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I was thinking about moving from Ubuntu server to OpenSuse or CentOS.

I just have a few questions,

  1. What changes when it comes to administration? ex. Changing network interface addresses, restarting services, elevating to root (sudo) and anyting else like that.

  2. Is there a package manager like synaptic for RPMs?

I might add more if I think of anything,

I am still kind of a linux newbie so I can move pretty easily.

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Stay away from CentOS until its dev team has figured out its politics. – Max Alginin May 27 '11 at 4:41
Politics? What am I missing? – Solignis May 27 '11 at 17:53

2 Answers

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  1. Approximately everything. I recommend going through the RHEL docs for more information.

  2. Yes. PackageKit.

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That scares me when you say everything. CentOS is just RHEL without the branding isnt it? – Solignis May 26 '11 at 23:11
The Debian and RH camps do almost everything differently. And CentOS is indeed a RHEL rebuild/debrand. – Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams May 26 '11 at 23:12
So software that runs in RHEL 5 "should" run in CentOS 5? – Solignis May 26 '11 at 23:19
That is correct, although occasionally some of it may look for proof that it is running on RHEL, in particular the contents of /etc/issue. – Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams May 26 '11 at 23:27
I see, I don't think it will be a problem for me. For starters I am looking to run OpenVPN, BIND, DHCP, Webmin, and a mail server.... Of course not all on the same server. I will be running on a VMware server. – Solignis May 26 '11 at 23:31
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Why are you thinking of moving from Ubuntu to CentOS in the first place? What is it that CentOS will give you that Ubuntu cannot give you? If you think you are going to make things easier, I would have to tell you that moving from one distro to another doesn't make anything easier, it just makes it different.

Instead of using your time re-learning things you already know, why not spend the same time learning more things about Ubuntu (or Debian).

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Uh... I guess I want to try CentOS because, I don't know. I guess because I look at CentOS as more enterprise ready considering it is based on RHEL. – Solignis May 27 '11 at 17:31
You have to realize that Redhat is a commercial company, whereas Debian is a community. The Debian Community has no commercial interests, whereas Redhat definitely has them. That alone does not qualify them to deliver a better Linux distro. I am not saying that Redhat is better or worse than Debian, but their approach is completely different. Try CentOS, by all means. But don't expect miracles. At the very least, don't expect them to be free of charge. – wolfgangsz May 27 '11 at 19:39
I agree 100%, I guess think more about your original question. I just want to see what is like on the other side of the fence. Since I got into Linux I have been 100% debian by default. And everything I read and learned was very very bias to Debain. My first real taste of Linux was the UTM called Untangle. On a side note I got CentOS ruinning and when loaded the VMTools they installed flawless unlike my experiences with Debian / Ubuntu. – Solignis May 27 '11 at 19:43
Any idea what ynguldyn means by politics? – Solignis May 27 '11 at 19:44
Sorry, no idea. Ask him. – wolfgangsz May 28 '11 at 10:28

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