Setting up archlinux server

kayrune · 2008-01-08 20:56:25

Hi, I'm fairly new to archlinux, so I'm not quite sure how everything works yet. I've been running Arch for some weeks now on my desktop and I like the concept. So I'm considering moving my server from Gentoo to Arch. It would basically be a LAMP+NFS+SAMBA+FTP server. The reason I'm considering dropping gentoo is because it's such a pain to upgrade. Now I'm wondering would there be any danger running 'pacman -Syu --noconfim' as a cron job ? I'm thinking I would email myself the output of the progress. But what about config files etc? How does Arch handle updated config files?

Any other tips regarding setting up an arch server?

toofishes · 2008-01-08 23:30:29

Why would you want to upgrade it that often? That seems like overkill and a great way to hose a working system right when you don't have time to fix it.

Read 'man pacman' for information on updated config files. I'm sure there are a ton of good wiki articles too related to setting up a server- you may want to check there.

gazj · 2008-01-08 23:54:28

I only upgrade my server once every couple of months, not seeing the output as it happens and dealing with any problems immediately is asking for problems with rolling release I feel. But a upgrade every two months with care is likely to cause less problems. I haven't had a problem in 18 mths, I run everything you mentioned plus an rsync server.

man pacman

HANDLING CONFIG FILES
       pacman uses the same logic as rpm to determine action against files that are designated to be backed up. During an upgrade, 3 md5 hashes are used for each backup file to determine the
       required  action: one for the original file installed, one for the new file that's about to be installed, and one for the actual file existing on the filesystem. After comparing these
       3 hashes, the follow scenarios can result:

       original=X, current=X, new=X
              All three files are the same, so overwrites are not an issue Install the new file.

       original=X, current=X, new=Y
              The current file is the same as the original but the new one differs.  Since the user did not ever modify the file, and the  new  one  may  contain  improvements  or  bugfixes,
              install the new file.

       original=X, current=Y, new=X
              Both package versions contain the exact same file, but the one on the filesystem has been modified. Leave the current file in place.

       original=X, current=Y, new=Y
              The new file is identical to the current file. Install the new file.

       original=X, current=Y, new=Z
              All  three  files  are  different, so install the new file with a .pacnew extension and warn the user. The user must then manually merge any necessary changes into the original
              file.

Last edited by gazj (2008-01-08 23:56:29)

phildg · 2008-01-09 01:38:22

The rolling release system doesn't lend itself well to server applications. For maximum reliability and stability you only want to update to address security vulnerabilities or because you specifically want a feature provided by a new version.

Upgrading every day is asking for trouble and more work. Most of the time there is no need to update to a new version. Upgrading every two or three months isn't adequate either because you may be running vulnerable software for several weeks.

The rolling release model has its benefits, but imo it isn't suitable for production servers. Don't get me wrong, Arch is a cracking system, it is the only os installed on my two desktops and laptop, my server on the other hand runs something else.

kayrune · 2008-01-09 09:52:18

Thank you all for you input. I am familiar with the concept of rolling release and the problems you might encounter as I've been using gentoo for quite a long time. I'm also fairly familiar with Ubuntu.

The reason I want a rolling release system is because I don't want to be bothered reinstalling the server every 12-18 months. I know you can upgrade ubuntu to new versions when it comes out, but I assume that would probably be problematic as well.

The reason I was asking about running pacman as a cron job is mostly because of the security updates, but I also like bleeding edge I assume there is no other way to get the latest security updates ?

Phildg, I agree with what you say, even though I don't see why the rolling release is a bad thing, unless something breaks ofcourse, but does that happen often with arch ? What is the alternative, is there any distro that handles security patches the "windows way" where you just apply a patch, not upgrade the complete package. May I ask what your server is running (debian?)

.:B:. · 2008-01-09 10:41:21

I have Arch on my server too and I had a few 'downtimes' but that was mainly due to my own stupidity. I do not recommend a cronjob for pacman - at all. At a given point it will bork your box because some critical package upgrade that changed something thoroughly and would have prompted you about that in a terminal. With a cron job you're lucky if it reboots (if you do that). I just ssh in and run pacman to keep the box up to date.

Thankgs gazj, I didn't know pacman actually compared the config files . I thought it just checked its configs to see if a config should be 'safeguarded' or not...

phildg · 2008-01-09 18:14:09

I must admit, upgrading Arch on my desktop rarely leads to problems, though I wonder how many times I've updated a package that has been broken and I never realised because the next time I came to use it it had been updated a few more times since. If you're going to stick with arch then I'd recommend you subscribing to security mailing lists of the major bits of software you use, apache, postfix etc, then you'll be informed of security updates and know when to update your system.

My server runs FreeBSD. I've emailed you about this, rather than taking this off topic.

Arch Linux

#1 2008-01-08 20:56:25

Setting up archlinux server

#2 2008-01-08 23:30:29

Re: Setting up archlinux server

#3 2008-01-08 23:54:28

Re: Setting up archlinux server

#4 2008-01-09 01:38:22

Re: Setting up archlinux server

#5 2008-01-09 09:52:18

Re: Setting up archlinux server

#6 2008-01-09 10:41:21

Re: Setting up archlinux server

#7 2008-01-09 18:14:09

Re: Setting up archlinux server

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