If you have worked extensively with "traditional" Linux-based servers and compare the internals of same with the RAQ (my issue is the RAQ3 specifically), what you see is not pretty. The RAQ has a GUI that, while helpful to those unfamiliar with Linux, Apache, Sendmail, etc. administration, precludes (and, in fact erases) file edits that are consistent with and an integral part of the aforementioned packages provided by the developers to implement some worthwhile features. More distressing, you see in the RAQ a collection of woefully outdated software, some two years old yet under active development and improvement by the open source community. Sun makes packages available only after it can tweak them to not interfere with the GUI. Fair enough. But what about those who want to run a "real" Linux that is free of the GUI and its restrictions? Ignoring the issue of "breaking" the warranty, what are the items that have to be addressed? In other words, what (from a hardware/OS internal viewpoint) makes a RAQ a RAQ? >From my vantage point, I see three basic things. First the RAQ has an LCD display panel. Second, the RAQ has no intrinsic video capability. Third, the RAQ has a web-based control panel that is the primary means of administering the system. Web-based administration is important to me since my RAQ3 is a) leased [I've never even seen it] and b) a hundred miles away from my office. Using a combination of other (IMHO better, at least for my needs) web-based control panels, some custom scripts we have developed (for other systems but applicable to RedHat Linux more or less generally), and SSH, we do what we will without using the Cobalt GUI. There may be other important things (one-of-a-kind disk and/or network controllers), but these are not quite so obvious. If, in fact, we need to go so far as to make far-reaching changes that disable the GUI, what are the implications? Is any of this documented anywhere? For example, are drivers for the LCD panel available so we can provide on-site observers with the kind of visual feedback they are accustomed to seeing during boots? If so, where are they? If not, what happens to the LCD panel if it is not actively controlled? Is there other unique hardware that is not supported by Linux (specifically RedHat 7.x) out of the box? If so, are drivers available? If so, where are they? I recognize that the concept of the web server as an appliance is desirable to some people; I am not one of them. And, yes, I know I would be better served by a Dell server, but that is not an option at this point. The RAQ represents a value for me from a lease cost viewpoint, but an inconvenience from a leading-edge development viewpoint. I'd like to accentuate the positive while eliminating the negative, but the lack of information of the type I have mentioned makes this difficult and is quite foreign to the open-source character of the Linux community which is, after all, the cornerstone of its success. I would appreciate replies from anyone who has specific information on these issues, including (perhaps most notably) Sun people. Jack _______________________________________________ cobalt-developers mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://list.cobalt.com/mailman/listinfo/cobalt-developers
