>>> On Sun, Aug 14, 2005 at 10:01 pm, in message
<436ebf4705081419015adc7d93@mail.gmail.com>, lennyerwine@gmail.com
wrote:
>> Running a business on SUSE Personal is like playing with
fire...you
>> will get burned by not having a support infrastructure in place.
Don't
>> get me wrong - this code is what SLES is built from, however SUSE
>> Personal is not supported and has a 6 month lifecycle. SLES is
fully
>> supported by a huge ecosystem and it's lifecycle is up to 7 years
now.
>
> I tend to differ in that I am very devoted to using SuSE Linux to
run
> my personal business. I do upgrade very frequently (probably
averages
> every 6 to 8 months) and haven't had any problems at all in doing
so.
> I've done the upgrades so often that I only need to block out a 3 or
4
> hours in the evening to get it completely done - and most of that
time
> is waiting for the data to be transferred from the CDs.
>
> There are just a few simple rules to follow:
> 1. Document the compile and/or install process of any packages that
> need to be installed that are not part of SuSE.
> 2. When you edit any config files, either document the changes you
> make or make backups of those files which have been affected.
> 3. For storing data and documents: Designate one or more partitions
as
> data partitions. Only use partitions that do not need to be mounted
> during a SuSE upgrade. (Personally, I use /home). If you need to
store
> anything outside of these areas, document them so you can back them
up
> before an upgrade. This also lets you easily conserve your data
backup
> bandwidth.
>
> This way, when you need to upgrade to the next SuSE version, you can
> make your backups and then boot from the CD, mount your hard drive
> partitions (except for those you designated as data partitions) and
> delete EVERYTHING from them. Be careful you do not mount any of your
> data partitions.
>
> When you install the newest version of SuSE, tell it NOT to format
any
> of the partitions. Do not have it mount your data partitions yet.
You
> can change that later. Go ahead and install SuSE, then you can add
in
> your data partitions after it's all installed.
>
> For my /home partition, I also go in and move all the hidden files
and
> subdirectories and mail folders into a backup folder so as not to
> cause any config version conflicts. The users can then reference the
> backup folder to restore their personal configurations.
>
> This sounds like alot of work to go through, but to me, it's alot
less
> hassle than shelling out the big bucks to M$ for server licensing
and
> then when a problem occurs, waiting 4 hours for M$ tech support,
only
> to get half- baked break- fixes for undocumented "features" of
various
> services.
>
> Regardless of the OS, I have generally found "support
infrastructures"
> very impersonable and less than desirable. They also come with a
> premium of their own, which I do not find cost- effective. If
> umpty- nine million people have had the same problem as you, you may
> have to do the same thing that all the rest have done. Pay for tech
> support.
>
> With SuSE (and many of the other distros), everything is pretty much
> documented anyway and isn't hard to find these days. Quite often, if
I
> run into a problem, many others have already had the same problem.
It
> doesn't take me long to find a solution after a few carefully
drafted
> queries to some choice search engines. Quite often, even just
> "Googling" up a query gets me satisfactory results.
>
> When I run into a problem, I usually start with google.com, then on
to
> ask.com and then I check out SourceForge.net (or the web site of the
> author), www.tldp.org and then to SuSE's sites.
>
> The only issue that has never been resolved is how to use my HP
> scanner in Linux, and I don't think even any support infrastructures
> would have an answer for that one.
>
> As a side note, I'm not going to upgrade from SuSE 9.3 until
OpenSuse
> is stable. I've gotten updates (via the SuSE Watcher) from SuSE as
> long as a year after the release date.
>
> On 8/14/05, John Pugh <jpugh@novell.com> wrote:
>> >>> On Sun, Aug 14, 2005 at 2:44 pm, in message
>> <200508141836.j7EIaOeP019329@ms- smtp- 05.tampabay.rr.com>,
>> kelliott4@tampabay.rr.com wrote:
>> > I received my Novell 9.3 Technical Resource Kit. I was
disappointed
>> that
>> > it only contained ISOs for burning Live CDs. I went ahead and
burned
>> the
>> > CDs and tried them. Frankly, I could not see any reason to
upgrade
>> our
>> > servers from SuSE 9.1 to 9.3. I'm pretty sure I must be missing
>> something,
>> > but the Live CD certainly did NOT do a good job of selling me on
>> buying
>> > upgrades.
>> >
>> > The first Technical Resource Kit was great. This one has become
>> shelfware.
>> > Meanwhile, I'm playing with Fedora Core on one test server and
Debian
>> on
>> > another. The lack of an installable version of SuSE limits my
>> ability to
>> > evaluate.
>> >
>> > Odd that the powers- that- be would not include access to an
open
>> source
>> > product. This seems to play into the hands of those who say that
>> Novell
>> > doesn't "get" open source.
>> >
>> > Ken Elliott
>> > =====================
>> >
>> > ----- Original Message-----
>> > From: slug@nks.net [mailto:slug@nks.net] On Behalf Of Bob
Foxworth
>> > Sent: Friday, August 12, 2005 11:42 PM
>> > To: slug@nks.net
>> > Subject: Re: [SLUG] New Novell 9.3 Technical Resource Kit
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >> >>>I do not know about the rest of you I never recieved mine.
>> >> >>>It was ordered and have yet to see the Resource Kit.
>> >> >>>
>> >> >>>Bill Preece
>> >
>> >
>> >> >>>>>>with the 9.1 ver in it which is what I am running right
now
>> on
>> > my work
>> >> >>>>>>laptop. I would certainly like to get that one to. I guess
I
>> did
>> >> >>>>>not >answer
>> >> >>>>>>one of the questions right with I ordered the original
one...
>> >
>> >
>> > Consider doing this.
>> >
>> > Create a company name. Rent a PO Box in that name. Register the
name
>> with
>> > the State as a "fictitious name" ($10/year) Have all your
corporate
>> mail
>> > sent there. Should improve your chances.
>> > Also helps in getting trade magazines.
>> >
>> > - Bob
>> >
>>
>> To start - open source does not mean free. Nothing is free. Open
source
>> is the freedom to do with it what you please provided you adhere to
the
>> license agreement - in the case of SUSE Linux that would be GPL.
>>
>> Running a business on SUSE Personal is like playing with fire...you
>> will get burned by not having a support infrastructure in place.
Don't
>> get me wrong - this code is what SLES is built from, however SUSE
>> Personal is not supported and has a 6 month lifecycle. SLES is
fully
>> supported by a huge ecosystem and it's lifecycle is up to 7 years
now.
>>
>> The Technical resource kit is just that...a resource kit.
>>
>> If you want to download SUSE Linux - simply go to opensuse.org and
>> download away!
>>
>> JP
>>
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
BTW...opensuse is simply suse linux personal v9.3 at this time.
I did not intend to imply that it is impossible to run a business on
suse personal. I simply meant to imply that the practice of running a
non-supported version of anything is risky to a business. Some enjoy
running with risks, most would rather not. Take a look at Ritz Camera -
they were running an unsupported version of SUSE Personal for their biz
and came to realize that they were at substantial risk that they could
not afford.
JP
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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