[arch-general] doubts about rolling release

[Paul Gideon Dann]

On Friday 07 Mar 2014 15:09:27 Ary Kleinerman wrote:
> Hi,
> I'm a new Archer and I'm planning to install arch linux in a production
> server environment, but I have doubts because Arch is a rolling release. My
> question is: what does it happen when there are big changes? e.g. changes
> in the filesystem or when Arch has started using systemd.
> Regards,
> Ary

I use Arch in production for several of our company's internal tools (bug tracker, SVN, etc...) 
I went through the systemd and /usr transition without a hiccup. The only downtime was 
the required reboot, I think. That's because I had been through the transition on my own 
machine and was well prepared. I've rarely had any issues caused by Arch updates.

You do need to be aware of what packages to hold back (IgnorePkg in /etc/pacman.conf), 
which will depend on what you're using the server for.

Finally, be sure to use a monitoring system. I use monit and ganglia. Together, they help me 
keep an eye on things like disk usage trends, and notify me of various causes for concern.

I use rsnapshot for local iterative backup, along with a custom script that moves an archive 
onto a remote server that deals with getting it onto tape. (IT is all Windows-based; I'm 
pretty much the only Linux guy.)

Paul