[Weaver]

Anybody played around with Gentoo Linux?

http://www.gentoo.org/index.xml

-Weaver

[lilwip]

Guy I work with has it on all his machines. I have burned the install cd's but have not installed it yet. Am thinking about wiping my mandrake install and loading gentto though.

[epec254]

I think I will setup a Linux box when I get my new PC. I think Gentoo looks nice, but the install process ain't the easiest. Which could be a good thing - learn from errors (or lack thereof)

[lilwip]

I love this shot....... lol

[Weaver]

I know what their site says, but what does he (your coworker) like about it?

-Weaver

[chuckx]

I'm Shannon's coworker, and to answer your question...

Overall, Gentoo's selling point is it's package management system. It's similar to Debian's dpkg, but is source-based. Dependencies are automatically handled and it's very easy to keep your system up to date. The best way to think about Gentoo is as an automated LFS (Linux From Scratch).

There are a couple things to keep in mind when considering Gentoo.

First, the process of compiling an entire OS installation can be very enlightening, but it can also be time consuming. Also, the installation procedure is very bare bones. It's more a list of commands to run than a typical installation application.

Last, if you have a slow machine and/or a slow internet connection, Gentoo may not be the best choice. Downloading and compiling applications and libraries can take a long time (KDE is especially notorious in this respect).

Contrary to what Shannon said, I do not run Gentoo on all my machines. When I want to setup a Linux installation and I'm working with a slow machine, I use Debian.

When dealing with servers, if Linux is necessary, I once again use Debian. For routers and simple server systems, I am now leaning towards OpenBSD.

For desktop systems, I use either Windows 2000/XP or Gentoo Linux.

My current home setup includes:
Pentium 4 2.6 GHz Laptop - Gentoo
Athlon XP 2200 Desktop - Windows XP
Pentium 200 MHz Server - OpenBSD

--
chuckx

[SCJwl]

Good info chuck! It always helps to have somebody around that's experienced in other things.

[Weaver]

What is your reason for moving to OpenBSD for simple server and routing purposes? I have heard that there are certain enhancements (differences) to certain aspects of the network stacks in the BSD's. Sometimes for the best, sometimes for the worst. Thanks.

-Weaver

[chuckx]

The main reason I originally tried OpenBSD is because I just wanted to play with something new. The other factor which drew me towards it are the developers radical bent on keeping their software secure (this is the same group that created OpenSSH).

In any case, when you install a BSD system, you definitely get the sense that it's a more "integrated" UNIX environement. The man documentation is especially good as compared to a typical Linux system (ie. 'man afterboot' gives you a thorough explanation of things that should be done once you get your system up and running).

I like the default install of OpenBSD. It's very minimal and almost guaranteed to be secure. From that solid starting point, you can install additional software. You can do it manually (ie. download the source archive, uncompress and 'configure && make && make install') or browse the ports tree in /usr/ports for software (ie. 'cd /usr/ports/category/application && make && make install').

The filesystem layout is very logical. The packages included in the base intall are in /usr. Things you install via the ports system go into /usr/local. The init system is simple (but very different from the System V init system most Linux distributions use).

OpenBSD is definitely for those who are experienced with the Unix environment. There are no GUI configuration tools. If you know how to get around and configure things from the command line in Linux, getting familiar with a BSD environment should be relatively easy.

I haven't done any performance testing, so I can't comment on how the network stacks of each OS compares.

The only problem I've had is the upgrade path. No hand holding is done here. Patches are distributed in source format, so you need to get familiar with their build system to upgrade your system. If you wait for major releases, upgrading is pretty simple (boot off CD, choose the upgrade option, then read the documentation to make the necessary changes in /etc by hand).

Overall, OpenBSD is just a nice, compact UNIX like system.

--
chuckx

[Weaver]

No problem there, my mother was a command line. I think you have convinced me to give OpenBSD a try. The one question I have for you though it this, how does one go about updating the kernel? Are there as many people working future kernel releases for BSD as there are for GNU Linux? Secondly, how does NetBSD fit into the BSD equation? My buddy is always raving about that, I tell him that I'll stick to Slackware and Debian. Thanks.

-Weaver