On Fri, 2006-06-09 at 12:01 -0600, Donald D Henson wrote:
Although I have a Samba server activated, I mostly use NFS.
Golden rule of network filesystems: Always run the network filesystem that is _native_ to the _client_. - Serve NFS for UNIX/Linux - Serve SMB for Windows The "main detail" is that clients run applications that assume the files are _local_, so the server had better present the files as _natively_ as possible. Mounting SMB under Linux or NFS under Windows causes issues for many applications that run on their respective clients. If you have Windows Servers and UNIX/Linux clients, running Services for UNIX (SFU) on Windows Servers to export as NFS for UNIX/Linux systems. SFU includes Intergraph's AccessNFS, fka Sun PC-NFS. Despite being based on the UNIX Distributed Computing Environment (DCE), SMB in its Windows Server and Samba forms is _not_ native to UNIX/Linux, and the Samba extensions for POSIX support are _not_ as compatible as NFS. You don't need to "standardize" on one -- nfslockd and Samba lockd are compatible at the kernel level on Irix, Linux and even other UNIX platforms in more recent Samba releases. If you want to "standardize" on a "real cross-platform" network filesystem, then look to Andrew Filesystem (AFS). OpenAFS has a few limitations though (e.g., no byte-level locking), but it's virtualized approach (e.g., no direct filesystem access except through a mount) unifies permissions, access control entries, etc...
2. I ordered the 10.1 boxed set and while waiting for it to arrive, I monitored the discussions about 10.1 on this list. The install problems for 10.1 appeared far worse than those reported for 10.0. Things like the inability to set up networks during the install, missing video drivers, and more barriers to CD/DVD systems made me very cautious about installing 10.1. I noticed that the majority of 10.1 install problems were with the 64-bit version. (I also noticed that many of these problems were legal rather than technical. Perhaps we need to give the Novell lawyers more to do.)
Maybe it's because I came from the Debian and Fedora worlds, but missing features due to redistribution issues are commonplace. The great thing about Debian and Fedora is they introduce *0* indemnification issues since they contain software that is 100% redistributable. So this bothered me _none_ at all coming to OpenSuSE / SuSE Linux. In fact, I'm glad to see Novell getting a handle on it. Understand I have to _confiscate_ 98% of Knoppix CDs in a corporation and put up a _banned_ distro list because of indemnification issues. Far too many distros do _not_ take licensing and redistribution issues seriously. But when you're a major corporation like Novell operating in the US, you have to -- and I welcome Novell's attention to such detail.
(Why isn't MPlayer a part of the default install?)
Licensing issues (see previous).
4. Now feeling pretty cocky, I decided to try a fresh install ...
Installation issues are _not_ "using the distro." Otherwise, Windows would _fail_ to work on even _more_ systems. Either get your OS pre-installed, or take the time to resolve hardware support issues the installer doesn't address. At least Linux allows you to do so when video and other things won't come up on first boot. You're SOL if Windows gives you a video (GDI won't start) or major driver issue (chipset or related GDI/core support) upon install. Distros can't solve every installation detail. Distro vendors can't integration and regression test against all the endless PC hardware out there. If you want installs to work every time, buy an Apple. And that includes if you are going to dual-boot Linux. MacOS X _always_ "just installs" on Apple hardware -- because Apple _controls_ the platform. The PC world is filled with _poorly_designed_ systems.
IMHO, the SuSE disto has gotten progressively worse since SuSE was purchased by Novell.
Some of which seems to be due to Novell addressing _real_legal_ issues. The installer/update underwent major changes in 10.1, but many have been fixed (except for the CD, of course). I've _yet_ to see anyone talk about non-legal and non-installer/update issues. SuSE Linux 10.1 x86-64 worked _fine_ for me. -- Bryan J. Smith Professional, technical annoyance mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ------------------------------------------------------- Illegal Immigration = "Representation Without Taxation" -- Check the headers for your unsubscription address For additional commands send e-mail to suse-linux-e-help@suse.com Also check the archives at http://lists.suse.com Please read the FAQs: suse-linux-e-faq@suse.com