LinuxQuestions.org - Sid vs. Sidux

- Debian (https://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/debian-26/)

- - Sid vs. Sidux (https://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/debian-26/sid-vs-sidux-587346/)

Heya guys, Ive seen a decent amount of talk on these forums about people recommending Sidux to people lookin to go Sid or to people who use it already.

So Id really like to know what more of your opinions are on it, Since many seem to have a dislike for Ubuntu and many other branch off distros, and this kinda seems to be like that (though to a much lesser extent, seems more like Sid but with another quality control layer added, so you dont get packages that try to uninstall large portions of your system like one of the latest patches and Gnome :P)

it uses its own repositories I assume also, how do they compare to the official Debian repos in size?

Thanks for hopefully clearin this up for me guys :)

Sidux uses Debian's repos, and has its own repo for thing like bugfixes and kernels, scripts and a couple of packages including artwork. Other than that everything is 100% compatible with Debian.

Out of almost 2000 packages on my system only 30 or so are sidux packages the rest are all Debian. Probably 20 of those are just scripts, a few artwork and siduxcc.

The only advantage of running sidux over pure sid is the helpful people in the forum and irc and upgrade warnings. If you are comfortable running Sid on your own then there wouldn't really be much of a reason to use sidux.

$ infobash -v3
Host/Kernel/OS "craigevil" running Linux 2.6.22.7-slh-smp-1 i686 [ sidux-20070111-d:5 ]
CPU Info AMD Duron 64 KB cache flags( sse ) clocked at [ 1800.144 MHz ]
Videocard nVidia NV34 [GeForce FX 5500] X.Org 1.4.0 [ 1280x1024 @50hz ]
Network cards Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] SiS900 PCI Fast Ethernet, at port: e400
Processes 90 | Uptime 20:56 | Memory 399.8/2027.4MB | HDD ATA Size 80GB (49%used) | GLX Renderer GeForce FX 5500/AGP/SSE/3DNOW!
| GLX Version 2.1.1 NVIDIA 100.14.19 | Client Shell | Infobash v2.67

Quote:

Originally Posted by craigevil (Post 2903744)

The only advantage of running sidux over pure sid is the helpful people in the forum and irc and upgrade warnings.

They are helpful over there whether you use Sid or Sidux. The upgrade warning and fixes they offer usually apply to all of Sid

Yep Jackiebrown has that correct. Even running pure Debian sid if you have issues one of the best places to look for help is the sidux irc or forum. Just try asking for help in #debian and mention that you run sid.

Some of the packages sidux has are very cool, especially things like h2's dist-upgrade script and siduxcc.

Why should I use sidux? What will sidux do for me? Can sidux be explained in a few words? :: sidux.com :: debian based live cd development

Quote:

Why should I use sidux? What will sidux do for me? Can sidux be explained in a few words?

Slam wrote a post on 9.12.2006, that might answer your questions:

If your favourite application has just been released in version 3.0 and you read about it in the news, you can normally find it:

* with sidux/Debian Sid within days;
* with Debian Testing within some weeks;
* with Ubuntu within weeks or months (maybe never due to a much smaller package base); and
* with Debian Stable (also known as Etch, and Testing also known as Lenny) within a year or so and install and use it properly.

Your choice should be made based upon your need or liking to use newest versions of applications with latest features. So much for up-to-dateness. Stuff that is a year old and well tested obviously will have not only less features but also less undetected bugs.

If security is your top priority, you can only choose

* as a much advanced user Debian Stable + lots of knowledge and manual configuration;
* as a normal user only sidux + weekly dist-upgrades.

If stability is your main concern (because, for example, your box controls cardiac pacemakers), you can't do without Debian Stable -cleanly installed and set up it will run 100% stable- guaranteeed. That's why it is used in mission critical surroundings.

So, you will have to find your personal balance between up-to-dateness, security and stability, and then base your system on that decision.

Remark: All these comments apply to the usage of Debian or Debian-based or -forked distributions Besides that, of course, there are numerous highly specialized distributions out there in the Debian and Linux world.

Greetings,
Chris

Welcome to the sidux wiki :: sidux.com :: debian based live cd development

Quote:

We love Debian Sid (aka "Unstable") and believe in it's innovative power. It is by far the largest, most secure and up-to-date software repository available. Unfortunately, the Debian installer does not support Sid and upgrading from either Testing or Stable to Sid can be painful and demanding. Using debootstrap to create a Sid system leaves the average user with headaches and a lot of additional work to do by hand.

That is where sidux jumps in. We plan to provide 3 or 4 carefully balanced Sid snapshots each year, together with easy and fast installation options (from iso files, but probably also using other technologies such as scripts together with netinstall or cdebootstrap). We enrich the distribution with a properly patched version of the most recent kernels, improved hardware detection, ready to go drivers, helpful scripts and anything we think is useful. We strive to package properly and contribute all our suitable work back to Debian.

We understand sidux is a base system for further customisations and adaptations to special needs (laptop, desktop, server or special purpose workstation). It can be used in private and corporate surroundings and makes a fine platform for appliances. It will always remain a 100% Debian Sid compatible system.

I run sidux rather than pure debian sid simply because it is easier and for the community. Where else can you get help from the actual devs of the distro you run.

Sidux has this neat little script called smxi, which makes sure that you won't nuke your system without your consent. Right now, Xorg 7.3 is being held back. If I just did a dist-upgrade, I probably wouldn't be able to use the fglrx driver.

Another nice thing about sidux is that it's wicked fast. From kernel boot to kdm, it takes about 20 seconds. KDE itself is also quick.

Definitely worth a try!

P.S. Sidux is still a rolling release, so you don't need to re-install Sidux 3-4 times a year after each release.

Not having the skill to run Sid is the only problem I have with Sidux. And, yes, I have run it before - it is extremely fast.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AtomicAmish (Post 2903847)

Not having the skill to run Sid is the only problem I have with Sidux. And, yes, I have run it before - it is extremely fast.

Skill? What skill? You just need common sense. :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by angryfirelord (Post 2904261)

Skill? What skill? You just need common sense. :)

A collection of prejudices acquired before the age of 18. What prejudices are those?

Testing works fine for me. I'm a new Debian user and if Sidux updates are large they often break in bizarre ways. Nothing against Sidux or Debian; that's just the nature of Sid.

That is the point of sidux really, to make sure those breakages don't happen, or minimize them as much as possible.

Of course if you use sidux without the smxi script and do normal dist-upgrades then you are just as vulnerable to breakages.

Yes, and I expect Sidux succeeds at that aim. Dual booting with another flavor, though, I have had it break when doing a week or two of updates. Keeping all the pieces wouldn't help me. :D

If testing didn't exist, I would use Sidux. I eventually decided using testing as my only flavor was the best solution for me.

My install is three yrs old this month. It was originally a Kanotix install that I cross-upgraded to sidux. With all the cool scripts/apps sidux has I have yet to run into any trouble.

Shame even made a sidux forum extension for Iceweasel in just a few hours after it was posted in the forum about the one for Mint.

Turn arounds on bug fixes are amazingly fast, plus the newest kernel is always patched and works.

Quote:

Originally Posted by craigevil (Post 2906692)

I diddnt know you could even do that, how do you go about upgrading to Sidux from another Deb based distro, like Sid?

Quote:

Originally Posted by angryfirelord (Post 2904261)

Skill? What skill? You just need common sense. :)

I wouldn't say that. I haven't played with sidux, but I ran it's sort-of-predecessor Kanotix. 97% of the time, Kanotix was fantastic. 3% of the time, upgrades left your operating system in an unbootable state. Sometimes the fix was easy, sometimes it wasn't.

For those of us who've been around the block with Linux it's no big deal. For anyone else, it's a pain and requires much more than common sense.

Sidux is a nice experience. I installed it on my laptop a month or two ago.

Very few differences between Sid and Sidux. Sidux uses init 3 to shut down GUI when you use smxi to dist-upgrade your system. The latest kernel is a newer one than that I find in Sids repositories.

Some Sidux icons here and there, besides that I feel like I'm using my Sid.

Quote:

Originally Posted by craigevil (Post 2906692)

My install is three yrs old this month. It was originally a Kanotix install that I cross-upgraded to sidux.
<snip>

I might just take on the challenge ;). This one started out as Bughunter 5. Upgraded to Sid ages ago though. Been aiming to switch over to Debian AMD64, but I will be sorry to see this one go.