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How Google got to rolling Linux releases for Desktops

cloud.google.com

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Re: How Google got to rolling Linux releases for Desktops

#81

Post by Morgawr »

mjg59 wrote: post #78
denysvitali wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They use ChromeOS as well, this article focuses on those people who want to use a mainstream Linux Distro at Google.

Pretty much everyone has a gLinux workstation or logs into a gLinux VM - they were, traditionally, the only devices that had access to the main source repository, so it's not so much about whether people want to or not.

Googler and ChromeOS engineer here. Opinions are my own, etc etc.

This has changed/is changing. It heavily depends on your team (especially if you're not in engineering, I don't think most non-engineers would have a gLinux machine or a workstation out of the box). We've developed tools for crostini that would let people access a gLinux environment, I don't know how much I can talk about it so I won't go into details (although it's nothing super secret either), but the bottom line is that more and more engineers these days are able to do 100% of their job on a ChromeOS machine, including dealing with google3 stuff.

Re: How Google got to rolling Linux releases for Desktops

#82

Post by frafra »

HyperSane wrote: post #51
akdor1154 wrote: post #46

Jesus.. here i am in my BigCorp being disallowed to dev with Linux because too much mandated corporate crapware doesn't work. I dream of the day my employer provides an in-house distro for me.

WSL2 works really well.

Firewall bypass. Terrible performances when using Docker while accessing files stored on a Windows folder.

Re: How Google got to rolling Linux releases for Desktops

#84

Post by baby »

raffraffraff wrote: post #71

Glad to see that they're planning on contributing more to the upstream. But considering the size and budget of Google, and the amount of free work they're getting from the Debian community, it would be utterly irresponsible not to . Not blaming the team that's doing this good work though - I'm sure they're working hard enough as it is.

Open source = no strings attached. I don’t get the shaming of big users of open source.

(And if we really want to get there: chrome, android, angular, etc.)

Re: How Google got to rolling Linux releases for Desktops

#85

Post by baby »

sytse wrote: post #21

Cool article. My two takeaways: 1) If your deployment process hurts do it it more often (small releases frequently are easier than few big bang releases. 2) Don't commit to being x days behind upstream, if there is a big workload on your team (upgrading, vacations, etc.) you have the flexibility to delay upgrades and reduce the stream of incoming issues.

This is true for your codebase and your dependencies as well.

Re: How Google got to rolling Linux releases for Desktops

#87

Post by encryptluks2 »

HyperSane wrote: post #51
akdor1154 wrote: post #46

Jesus.. here i am in my BigCorp being disallowed to dev with Linux because too much mandated corporate crapware doesn't work. I dream of the day my employer provides an in-house distro for me.

WSL2 works really well.

No it doesn't unless you've never ran bare metal Linux and are happy with VM overhead.

Re: How Google got to rolling Linux releases for Desktops

#88

Post by mantas »

baby wrote: post #84
raffraffraff wrote: post #71

Glad to see that they're planning on contributing more to the upstream. But considering the size and budget of Google, and the amount of free work they're getting from the Debian community, it would be utterly irresponsible not to . Not blaming the team that's doing this good work though - I'm sure they're working hard enough as it is.

Open source = no strings attached. I don’t get the shaming of big users of open source. (And if we really want to get there: chrome, android, angular, etc.)

Legally - yes. Morally.. not exactly. And shaming one of very few ways to tell big users that it'd be damn nice to chip in here and there.

Re: How Google got to rolling Linux releases for Desktops

#89

Post by SuperSandro2000 »

baby wrote: post #83

Interesting post! I’ve been thinking about trying Linux with a rolling distrib. They mention NixOS, do people here have an opinion on that one?

NixOS is programmed in a functional programming language and aims to be fully pure and reproducible. Using it since over a year now and my entire hackspace runs on it. Can highly recommend it.

Re: How Google got to rolling Linux releases for Desktops

#90

Post by erik_seaberg »

baby wrote: post #85
sytse wrote: post #21

Cool article. My two takeaways: 1) If your deployment process hurts do it it more often (small releases frequently are easier than few big bang releases. 2) Don't commit to being x days behind upstream, if there is a big workload on your team (upgrading, vacations, etc.) you have the flexibility to delay upgrades and reduce the stream of incoming issues.

This is true for your codebase and your dependencies as well.

This, remaining on a known-good release is a form of technical debt to use judiciously and pay down when more convenient. Beta testing everything immediately can be a favor to the community, but it’s probably not your main job.
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