonymously, but not with users' home directories, while proftpd is running with home directories, but not with anonymous. Gentoo rockxors the majxors d00ds! Hehe. Anyway, it is really cool because you compile everything from source for your own system. Andrew PS: Just be careful to include the -X and -pdflib USE flags in your /etc/make.conf file or (at least in my case), it will try to install X as a depedency of PHP.

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2003-12-16, 10:48	#2
BotXXX Aug 2003 Europe 2·97 Posts	The first one was RedHat 5.something ;) but very fastly switched to TurboLinux and stayed there mostly. Also had a box with NetBSD to try it out. And it worked nicely as a web and file server ;) which is all i needed at that moment. Also fooled around with Stormix and Trustix as little test but never got past the testing it out phase.

2003-12-16, 11:30	#3
Pablo the Duck Dec 2003 Team China 2·3³ Posts	Libranet 2.8 (for daily use) Libranet 2.8 (on the laptop) Libranet 2.7 (on the print server) Slackware 9.1 (on the test box) I used to like Slack best but Libranet (a Debian based distro) has overtaken it as my favourite distro for everyday use. Very stable, everything works and no problems with package installation.

2003-12-17, 00:48	#4
QuintLeo Oct 2002 Lost in the hills of Iowa 2⁶×7 Posts	I started out with Yggdrasil, back in the days when that and SLS were the ONLY distributions available - and I'm not cetain SLS was around when I first started playing with Yggdrasil, though by the time I built my first dedicated Linux box SLS was around. After Yggdrasil went over a year without an update (they eventually did produce an update, but it was almost a 3 year gap, and that update turned out to be the final Yggdrasil version, circa '96 I think?) I switched over to Slackware, as it was getting updated frequently and I liked Walnut Creek (who was the Slackware on CD distributor at the time). I have seen no reason to switch from Slackware since then, except for some usage of muLinux for a floppy-based D.Net client setup (and I ended up building a custom kernal from Slackware sources for that anyway). I've used RedHat, but disliked a lot of it's defaults - not saying it's bad, but it wasn't what I was used to. Ditto Gentoo. Interesting part - of all the Linux distributions that currently exist, Slackware is the oldest - it predates any other Linux distributions EXCEPT Yggdrasil and SLS, both of which are long gone.... For reference - I've also worked with AT&T Unix Version (NOT System) 5 and 6 (yes, Virginia, I did learn to program on DEC PDP-11 machines), some BSD (DEC PDP-11 and DG Nova hardware), and SunOS 4.x (Sun 3 series machines) before I started working with Linux. My farm currently runs a mix of Slackware versions, mostly 7 and 8 series, as I don't bother upgrading a "farm" box unless I have a major failure or do some sort of major upgrade to it. I do have a couple boxes running 9.0, though, and have the ISOs for 9.1 around for when I do my next system build.

2003-12-17, 01:49	#5
geoff Mar 2003 New Zealand 13×89 Posts	I run Debian now (Sarge), I like the packaging system and the volunteer philosophy. My first distibution was Slackware, installed from a small pile of floppies, I can't remember what version it was but it installed kernel 1.09.

2003-12-17, 20:43	#7
optim Nov 2003 European Union 2³·13 Posts	I use Slackware 9.1. Have tried RedHat 6.xx (disliked it), SuSE 7.2 (liked it), and I also have Debian 3.0 but I havent tried it. I have also tried FreeBSD (liked it). One time I tried to install openBSD but the install was awful and hard so I didnt installed it.

2004-06-23, 21:23	#9
thes1001 May 2003 15₈ Posts	I started out trying a knoppix CD I got from a friend. Eventually I got an older machine and did a stage one Gentoo install on it (well, it actually took like three tries when I made severe errors with configuration that made a new install easier than fixing it). Now I'm going to be taking that computer (slightly upgraded to a 1.3 duron with 128MB ram--hopefully enough for what I need) to college for all my wordprocessing and internet needs.

2004-06-24, 13:50	#10
Xyzzy Aug 2002 8485₁₀ Posts	Debian on all my boxes here...

2004-06-24, 18:04	#11
paulunderwood Sep 2002 Database er0rr 2²·1,063 Posts	I run Mandrake 9.2 on most of my boxes. On my dual boot P4 2.4 Ghz, wine runs LLR 15-20% faster than Windoze 98 Needless to say I try and keep this box runing linux as much as possible; It will save me 4 hours a day Oh, linux is much cheaper and with all that extra money I would have to spend on software licences I can divert to more new hardware