Re: [dev] Suckless (*NIX|*BSD) Distribution?

On Sat, Jun 20, 2009 at 10:45:11AM -0500, Kurt H Maier wrote:
> On Sat, Jun 20, 2009 at 8:47 AM, Thomas Gallen<kaori.hinata_AT_gmail.com> wrote:
> > You are correct, we don't give fancy names to automating our
> > installations (at least not that I'm aware of).
>
> If stock Gentoo installation tools work for rolling out unattended
> installs to many diverse workstations, a couple dozen servers, and two
> clusters, someone needs to write a paper, because I bet there's a PhD
> in there for them. FAI and kickstart are far more than "fancy names."
> I suspect you've misapprehended what they do.

Err, no no. I'm suggesting that automating a Gentoo installation would
be both possible and relatively easy, but it would be so application
specific that naming it would be silly. It obviously won't compare to
FAI or Kickstart but I thought it would be obvious after you read my
first line.

> > I'd fire you too considering the current tarballs are updated regularly
> > and keeping a local package cache and portage mirror is not rocket
> > science. Of course, if you require all of X and a desktop environment on
> > your servers, then I can't help you there.
>
> Not really sure what X has to do with local repositories, but yes,
> some of our machines do require X and a desktop environment. People
> actually use them.

Err, I said "servers" in that sentence because I was talking about the
habit of some people installing X on their servers in relation to your
statement about wasted resources. The package cache and portage mirror
statement was meant to be part of that theme as well but I guess I
didn't relate the two very well.

> > It's a metadistribution. The entire point is to use it how you see fit
> > and it tries to help you do that, but it by no means holds your hand
> > while doing it.
>
> I don't think "metadistribution" has an actual application here. I
> see things like LFS or JeOS as metadistributions; 'being configurable'
> doesn't really cut it.

Eh, it's not too horribly difficult to chop it up and use it's parts. I
don't think you need to start with a bucket of legos in order to be a
"metadistribution".

> --
> # Kurt H Maier
>
Received on Sat Jun 20 2009 - 17:38:04 UTC