[OpenIndiana-discuss] newbie questions

[Aurélien Larcher]

On Fri, Sep 16, 2016 at 11:22 PM, Tim Mooney <Tim.Mooney at ndsu.edu> wrote:
> In regard to: [OpenIndiana-discuss] newbie questions, Lev said (at
> 10:51pm...:
>
>> Ok, New (not even a) user here, please be gentle.
>>
>> So I'm considering installing oi as my primary OS. Before I do I have a
>> few
>> questions.
>>
>> 1. Is the whole system is package based? Like Linux, unlike FreeBSD.
>
>
> Yes.  OI uses the "Image Package System", aka IPS, as its packaging
> format.  IPS is what Oracle Solaris 11 and later use, and there's an
> "IPS cheat sheet" available from Oracle that gives some examples of how
> to do certain things.  The 'pkg' command works sort of like yum, in
> that it can fetch and install packages from remote repositories.
>
> I think that OI also still supports packages in the older SVR4 package
> format.
>
> I have a very long history with RPM and I find a lot of things about
> IPS/pkg somewhat alien, but the fact that IPS integrates with boot
> environments is extremely handy.

Well IPS is way more powerful than that.
Most package management systems (SVR4/APT/RPM) are "fetch a tarball
with metadata" while IPS is the GIT equivalent in the package
management realm.
Do a massive update with IPS and APT then compare the timings... There
is a reason why we pay this overhead of rebuilding the index at each
install.

>
>> 2. Is it recommended for desktop OS, or are you focusing on server
>> installations?
>
>
> My feeling is the majority of OI users use it for servers.  I however use OI
> as my desktop environment at my work, and it's served me well for several
> years now.  I switched to the /hipster branch several months ago, and
> that's getting much more attention than the old -dev branch of OI.
>
> /hipster recently got packages for the MATE desktop environment, and that
> will likely be the default in the not too distant future.  MATE has been
> very well received by the community.
>
>> 3. Is there any way to install the OS without ZFS?
>
>
> I'm not certain.  I guess I don't understand what would prompt one to do
> that.  ZFS definitely has a learning curve, but it's years ahead of the
> nearest competitor.  ZFS is one of the "killer features" that
> differentiates Illumos-derived (and Oracle Solaris) systems from other
> options.
>
>> 4. Is ext4 is supported? Recommended for root, home?
>
>
> Not that I'm aware of.
>
>> 5. Is it recommended to install the OS on old HW? I have this currently
>> running Debian Linux:
>
>
> There is a hardware compatibility guide in the OI wiki.  Check that out.
>
> Your old hardware won't have USB3 so the current lack of support for USB3
> in all Illumos-derived systems, including OI, won't be a factor for you
> right now.  Work has started by an Illumos developer to add USB3 support.
>
>> 6. Is there any web interface for packages, so I can check if there's any
>> package that I'll miss, and have to compile by myself.
>
>
> There's a web interface to the various OI repositories, including
> /hipster.
>
>         https://wiki.openindiana.org/oi/Package+Repositories
>
> If you're just starting with OI, you should really start with the /hipster
> branch, so check out the hipster and hipster-encumbered repositories.
>
>> 7. I also have a server, currently running FreeBSD. It hosts a git server,
>> lighttpd based web server, NFS server, and acts as border GW doing NAT.
>> Can I
>> use oi for these?
>
>
> OI should be able to accomplish all of these tasks for you.  Git &
> lighttpd should be very easy to get going.  NFS has always been available,
> and OI supports through at least NFS version 4, though I'm not certain
> about 4.1 or 4.2.
>
> Having OI act as a border GW doing NAT also shouldn't be an issue, though
> the commands and the software used to do it on OI might be quite different
> than on FreeBSD.
>
> Tim
> --
> Tim Mooney                                             Tim.Mooney at ndsu.edu
> Enterprise Computing & Infrastructure                  701-231-1076 (Voice)
> Room 242-J6, Quentin Burdick Building                  701-231-8541 (Fax)
> North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58105-5164
>
>
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