[NTLUG:Discuss] Suse Latest Version

[Steve Baker]

Mark Bickel wrote:

> The latest SuSE release is version 8.1, not 8.0.
> Current SuSE licenses prohibits reselling their binary distribution CDs.
> That means that one is NOT permitted to copy their CDs and then charge
> for them. One IS permitted to make copies and then GIVE them away.
> That is however labor intensive, and then there is the question of trying
> to recover costs for the blank CDR media.

(Notice also that SuSE 8 comes on at least seven CD's - so the cost of 
the CD's and the time to make them is not negligable.)

A DVD writer would be more practicable since the whole distro fits on 
one disk.

> I did make a set of SuSE 8.1 Professional for the Linux Installation Project
> (LIP). I GAVE Rick Cook the SuSE 8.1 Pro copies at the Linux Fair, so they
> should be available if you want to USE them to install at the LIP meetings.

I generally borrow the DVD from work - and (since disk drives are 
**HUGE** just keep a copy of it on every disk drive I own...that way
I can always get to it if a machine goes down.

> Depends by what you mean by "install over". If you mean overwrite existing
> files while preserving the partition and directory structures and permissions
> and links created by the Red Hat installation, then I think the answer is NO.
> One cannot in the strict sense of the word perform an "upgrade" or "update"
> from Red Hat to SuSE. There are too many differences! That is not to say 
> that one can't re-use or copy certain partitions, files, directories and
> configuration info over to a new/different distribution, but that depends on
> one knowing what one is doing...

Yes - if your RH system is partitioned into a 'user' partition and a 
'system' partition then you can (with extreme care) tell SuSE to 
reformat the system part and install there - leaving the user 
partition free.  However, it's easy to make a mistake - so you'd 
better back up your user partition first...and if you are going to
do that then you might as well just wipe the disk and start again.

> In general I recommend that newbies and less experienced users always install
> a new version in parallel with the old; that means on a new partition, perhaps
> even on a new/separate drive, THEN when everything is stable and configured
> the way one likes it, one can delete/reuse the old partitions for additional 
> drive space. 

It's best to do this with two disk drives - and when you are 
installing the new system, physically unplug the one you don't want to 
screw up!
---------------------------- Steve Baker -------------------------
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