Re: [gentoo-user] Re: anti-portage wreckage?

[Uwe Thiem]

On 26 December 2006 17:56, James wrote:

> So I update the test workstation on fridays, use it over the weekend a
> nd then update the other systems. Granted, if the devs release something
> (broken) over the weekend, I get screwed with this scheme sometimes.
> I should update the test system daily (in the mornings) and then
> update the other systems on the same day after that.

>From my experience, another approach is easier and safer. If your test
workstation and your productions workstation are basically equivalent (as far 
as their world files are concerned, *not* their hardware) you can just NFS 
mount your test box's portage tree on your production box and update it from 
there. I will not download new packages but use the ones on your test box 
tested over the weekend.

>
> Problems with that scenario is the various methods of proxying the
> downloads and syncs are problematic in and of themselvs, not very
> often, but still bad enough to make those current schemes, less
> than desirable. Futhermore, DistCC is still a 'work in progress'
> and I've experience just enough hassle that it has been disabled

I disagree here. I have used distcc without any major problem for at least one 
year by now.

> (also due in part to so many different variants of x86).

This doesn't affect distcc. The slave compiles a a C or C++ according to the 
specs of the master. The master runs the source file through its preprocessor 
and sends the result with all necessary commandline options over to the 
slave. Those options contain the desired architecture/CPU of your master. The 
slave compiles the preprocessor output, runs that result through its 
assembler and transfers the resulting object file back to the master which, 
eventually, links it. So don't worry about different CPUs within the x86 
domain or different libraries.

Just have the same compiler version installed on all participating boxes.

It's a bit more difficult if a slave has a completely different architecture. 
In that case, you need to install cross compilations system for the master on 
that particular slave.

>
> Long story short:  Gentoo is the best distro for our work, as one only
> has to installed debian, suse, or redhat for a week or two, to realize
> just how spoiled you get with Gentoo.  That said, I've learned to be
> cautious and patient with key software upgrades on Gentoo. However this
> approach burns lots of extra time. My hope is Gentoo will continue to
> improve and become more of a 'production' distro, as the other Linux
> distros all seem to have unacceptable flaws, for our needs.

I full-heartedly agree here.

Uwe

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