Re: Recommendations for OS

Dank wrote:

> Hi,
>
> I'm your typical poor student (cue violin), I've done all my learning on
> Oracle so far from home on the remote Uni machine (SunOS) and now I want
> to setup my own server so I can learn more about the DBA side and have a
> free run of it all. I see from the Oracle site that it's only (for linux)
> certified to work on Redhat/Suse Advanced Server, which alas are not cheap
> [read: not free] and that the X86 SunOS version is marked as 'projected'.
> Are the certified OS's the be-all and end-all?

No. You can install them on (consults notes... Suse 7.1, Suse 7.3, Redhat 7.1, Redhat 7.2, Redhat 7.3, Redhat 8, Redhat 9, Fedora Core 1, Fedora Core 2, Mandrake 9.0 and Mandrake 9.1. Those are just the ones I've put 9i or 10g onto.

Then there is also WhiteBox Linux, which is a clone of RedHat Advanced Server 3.0, and works perfectly. It, by the way, is free. That one I haven't tried, because I can't download the ISO images in anything under 4 days each. So if you try it, and want to reward me for providing such wonderful advice, maybe you could mail me copies of the CDs.

> If I run 10g on Suse 9i
> Personal Edition

I seriously wouldn't muck around with the Personal Edition. It lacks all the gcc stuff needed to get Oracle installed. You will bomb out spectacularly in the linking phase of the installation, because you can't. The Professional version is the way to go. It costs a bit, but do what I did and cheat: by the upgrade version. It's identical to the full version, but lacks one or two dead-tree manuals. Seriously. But it saves you something like AU$40.

> or X86 SunOS would the DBMS chug along fine?

Being a non-certified O/S, there will be quirks. Some of them have been discussed here (The database configuration assistant won't work on Fedora Core 2 or Suse 9.1 or indeed on any 2.6 kernel version without a bit of faffing around -nothing too serious and details at Google, or on request).

> Ideally I
> would like to run it on the X86 SunOS version, any suggestions/pointers
> would be most welcome :]

At this point, you lose me! I'd like to do x86 Solaris too at some point. But I never have, largely because Oracle dropped all support for it a while back, and has only recently been reported to be thinking about getting back together with it.

Any Linux you care to mention, provided it's not Debian or Debian-based, nor Mandrake 10, is a piece of cake. (Debian can definitely be installed onto, but it seems like a lot of singing and dancing to me). Most of those are free. And if you stick with init 3 after the installation, you'd be sort-of hard-pressed to know you weren't running pure Solaris. The slashes all go the wrong way round, after all.

:-)
HJR
>
> Regards,
>
> Anthony.
>
Received on Thu Sep 02 2004 - 19:54:24 CDT