Debian Sid, what should I expect with long term use?

Amdx2_x64 · 11-08-2010, 02:13 AM

I just upgraded to Debian Sid from Testing. All went great. I am just curious about what to expect in the long run. I usually back up files every few days (Well maybe 3-5, maybe less days depending.) Maybe I should back up files daily now? (I back them up to an encrypted hard drive.)

I ask because I do understand that this is unstable and anything can happen, I am just not sure how likely it is.

jim_p · 11-08-2010, 04:03 AM

Are you on ati gpu that needs fglrx?
Because this is where the actual fail of bleeding edge is. Fglrx simply is not compatible with the latest kernel that is usually available in unstable.
That is the only thing keeping me away from unstable.

Some advice.
- Do NOT dist-upgrade without double checking for additions or removals of critical packages.
E.g. every now and then, apt gets updated and synaptic gets left a little behind, so a dist-upgrade to get newer apt will remove synaptic.
- After the release of squeeze, expect a huge amount of new changes and bugs in unstable, so once more, be extra cautious with dist-upgrades.

the trooper · 11-08-2010, 06:06 AM

I'd also recommend using apt-listbugs:

Code:

ade@Pc1:~$ aptitude show apt-listbugs
Package: apt-listbugs                    
State: installed
Automatically installed: no
Version: 0.1.3
Priority: optional
Section: admin
Maintainer: Ryan Niebur <ryan@debian.org>
Uncompressed Size: 520 k
Depends: ruby (>= 1.8), libruby1.8 (>= 1.8.5), libdpkg-ruby1.8 (>= 0.3.3), apt, libzlib-ruby1.8,
         libgettext-ruby1.8, libxml-parser-ruby1.8, libhttp-access2-ruby1.8 (>= 2.0.6)
Suggests: reportbug, debianutils (>= 2.0) | www-browser | w3m
Description: tool which lists critical bugs before each apt installation
 apt-listbugs is a tool which retrieves bug reports from the Debian Bug Tracking System and lists them.
 Especially, it is intended to be invoked before each upgrade/installation by apt in order to check
 whether the upgrade/installation is safe. 
 
 Many developers and users prefer the unstable version of Debian for its new features and packages.
 apt, the usual upgrade tool, can break your system by installing a buggy package. 
 
 apt-listbugs lists critical bug reports from the Debian Bug Tracking System. Run it before apt to see
 if an upgrade or installation is known to be unsafe.

snowday · 11-08-2010, 08:22 AM

If you've been using Debian Testing successfully for a while, you should be able to handle Sid just fine. It's always been very stable (in the "won't break" sense of the word) for me, and a major bug that will destroy all your data is unlikely (but I salute your good backup practices anyway).

The Aptosid manual has some good information on using APT that may be of general interest to Sid users: http://manual.aptosid.com/en/sys-admin-apt-en.htm

Another good resource is http://smxi.org

Jyde · 11-08-2010, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snowpine

If you've been using Debian Testing successfully for a while, you should be able to handle Sid just fine. It's always been very stable (in the "won't break" sense of the word) for me, and a major bug that will destroy all your data is unlikely (but I salute your good backup practices anyway).

The Aptosid manual has some good information on using APT that may be of general interest to Sid users: http://manual.aptosid.com/en/sys-admin-apt-en.htm

Another good resource is http://smxi.org

Again, thank you, good information here!
CJ

TobiSGD · 11-08-2010, 10:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jim_p

Are you on ati gpu that needs fglrx?
Because this is where the actual fail of bleeding edge is. Fglrx simply is not compatible with the latest kernel that is usually available in unstable.
That is the only thing keeping me away from unstable.

Running Sid here with fglrx and no problems. Maybe problems occur when Testing is unfrozen.

jim_p · 11-08-2010, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TobiSGD

Running Sid here with fglrx and no problems. Maybe problems occur when Testing is unfrozen.

Kernel and fglrx version?

I would not be suprised if you are on 2.6.32 with any of the latest fglrx versions...

TobiSGD · 11-08-2010, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jim_p

Kernel and fglrx version?

I would not be suprised if you are on 2.6.32 with any of the latest fglrx versions...

You are right, 2.6.32 and fglrx 10-9. Just tried to install 2.6.36 from liquorix and then build of the kernel module fails. I wonder if that is being fixed before Sid gets a newer kernel.

Amdx2_x64 · 11-08-2010, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jim_p

Are you on ati gpu that needs fglrx?
Because this is where the actual fail of bleeding edge is. Fglrx simply is not compatible with the latest kernel that is usually available in unstable.
That is the only thing keeping me away from unstable.

Some advice.
- Do NOT dist-upgrade without double checking for additions or removals of critical packages.
E.g. every now and then, apt gets updated and synaptic gets left a little behind, so a dist-upgrade to get newer apt will remove synaptic.
- After the release of squeeze, expect a huge amount of new changes and bugs in unstable, so once more, be extra cautious with dist-upgrades.

Thanks for this. I almost never use synaptic anymore unless I just want a list to browser through. Also I am not using ATI, Nvidia only for me.

Quote:

the trooper I'd also recommend using apt-listbugs:

Thanks. Just installed it now

Quote:

snowpine If you've been using Debian Testing successfully for a while, you should be able to handle Sid just fine. It's always been very stable (in the "won't break" sense of the word) for me, and a major bug that will destroy all your data is unlikely (but I salute your good backup practices anyway).

The Aptosid manual has some good information on using APT that may be of general interest to Sid users: http://manual.aptosid.com/en/sys-admin-apt-en.htm

Another good resource is http://smxi.org

Thanks. The links are great.

linus72 · 11-08-2010, 02:21 PM

have you tried the Liquorix kernels yet?
they work great for me
http://liquorix.net/

and see here too
http://techpatterns.com/forums/forum-34.html

Amdx2_x64 · 11-08-2010, 02:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by linus72

have you tried the Liquorix kernels yet?
they work great for me
http://liquorix.net/

and see here too
http://techpatterns.com/forums/forum-34.html

Yeah I was reading up on that. I want to try it but I am going to wait until I use Sid for a couple of weeks. It sounds really interesting though.

linus72 · 11-08-2010, 04:01 PM

I put out a livecd/usb that features the liquorix kernel and the smxi scripts and it's sid
http://multidistro.com/NFLUXNEW/SQ4/debian.html
run it persistent usb and see if anything breaks
you can remaster it too or whatever

Amdx2_x64 · 11-08-2010, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by linus72

I put out a livecd/usb that features the liquorix kernel and the smxi scripts and it's sid
http://multidistro.com/NFLUXNEW/SQ4/debian.html
run it persistent usb and see if anything breaks
you can remaster it too or whatever

Sounds great. I am downloading it now and going to give the live USB a try.