[techtalk] SuSE -> Mandrake?

[Rik Hemsley]

#if Linda Walsh
> I'm thinking I'd like to convert my mail server
> and laptop from SuSE to Mandrake.  Mandrake has better/easier to use
> configuration (chkconfig) and security settings/options.  It's also
> compiled for 586's and above, yielding speed improvements.
> 
> So the big question is how do I do it.  I have partitions /tmp, /var, /home
> (/usr/src is a softlink to inside /home), /boot and /.  

Back up your config files, i.e. /etc and your personal rc files.
Then you get to read them when you're playing with your new dist.
Nothing worse than losing your .vimrc, .muttrc and .zshrc.

> I think one thing that pissed my off about SuSE was it's non-standard
> setup stuff -- putting all the scripts under /sbin/rc.d instead of in
> /etc.  But then, to make it worse, they have a README about their startup
> philosophy that talked about 'init' being the *father* of all processes.
> I've always called it the parent process -- assigning a gender to a process
> just seems downright silly -- processes use fission to reproduce.  It's 
> an asexual process.  Anyway, the father thing bugged me. 

You'd wipe out your whole system because some SuSE employee followed
tradition and called init 'the father of all processes' ?

Sed that file and be happy.

Seriously, there is _very_little_point_ wiping out a system to install
a new one. They're so similar that you'll wonder why you bothered.

I have to do this every few months because I test SuSE for SuSE and
it's a pain in the arse. Now I have got used to doing it and know
what to back up, but it's not fun.

Assuming that pentium-optimised binaries will give you a speed
improvement is a fallacy. Binaries and libraries will be larger,
so you'll pay with disk space and load time. Energy may not be created
nor destroyed :)

BTW, SuSE link /sbin/rc.d to /etc/rc.d so there's no real difference.
Not one that would make be wipe out a drive.

BTW again, SuSE provide excellent security scripts these days. Check
out what's on your CD. You can 'harden' your system very easily.

They provide a 'firewall' script which, while not exactly a proper
firewall setup, does give you a good start in setting one up.

If you're really bothered about security, then you can sort it
out quite quickly. If your host only does mail, only open ports
for SMTP and (possibly) POP3, IMAP4 etc. Run qmail instead of
sendmail and be happy.

Rik

-- 
Question what belongs on the inside.

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