Re: Linux prefered for running Subversion : call for testimonials

(I'm not trying to start a flame war here. And I'm not looking
for help on ways to do these things on Windows (I never plan to).
These are just some of the reasons I prefer to run Linux.)

On 2007-11-14 Roth, Pierre wrote:
> I would like then to compile into a single short document all
> the pro's for running the subversion server on a Linux machine.
>
> 1- Scripting :
> 1-a : Scripting languages are easier to setup/develop under
> *nix systems. Implementing fine-tuned hooks (server side) is
> more comfortable in a *nix environment. reference :
> http://osdir.com/ml/version-control.subversion.vss2svn.user/2006-12/msg0
> 0055.html

1-b : Availability, ease of installation of peripheral tools. On
Ubuntu, I can see 70+ subversion-related installable packages.
All immediately installable with a couple keystrokes and a few
seconds (for most). You may not need most of them, but the
ability to simply install-and-experiment is very valuable.

1-c : OS licensing costs, plus cost of other necessary
malware-protection tools are non-existent on Linux.

1-d : *You* are running it / setting it up, and you prefer/know
Linux.

1-e : You may want to incorporate mailing lists, continuous
integration, etc, on this server (or another Linux server), and
some of those tools really prefer Linux (e.g., mailman, other
scripted mail generation, procmail, buildbot, cabie).

1-f : Monitoring costs. You might want to set up a monitoring
solution. There are a few to choose from on Linux, and again
they're free.

1-g : Authentication. If for any reason you want to go with
svn+ssh:, it should be easier to manage on Linux with NIS (though
I'm speculating on this one right now).

1-h : Building new tools. Say you decide to build your own
Apache, Subversion, and other tools (this is not uncommon). Are
you going to invest in compilers and other build tools on
Windows, or simply use autoconf/gcc/binutils to build on Linux?

1-i : Backups. What are your automation plans for doing backups?
Cron and various common *nix tools make this easy on Linux.
Wouldn't know where to start on Windows.

1-j : Other automation. What are your plans to replicate/mirror.
It's easier to automate/coordinate with mirrors on Linux.

1-k : Transparency. In general, it's easier to see what's
happening with Linux systems/tools (system logging, monitoring,
renice-ing, etc). IOW, debuggability is better. (But this
probably depends on your skills / what you're used to.)

> 2- Performance :
> 2-a : "NTFS Filesystem does not seem to perform well with large bnumber
> of small filles" (I can't confirm it since I absolutely does not know
> Windows NTFS capabilities)
> reference :
> http://subversion.tigris.org/servlets/ReadMsg?list=users&&msgNo=61947

2-b : Malware-protection doesn't need to be running so you might
save some cycles there.

2-c : Harder to know what unnecessary services can be shut down
on Windows (if even possible).

2-d : RAID. I wouldn't know where to start setting this up in
Windows, but it should only take you a couple extra install
clicks to set up in Linux (and you can choose other filesystems
if desired).

(I'm sure others can think of more if these aren't enough.)

-- 
                          _ _     ___
                          |V|icah |- lliott
                          " "     """
mde_at_MicahElliott.com            <><             http://MicahElliott.com
PGP: 0x7C07CBF0          ICQ: 369060435      Linux/Ubuntu: 417195/12440
HackerKey: v4sw6YUPCJhw5ln5pr7OPck2ma9u8Lw3m5l6Ui2e7t3b8LDMOen6a3XsMRr5