Quick poll

[Roger Oberholtzer]

On Sun, 2008-10-05 at 09:37 -0500, David A. Bandel wrote:
> Folks,
> 
> A couple of quick questions:
> 
> 1.  How many of you run servers (vice desktops)?
> 
> 2.  How many servers? (1, 2-10, more than 10)?

Two. I am not a server person. These are part of my software development
and support system.

> 3.  How many are headless?

One has a display / keyboard. Mainly for shutting it down. It is off in
a server room somewhere in the bowels of this place. If  was to
reinstall the OS, I would sit at a display. 

> 
> 4.  How many run X (headless or not)?

Both. Not that anyone actually uses it (however, see below).

> 
> 5.  How did you install them? (Graphical install/text install, local
> install/network install/internet install)

Graphical local DVD. I.e., the default method.

> I broke network install into network and internet to allow for local
> network vice internet where the repositories are all remote -- local
> install is from CD/DVD or the same machine for a virtual server).
> 
> 6.  Did you d/l all the CDs/DVD.  If so, what percentage of programs
> did you install?

SUSE is only 1 DVD. But I installed more than I needed...

> What I'm looking at here is how odd am I?  Having run Debian for so
> long (even before I started w/ Caldera), I might be spoiled.  My
> recent foray into FC has me wondering if any of the developers there
> have any gray matter or incredible tunnel vision -- or again, is it
> that everyone but me has 100Mb Internet, unlimited DVDs to burn and
> throw away (very carbon), and of course all systems (even headless
> servers) with Terabytes of RAM and running X (because who cares with
> that much RAM)?
> 
> All my installs are text mode (FC is doing away with text mode
> installs, FC 10 Beta's text mode is so borken you have to know the
> secrets to get past the disk partitioning, and I expect no text mode
> in FC 11).  All my installs are PXE/TFTPBOOT installs of a network
> (internet) load -- mostly to limit bandwidth usage and start with a
> 100% up-to-date install.

FC do not represent all. SUSE's text install still goes strong. When it
cannot do a graphical install, it automatically falls back to the text
mode install. Later sysadmin work is also available via a text version
of the X tool.

What difference does text install make? SUSE lets you do a fully remote
graphical install. Of course, that probably works best with a network.
How many servers are networkless?

> I'm afraid I fail to see the sense behind installing servers with X.
> I also see little sense in burning a DVD just to throw it away after 1
> install and d/l a newer one 2 weeks later for another install.

Here is an odd thing:I have set up one server to check out and compile
our packages for release. It has to run X. This is because we have an
OS/2 DSP compiler that runs under dosbox. And dosbox seems unable to run
without X. So, in odd cases, there could be a need for X on an otherwise
non-X system.

> Perhaps there are just too many who've started their training on M$
> and can't deal with non-graphical, non-local installs.

Yep. We also install Linux in our vehicles (many more than we have done
servers). I have been trying so hard to get the guys who do this to set
up an install server and let SUSE do it's automatic installation. Not
only headless. But you also get a uniform install. They still zip around
with DVDs and sit answering lots of questions over and over again. I do
think they are getting ready to give in. But it has not happened yet. 

> I'm trying to wrap my head around this thinking process but it's not
> making sense.  Perhaps if a few of you would answer the poll above, I
> could understand better where the rest of the admins are.
> 
> If you don't want to answer in public, pls send to me directly at:
> david.bandel at gmail.com.

Nothing to hide here.

> Thanx,
> 
> David A. Bandel
-- 
Roger Oberholtzer

OPQ Systems / Ramböll RST

Ramböll Sverige AB
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And remember:

It is RSofT and there is always something under construction. 
It is like talking about large city with all constructions finished. 
Not impossible, but very unlikely.