Re: Next release of RedHat Installer

["Andrew Smith" <rhml k1k2 com>]

> "Andrew Smith" <rhml k1k2 com> writes:
> 
>> > Hmm, could the install be split into multiple transactions maybe? 
>> > Do a base install, then add the fancy stuff?
>>
>> a really simple installer that gets the machine up and running
>> and the rest is up to you ... no X, no GUI interface
> 
> Now you're already talking about a lot of (duplicated) work and
> testing, for not much benefit. If this effort could be put into
> improving the current one (which I like a lot) or other products, I
> think that would have greater benefits overall.
> 
> -- 
> Trond Eivind Glomsrød
> Red Hat, Inc.

/* Flame bait on

Trond,
from your comments, I hope you have nothing to do with actual
development in RedHat.
Never heard of reusable code, libraries, objects, generic code,
etc. etc. etc.
Are you really telling me that all of the install process needs
>= 32 Meg of RAM to run and none of the basic system setup code
could be reused in a simpler install?
(or worse the entire thing is just python and there is no version
of pyhton that could be used in less than 32Meg of RAM?)
"a lot of (duplicated) work" is either wrong or the side effect
of poor programming practices.

OK - I'm sure someone will prove me wrong here ... but gee ...
it really doesn't sound good!!!!

One common use of a Linux box is as an internet router.
I've set them up for friends and of course have one myself.
I like RedHat coz it comes with most of the software you will
ever need in one CD set, you can read the errata online to
keep everyhting uptodate with regards to security, and I
prefer both the routers and the servers to use similar
releases of Linux.

A few times people have had low memory machines and I've told
them to add more memory or get another machine coz the RedHat
installer will not run on that machine
(or I've tried first and it wouldn't run)

The day I cannot run the installer on my router I will change
to another distro and update everything else I'm anywhere
near - but I doubt that will happen.
It's currently back at 6.2 coz that's how I set it up and I have
already had problems trying to put 7.1 on it - CD and hardware
problems, not RedHat/installer problems - it's an old Compaq P166
running 3 tcpdumps, internal and external routing (3 network
cards), a message service I wrote on JDK 1.40b2, network status
checks, a 500 rule firewall, nightly file checks and a badblock check,
sendmail for outgoing email, ssh (and of course other stuff that
doesn't require much CPU)
... the point here is actually CPU not memory - but typically old
machines like this or older do not have much memory and thus cannot
use RedHat even for a simple firewall

It is funny that you can put a complete Linux router on a floppy
but the RedHat version requires 32Meg of RAM just to run install :-)

EOFb */

-- 
-Cheers
-Andrew

MS ... if only he hadn't been hang gliding!