Re: initial setup for newbies

Alceu Rodrigues de Freitas Junior wrote:
>> Don't use the "stable" version.  ("We biologists have a word for
>> 'stable', we say 'dead'").
>>     
>
> For initial tests, I would prefer to use the stable version. Unless, of 
> course, the testing version is more stable than the stable. :-)
>   
Stable doesn't mean "it keeps running".  Stable means "it never gets 
updated".
> There is any know problem with release 1.2? It is still being maintained?
>   
No, it is not maintained.  It works as well as it works.
>> The easiest to install is the testing version based on Sarge.
>>     
>
> Which version this should be? 1.9?
>   
Version numbers were never my strong point.
> I'm using version 1.2 and it's not that easy. Getting DVD ISO images 
> from Sarge is a bit slow since the option of using bittorrent is not 
> available anymore (well, I didn't find it).
>
> I used the documentation for version 1.2 and the URL to the OpenSSI 
> repositories are wrong (should end with a "openssi-v1" instead of "v1").
>
> Since I installed Sarge 3.1r8, I noticed that some packages suffered a 
> downgrade after executing "apt-get dist-upgrade". Should I worry about that?
>   
No.

>> The easiest way of working around hardware support problems, and dealing
>> with the probable initial cock-ups is to install OpenSSI under qemu or
>> kvm.  Once you've screwed things up a few times in a virtual environment
>> you can try with real machines.  :-)
>>     
>
> Gee, I really don't have any background with qemu or kvm.
> Screwing up hardware now is not an issue. :-)
>   
The problem is not screwing up hardware, it's being forced to restart 
from scratch.  If you do your playing in a virtual environment you can 
do stuff like:

1. install debian sarge on a vm
2. on the host: cp --sparse=always vm-disk vm-disk-backup
3. mess up an install of OpenSSI
4. on the host: cp --sparse=always vm-disk-backup vm-disk
5. goto 3


>> What hardware do you think would cause trouble?  NICS?  Sata?
>>     
>
> A NIC from NVidia (it's onboard). Sarge looks like to have the latests 
> version of the driver (forcedeth 1.25) but the module just doesn't work.
>
> After several tries (even compiling the module) I gave up and installed 
> a off-board NIC. Worked like a charm.
>   
>   > The kernel is the OpenSSI kernel for the version you install.  You don't
>   
>> get any more choice than that.  (The Lenny based preview offers two
>> kernels, 2.6.12 based and 2.6.14 based, but I'd prefer you to try the
>> 2.6.14 based kernel - the more debugging it can get the better).
>>     
>
> Looks like kernel 2.4 from Sarge 3.1r8 works just fine.
>
>   


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