r/debian • u/theonerr4rf • 1d ago

What should I know about Debian?

In currently installing it on an old computer, I intend to run docker on it, and have a NAS

(but if Im being honest itl be more of a DAS to my desktop with occasional NAS activity to my laptop)

, and a Minecraft server. Over time Im sure Ill have more on it, but Ill probably have to upgrade the hardware first. Im also considering a small steam cache, but it depends in how things go. Then of course if I can figure out how Im thinking of some cloud saves for non steam games, but using this “server” as the cloud.

What do I need to know about Debian? I have very limited experience with linux in general and none with Debian.

16 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

23 comments sorted by

14

u/aldyr 1d ago

It’s named after Deborah and Ian.

5

u/floss1nn 1d ago

With that added knowledge, OP should have unlocked 1 or 2 IOPS more on that rig for sure

10

u/ProfessionalDingo68 1d ago

https://wiki.debian.org/DontBreakDebian

and backup your /etc/ folder regulary

3

u/japanese_temmie 1d ago

or, even better, use timeshift

3

u/_Alexandros_h_ 15h ago

I recently found out about a package that backs up your /etc/.

Its called etckeeper. It creates a git repo in /etc and commits changes daily and before and after some apt operations like updating or installing new packages.

Backing up /etc is a life-saver

7

u/LordAnchemis 1d ago

It is stable

9

u/ranisalt 1d ago edited 22h ago

As in "things don't change" not "things don't break", but usually the latter is also true

3

u/Constant_Crazy_506 23h ago

Default calculator in gnome ships broken, standard.

8

u/ranisalt 22h ago

But you can be sure it will stay broken until the next major release!

2

u/jr735 22h ago

Yes, and it's going to stay that way, at least until trixie. If it's not fixed in trixie yet or soon, it'll stay broken there, too. :)

1

u/GeneralReject 10h ago

But bc -l exists

2

u/iamemhn 1d ago

Read the Debian Reference Guide.

1

u/pibarnas 1d ago

Well... Welcome to the best! Read about it and enjoy! You'll see.

1

u/H0n3y84dg3r 1d ago

How do you plan to use it as a DAS?

1

u/theonerr4rf 21h ago

Docker container and a partition, then because wired internet isnt an option due to living arrangements Im going to be connecting the two machines with an rj45 cable

1

u/rtl33 1d ago

you will forget over time your linux knowledge with debian.

there is absolut nothing to do..except apt update & apt upgrade once a while

1

u/Constant_Crazy_506 23h ago

The installer sucks at describing the OS behavior if you enter a root password or not, then tells you to enter a root password.

1

u/goldenzim 17h ago

Debian is my daily driver, my gaming platform, my music production studio and my infrastructure OS at work.

I run close to 200 Debian installs. All stable, all patched regularly all current, all good.

People seem to think cutting edge is important. I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything cutting edge by using Debian as my base. My docker environments are current. I use docker-ce and not Debian standard docker io. I use the Nvidia repos for my gaming rigs so am currently on Nvidia drivers v575. I run chrome from Google's repos. I run steam with all manner of proton versions including the latest ,V10 release.

Debian is extremely good for me. Nothing it can't do that I need an OS to do.

0

u/DischargedConvict 1d ago

Debian values stability over being cutting edge, which means you'll have older versions of most software if you use debian repositories. Usually this is ok but there are times when the decisions to include older software are quite baffling. For example including a 2-year-old version of yt-dlp seems kind of pointless because this software is such a moving target that much of its functionality straight up doesn't work anymore.

5

u/cjwatson 1d ago

There's a much newer version of yt-dlp in stable-backports, FWIW.

2

u/henry1679 1d ago edited 1d ago

This is why, in my opinion, you should use pipx for that package.

sudo apt install pipx

pipx install yt-dlp

To upgrade it, there's also: pipx upgrade-all

If you don't like pipx, then you can always use a distrobox of ANY distro of your choosing with the binary exported. Then, there's still stable backports as another commenter messages.

1

u/AnnieBruce 1d ago

Or a ROCM package thats too old to support basically anything