Raj, Why are you using Ubuntu for production servers? Look how many major releases they have had vs. Debian, or RHEL. They push out the latest version of the software as fast as possible because that is what their user base wants. That's why I use Ubuntu on my desktops. But they can't possibly keep the same quality control on such a release cyle. For production servers I use Debian, except when a client requires enterprise support, then I use RHEL. I suggest the same.
Hope this helps. Justin On Sun, 16 Mar 2008 12:55 am, Raj Mathur wrote: > First thing yesterday morning: urgent IM message from Suresh > Ramasubramanian (hoster of this mailing list): > > Mailman is down, can you help? > > OK, so we start investigating his box. He has upgraded Python2.4 to > Python2.5, and applied a Mailman security patch package. However, > whenever we try to access the page, the server barfs. On to server > logs -- syntax error in one of the Mailman support files. > > Right, I can understand an upgrade causing logical errors, but a SYNTAX > ERROR!??!? Nah, I must be missing something, so I look all over the 2 > upgrades. Switch back to Python2.4 from Python2.5, no joy. Recompile > all the Mailman files from scratch, no joy. Recompile the Ubuntu > Mailman package from source and reinstall it, no joy. Bang head > against wall, no joy. > > Finally, desperate, I start comparing Mailman files on Suresh' server > against Mailman installed on other servers. While they are different > versions of Mailman, I do notice one anomaly: where one file has: > > mlist.subject_prefix = Utils.canonstr( > val, mlist.preferred_language) <- *** Note this line > *** > elif property == 'info': > > Suresh' server has: > > mlist.subject_prefix = Utils.canonstr( > elif property == 'info': > > Saying, `no, no, it can't be!' I insert the missing line into the file > on the broken machine, cross fingers, eyes, legs, etc and restart > Mailman. > > It works! > > [Shift to today] > > Ubuntu issues a security notice that says, in effect, ``We screwed up > with the previous Mailman patch, so here's the latest and greatest > version of Mailman, and this one really, Really, REALLY works! Believe > us!''. > > I don't believe them. In the past 6 months Ubuntu has issues 80 new > security advisories. For those 80 advisories, they have issued no less > than SEVEN regressions (a regression is a patch to fix a broken patch). > A near-10% regression rate sends only one message to me -- we can't be > bothered with doing any quality control before we release packages. > > Before Ubuntu came onto the scene, I didn't even /know/ what a > regression was. Today it's a common word in my lexicon, because of > Ubuntu's pathetic testing and quality control process (or lack of > process, more likely). An operating system vendor who issues a package > with a syntax error (so that the package doesn't even start up, leave > alone do something wrong), is a pure crap snake oil vendor in my book. > > So, the question: will I trust Ubuntu on an Internet-connected system? > Nah. > > Will I trust Ubuntu on a server? Er, please excuse me while I > finishing > laughing hysterically! > > Use Debian or CentOS or any of those reasonably tested other > distributions for your boxes, and when someone asks you to use Ubuntu, > in the immortal words of Fancy Raygun, ``Just Say No!''. > > Regards, > > -- Raju > -- > Raj Mathur [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://kandalaya.org/ > Freedom in Technology & Software || February 2008 || http://freed.in/ > GPG: 78D4 FC67 367F 40E2 0DD5 0FEF C968 D0EF CC68 D17F > PsyTrance & Chill: http://schizoid.in/ || It is the mind that moves > > _______________________________________________ > ilugd mailinglist -- [email protected] > http://frodo.hserus.net/mailman/listinfo/ilugd > Next Event: http://freed.in - February 22-24, 2008 > Archives at: http://news.gmane.org/gmane.user-groups.linux.delhi > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ _______________________________________________ ilugd mailinglist -- [email protected] http://frodo.hserus.net/mailman/listinfo/ilugd Next Event: http://freed.in - February 22-24, 2008 Archives at: http://news.gmane.org/gmane.user-groups.linux.delhi http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/
