Greetings fellow admins!
I must say I'm stunned by this. Why on earth would anyone want to switch
servers from debian to ubuntu? Is it Debian isn't good enough anymore, or
ubuntu is somehow better as a server?
I apologize for starting an argument, but I do feel the point should be made.
I can't be the only person wondering about this. I am not trolling, but in
good conscience I cannot accept this idea. I just do not understand. Why
would ebox even consider changing distro's? and moving to ubuntu? Why would
any server software want to run on an unstable, bleeding edge distribution like
ubuntu?
For those of you who don't know this, Ubuntu is based on taking a snapshot of
debian's UNSTABLE sid version (you read right, I said unstable, aka "as new as
it gets, updated daily"), clean some things up, then release it as ubuntu.
Ubuntu is BLEEDING EDGE software. It is far from stable. It should never be
used for production server use. It is for experimental and non-production use.
If you disagree, good luck supporting those servers, you'll need it.
I would never build a server based on unstable software from any distribution,
including debian' s unstable branch. I wouldn't even build a server based on
debian's testing "lenny" version which has been heavily tested, but still not
yet considered stable. I build my servers using thoroughly tested STABLE code,
currently debian etch. Why on earth would anyone want to build a server using
unstable code like ubuntu is beyond my comprehension. I wouldn't want to
support it. Think about it. That is a massive support disaster waiting to
happen.
That's point one, changing distros, don't do it!
Point two is the target audience. Most debian admins are experienced. Most
ubuntu people are GREEN GREEN GREEN.
I realize ubuntu is the most popular linux desktop right now, so is this a move
to expand the market acceptance of ebox?
Do you really want to support your server software run by people new to linux?
Just look at the ubuntu forums. It's a noob fest, full of people new to linux.
A noob asks a question, then 10 other noobs respond with that they "think" it
"might be". EGADS! They have no clue what LDIF or vi is.
This mailing list will quickly be dominated by noob ubuntu questions that have
nothing to do with ebox. Instead of LDAP questions, you'll have "I can't boot"
questions. Do you really want to target people who have less than one year
linux experience?
It takes years of experience integrating LDAP with samba, mail, squid, vpn,
etc. These are amongst the hardest linux technologies to learn. I understand
ebox is trying to make it easier for people to have an integrated server
without EXTENSIVE experience, and I applaud that, but do you really want to
target people with no experience, who can't do anything without a mouse?
Here's a comparision: a person is new to windows, using it for only one year.
Hey, lets give them a free copy of windows SERVER, and watch them try to figure
out active directory, when they don't know the difference between RAM and ROM
and hard disk storage. Two cups of coffee and they'll have active directory
licked :) I know, that example is extreme, but not off by much! I'm sure you
get my point.
I'm now building my integrated servers on debian etch, using all standard
packages. I recently discovered ebox and want to use it, but I'm not willing
to go back to Debian Sarge. It's too old, and is not the current stable
version.
I really really wish I could be using that great ebox interface on my servers,
but I can't. I'm stuck with custom scripts, and tools like phpldapadmin and
webmin. However, I'd rather have to configure things manually on a current
stable server, then have a gui on an unreliable ubuntu server. I can't be the
only admin who feels this way.
Please, I beg you to reconsider. Stay with debian. Get ebox working on Etch.
Make sure it's ready to upgrade when Lenny goes stable. Don't turn your back
on a solid distro with experienced admins. Fix what you have, before creating
more problems.
My name is on this post, and I welcome genuine debate. I realize I'm being
pretty hard on ubuntu, but my point is still valid. I see no advantage
switching distributions, other than targeting more (albeit green) users, at the
cost of reliability. Is it worth it?
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