Need V4 Kernel -- is UBUNTU 16 Solid and stable as CENTOS 7.2

Hi there.

I've used CENTOS for ages but it's still using Rel 3 kernel -- it's no good simply updating kernel to rel 4 as all the libraries etc need to be updated as well - otherwise a lot of applications will fail on update as well as anything that needs compile or run time libraries from the previous kernel e.g headers, glibc etc etc..

Centos is unbelievably stable but I need kernel 4 for some things -- is UBUNTU LTS (the long term support version 16.x) really stable --I don't need leading edge software but it must be stable and I do need kernel 4.

I've loaded it in a VM (16.x_ on a Windows 10 host) and so far seems OK - but for people who've used UBUNTU for a long time is it really stable. The commands are not too dissimilar to centos and all the packages I need have installed simply enough. Any comments from experienced uses here --stability is what I must have !!!!/ CENTOS delivered that in spades.

I like the KDE desktop so I added the plasma desktop to UBUNTU without any problems. I don't like either the UNITY or GNOME GUI's - no prob with the KDE install though.

Asked here rather than 'NIX forums as a lot here try out all sorts of distros as VM's etc - on 'Nix Forums a lot get very passionate over what they use rather than a decent answer from people who've tried a lot out. Ever got in between Bikers arguing over the merits of Harley's over Ducati's etc or a load of Brits on opposite sides of their "Brexit" squabbles !!! 'Nuf said I think.

Cheers
jimbo

How to Install or Upgrade to Kernel 4.15 in CentOS 7

sml156 said:

I think he is worried that some of the packages he is using are not compatible yet.

yum has always brought in dependencies for me but it depends if you've installed stuff outside of package system I suppose.

I never had any problem upgrading kernel on any distro (but then I'm pretty conservative with what I install).

lx07 said:

yum has always brought in dependencies for me but it depends if you've installed stuff outside of package system I suppose.

I never had any problem upgrading kernel on any distro (but then I'm pretty conservative with what I install).

Hi Folks
I did a test with Kernel 4 on CENTOS -- it broke VMware - there was a hassle in getting the right headers -- solved that but then some modules wouldn't compile -- so I thought --No go --don't need to mess around with this sort of stuff which should work decently.

Tried Ubuntu 17.10 as a test --worked OK but it's a bit of a "beta" thing which will be replaced soon so I'll try either 16 or 18 as a VM first. I didn't have any network issues --I have never had network issues with any distro of Linux I've tried -- Windows screws up Networks royally though !!!!.

One nasty in Ubuntu 17 though is that you can't use decent editors in a GUI in root mode which means it's a pain editing say samba / other config files with VI (used that Donkeys years ago in cli mode). I believe that's fixed in 18 and they are back to using the standard video XORG again -- works predictably !!!). VMWARE was working OK too so no compile problems.

Thanks for inputs --I'll play around with 18 to see what else I can break !!!!!

Cheers
jimbo

sml156 said:

I just downloaded and tried Ubuntu Mate 17.10 and had no problem saving files as root

Mate uses Pluma text editor not sure what flavour of Ubuntu you tried. I actually like nano or leafpad better but I just wanted to try to save the file.

Commands used:

Code:

Alt F2

that opened the command dialog

Typed in:

Code:

sudo pluma /etc/samba/smb.conf

Make sure run in terminal is selected and click on Run
Type in password when asked and press enter.



Opened as superuser

Hi there
@sml156

Nautilus worked fine as super user so good to go !!! Vmware also OK (although running vmware on a VM itself iand a 2nd lvel Gues (Guest on a Guest) sn't best thing to do -- OK for testing though !!!.

Marking thread solved -- UBUNTU in various flavours seems fine and easy to use as well package manager also OK -- just apt instead of yum and different repositories - but seems straightforward enough.

Cheers
jimbo

Hi Jimbo,

Ubuntu 16.04 is LTS (Long Term Support, 5 years) release so yes it is stable.

I installed 16.04 in 2016 to use it as a KVM test server, still running, fully updated, no problems; in my experience I can say yes, it is a solid and stable workstation/server.

If you require stability, I would advise you to not use 18.04 for now it is under heavy development with a lot of new features, as you know 17.10 is going out of support is some month so not really for VM server use.

Ubuntu LTS Kernel stability (stability, packages and kernels do not change, only security fixes):

Ubuntu 16.04 LTS was shipped with kernel 4.4.0, this kernel will be supported until 2021/04, if you want to use 4.4.0 you need to
download and install 16.04. If you need newer kernels you can download 16.04.4 relased some days ago with kernel 4.13.
Do not enable "proposed" repos.

I find network (general LAN usage) has better support in gtk (i.e. Unity, Gnome, Cinnamon) than Qt (!).
If you do not like Unity (but it works !) you can try linux Mint with Cinnamon.
In the end if you look for CentOS grade stability, Ubuntu 16.04 with Unity is the way to go IMHO.

I hope this informations can help you with your decision.