> > This is Off-Topic for the list, if we wander too far from > > using OSes for repeater controllers... > > But being a VERY long time Linux user, and professional > Unix/Linux administrator -- I'm really curious why you > say this? What experience did you have that made you feel > Linux is "bad" for this type of thing?
Maybe he didn't find a Gui the first time it booted..? :-) > To share my experiences, I have a Linux box running IRLP that > the hard disk has been spinning and no upgrades/changes have > been done to it ON THE MOUNTAIN since 2002. That same disk > was moved from a machine that handled the IRLP linking in my > garage for two years prior to that. Doing something along similar lines out here on the left coast. > It's been running without a single software or hardware failure > for 8 years. An Amen is yelled from the crowd. My current Linux box "distro" has been cooking along 24/7 since 98... Linux is an incredible OS and now it's come unto it's own in both the private and public worlds. > (Yeah, I know... it's coming... but when the disc finally fails, > that's not "Linux" fault. Linux has been rock-solid up there.) I agree... and the Western Digital drive in my machine is still on duty. I/we expect it to crash any day now but it's still on the prop doing the Timex Watch Commercial without fail. > It's an old Compaq Deskpro, from the good days when Compaq > didn't build junk hardware. A smokin' Pent II 350MHz here... I used to change the power supply fans before I got smart and put in higher quality ball bearing fan movements. > I *know* no Windows OS based machine would last months without > a reboot, but I'd still use one for things if there were some > compelling software or reason to use it. Windoze requires a reboot every so often... just because it's a Windows OS and it's like to ask you for an upgrade or check in with the mother ship. > It'd be XP Home or Pro, for that job. No Vista, that's for > sure... since ham projects usually use old hardware, and > numerous well-documened tests have shown that starting with > bare hard disks, installing XP and Vista and then only ONE > application... Vista performs some 20-30% slower, under > extremely controlled test conditions... It's like paying > for a downgrade to your hardware. Not worth it. In a short time you won't have a choice... XP will go away because Micro Sponge says it's gettin' old/long in the tooth. > But I can't think of any controller software good enough > on ANY platform to be worth turning my repeaters over to... > yet. An extended Drum Roll please.. > The dedicated controller manufacturers all do a better job > than anything I've seen on a computer, yet... someone will > build something someday to prove that wrong. You are right... better but still not 100%. Don't leave home without a hardware time out timer in your pocket. > At least one NHRC repeater controller is running embedded > Linux now also, and Linux has pretty much taken over the > low-end embedded systems market as well as runs most of > Wall Street these days... Isn't the new Link Comm Super Rocket-ship Controller based on Linux? One or two controller mfgrs are starting to see the light. > So... I'm curious what soured you on it? > Nate WY0X Probably how early Linux Distro's (distributions) were not super friendly to anyone but those who swam at the command line (dos prompt) at run level three. And hardware in those early years was a bit of a pain in the fanny with some Linux OS if you didn't have the more generic cards in your ISA slots. cheers, s.
