Crunch time: Debian, Libranet or FC1?

[Collins]

On Sat, 01 May 2004 14:46:13 -0400
Matthew Carpenter <matt at eisgr.com> wrote:


> In theory, Gentoo would be my choice for servers....  Only everything 
> you want/need.  

I have to agree.

> However, I'm still getting stuck on my second installation.  It's 
> probably my own doing, as I chose to domost of the install offnet
> using the LiveCD packages.  I'm sure nobody who is a guru ever does
> that so I'm probably shooting myself in the foot.  

Almost the reverse is true: you need to be a guru to deal with the pre-generated packages. The tried and true methods (Stage1-2-or-3) really work, but the pre-installed packages and the genkernel procedure (a supposedly simpler way to install a kernel which screws up more people than it helps) are not quite ready for prime time IMHO.

> Not to mention not having 
> read all the docs yet, just several renditions of the Gentoo handbook 
> and the help from guys on this list.

As stated in another eamil, you need to be almost anal at following instructions to come up with a solid gentoo installation. Once you've done the basics, then it's easy. Of course, I have always deviated from the recommendation to setup a /boot partition, but otherwise I follow the instructions to the letter.

> 
> But for me and my clients, we'll use SuSE 8.2pro for just a while longer 
> yet :)  

SUSE's a fine product.

> I do keep trying with this Gentoo box, though.  Most of the time spend
> d/l has been over ISDN, though.  I've left it at work running emerge
> world using the 4 DS-3's and when I came in it errored out again.  I
> have this striking feeling I will be wiping it and starting over again
> before finding the sheer bliss that everyone keeps attributing to
> Gentoo.  

Nohing wrong with starting over; I've had to do that with non-gentoo systems as well. Here are a few pointers:

1. I would recommend that you start with a Stage 2 tarball which saves a little time. Forget about the pre-compiled packages. Get familiar with Gentoo procedures.
2. Always do 'emerge -pv system' and 'emerge -uvp world' to see what you're installing before doing it for real. -p means pretend.
3. Next do 'emerge -f system' or 'emerge -uf world'. This will cause all required packages to be downloaded only. That way, you'll find out whether anything is missing before you leave it to run unattended.
4. Finally do 'emerge system' or 'emerge -u world'.
5. Be sure to create directory /var/log/portage and add PORT_LOGDIR=/var/log/portage to /etc/make.conf. That way portage will log each step, and you can easily find out what went bang and why.
6. After all is well, do emerge -f kde to download averything first. kde is a super pain in the butt to get installed, and it keeps the gentoo developers busy, but I have had no problems with it.

And, BTW, read all the docs several times; you need to understand what is being done at each step.

-- 
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( CR ) Collins Richey
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