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2.4. 为什么选择 Debian 发行版?

Once the Linux family has been selected, a more specific option must be chosen. Again, there are plenty of criteria to consider. The chosen distribution must be able to operate for several years, since the migration from one to another would entail additional costs (although less than if the migration were between two totally different operating systems, such as Windows or OS X).
Sustainability is, thus, essential, and it must guarantee regular updates and security patches over several years. The timing of updates is also significant, since, with so many machines to manage, Falcot Corp can not handle this complex operation too frequently. The IT department, therefore, insists on running the latest stable version of the distribution, benefiting from the best technical assistance, and guaranteed security patches. In effect, security updates are generally only guaranteed for a limited duration on older versions of a distribution.
最终,基于同质性及易管理等原因,所有的服务器(有些为 Sparc 机器,目前运行 Solaris)及办公室计算机上都必须运行相同的发行版。

2.4.1. 商业及社区驱动发行版:

Linux 发行版有两个主要分类:商业驱动和社区驱动。前者由公司开发,与商业支持服务一同被销售。后者则是基于其所包含的自由软件相同的开放开发模型而开发。
一个商业发行版因此将会有更加频繁地发行新版本的倾向,从而改善市场更新及相关服务。它们的未来将与公司的业绩直接相连,而且,它们当中的许多已经消失了(Caldera Linux, StormLinux 等)。
一个社区发行版除了它自己以外并无其他的时间表可循。就如同 Linux 内核一样,新的版本将在它稳定之后再发布,永远不会提前。只要有足够的个人及第三方公司支持它,它的存在就有保证的。
诸多 Linux 发行版之间的对比使得我们有如下选择 Debian 的理由:
  • It is a community distribution, with development ensured independently from any commercial constraints; its objectives are, thus, essentially of a technical nature, which seem to favor the overall quality of the product.
  • Of all community distributions, it is the most significant from many perspectives: in number of contributors, number of software packages available, and years of continuous existence. The size of its community is an incontestable witness to its continuity.
  • Statistically, new versions are released every 18 to 24 months, and they are supported for 5 years, a schedule which is agreeable to administrators.
  • 一项针对法国自由软件服务公司的调查显示,所有参与调查的公司都提供 Debian 的技术协助,同时,它们内部所使用的发行版也基本上都是 Debian。潜在服务提供者的多样性将是 Falcot Corp 能自给自足的一个重要原因。
  • Finally, Debian is available on a multitude of architectures, including ppc64el for OpenPOWER processors; it will, thus, be possible to install it on Falcot Corp's latest IBM servers.
Once Debian has been chosen, the matter of which version to use must be decided. Let us see why the administrators have picked Debian Jessie.