[ale] Question

Michael B. Trausch mike at trausch.us
Wed Dec 28 12:57:08 EST 2011


On 12/27/2011 04:47 PM, Jim Kinney wrote:
> Get CentOS and read the RedHat documentation
> https://access.redhat.com/knowledge/docs/ . Use nothing but CentOS 5 or
> CentOS6 (CentOS is the poor mans RHEL). The vast majority of paying jobs
> that come across the ale-jobs list (and that recruiters hit me as well)
> are for REDHAT. By vast majority, I mean 80+%. That doesn't mean some
> other distro won't work. But RHEL background will get your foot in the
> door. Configs between RHEL and Ubuntu are totally not compatible until
> you totally understand all bootup aspects of both distros AND are a bash
> guru.

I don't follow.

 * GCC works the same on every Linux distribution, and its configuration
   files follow the same format on every Linux distribution.

 * Python works the same on every Linux distribution.

 * ISC software (e.g., BIND and DHCP client/server) use the same
   configuration files and such on all Linux distributions.

The same is true for most packages that are available on multiple
distributions.  Some of the core distribution's processes are likely to
be different, in that they are specific to the distribution (e.g., rpm
to Red Hat and derivatives), but IMHO it is most important to learn
about the underlying software, because that is what you're *really*
supporting and administering.

It matters not whether we're talking about Gentoo or Red Hat.  The
biggest major difference between the two is the package management
system, and probably the second biggest major difference between them is
the init system and its configuration.

It is true that sometimes there are "major" differences that aren't in
the package or init systems, however those differences are usually
attributable to things like customizations in the building of
configuration files.  Some distributions may use a macro system of some
sort to create the configuration files from a set of files maintained by
the distribution.

Personally, what I would like to see (and don't yet, and don't expect
to, honestly) is excellent "ad-hoc" configuration support for systems
that doesn't require in-depth knowledge of each program's configuration
formats and such, and likewise isn't purposely tied to a single
distribution.

	--- Mike

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