When I first starting installing Linux (Debian 1.1), I would carefully go through the default packages and remove everything that wasn't essential to running the system. The reason why was bandwidth. At that time we had a single T1 to share for the office. It was very expensive. Downloading lots of needless package updates took forever, especially with several machines to update. It was easy then. There just weren't that many packages to worry about.
In the intervening years, however, the package list grew too large to go through. It was easier to look for a 'minimal' install disk and be on my way. Most of the time a 'minimal' was fairly minimal. Networks were fast enough that installing a few extra packages was no big deal. Recently I have noticed that distro builders are having a really difficult time with the concept of 'minimal'. All kinds of stuff is being installed on our servers we just don't need. Virtualization means I don't have a handful of hosts to update, I've got ten times that many. Bandwidth and disk are again becoming a problem. Updates are taking forever. Linux containers promise to eliminate many reasons for virtualization (which will ease the pain). Yet, the tools to manage these environments are still growing. It is time, now, for the great package purge of 2014. A new Salt state called 'killallthethings' is in my git repo. Its job will be to sanction all the cruft with the efficiency of Clint Eastwood in the Swiss Alps. And I ask you, PLUG'ers, to offer up suggestions of sacrifice... What are the needless packages you would love to have eliminated? -Dragon^H^H^H^H^H^HRyan P.S. My blood does NOT need to be completely replaced twice a year, contrary to rumor. /* PLUG: http://plug.org, #utah on irc.freenode.net Unsubscribe: http://plug.org/mailman/options/plug Don't fear the penguin. */
