Return to BSD News archive
Path: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au!newshost.anu.edu.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!nntp.coast.net!news.kei.com!newsfeed.internetmci.com!vixen.cso.uiuc.edu!sdd.hp.com!night.primate.wisc.edu!newsspool.doit.wisc.edu!koala.uwec.edu!daffy.anetsrvcs.uwrf.edu!cakerwood!not-for-mail From: bl03@uwrf.edu (BENJAMIN A LINDSTROM) Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.advocacy,comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc,comp.unix.advocacy,comp.unix.misc Subject: Re: Linux vs FreeBSD Followup-To: comp.os.linux.advocacy,comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc,comp.unix.advocacy,comp.unix.misc Date: 1 Dec 1995 23:36:59 GMT Lines: 56 Message-ID: <49o3ir$t4e@daffy.anetsrvcs.uwrf.edu> References: <489kuu$rbo@pelican.cs.ucla.edu> <4972bn$psq@bell.maths.tcd.ie> <49ijf9$9rc@tombstone.kent.edu> <30BD2617.23585C28@mcs.net> <49k0dd$pfg@nntp5.u.washington.edu> <49ksgl$2pit@ns4-1.CC.Lehigh.EDU> <nelsoni.817779588@rintintin.Colorado.EDU> NNTP-Posting-Host: cakerwood.acc.uwrf.edu X-Newsreader: TIN [UNIX 1.3 950726BETA PL0] Xref: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au comp.os.linux.advocacy:28732 comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc:9590 comp.unix.advocacy:11557 comp.unix.misc:19734 Ian S. Nelson (nelsoni@rintintin.Colorado.EDU) wrote: : fjw2@Lehigh.EDU (FRANK JUDE WOJCIK) writes: : : >: Most importantly, Slackware releases rearely synced with stable : >: releases of the kernel!!! Separate distributions from the kernel : >: caused us no end of grief. : >I fail to understand why getting and compiling new kernel sources is a : >problem. True, installing a new kernel requires a reboot, but... : : I can think of two problems. a) Rebooting is not acceptalbe in some situations : if you are running a business server (I had to deal with this issue at IBM a : couple of time.. It's amazing how many people get pissed off because the : server was down to reboot for 5 minutes) I highly doubt that Walnut Creek True..That is why if you are in a business envoriment you move from 1.0.LastX to 1.2.LastX..Most the time people upgrade kernels after Work hours (like what I try to do) when 90% of the business fokes leave. If you have a major mission critical system...I personally buy two machine exactly the same. (Memory is not a big deal..just major items like SCSI cards, etc) and you set that machine as a test system..And you can find the next Stable kernel before rebooting. : reboot very often. b) You have to spend/waste the time to keep on top of : the kernel releases and issues regarding it. If you have to do work then that : can be a problem. I run linux on one of my machines and I have been fairly : happy with it, there are a few things that bug me but not too many. Now : start looking for new kernels because of those few bugs? If I haven't upgraded : in a year then they could be a lot of kernels to look through and they may not : fix anything, it's realistic to assume that they could even break something : else. This is one area AIX, BSD, HPUX, and all the other organized unixi will : always have an edge; and it's an important edge to a lot of people. : UH? You lost me. =) If you are moving from one stable kernel to another stable kernel nothing should be broken.=) That is why there are Beta kernels and production kernels.=) : I guess a third problem with this is that recompiling the kernel isn't seen by : everybody as an okay thing to do. Commercial unixi are starting to move : towards the more dynamic methods. On an AIX box you can plug things into it : and activate them with out ever rebooting or recompiling the kernel. There is : such a low level of trust in software these days, imagine if your complier : jacked up and linked it wrong or something. Problem with modules..(I run them at home.) Is when your still are stablizing the internal structure for talking between modules and kernel you might need to replace the kernel, and it's very hard to have a module that can be ran with any kernel. They are getting better, but there are a lot of things that are not good as modules.. TCP/IP seems something that would be better in the kernel then as a module. Next problem is...I need to update module XYZ...It's heavily used...So it almost be like TAKING down the system to get all the processes to stop using that module to replace it. BTW...If you compiler links things wrong for the kernel.=) You better fix the compiler because it will link other things wrongs..<grin>