Installing Debian - Which approach?

[Workin']

I'm installing Debian to replace Windows as my network server. Or rather, I've been trying to install Debian to replace my Windows server.

My first question is: Would it be better to install just the base installation and then add what I need using apt later? Or try to pick out the additional items I need from the huge list using dselect? And which kernel/branch? 2.2.x/potato? 2.2.x/woody? 2.4.x/woody? sid scares me, I need this box to be stable. But if someone has ecperience with it, maybe they can convince me that's the way to go.

Here is what I need the final installation to do:

- support a 4-drive software RAID 5 volume (not boot from it though)
- support Highpoint HPT366 ATA66 IDE controller, Promise Ultra 100 IDE controller, and dual CPU's on an Abit BP6

- smb file server (samba?)
- Appletalk file server (netatalk?)
- web server (apache)
- mail server (I think I'd prefer qmail over sendmail, it seems easier and more secure)
- SSH for remote access
- Remote administration using Webmin, I think

I don't think I need any firewall or routing capabilities, my router can manage that.

So it seems it might be easier to do a base install and then add those few services? Or am I missing something fundamental? Any other tips/tricks are appreciated!

 

[Nothinman]

I would check the versions of the software available in potato and unless you absolutely need sometihng in woody or sid use potato. I've had no problems with woody (and it should be dubbed stable pretty soon) but why take the chance?

I believe you'll need a 2.4 kernel for the HPT controller (I personally hate HPT and would never use their sh!t).

I use dselect more than apt lately because dselect is better at handling 'recommends' and 'suggests' dependencies (where as apt just ignores them) but either would be fine.

 

[Workin']

Originally posted by: Nothinman
I would check the versions of the software available in potato and unless you absolutely need sometihng in woody or sid use potato. I've had no problems with woody (and it should be dubbed stable pretty soon) but why take the chance?

I'll check on that.

I believe you'll need a 2.4 kernel for the HPT controller (I personally hate HPT and would never use their sh!t).

It's built-in on the Abit BP6, so....

I use dselect more than apt lately because dselect is better at handling 'recommends' and 'suggests' dependencies (where as apt just ignores them) but either would be fine.

apt handles dependencies, right? Seems way better than rpm. I hate tracking down dependencies with a passion.

Have you ever used Webmin?

 

[fivepesos]

ive been running woody (base then add stuff as i need it) for a while. the box was bp6 (like yours) w/ dual celeries. the hpt366 driver is supported in the 2.4 line of kernels (probably patcheable for 2.2). give woody a try, if its unstable move back to potatoe and patch a kernel to support hpt366.

the only reason i stopped using woody on my fileserver is a nice little distro called Gentoo. it takes a different aproach than apt or rpm for package management. it uses bsd ports-like system called portage. it has scripts to retrieve and compile the software you need. plus it has a very small footprint after install (just like debian's base). ive never run into any dependency problem with gentoo, everything is exactly like i compiled it from source.

whatever u decide, install base then add the stuff u need. keeps a slim and simple system.

are u trying to use software raid in the kernel?

 

[Nothinman]

apt handles dependencies, right? Seems way better than rpm. I hate tracking down dependencies with a passion.

apt does do dependencies (and for the record there is apt for rpm), but it only handles 'depends' dependencies, Debian has facilities for 'recommends' and 'suggests' that let a package say "this program isn't really required for the one you picked, but it is nice to have', dselect lets you see the suggested packages while apt just ignores them.

 

[capybara]

another possibility is libranet 2.0 which im using right now and i <3 it!🙂

 

[Workin']

are u trying to use software raid in the kernel?

That's what I would like to do. I've been running software RAID 5 under Windows 2000 Advanced Server for several months with no problems, I'd like to continue the same under Linux. I don't need high performance, and I like the extra redundancy without having to give up so much space as with mirroring. I have 4 40GB drives for data plus a 6GB drive for the OS.

I think I'm going to go with woody with the 2.4 kernel, do a base install, then dselect the services I need one at a time until I get them all running.

Any other pointers are welcome and appreciated.

 

[Barnaby W. Füi]

i'd say go with a 2.4 kernel for sure, and personally i'd go with woody, potato is pretty old, and woody should be released as stable here anytime. i use woody on my firewall/router/server, and on my main machine, and both are chugging along just great.

as far as apt/dselect, when you select to install a package in dselect, it will show you what other packages are recommended by the package you selected (i.e. iptables will suggest some documentation package, you dont NEED the documentation, but iptables wants you to have it. in this case i would skip it, i just read stuff online anyways.). apt will just install the package, and any other packages that it absolutely needs to work.

when i install debian, i just install the base, and then skip tasksel and dselect. i install on the fly whenever i need/want a program. this might be a bad option if you're on dialup (i.e. just download all the big stuff at once and get it over with), but if you have a decent connection it is in my opinion the best way to go.

also dont forget to run apt-get clean every once in a while 😀 😉

 

[Workin']

Thanks for the pointers. I set up woody with the 2.4 kernel on a test machine. Did the base install, then samba. Got samba working pretty easily. Then installed netatalk so my Macs can share files too, that was pretty easy to set up as well. Started configuring exim for smtp, gotta read about that a little more. Also installed qpopper for pop3 mail on my local network. Still have to configure that. Then it's on to apache and a few virtual servers.

After all that stuff is working on my test machine, I'll install it on my server and try out the RAID 5, HPT366, and Promise Ultra 100 support. Pretty sweet for free!