[ILUG] Suggestions for best 64 bit Linux distro?

[Colm Buckley]

>  == nadir at compsoc.nuigalway.ie
>>  == colm at tuatha.org

>> Is there anyone on this list who is responsible for a real  
>> production server and has decided to use Gentoo Linux on it?  What  
>> was the evaluation process which led you to this decision?
>>
>>      Colm (hundreds, and no)

> and the evaluation process?
> id be more than interested to know

We want a distribution which requires minimal local maintenance;  
ideally something onto which we can graft our necessary changes  
without having to deviate substantially from the upstream.  Better  
still is a mechanism to feed our changes and bugfixes back into the  
upstream.  Local repositories are to be kept to a minimum.

This is borne of several years effectively running our own  
distribution (a RedHat fork), which turned into an *enormous* time- 
sink for sysadmins.  Basically, the overhead of maintaining local  
versions of software, tailored for our infrastructure, is  
prohibitive.  There are simply too many packages out there.

Ubuntu is attractive because:

     * It comes prepackaged for both our major architectures (i386  
and amd64)
     * Its installation is easily automatable, with superb hardware  
detection
     * Its installation is *quick*; machines can be deployed in 15  
minutes
     * Maintainers are willing to rapidly upstream our bugfixes
     * It has the Debian notion of packaging rigour so no dependency  
hell
     * It has a predictable release cycle, with long lifetimes on  
older versions
     * It's very easy to add local repositories for non-upstreamable  
packages
         - apt allows prioritising, version maintenance, etc
     * Debian's thoroughness in config file update mechanisms etc. is  
maintained
     * Security fixes are rapidly available, and easily deployed
     * Trivial to maintain hundreds of servers in synch
     * Sensible choice of main versus universe packaging
     * Enormous package selection in universe (very little need to DIY)
     * Installation of new packages virtually instantaneous

Basically, sysadmin time is one of our scarcest and most precious  
resources; any distribution which requires a substantial amount of  
admin time to install, upgrade, or add new packages to is a definite  
no-no.  Ubuntu wins handily on this scale; this is mostly due to its  
Debian heritage and the concomitant notions of rigorous package  
definition and testing.

Hope this helps,

     Colm

-- 
Colm Buckley / colm at tuatha.org / +353 87 2469146