[ale] Web server OS

[Jeff Hubbs]

Pat Regan wrote:
> Last one before I get back to Christmas :)
>
> Jeff Hubbs wrote:
>   
>> I don't think this is all that much different from what other distros' 
>> users face as a part of routine administration.  If UbuHatCentDora have 
>> a Big Red Button for "Apply All Security Upgrades To Eveything Now," 
>> Gentoo does not really have that per se - but there is a Bigger Red 
>> Button that says "Make Everything Current Now" (emerge -uD world).  Just 
>> make sure you check your circuit breakers before you hit it because 
>> you're about to have a very busy box. :)
>>
>>     
>
> You do think it is different from what other distro users face, you're
> saying so right here :).
>   
I was referring to the specific thing you'd said, o presenter of straw 
men! :)
> Gentoo's default position is to upgrade everything whether you need to
> or not.
>   
No; you can decide to do so, but in general if you want to upgrade only 
one thing, that's what you tell it, but it will grab updates of 
dependencies it's *got* to have to do what you ask...unless you tell it 
not to ("--nodeps"), in which case you're flirting with breakage, which 
is your right.  See http://linuxreviews.org/man/emerge/ for an idea of 
the level of control one can bring to bear within Portage. 
> The server oriented distros take the exact opposite position.  The
> default is to update only what actually needs updating.
>   
There is no Enterprise Advanced Server Gold Edition Gentoo. :)  It is as 
oriented to servers as it is to embedded. 
> My experience tells me that it is generally better to run older battle
> tested versions of software and manually update the few bits that need
> updating.  This has been a hassle in the past.  
Under Gentoo, it is not.  But you are expected to be able to manage your 
entire system knowledgeably.  The packages that mean the most to you, 
you can follow assiduously and run the version you want, when you want 
to run it.