Fedora Makes a Terrible Server?

[David G. Mackay]

On Wed, 2008-03-26 at 09:41 +1000, Da Rock wrote:

> I'm going to put my 2c in and say if you want a server that is stable,
> doesn't need constant updating, can be changed without rebooting (if
> you're clever), and can get easy, continuous support throughout the
> ages, then go FreeBSD and be done with it.
> 
> The lists are informative and will help no matter what, and I've run a
> web server, dns, and more on a little shitbox which won't run anything
> else for 27 days without rebooting and making fairly major changes in
> the process. Its only a pII with a 3Gb drive.

I agree.  I've had several knowledgeable folks suggest it, but I've just
not gotten around to it.  How are they about security fixes?

> I believe you use the right tools for the right job- Fedora CAN be used
> as a server, but you have to ask: should you? FreeBSD is primarily
> designed as a server, and most ISP's and other services use it for its
> reliability. I know of a server that was up for over 3 years without
> stopping running FreeBSD. I believe it's also possible to hot swap
> kernels on FreeBSD- something I wouldn't try with linux.

I don't think hot swapping kernels is anywhere in the near future on
linux.  (But I'd be happy to be corrected on this)  It does bring to
mind a recent situation.  A couple of years ago, I was involved in a
project with a client.  As part of it, I set up a server running Apache,
Cyrus Imap, Squirrelmail, and Samba.  The project reached completion,
and the server got taken over by another group.  I got a call about two
months ago.  It seems that the new group had been using the server
totally unmodified, and without technical support.  Web access had
stopped working, but email was fine, and other folks could access the
web pages being served by Apache.  After over two years of running
unattended, the Squid log had reached the 2GB file size limit, so Squid
stopped running.  Once I cleared that, Squid came back up, and they were
happy again.  When the box can run over two years without ANY technical
support, it's hard to convince them that they need a support contract.

> Linux is great for desktop apps and can be used for server solutions,
> but it was designed for desktop use- so thats its strong point. That
> said FreeBSD or any other Unix system is a lot harder to setup as a
> desktop system, but it can be done too.
> 
> Well, I've had my rant... I feel happier now. I'm off...

I dunno about you, but I'm on this list mostly for the things that I can
learn here.  Thanks for reminding me about FreeBSD.

Dave