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On 05/29/2010 01:54 PM, Joshua Saddler wrote: |
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> |
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> D-Link routers, for example, run (or used to run) Gentoo. SRI's solar |
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> probe, RAISE, ran Gentoo. The Misa Digital Guitar, just entering mass |
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> production, runs Gentoo. There are many more places where Gentoo's |
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> been used in various devices and production environments, so the PR, |
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> GMN, and GWN archives are your friends, as well as searching Google |
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> for Gentoo success stories. |
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When I think about pros/cons for Gentoo vs something else here are a few |
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thoughts (some of which you may have already had): |
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Linux in general isn't the only OS used in embedded apps - there are |
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other options like vxware/etc, which probably should be at least |
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considered as well. Advantages of linux in general would be familiarity |
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and a very wide range of features. A more purpose-driven OS might have |
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the advantage of better realtime support and stability, as well as |
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better vendor support (embedded is all that they do). |
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|
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If you're going to run linux, then I'd consider Gentoo well up there - |
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granted I'd strip out a lot of it before deploying it. Gentoo has most |
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of the flexibility of linux from scratch, but is FAR more maintainable |
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if you plan to keep it updated. The fact that you can mix and match |
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just about any version of any library/etc is a big plus - it gives you |
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more control over what you put on your device. On the other hand, some |
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other distros might give you better long-term-support if you're willing |
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to live with the library versions they pick and how they build |
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everything. If your device goes on a network then it may need security |
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patching, and that is generally safer if you have a vendor who will |
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backport security fixes for 5+ years. Something like RHEL has |
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certifications/etc and more formal support, so you can hire people who |
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probably know what they're doing. |
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Like anything you have to consider all the pros/cons. If I were |
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building something on my own dime in an embedded space I'd probably |
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strongly consider Gentoo. |
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Of course, if you do use Gentoo unless you have a ton of storage you're |
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going to want to strip out the toolchain, portage, etc. You would use |
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gentoo to maintain a development image, and then any time you want to |
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you could copy that and then trim it way down (you could probably script |
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this). |
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Just some random thoughts. |
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Rich |