Thread: ?linux distro?

--- Randy Burkhardt <randy.burkhardt@gmail.com> wrote:

> I'm putting Postgresql 8.1 on linux intel x86 boxes
> for getting my
> Postgresql feet wet.  Which linux distros are good
> for Postgresql 8.1?
> Desktop type or otherwise..
>

Randy, i saw the gentoo recommendation.  my
understanding of gentoo is that it can take a long
time to compile (i think this term is used correctly)
programs, but when they are compiled, the programs are
optimized and noticeably faster than on comparable
systems.

i've heard of over 12 hour installs.  perhaps this is
exageration.  having said that, i've heard people rave
about the speed of the system once it is set up.

if you want a fast system (once set up) and don't mind
waiting for extended compile times, gentoo is will
likely serve you very well.

if you want faster install times, and don't mind
slightly slower operation times, you might try a
debian based distro like simply simply mepis,
opensuse10 or kubuntu (or ubuntu if you want to go
with gnome, the others are kde based).  if you have an
older system, you can install debian directly, or go
with d*mn small linux (dsl) or puppy linux (both about
60MB of operating system).

debian seems to have a very good package manager that
is able to avoid many dependency issues.

i don't think installing pgsql is very difficult as
long as choose a distro with a good package manager.

i installed pgsql (but haven't configured it... yet)
using synaptic (apt's graphical interface)...  i
searched for postgresql, i marked it for install, i
clicked "apply".  i waited a minute or two.

i'm probably going to set up a straight debian server
with with the bare minimum software to run as my web
and database server.  the fewer the programs running,
the more secure your system will be.

i use mepis at home, but i would also like to try open
suse, ubuntu and kubuntu at some point.

best of luck.




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<operationsengineer1@yahoo.com> writes:
> Randy, i saw the gentoo recommendation.  my
> understanding of gentoo is that it can take a long
> time to compile (i think this term is used correctly)
> programs, but when they are compiled, the programs are
> optimized and noticeably faster than on comparable
> systems.

The real problem with Gentoo is their orientation towards "bleeding
edge" rather than "stable".  The idea of building your own version with
your own weird combination of compiler flags that perhaps has never been
tested by anybody else (certainly not the upstream developers of the
software) is just one facet of this.  Another is that Gentoo positively
encourages you to put in poorly-tested hacks ... such as that CONNECT BY
patch that they were still pushing for Postgres last I heard.

Now "bleeding edge" is fine for a lot of purposes, but most people who
are running a database server are probably more interested in "stable".
If you'd like to think that somebody other than you has tested the
combination of software that you are entrusting your valuable data to,
then you should stay away from Gentoo.

I think most people in the Postgres community who use Linux run
Red Hat/CentOS/Fedora or Debian or SUSE.

(ObDisclaimer: I work for Red Hat, so obviously I have a bias in
this matter.)

            regards, tom lane

--- Tom Lane <tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us> wrote:

> <operationsengineer1@yahoo.com> writes:
> > Randy, i saw the gentoo recommendation.  my
> > understanding of gentoo is that it can take a long
> > time to compile (i think this term is used
> correctly)
> > programs, but when they are compiled, the programs
> are
> > optimized and noticeably faster than on comparable
> > systems.
>
> The real problem with Gentoo is their orientation
> towards "bleeding
> edge" rather than "stable".  The idea of building
> your own version with
> your own weird combination of compiler flags that
> perhaps has never been
> tested by anybody else (certainly not the upstream
> developers of the
> software) is just one facet of this.  Another is
> that Gentoo positively
> encourages you to put in poorly-tested hacks ...
> such as that CONNECT BY
> patch that they were still pushing for Postgres last
> I heard.
>
> Now "bleeding edge" is fine for a lot of purposes,
> but most people who
> are running a database server are probably more
> interested in "stable".
> If you'd like to think that somebody other than you
> has tested the
> combination of software that you are entrusting your
> valuable data to,
> then you should stay away from Gentoo.
>
> I think most people in the Postgres community who
> use Linux run
> Red Hat/CentOS/Fedora or Debian or SUSE.
>
> (ObDisclaimer: I work for Red Hat, so obviously I
> have a bias in
> this matter.)

i didn't mention this in my prior post, but my
production database at work is fedora core 3 by red
hat.

if you want to develop something and try to sell it
business - Fedora Core is probably your best bet.  not
just because Tom works there, either, although that
*really* helps!  :-)

PHBs (pointy haired bosses) don't do well when it
comes to understanding something that 1. is free and
2. doesn't have commercial support.



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On Wed, 28 Dec 2005, operationsengineer1@yahoo.com wrote:

> if you want to develop something and try to sell it
> business - Fedora Core is probably your best bet.  not
> just because Tom works there, either, although that
> *really* helps!  :-)

Or, use one of the free RHEL clones like WhiteBox or CentOS.  All of my
servers are CentOS, so if I decide I need support I can simply license
RHEL4 and duplicate my installlations there...

--Josh

On Wed, 2005-12-28 at 16:11 -0800, Randy Burkhardt wrote:
> I'm putting Postgresql 8.1 on linux intel x86 boxes for getting my
> Postgresql feet wet.  Which linux distros are good for Postgresql 8.1?
> Desktop type or otherwise..

Debian unstable has 8.1.1 and testing has 8.1.0

The Debian packages enable different PostgreSQL versions to be installed
concurrently, which makes it easy to migrate to a new version.

--
Oliver Elphick                                          olly@lfix.co.uk
Isle of Wight                              http://www.lfix.co.uk/oliver
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                 ========================================
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On Wednesday 28 December 2005 17:11, Randy Burkhardt wrote:
> I'm putting Postgresql 8.1 on linux intel x86 boxes for getting
> my Postgresql feet wet.  Which linux distros are good for
> Postgresql 8.1? Desktop type or otherwise..

This is at best, a religious question.  Much of the installation
of distribution supported packages is dependent on the flavour of
linux you are using.  If most of your boxes are Mandrake, I would
try to stay with Mandrake.  I am a Debian (unstable) person, and
I consistently see activity from the Debian packagers on this
mailing list.  So, I would think that Debian linux support is
good.  But if you are used to RPM based packages, I don't think
that PostgreSQL is a valid reason to change from whatever RPM
based distribution you are running to something Debian based
(.deb).

Gord