Opinions on Linux Distro's 5

[PeteH2]

Hi,

I'm after some real-world opinions and experiences.

I've read the marketing info & reviews of the main types of Linux around: Red Hat, Mandrake, SuSe & Caldera and now I'd like to know what they are *really* like.

I understand that each is good at their own area, but what do think that your own version is good and bad at ?

Is Red Hat the best allrounder ?
Is SuSe the best for desktop installations ?
Is Mandrake the best 'backroom' server ?

Your opinions, critisms and general advice are greatfully received

Thanks

Pete..

 

[chrishaw]

I know this will put me squarely in the "geek" column, but my preference is debian (

http://www.debian.org).

It's not for the newbie, as it doesn't have a flashy installer and expects that you have some knowledge coming into things. But if you know what you're doing, you'll probably be happier with debian. dpkg is a much better package manager than rpm and the packages *work*.

I ditched RedHat years ago when I got sick of perl not working right (RedHat 4.x and 5.x had perl built poorly, I always ended up rebuilding from source). When I first was using it, I didn't mind because I was a young system hacker who enjoyed rebuilding things from source when the rpm sucked and didn't mind that the kernel that shipped sucked because I'd just rebuild a new one. Now, I want the system to work because I have bigger and better projects to do, so I want packages to work, I want a decent kernel shipped, etc, etc. A friend recommended that I "grow up and move to debian". Tried it, loved it, and have stuck with it.

debian has three systems available, stable, testing, and unstable. Stable will get you a very stable system due to things being tested and not bleeding edge. Testing (what I run) is also very stable but has more bleeding edge software in it. Unstable is the build-of-the-day version that can be unstable, but hearing from people who run it, rarely has actual problems. If I was running a server, I'd use stable unless I *needed* something better. As a developer, I run testing.

RedHat is notorious for bad decisions like that. Not so long ago, when they decided they wanted to upgrade gcc, they just went and grabbed the latest development cvs tree of gcc (that's right, devel, not release), built it and put it in their release. The gcc developers tossed a significant part of that tree, leaving RedHat with an incompatible version. Bad decision making that seems to be their trademark. In the end, RedHat seems to be like Microsoft -- the market leader for no discernable reason.

SuSe - Great desktop system.

Mandrake - Based on RedHat, so has some of it's faults, but much more stable due to lagging behind and not always following RedHat's bad decisions (see gcc above).

 

[BIS]

chrishaw - have you any experience with slackware?

 

[chrishaw]

Not in a long time. I don't think I've touched slack since about '95.

I do know lots of people that swear by it though.

 

[BitFuzzy]

Slackware is very stable. Suitable for everyday use.. and/or your "serving" needs

However like "Debian - see above mention" it is not for an in-experianced user.

You could get it up and running. But there isn't alot of the GUI tools for configurations that alot of people seem to need or want, so hand configuration is required alot of the time (which only provides you a better understanding of how things work behind the scenes)

 

[emmons]

chrishaw - what do you think of FreeBSD?

 

[chrishaw]

No experience with it, but I know some people that work for ISP's that use it and absolutely swear by it.

 

[StarTAC]

i personally swear by SuSE Linux.. been running it since version 6.4 back in 1999, and moved on to newer versions today, of which 8.1 is the latest...

SuSE comes in 2 models, Professional for the backend service, and Personal for the home user with acceptbale networking knowledge....

SuSE comes ships with 7 CDs and 1 DVD... the DVD has everything on the 7 CDs, and more...

SuSE is designed for several platforms including:

o Intel [x86]
o PowerPC [Mac]
o Alpha
o Sun Sparc

the SuSE CDs have got over 2,500 packages, which means there's always something ready for use, if u need to get something done.. properly packaged in an RPM format.....

SuSE has what is known as YOU [YaST Online Update], which allows u to update packages on-line, automatically... the new format from SuSE means u only need to download a patch file, which is an RPM, and makes only the necessary changes to the existing package.. gone are the days when u had to download the whole package with the changes, again....

all SuSE kernels, 2.2 and 2.4 are compiled for extreme performance and hardware compatibility... memory management is so precise and clean, that i never swap, even when i run powerful and resource hungry applications such as Squid... the kernel always keep 2MB of unused RAM, and resets it whenever the threshold is reached.. so i never swap.. never!!!

security is paramount.. security announcements are available on the SuSE website, and all update packages are available, free on the SuSE FTP server.. SuSE ships with SuSE firewall, and Personal Firewall, both professionally built firewalls that run on both 2.4 [NetFilter] and 2.2 [IPChains]...

installation is so simple.. and with the newer versions, u only need 3 clicks of the mouse to install or upgrade.. of course experts need to go thru more steps..

i could rave on.... but u only need to try it to believe...

however, at the end of the day, it's really what u are comfortable with.. if u try a distro, and it works for u.. then u are better off using that one...

good luck..

 

[timsr]

I run Mandrake for our servers and firewall. I do not use Mandrakes own firewall, I set it up manually. However, we have had very few problems for the last 2 1/2 years with the server.
We tried Red Hat and got tired of reinstalling or rebuilding constantly to meet our demands. Haven't tried debian or suse for 3 or four years so I couldn't give a valid opinion, only hearsay.

 

[PeteH2]

I'm going to give Chrishaw, StarTAC & timsr a star for their help and effort.

But I've heard nothing of Caldera - is it still going ?

As always, all opinions gratefully received.

Pete...

 

[BitFuzzy]

If memory serves correctly, "caldera linux" has been replaced by an Sco Linux.

I don't have any experience w/ that particular product however I am running their Sco Openserver for a project.

It's not that bad, though I feel their implementation of their GUI could be better.

There's also an issue with the way their modules install, (you usually have to go back and install items like gcc,pine,gtk etc) which for all intense and purposes should be installed by default

 

[PeteH2]

Well, thanks to you all.

I've researched this reasonably well and, including your opinions, I've decided to go with SUSE for now and will have a new copy of 8.1 professional within the week.

It was a close shot between Debian and SuSE, but ease of use won the day. My requirements , if you're interested are:

* Research into replicating 'a desktop installation' of a 'Win9x style' workstation
* Ease of installation and documentation
* Still comes with all the 'Bells & Whistles' of other versions
* Can be trimmed down
* Well supported
* Tidy development

Thanks for your help - Hope I can reciprocate someday.

Pete...

 

[dpatillo]

when you get some time, give debian a serious trial. I think you will be pleased! Some files/configs are in different locations than RPM based distro's, but hang in there and give it a try.

The philosophy behind the Debian distro is also more of a SFS purist attitude, I think.