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DIY Carrier Grade Linux with Debian

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the cool-for-your-home-switchboard dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Carrier Grade Linux, once the domain of big-bucks Bells and commercial software vendors, just became more attainable for universities, companies running high-availability web services, and average Linux hackers interested in learning what goes into the world's most reliable, maintainable, and available systems. The Debian project, backed by HP, has launched the Debian-Carrier Grade Linux subproject, and registered Debian-CGL with version 2.02 of the CGL spec. LinuxDevices has created a simplified version of the registration form that lets you see which Debian packages to apt-get, and which packages you'll have to download and compile out side of Debian, in order to get your own Carrier Grade Linux setup."

11 of 75 comments (clear)

  1. carrier-grade linux by spud603 · · Score: 3, Funny

    An excellent example of the clarifying power of hyphens.

  2. Carrier grade? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Personally I'd rather wait for torpedo grade Linux.

    1. Re:Carrier grade? by jc42 · · Score: 3, Funny

      You want a Linux designed to blow up and destroy ships?

      Even if we get this capability in linux, it'll be ridiculed for being years behind Windows. (That's one of about 1.4 million online pages about this incident.)

      It's sorta like the constant chant that linux "isn't ready for the desktop" because it doesn't treat its users as horribly as Windows does. Similarly, linux can't be considered "battlefield ready" until it can duplicate the disasters that the military has come to expect from their software.

      --
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  3. I had no idea what carrier grade means by Nate+Fox · · Score: 5, Informative

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrier_Grade_Linux

    Carrier Grade Linux' is a set of specifications which detail standards of availability, scalability, manageability, and service response characteristics which must be met in order for Linux to be considered "carrier-grade" (i.e. ready for use within the telecommunications industry). The term is particularly applicable as telecom converges technically with data networks and commercial off-the-shelf commoditized components such as blade servers.

    1. Re:I had no idea what carrier grade means by jc42 · · Score: 3, Funny

      Well, my first thought was "Hey, linux isn't just for toasters anymore; now they're putting it into air conditioners."

      I do wonder how long it'll be before Carrier sends them a C&D letter.

      --
      Those who do study history are doomed to stand helplessly by while everyone else repeats it.
  4. For those of you who don't know... by vishbar · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Carrier-grade" means that the server pipes all incoming data directly to the NSA.

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    Ride the skies
  5. Wikipedia by flood6 · · Score: 4, Informative

    I was lost as hell over this summary and even TFAs. Here's some help, apparently "Carrier-Grade" refers to telecommunications carriers, which can typically accept no more than 30 seconds to 5 minutes of downtime per year from their servers.

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    1. Re:Wikipedia by smbarbour · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Hmmm... Let me know when someone finds a "carrier-grade" carrier. I have yet to find any carrier with 5 minutes or less of downtime per year. Our current carrier is at approximately 24 hours of downtime per quarter-year.

  6. Debian Is Top Dog by devphaeton · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Debian has long been 'the example' IMHO. RedHat got all the fame and glory, but Slackware and Debian really showed what Linux should be like.

    I just wish all these projects (i.e. ubuntu) that base off of debian would give them more credit.

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    do() || do_not(); // try();
    1. Re:Debian Is Top Dog by JerkBoB · · Score: 4, Insightful
      I just wish all these projects (i.e. ubuntu) that base off of debian would give them more credit.

      How?

      From About Ubuntu:

      Ubuntu is a free, open source operating system that starts with the breadth of Debian and adds regular releases (every six months), a clear focus on the user and usability (it should "Just Work", TM) and a commitment to security updates with 18 months of support for every release.


      It's right there in the first sentence... Perhaps you want a large blinking banner at the top of ubuntu.com?

      A large number of the Ubuntu devs are (wait for it...) Debian devs, too. Ubuntu regularly contributes back to Debian. I'm sure there are political squabbles, but to say that Ubuntu doesn't give credit to Debian is nonsense.

      Bleh.
      --
      A host is a host from coast to coast...
      Unless it's down, or slow, or fails to POST!
  7. Carrier grade doesnt count scheduled downtime. by BrookHarty · · Score: 3, Informative

    Thats the dirty little secret, scheduled downtime. As long as you schedule the downtime, its still carrier grade. I've yet to see a service even with maintenance windows stay up for a month. Service in terms of big pile of servers running multiple applications with a big fat database cluster behind it. YMMV.