[Techtalk] How do I build a Linux Blackbox?

[Elizabeth Barham]

Subba writes:

> I am interested in building a Linux blackbox. The typical distros
> that I switch between are Slackware and Debian.  When I do a typical
> install of these distro, I pretty much install everything.  Once I
> configure a system for a specific need I would like to strip off the
> unnecesary "stuff".  For example, the Web server, GCC compiler need
> not be on this black box anymore.  It is easy to remove them as
> well.  How do you determine the dependency chain for the "removable"
> tools?
> 
> I do think leaving the GCC compiler on it is important since there
> are patches and kernel updates to be installed frequently.
> 
> Regardless the function of the blackbox, what are the minimum set of
> tools that need to be left alone on a black box system?

With debian, you may stop immediately after the base install and not
select any of the extras to have a minimum working unit. To do this,
select 'no' for tasksel and dselect.

After this, should you desire to add more functionality to your
machine, you can run 'apt-get install PACKAGE_NAME' and it will
automatically install that package and any of that particular
packages' dependencies.

Elizabeth