Talk:2024 Server Migration

From Larry

For service enumeration, I am in favor of removing monkeybot and trac.

I'm not familiar with nginx so we should stick with Apache.

I'd prefer to use SQLite if possible. One less service to manage.

For the support lifetime comparisons, the Rocky and Alma distributions do require point release upgrades to stay current until End of Support, just like Ubuntu. Debian looks like they have new versions on a 2 year cycle with support going one year past the new release so the longest we can use one version of Debian is 3 years on average.

I would prefer Debian even with the short lifecycle. However I'm not very familiar with any linux as server because I'm used to FreeBSD.

Cloud service: I'm familiar with Linode and DigitalOcean. Their 2GB $12 offerings are identical. The lower level nanode and droplets differ by $1. I think any of those can handle the workload. It might fall on storage or traffic dictating our choice.

One thing I'd like to try is to configure the server using Ansible. I think it's a good way to semi-automate future testing and installations.

--Ldaberko (talk) 23:23, 15 February 2024 (UTC)

I'm on board with your comments about monkeybot, trac, and Apache.

I have no objection in principle to using SQLite - I think the limitations listed on that page are not a concern for our use. The instructions linked from that page about converting from MySQL/MariaDB to SQLite are from 2013; not sure if they are still valid or how much trouble it may be to convert. The other potential negative is the extra effort if someone in the future decides to switch back. But I think it's worth testing out.

About distros, presumably point release upgrades on Rocky and Alma happen with a simple yum or dnf update like they do with "classic" CentOS. My thinking with Debian would be rather than sticking on the stable version for an extended time, to upgrade to the next version when it's available. I am given to understand that such upgrades tend to be smooth on Debian these days, but don't have direct experience.

FreeBSD would be fine with me, but I don't have experience using it and would need to learn some of the system admin stuff. Presumably the programs involved would be configured the same way, so I could at least be useful there from the start. In a quick search I couldn't find any current info if it's possible to run FreeBSD on Linode or DigitalOcean, can look deeper into this if desired. (The docs about running FreeBSD on DigitalOcean are from 2015, don't know if it's currently supported. Also, DigitalOcean basically forbids running a mail server, which seems to me a no-go.)

I added info about disk usage (currently 22 GB for everything, including the OS) to the base page to allow comparison to Linode, DigitalOcean, or other plans. Currently web logs are kept for about a month, could maybe reduce usage by tweaking, also we've made no attempt to clean up other stuff.

Likewise I don't have a problem with Ansible or similar, but don't have any experience with it. I would agree that our current way of doing things is very much "pet," not "cattle."

--Vance (talk) 04:26, 24 February 2024 (UTC)