I was under the impression that it was only possible to set QOS on outgoing connections. The problem here is on incoming large packets hogging the modem line. A 1500 packet can take a significant amount of time to receive.
I wondered about dropping the MRU to force smaller packets and more fragmentation, but of course efficiency also drops.
We all know that Windows is dominant in the desktop market but is it yet dominant in the server or mission critical market?
A lot of these articles seem to suggest that it may be but my impression of Windows is that it barely gets further than Local Office Server. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
Whilst we're still comparing raw speed of SMB systems are we forgetting other improvements. Systems such as CODA add further benefits which may outweigh a slight speed improvement. I know that CODA is being developed for NT but in terms of real business use perhaps considerations such as that ought to be taken.
I believe that the author of the original article is worried that the process of "simplification" will take away the power and flexibility of Linux. This is something which is still important and as said in followups on the Debian mailing list a balance has to be sought between "ease of use/learning" and "power and flexibility". Perhaps this should be through different distributions aimed at different audiences.
If all you want to do is write a letter then yes - all you should need to know to write a letter is what a letter is. Given that it should be easy! Even then my idea of a document (a structured thing because I use LaTeX) may be different to someone elses (lots of different fonts - the "typewriter methodology" as I call it). People who drive cars have to know what a car is and a road and what way to go round roundabouts and when to indicate etc...
If you want to become a network administrator then you really must have some idea as to what a network is, and in order to be responsible you should understand things such as security. No pretty interface will solve this. If you think that "Internet" is another name for "Netscape" then when it comes to setting up a DNS server you're stuffed!
What I think can be done in Linux is that the user is given a decent set of defaults that gives a basicly secure system (say no inetd unless the user explicitely asks for it and is told what it does on the form with the button that says yes). A set of utilities can ask the user questions such as "what is your ISP's phone number?" and "do you need to allow people to run programs on your computer over the network?" and set up the system for them - whilst not getting rid of the ability of a knowledgable user to set things up by hand..
Debian does seem to already have a lot of this in place. The afore-mentioned scripts exist in the form of pppconfig, fetchmailconf. Projects such as LinuxConf and many other such utilities also look promising.
A problem I have seen watching new users is that they often approach Linux using their knowledge of Windows and expect the two to be the same. When I approach Windows with my knowledge of Linux I run into troubles. For example under Windows the PPP layer is seems to me to be intertwined ("integrated") with the web browser and the mail system with all of the effects that has. Under Linux these are all seperate functions. I prefer Linux's way and think that the Windows users should read the documentation in this case. A one stop setup tool that they can turn to can help though.
My conclusion: A good set of secure defaults and user friendly configuration tools that do not prevent power users from doing what they want. I believe that Linux is already a long way towards this.
- Richard.
For reference: I started out with Slackware in 1993, then moved to Debian soon after it appeared in my university. Slackware at that time was an education. I was already using HP-UX so was comfortable with UNIX in general.
Under Debian I use the package configuration scripts for basic setup but often tweak things and am glad that I can. I like Linux's flexibility and the ability to pick and choose modules that just work together. This is an advantage of not having things like PPP, web browsing and email intertwined. Linux does the job I want it to do very well.
I try to help out new users but do get frustrated when they repeatedly ask the same thing (not learning) and ask things that, when asked to just think about it, they can answer themselves in a few seconds. Sometimes the answer is right there on their screen! Some people are just lazy and will ask first.
f course, I also think that something like Photoshop's Unsharp Mask filter is a "must have" in Image Processing but apparently the folks creating GIMP don't agree with me, so maybe I'm just offbeat.
I'm sure I saw something like that on my copy of Gimp (1.1). A quick check reveals that its under Script-Fu -> Alchemy -> Unsharp Mask.
Having upgraded to Gimp 1.1 I think the move was worth it. Its getting even nicer.
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I was under the impression that it was only
possible to set QOS on outgoing connections. The
problem here is on incoming large packets hogging
the modem line. A 1500 packet can take a significant
amount of time to receive.
I wondered about dropping the MRU to force smaller packets and
more fragmentation, but of course efficiency also drops.
- Richard.
We all know that Windows is dominant in the desktop market but is it yet dominant in the server or mission critical market?
A lot of these articles seem to suggest that it may be but my impression of Windows is that it barely gets further than Local Office Server. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
Whilst we're still comparing raw speed of SMB systems are we forgetting other improvements. Systems such as CODA add further benefits which may outweigh a slight speed improvement. I know that CODA is being developed for NT but in terms of real business use perhaps considerations such as that ought to be taken.
I believe that the author of the original article is worried that the process of "simplification" will take away the power and flexibility of Linux. This is something which is still important and as said in followups on the Debian mailing list a balance has to be sought between "ease of use/learning" and "power and flexibility". Perhaps this should be through different distributions aimed at different audiences.
If all you want to do is write a letter then yes - all you should need to know to write a letter is what a letter is. Given that it should be easy! Even then my idea of a document (a structured thing because I use LaTeX) may be different to someone elses (lots of different fonts - the "typewriter methodology" as I call it). People who drive cars have to know what a car is and a road and what way to go round roundabouts and when to indicate etc...
If you want to become a network administrator then you really must have some idea as to what a network is, and in order to be responsible you should understand things such as security. No pretty interface will solve this. If you think that "Internet" is another name for "Netscape" then when it comes to setting up a DNS server you're stuffed!
What I think can be done in Linux is that the user is given a decent set of defaults that gives a basicly secure system (say no inetd unless the user explicitely asks for it and is told what it does on the form with the button that says yes). A set of utilities can ask the user questions such as "what is your ISP's phone number?" and "do you need to allow people to run programs on your computer over the network?" and set up the system for them - whilst not getting rid of the ability of a knowledgable user to set things up by hand..
Debian does seem to already have a lot of this in place. The afore-mentioned scripts exist in the form of pppconfig, fetchmailconf. Projects such as LinuxConf and many other such utilities also look promising.
A problem I have seen watching new users is that they often approach Linux using their knowledge of Windows and expect the two to be the same. When I approach Windows with my knowledge of Linux I run into troubles. For example under Windows the PPP layer is seems to me to be intertwined ("integrated") with the web browser and the mail system with all of the effects that has. Under Linux these are all seperate functions. I prefer Linux's way and think that the Windows users should read the documentation in this case. A one stop setup tool that they can turn to can help though.
My conclusion: A good set of secure defaults and user friendly configuration tools that do not prevent power users from doing what they want. I believe that Linux is already a long way towards this.
- Richard.
For reference: I started out with Slackware in 1993, then moved to Debian soon after it appeared in my university. Slackware at that time was an education. I was already using HP-UX so was comfortable with UNIX in general.
Under Debian I use the package configuration scripts for basic setup but often tweak things and am glad that I can. I like Linux's flexibility and the ability to pick and choose modules that just work together. This is an advantage of not having things like PPP, web browsing and email intertwined. Linux does the job I want it to do very well.
I try to help out new users but do get frustrated when they repeatedly ask the same thing (not learning) and ask things that, when asked to just think about it, they can answer themselves in a few seconds. Sometimes the answer is right there on their screen! Some people are just lazy and will ask first.
f course, I also think that something like Photoshop's Unsharp Mask filter is a "must have" in Image Processing but apparently the folks creating GIMP don't agree with me, so maybe I'm just offbeat.
I'm sure I saw something like that on my copy of Gimp (1.1). A quick check reveals that its under Script-Fu -> Alchemy -> Unsharp Mask.
Having upgraded to Gimp 1.1 I think the move was worth it. Its getting even nicer.