Which Linux Distro will work with Dual Opteron


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Im getting a web server and im not sure which linux distro will work with Dual opteron 244 setup. can someone shed a light for me, i was just gonna use red hat 9, but i want to make sure it will work. This will be a webserver and a cs/ut2k4 game srver

Dual 1.8Ghz 244 Opterons

4GB DDR 400

4x 76GB Sata Raptor HDs raid 0

1x 250 GB Backup

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Im getting a web server and im not sure which linux distro will work with Dual opteron 244 setup. can someone shed a light for me, i was just gonna use red hat 9, but i want to make sure it will work. This will be a webserver and a cs/ut2k4 game srver

Dual 1.8Ghz 244 Opterons

4GB DDR 400

4x 76GB Sata Raptor HDs raid 0

1x 250 GB Backup

You should be able to run any distro that supports AMD64.

You will get a significant boost in performance from running a 64bit

kernel and 32bit user space -- any distribution will offer this, and if

not you can just recompile the kernel/modutils/mod-init-tools.

- http://www.oclug.on.ca/pipermail/oclug/200...ber/035305.html

You probably want to run the 2.6.x kernel though.

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ok well maybe i should say this, im new to linux and i hear its really good for servers. and i have red hat 9 on my pc at home and i have been playing iwth it. i still dont know alot about it, i have been setting up mock servers here at my house and they work jsut the way i want them too. im not too sure what kernel 2.6.x is or stuff like that, im all about names, like red hat, debian, suse, and stuff like that. so what distro has kernel 2.6.x in it?????

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ok well maybe i should say this, im new to linux and i hear its really good for servers. and i have red hat 9 on my pc at home and i have been playing iwth it. i still dont know alot about it, i have been setting up mock servers here at my house and they work jsut the way i want them too. im not too sure what kernel 2.6.x is or stuff like that, im all about names, like red hat, debian, suse, and stuff like that. so what distro has kernel 2.6.x in it?????

Normally you would need to compile you own kernel if you want to run the latest stable release.

With Debian, however, you can download a precompiled kernel with apt-get.

Most distro's still ship with Kernel 2.4.xx

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As posted above, you will find that most distros have version 2.4.xxx kernels. 2.6 is still kind of new, and many of the distro makers are just now getting near to having versions with 2.6.xxx as their kernel.

RedHat 9 is a bit old. Fedora is the replacement for "user" versions of that line. You can update the kernel via RPM to a pretty current 2.6 build.

As mentioned Debian can do this too, as well as Mandrake and the others.

If you are on RH9 now, almost any current distro will suit you fine. If you are comfortable with RedHat, and want to stick with that sort of setup, look up Fedora. If you don't mind venturing out and possibly finding something that you like better, then look at SuSE or Debian.

If this is going to be a server attached to the internet, or otherwise potentially hostile environment, you will want to make sure you are secure with an update kernel (a current 2.4.xxx or 2.6.xxx version, it doesn't matter which, really) and other OS components. Also make sure you lock down services and ports that are not needed.

In summary:

RedHat 9: fine, but old. Update your components and you will be OK.

Fedora Core 1: more current than RH9, and operates the same way you are familiar with. Update it to current.

Others: Good choices are out there that may suit you better. If you are not ready to try them, don't feel forced to right now.

2.4.xxx kernel: Fine, as long as you update to current (kernel.org has the status)

2.6.xxx kernel: Better performance? Also more 'bleeding edge', so if you want a well-used kernel 2.4 may be your choice.

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In summary:

RedHat 9: fine, but old. Update your components and you will be OK.

Fedora Core 1: more current than RH9, and operates the same way you are familiar with. Update it to current.

Others: Good choices are out there that may suit you better. If you are not ready to try them, don't feel forced to right now.

2.4.xxx kernel: Fine, as long as you update to current (kernel.org has the status)

2.6.xxx kernel: Better performance? Also more 'bleeding edge', so if you want a well-used kernel 2.4 may be your choice.

The 2.6.x kernel tree is supposed to better with the AMD64 platform.

the 2.7.x kernel tree is bleeding edge

(odd number kernels are the development branch vs even numbered kernels which are the stable branch)

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OMG GOOD INFO, thanx alot guys, i was reading just now about the fedora core1 test with the 2.6.xx core, wow i can compile my own kernel. now i have something new to learn now. than alot guys. yall are great. yes the server is going to be attached to the net, im co locating it, my friend works at a dta center for colocation here in san anotnio and man if i get that hosted on the muli back bone lines hehehehehe, its all about 12 ping in Counter strike.

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The 2.6.x kernel tree is supposed to better with the AMD64 platform.

DOH! :pinch:

I forgot that this was a 64-bit system (and dual CPU at that!) :blush:

For regular i386, what I said holds.... But fred666 is absolutely right! :cool:

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so after that artcile gentoo and fedora are the way to go right now with the 2.6.x kernel???? i guess i should just think about win2k 64. that i can get fro mork, and i know how to use that. lol

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so after that artcile gentoo and fedora are the way to go right now with the 2.6.x kernel???? i guess i should just think about win2k 64. that i can get fro mork, and i know how to use that. lol

I don't know what's up with that article. Debian and a lot of other releases have Opteron support. I do agree with this:

The 2.6.x kernel, being more recent, does have many advantages over the 2.4.x series in terms of Opteron support. Specifically, it supports the Opteron directly, and it seems to overcome many of the problems associated with peripherals on Opteron motherboards (most probably due to increased Nvidia Nforce support which must be hacked into the 2.4 kernel to work properly). It is my opinion that if you use an Nforce based motherboard (or any for that matter) and you run the Opteron, the 2.6 series is the kernel of choice. It also seems to run faster in many situations on the Opteron (again, most likely due to the increases in performance that have been incorporated into the kernel).

I'm not keen on Gentoo as it takes forever to install. It doesn't have an install script so you need to do it all manually.

Debian has good package management / dependency support. Especially if you use a GUI front-end like Synaptic then Debian's apt-get works a lot like Windows update so it's easy to update your system. Unlike Redhat, Fedora and Mandrake there is never a need to upgrade to a new version. Just use apt-get to get the components you want.

My favourite was of installing Debian is to use the Knoppix CD and it's install script. That makes it easy to preview by booting the Knoppix CD and you can find out how well it supports your hardware before you install.

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Actually, it appears that Mandrake has released their version 10 .isos. It has the 2.6 kernel.

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