Podman is getting worse, for instance they recently deprecated systemd generate and tell you to use Quadlet, for running pods, you need to use Kubernetes. This greatly complicates my workflow.
SELinux, while secure, and easy to troubleshoot with Cockpit, is a major pain in the ass that prevents most containers from accessing their data directories. It can be corrected but is extremely frustrating.
Quadlet is extremely inconsistent, I can copy the working unit file for a container and it works, change the name and variables for another container, and one launches but the other won’t start. One will have the wrong name. Stupid things, like putting the name in quotes, reloading, removing the quotes fixes it. I have harsh words for the idiot who deprecated systemd generate.
something like Tiddlywiki, their documentation will put you in /var/www but Fedora uses /usr/www or something. You get used to the Fedora things but you can end up on a goose chase sometimes.
Those cons are starting to hit hard, and when I reimage this server next I’m probably going to Proxmox or Debian. Server 37 was good but I probably won’t bother with 39.
Fedora uses /var/www. Dunno what gonk you read or told you otherwise. There’s SELinux policies built in for that directory. You probably are confusing the default html files at /usr/share/html. These are separated intentionally. The /usr/share/html directory is managed by RPM, the other /var/www is content designated as web server files.
Btrfs is awesome and awful at the same time, and it’s a complicated story. It was rather ill-defined at the beginning and took a LONG time to get anywhere.
Don’t get me wrong though, it’s a pretty awesome filesystem right now and I use it for all my storage drives. Having said that, i still use ext4 with lvm on my system drives and evenrnmy btrfs drives have lvm under them
Yup, that or if buying new then check out older models that may be in clearance/sale. You don’t need something with a 4070 etc to run Linux, but you could potentially manage to find something with an older-gen video card and decent/upgradeable RAM. There should also be more easily found discussion over Linux compatibility
With laptops, also watch out for models with soldered-on RAM or low maximums, which can limit upgrades.
You can’t be sold on Linux. Anyone ‘sold on’ or ‘lead to’ Linux isn’t going to stick with it. The desire to learn to use and be productive with Linux is purely an internal one. Selling you on it would be like trying to push you into a religion. For this, you need to sell yourself on Linux. Install it, run it, make it your daily system for a few weeks or months… then you can decide if it is for you. The questions you’ll need to find answers to are, but not limited to:
Will it run the software I need? You mention PDF’s… Viewing non-encrypted PDF’s is no problem. For encrypted PDF forms that I’ve seen from some government sites, I needed Windows or Mac to fill them out reliably. I was able to do some within Wine, but that wasn’t stable enough to depend on.
Be aware there are desktop choices. Linux comes in many flavours, some can present and work similar to a Windows desktop workflow, some more similar to Mac (but not quite), and some are just either heritage UNIX styles or just Linux unique. Finding what you prefer can take some trial and effort.
I suggest Linux distributions that offer disk encryption (and be sure to use it). If you were my lawyer, I wouldn’t want the documents we share to be left around un-encrypted anywhere.
Check out some Linux periodicals, as well. They can help wet your whistle with reviews on various Linux distributions and often some introductory articles on software and How-To’s. If that kind of thing interests you, you’ve already half sold yourself on Linux.
I’m not sure which programs you’re using so hopefully something here can help but here’s some stuff I’ve read/done:
For MS Office, I believe you can just use it in your web browser or use LibreOffice as an alternative.
If you use anything Adobe-based, you’ll probably have to keep a Windows partition around or find an alternative. I haven’t seen anything for running Adobe in WINE or WINE-based tools and I’m not sure if Adobe functions in a virtual machine or not.
Most gaming-related issues can be dealt with via Proton (Steam’s compatibility tool). I’ve successfully gotten just about every game I play to run in Proton, with the only issues being EA’s launcher (the game still launches though).
If you have any specific programs that you have questions about, feel free to ask. Hope this helps!
Does this mean I can stop setting MOZ_ENABLE_WAYLAND?
Or is it just enabling the compilation of Wayland sections (which I thought happened a while ago?)
I already used open source programs on Windows. The programs I’m using to do all my work with are Krita, Blender 3D, Gimp, and Libre Office.
They either started out on Linux or support Linux natively, so switching to Linux didn’t really change any of the programs I use. The biggest change is playing games, but Valve has made it very pain free.
I try my best to look for open source alternatives. If a company does not support Linux, they don’t deserve my support as someone who has only used linux for almost 5 years now. Luckily I am not dragged all the way up into many of these ecosystems which don’t work on Linux
Potentially related, not sure: does anyone know how I can get touchscreen scrolling working in Firefox on a fresh Ubuntu 23.10 install? Currently it’s just selecting text and it’s driving me up the proverbial wall. Googling was unsuccessful.
Not sure if Firefox supports that… For what I remember, PostmarketOS, Ubuntu touch and other mobile linux distros actually patch Firefox for allowing that behaviour
Yes, the support window is only 13 months after release, which can be annoying. I’d rather go with Debian or CentOS, unless software needs a more recent library.
Depends on what you’re using it for. Fedora’s release ver upgrades are fairly seamless. Just a big dnf update really.
Meanwhile I have a bunch of servers stuck on CentOS 7 that are going to need to be completely rebuilt by next summer. I’m also limited by them because the pdf generator I use requires a version of libpango that was released in 2019 and EL7 is stuck on the 2018 version.
I switched from Rocky to Fedora Server because I was sick of running into compatibility issues with dependencies that exist in the Fedora repo and not EL.
Specifically postgres. One of the projects requires postgis and gdal, which are in the Fedora community repo, but I have to use the official postgres repo on Rocky and the people that maintain those repos are literally incompetent. They have an automated script that generates all of the packages and they can’t even be bothered to double check that the packages are built against the correct version of postgres, so your install will fail because a PG14 package is looking for a dependency that only exists in the PG11, PG12, and PG15 repo.
I’ve been utilizing Fedora as my go-to server operating system for over a decade, starting around Fedora 13 and consistently progressing through the subsequent major releases. Throughout this journey, Fedora has proven to be a reliable choice, offering several noteworthy advantages.
One of the standout features of Fedora, reminiscent of its desktop counterpart, is the availability of up-to-date and cutting-edge packages. With the backing of Red Hat, compatibility with a range of software, including SystemD and FirewallD, enhances its appeal for server applications.
However, it’s crucial to consider Fedora’s rapid release cycle, with a new version emerging approximately every six months and a 13-month support window for each release. While this frequent update schedule ensures access to the latest features, it can pose challenges for server environments where uptime is critical, and system administrators may find it demanding to keep up with the pace while managing compliance, audits, and other business processes.
Despite these considerations, my personal experience with Fedora as a server has been exceptionally positive. The OS has demonstrated robust performance across diverse environments, seamlessly adapting to various setups, from bare metal and virtual machines to containers. The flexibility extends from smaller hardware configurations like the Raspberry Pi to more substantial servers with 40+ vCPUs and 1.5TB RAM.
SELinux, a crucial component for security, seamlessly integrates with most applications, but I have encountered some challenges with WINE headless server programs, particularly for hosting Windows-based game servers not originally designed for Linux. Additionally, compatibility with Debian-based Crypto wallets proved to be a stumbling block, requiring the use of a Debian VM for compilation and subsequent transfer to Fedora.
In terms of server redundancy and monitoring, I rely on three Fedora servers equipped with essential software such as Nginx, Grafana, Prometheus, Influxdb, and fping. Wireguard and Samba facilitate automated file transfers between another set of servers, contributing to an efficient setup.
Automation plays a significant role in my server management, with Ansible and Bash scripts streamlining tasks such as package installations, configuration adjustments, and firewall rule setups. Each Fedora server is configured for self-startup to ensure uninterrupted operation in case of power failure or manual reboots.
I’ve successfully integrated an LSI/Intel server RAID card into one of my Fedora servers, and the third-party RPM package for monitoring (storcli64) installed seamlessly. LSI card driver support is built into the Linux kernel, contributing to a hassle-free experience.
The only notable limitation I’ve encountered pertains to desktop gaming, a domain where I’m exploring transitioning to Fedora. For gaming servers requiring Steam/SteamCMD and Windows DLLs, alternative solutions might be more suitable, unless willing to navigate potential challenges with WINE and SELinux adjustments.
In conclusion, the suitability of Fedora as a server hinges on your specific use case. For web or Internet of Things servers, it stands out as an excellent choice. However, if your requirements involve gaming servers with Steam dependencies, alternative options may warrant consideration. As I’ve explored various Linux and *BSD systems over the years, Fedora has proven its versatility, offering a compelling solution for a range of server applications.
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