Remco wrote: > Once upon a time, Linux was very hard to use on the desktop. If you > wanted to do anything, you had to read manuals and get flamed on > mailinglists. In recent years this has all been turned around. There > were some detractors that would argue that Linux would become as > insecure as Windows because any fool could now use it, but that didn't > quite happen. > > I don't see why this would be different for server administration. An > Apache server is very easy to set up, even now. Just install apache > and you're done. Still, we're not getting complaints that Ubuntu blew > up the Internet. >
Way back when I was still learning and had a Redhat Linux 7.0 natbox, it got rooted and I only found out by chance when I saw a glibc 3.0 package listed as installed and just happened to be aware that glibc latest version was 2.2. For present desktops, you get this lovely software update reminders/alerts and of course apt/yum already preconfigured. You suppose a mom and pop outfit will be constantly monitoring their server and will therefore remember to update the thing before it gets rooted? > Regardless of all these arguments, wouldn't it be great if Ubuntu made > it easier for system administrators? A tool that makes it difficult to > make mistakes would be a win for any user, whether they are a skilled > system administrator or not. A system administrator can still make > mistakes, and would benefit from a system that complains when this > happens. > Sorry, that is just not possible. At best you can have certain simple set configurations and a gui that will put those in place. Anything else will require a competent administrator. > As a computer science student, I know about Internet security. You > need a firewall, updated software, strong passwords, a secure > connection, limited permissions. Yet, I would have a hard time setting > up a mail server. That should not be hard to do for me. I should just > be able to install a package, run a nice configuration tool from the > administration menu, make sure it is sane (and be told if it isn't), > and fire it up. It's not that complicated. Yet, whenever I have to do > something that involves server software, suddenly it's like I travel > back 10 years in time, with endless console sessions, reading man > pages, searching the Internet, and a lot of trial and error. > > Why you get people to agree on a set configuration as a standard, then you can make a gui for just that. Anything else is way too complicated to be worth the effort to enable a clueless admin to setup. -- Ubuntu-devel-discuss mailing list Ubuntu-devel-discuss@lists.ubuntu.com Modify settings or unsubscribe at: https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-devel-discuss
