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Date: Thu, 03 Jan 2013 22:10:31 +0100
From: Georg Bauhaus <rm.dash-bauhaus@futureapps.de>
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Subject: Re: Linux distro for new server?
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Date: 2013-01-03T22:10:17+01:00
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On 03.01.13 01:42, Randy Brukardt wrote:

Some impressions from more or less recent server setups:

> (1) Run the existing mail filter and web server software. This is all Ada
> software which I should be able to recompile for this machine (but it has to
> be possible to do that).

SuSE Linux ES (Novell): Ada support is likely not what you want (basically
unsupported).
Convenient system setup requires a graphical environment, or else knowledge
of Suse-only tools like zypper, plus RPM, and then some.
But some software, notably for Ada, is just not part of enterprise edition,
only in OpenSUSE or on the openSUSE Build System, if someone has managed to
compile it.

Building our in-house notification program (Ada) required that I used a
non-system GNAT plus sources (of AWS, basically) for compiling a standalone
executable to run on the servers.

Ubuntu LTS: Only slightly ahead of Debian "stable" in terms of version
numbers (GCC 4.6), but not in terms of quality and integration as regards
Ada support, I'd say.
The number of weekly fixes and updates is not as overwhelming as is for the
desktop Ubuntu systems. Two arguments in favor of the LTS version.

> (2) Run firewall and proxy software for our network. (I'll need to find
> Linux versions of these, given how much Linux is used for servers, it must
> exist.)

In a normal GNU/Linux, there is just one: Netfilter. A simple tool
for controlling the tables based firewall is ufw(1),

SELinux may be of interest.

> (3) GNAT, to recompile the existing software for the machine. I expect
> development on the machine to be kept to a minimum. The software is
> virtually all Ada 95 code (with a few Ada 2005 features tossed in), there is
> nothing bleeding edge because it all was created with Janus/Ada.

Needless to say, GNAT/ObjectAda/... all mention Redhat ES (or equivalent),
so I guess they are in good shape on these systems; the Debian Ada
environment is convenient, rich, and conservative (GCC 4.4) if using "stable".
I found Ludovic's description of a [s]chrooted "testing" environment
most helpful whenever some bits from the bleeding edge were needed
(that would have been GCC 4.6).