Re: which distribution to choose

On Friday 03 December 2004 14:31, Paul A. Sumner wrote:
> An advantage of Gentoo other some others is that it will give you easy
> customization to your specific needs.

One disadvantage: you have to compile absolutely everything. As a result of 
this, when (not 'if') a security advisory hits Gentoo, you will loose 
precious time compiling the new sources.

Another: you will need to leave compiling tools in that machine. For a edge of 
the network machine, this is a bad idea. If your firewall gets compromised,  
the attacker will have tools readily available to compile his/her malware and 
create havoc in your network.

And , of course, the 'easy customization' is a long and tedious process.

Gentoo is all right if:

a) your time costs nothing
b) you can use "overkill hardware" for a firewall 
c) you like to boast 'I compiled my server'
d) you don't mind downtime
e) you have a competent QA team 


Regards,
Josep
-- 
Josep L. Guallar-Esteve		Eastern Radiologists, Inc.
Systems and PACS Administration  http://www.easternrad.com

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.2.4 (GNU/Linux)

iD8DBQBBtwdmSGQa4/zQ9e8RAkWhAJ0W6GtROaHxeYA2B3Sxm2gba4UJpACgtFs9
P0hHVV1h2WNSo49UiM9Nf8E=
=SDdI
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----