SuSE 8.1: FTP vs. Disc Install by Harry "Buster" Ellis, unofficial PLUG inquisitor   We've heard many times how good SuSE 8.1 is. And it is one of the best distros out there, ranked by some as number one. You can now get it free, not as an iso download, but as an ftp install. However, the effort involved in getting it free might not be worth it. It might be better just to hand over the cash for the boxed set, which will soon be the 8.2 release. The best things in life are free, and, at the same time, you only get what you pay for. Here are some of the more obvious similarities and differences between the two types of installs. Similarities 1) YAST - This has to be one of the best tools in the Linux world. And both installs use Yast to guide you very nicely through the process. 2) PROCEDURE - Each install procedure is identical as best I can remember, step for step. Yast says do this, and you do it. 3) APPEARANCE - When you boot into your newly installed SuSE with either install, you get the default KDE. Side by side they are identical, and seem to include the same packages. Differences 1) ORIGINAL CONNECTION - With the ftp install you must download a small iso and burn it to disc. Then you go through a step by step procedure, in my case a few times while I got the hang of it, until you have the correct modules activated and operating. This took a bit of learning on my part. When you finally get hooked up to Germany, the download begins. On the other hand, with the disc install, you boot with disc one and simply press enter or click your mouse. No need to get your internet connection working before the install. 2) SPEED - Ah yes. While I have DSL always on through a router, it's only DSL basic, and comes in at about one MB per minute. Do the math! I started the install, went to bed, got up in the morning, went skiing and came back to find my computer had a request - insert floppy to make a boot disc. It was almost done, but more than 12 hours had gone by. By comparison the disc install takes about 45 minutes, start to finish. 3) STABILITY - I never got the ftp install to feel as solid as the disc install, even after the updates. I could see no difference in the conf files either. The mouse, which has never been a problem with my machine in SuSE, was a little unsure of itself. Maybe that day it wasn't plugged in correctly. That has happened before. Also the changing of any config files seemed to make SuSE jumpy in a way that it wasn't with the disc install. 4) FLEXIBILITY - Here's the big difference as far as I'm concerned. I made one error near the beginning of my install that haunted me later. I didn't mount the windows partitions on the other part of the hard drive. This was partly because I wasn't sure about this install, and wanted to be safe, and also because I could change it later.  Right? I never did get the partitions mounted so they could be used other than by root, and even then only after logging into root. With the discs, I would have re-installed to correct the problem which takes less than an hour. This flexibility doesn't exist with an ftp install over a slow speed internet connection. 5) COMPLETENESS - I suspect there is everything you'll NEED in the ftp install.  And I also I think there might not be all the software you WANT. You may have to acquire it downloading from other sources. 6 CDs is a lot of software (1 of the CDs is just source). But I'll leave that up to someone else to investigate. It could be that everything is there. Suspicions SuSE states that some "proprietary" software is left out. So they are not hiding from us that the free ftp offering is not complete. Even so, my two installs were done in much the same way, and there was a significant difference to that elusive "feel" that an operating system has on a computer. With the ftp version, I experienced mouse lockups at times. (Once I asked it to check the mouse at the mouse-config GUI and the mouse froze! I hadn't done anything yet.) The system felt a bit shaky at times. I don't know how better to describe that experience. Yet the disc install was rock solid. I suspect, but cannot prove, that the free offering is a tougher go partly because SuSE needs to sell to survive. And it makes sense that they don't give away everything. I also suspect, but cannot prove, that someone more knowledgeable that myself could make the free one hum along beautifully. But some subtle tweaking is probably necessary, tweaking that I'm not familiar with. I need a good install program to set up the system first time. Conclusions If you have some hard drive space, have installed distros a few times, have a fast connection, and have some Linux savvy, try this free ftp distribution. SuSE is great and worth looking at. It's a major player in the Linux world. And with real high speed, you can start over with no problems. And I'd really like to hear back from others on the stability of the ftp version. But if you are a novice, or have a slow connection, and you really want SuSE, spend the money. You should have few problems. And SuSE could easily become the only Linux distribution you would ever use. SuSE 8.1 Live-Eval (one CD) can be purchased from PLUG. SuSE 8.1 Professional (7 CDs + 1 DVD) is available for free with a PLUG membership only.         ©2003 Peterborough Linux User Group, All Rights Reserved. Logos and buttons are used by permission of their respective owners. PLUG can not be held liable for damages resulting from the use or misuse of the information at this website or from its members. 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