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Version 5 of systemd-free Debian remix Devuan is here

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Re: Version 5 of systemd-free Debian remix Devuan is here

#2
Some debian zealots do not understand: they say debian has the sysvinit alternatives which are available. It is some lack of perspective or it is hypocritical since they perfectly know how important being the "default" is. Devuan is no-systemd by default, and yes, it does matter a lot, namely the software stack has been tested/debugged to be consistent and working without systemd.

Re: Version 5 of systemd-free Debian remix Devuan is here

#3
post #2

Some debian zealots do not understand: they say debian has the sysvinit alternatives which are available. It is some lack of perspective or it is hypocritical since they perfectly know how important being the "default" is. Devuan is no-systemd by default , and yes, it does matter a lot , namely the software stack has been tested/debugged to be consistent and working without systemd .

The banned packages list is surprisingly not that long, and a good chunk of the packages listed there are systemd helper utilities:

https://pkgmaster.devuan.org/bannedpackages.txt

Re: Version 5 of systemd-free Debian remix Devuan is here

#6
post #4

For those looking to understand some of the history of the anti-systemd feelings, I found this presentation useful: The Tragedy of systemd ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_AIw9bGogo )

Another one - https://www.theregister.com/2014/04/05/torvalds_sievers_dust...

Re: Version 5 of systemd-free Debian remix Devuan is here

#7

I wish we could have a systemd that JUST does the job of init, and leaves the system logging, DNS resolving, etc. to the prexisting software that does a better job of it.

You literally don't need to use those features to use systemd. There's no requirement on journald or systemd-resolved if you just want to use systemd as an init.

Distros are typically configured to use these features because they bring a bunch of benefits and are simpler to configure, but they're completely optional. At my job we manage an embedded Linux distro (using Yocto) and while we've been using systemd as init for a while, we only enabled journald relatively recently, and don't use the other stuff.

Re: Version 5 of systemd-free Debian remix Devuan is here

#8
post #4

For those looking to understand some of the history of the anti-systemd feelings, I found this presentation useful: The Tragedy of systemd ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_AIw9bGogo )

I have to wonder, if an in-depth explanation is needed to say why it's bad, then is it really that bad?

I have been using Debian for a long time, and I moved to systemd when they switched and I have not had any issues with it that I can think of.

Re: Version 5 of systemd-free Debian remix Devuan is here

#9
I develop and maintain a plurality of custom linux distros for embedded hardware using Yocto. I used to be the InitV guy, the first half of my distros use it and it's horrible. Every change breaks something. Services start and don't stop or vice versa. I recently switched to using Systemd and life is so much better. You can actually reason about systemd's operation and load order. The systems I build linux for have 128MB of ram up to 1GB of ram, are mostly 32 bit and use SD-Card like storage. In other words not exactly super performant and systemd boots in the same time as InitV. At worst it's 2-3 seconds slower. If I can't tell the difference on a $20 microprocessor I guarantee you can't either on the current state of the art CPU's. For reference my latest systemd based distro is 32 bits, runs at 400MHz and possesses a proud 200bogoMips of grunt.

Re: Version 5 of systemd-free Debian remix Devuan is here

#10
post #7

I wish we could have a systemd that JUST does the job of init, and leaves the system logging, DNS resolving, etc. to the prexisting software that does a better job of it.

You literally don't need to use those features to use systemd. There's no requirement on journald or systemd-resolved if you just want to use systemd as an init. Distros are typically configured to use these features because they bring a bunch of benefits and are simpler to configure, but they're completely optional. At my job we manage an embedded Linux distro (using Yocto) and while we've been using systemd as init…

> There's no requirement on journald

Are you sure? I don't think it's possible to disable the journal for the whole system.

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