Incredible :) ----- Original Message ----- From: "montefin" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "John L. Fjellstad" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: <debian-user@lists.debian.org> Sent: Friday, July 28, 2000 7:17 PM Subject: Re: current Redhat user evaluates Debian
> > "In a galaxy far away, John L. Fjellstad" wrote: > > > > Hi, > > > > I'm a current RedHat user (started with Linux on RedHat because > > it was available at Fry's), and I'm currently evaluating > > Debian for a possible switch. > > > > Can anyone come up with a list of advantages of using Debian > > Linux over Redhat Linux? > > I would also love to hear any the weaknesses Debian has compared > > RedHat. > > > > John, > > I've been dual-booting Red Hat and Win98 on a PII 350, since March, > 1999. Before that I'd been dividing my computing pretty much equally > between MacOS and NT. > > In January, 2000, I got serious about setting up a network to serve my > websites, front-ended by a firewall box that wouldn't quickly become > just 'a piece of Swiss cheese' between my LAN and the outside world. > > In other words, I wanted a system configuration that would impose a > strict, consistent, logical hierarchy and be easy to maintain and update > against any new security exploits that would inevitably come at it. > > I looked into Slackware, SuSE, Debian and also OpenBSD and FreeBSD. > > In March, 2000, I picked up a 1992-era 486DX 66 with a modest 514Mb hard > drive, at Goodwill of all places. $120 and all the hardware was Linux > compatible! > > The local LUG (Linux Users Group) here, offered to make free burns of > any distros members wanted to try. I got a CD each for Debian, Slack and > SuSE. > > Since I'd already started auditing this (the debian-users) mailing list, > I popped in the Debian CD first and found I only had part of what I > needed. But it made enough sense that I downloaded a set of tools from > http://www.debian.org to floppies and partitioned the 'Goodwill Special' > as 100% pure Debian and installed a workable 'Slink' (Debian's current > stable release) base system. > > Over a 56k modem and using 'dselect' (Debian's front-end to 'dpkg', the > package management tool), I fleshed out 'Slink', but realized it was > pretty outdated as compared to the Red Hat 6.1 conglomeration I was > using on the PII. > > So I ordered a set of CD's for Debian 'Potato' (at the time, Debian's > unstable release) from the nice people at Greenbush Technologies > http://www.greenbush.com/cgi-greenbush/order/index.cgi . > > But before the CD's arrived I'd discovered apt-get (Debian's system for > upgrading from file, http or ftp sources). I never used the CD's. > > Once you get the hang of apt-get, you realize there isn't much else out > there that you can even compare it with. > > Almost overnight, online, I went from 'Slink' to 'Potato', without > having to bother the great folks on this list too much (I hope). All of > a sudden, Red Hat was looking outdated! > > BTW, if apt-get is my #1 reason for going forward with Debian for my > firewall, this list is a close second. I have attempted about nine times > to get email support from Red Hat, support I paid for, and never got > past a bot or a 'customer service' representative who couldn't > understand how I could possibly be feeling frustrated. Never once did > anyone who knew anything ever respond. > > In late June, 2000, I upgraded from the 56k modem to a 192k/192k SDSL > connection, installed linux-2.2.16, set up the network, ssh and ssl, > then just last night decided to 'apt-get' myself from mostly 'Potato' to > full 'Woody' (Debian's current development release). > > Maybe I've gotten too confident in the Debian development team for > 'Woody' on a firewall? > > If apt-get was great at 56k, it is mind-boggling at 192k. Especially if > you've ever tried to get a crucial security update from Red Hat or one > of its mirrors and gotten an insipid dialogue saying more or less 'sorry > all circuits are busy' or 'that site/directory/file does not exist'. > > Best of all, once you've done an 'apt-get dist-upgrade', a complete > upgrading of everything you have chosen to have on your Debian system -- > online -- in under an hour -- whenever you want (I do it weekly) -- you > never want to go back to anything like the horrors I experienced > upgrading from Red Hat 6.0 to 6.1. > > RH 6.2? No thank you. > > However, I'm continuing to run Red Hat 6.1 on the PII. > > Are there advantages to Red Hat over Debian? > > Well, just the day before yesterday, a brand-new Red Hat user snuck onto > this list and asked why Red Hat wasn't recognizing his new ethernet > card. I think they do that because they've heard if you want Linux help, > ask the debian-user people. Some have even admitted that. > > Off the list, I attempted to walk him through the various steps I'd had > to learn to set up my network 'the way I wanted it'. I began by asking > him questions about his routing table, his kernel, etc., so we'd have > enough information to 'just do it'. > > Finally, he wrote back saying "Hey, thanks, but I know nothing about my > kernel since Red Hat did it for me, and somebody else told me just go > into linuxconf > Basic host information > Adaptor 1, select the right > kernel module, and it worked. But I learned a lot from your questions." > > And you know (slapping my forehead), I knew that! But it was just too > simple. > > Does Debian have weaknesses as compared to Red Hat? > > For the paradigm I started with, I'd have to say no. But, for people who > just want to 'do it'? Yes. Debian takes work, a greater willingness to > read the HOWTO's and manpages, and a strong, dedicated support group in > close touch with the developers. Luckily, that last 'weakness' is more > than overcome by the debian-users mailing list. > > Will I switch the PII from Red Hat to Debian? > > Probably. But, I don't feel any pressing need to switch now that Red > Hat's security looseness is tucked in behind a Debian mediated firewall. > Of course, security is relative. But, I'll feel relatively secure as > long as nobody writes back "Don't do Woody on a firewall!" > > Still, when friends ask me about 'this thing called Linux', I recommend > they go out and buy the latest Red Hat boxed CD set; try Linux; and, if > they like it and want to get serious, switch to Debian, Slackware or > SuSE. > > Sorry for the story format and not a neat list. Hope it helps. > > montefin > > > -- > Unsubscribe? mail -s unsubscribe [EMAIL PROTECTED] < /dev/null > >