Subject: Re: [linux-audio-user] Looking for a distro strategy
From: Dave Phillips (dlphilp_AT_bright.net)
Date: Mon Jan 19 2004 - 19:35:25 EET
Greg Reddin wrote:
>So, anyway, how are you guys handling these issues? Do you install
>from scratch? Do you install audio on top of an existing distro?
>Which one? RedHat, Mandrake, Debian, SuSE, Gentoo, etc? Does Planet
>CCRMA work well for you? What about Agnula? How do you upgrade
>individual packages? How do you back out the upgrade if there's a
>problem? Do you manage a separate "test" environment to keep from
>bringing down your DAW?
>
>
Hi Greg:
I've been running Linux audio apps for many years. I started out with
a Slackware installation and learned how to './configure; make; make
install' tarball packages (i.e. packages in the *.tar.gz or *.tgz
format). I liked doing things that way because everything was then
customized for my system.
Later I started using Red Hat (I think my first use was RH 6.2). I
didn't really get into installing RPMs, still preferring to install
things out of tarballs, but I did work a little with RPMs and at last
got the hang of installing and uninstalling with the rpm command.
Later still I installed Debian on a laptop and tried to learn how the
apt system worked. Alas, I didn't do too well, I didn't understand the
Debian way of doing things, so I didn't put in the time to learn the
details of working with the apt system. However, I did enjoy the system,
and I'm very attached to the Debian philosophy.
And that brings me at last to Planet CCRMA. I was hired to build two
machines for audio/video work, and I had been reading the Planet's docs,
so I decided to take the plunge. I already had broadband (DSL then) so I
put the hardware together and set up one machine using the CD method
(downloaded the RH ISOs and burned discs here at home) and the other
using a network installation. Both installations were relatively free of
problems, and I was very happy with the results (so were my clients).
So I decided to install Planet CCRMA on my own machine. I've been
running it for a while, and I'm very happy with it. Upgrading is as
simple as following Fernando's excellent instructions on the PlanetC
site. Apt-get is used to update and upgrade your packages, or you can
use the "synaptic" GUI. I like using apt-get to upgrade my system, but I
also like using synaptic to delete packages I'd rather not have. It's
all very easy for me, and I must admit I've become a Planet CCRMA partisan.
I also installed AGNULA's DeMuDi, the Debian half of that project, on
a second drive in my machine. I'm rapidly becoming as fond of AGNULA as
I am of Planet CCRMA, and I can recommend either system in good
conscience. Performance is excellent in both systems, and the base apps
are quite similar. I'll be upgrading to AGNULA 1.1.0 later this week,
using apt-get again, and I'm looking forward to having a more up-to-date
AGNULA here.
So there's my two drachmas. I've written a brief article about PlanetC
and AGNULA, it's here if you'd like to read it :
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=7342&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0
Beware, it's not a HOWTO or a substitute for reading the distro docs,
but it might give you some more impetus towards either or both those
systems.
Best regards,
Dave Phillips
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