reamond Posted February 11, 2017 Posted February 11, 2017 I would like to remove "everything" from the installation, which I don’t need, with the goal to minimize the footprint.I installed tasksel and its show a lot of packages on disk... so my question is what can be removed to keep a basic ubuntu server without a desktop interface and with some most used functions and files. I tried to remove some of them, like…ubuntustudio-videoubuntustudio-photographyubuntustudio-graphicsmail-serverubuntu-gnome-desktop... I can imagine to remove all CD installation and images as well... …but my problem is that if I for example remove “ubuntu-gnome-desktopâ€, the OPI Zero is not answering on ssh request any more. So, for me its looks like it does more than just removing the desktop components. Any idea how I can sort this out what package can be removed…?
Igor Posted February 11, 2017 Posted February 11, 2017 Where did you get such an image? We don't produce such a heavy build. Just download our server version and you are ready to go. There are some extra things by default, like build environment and various utilities, but none of those have any effect to load / speed. They only take some space, which is not critical element in 2017.
reamond Posted February 11, 2017 Author Posted February 11, 2017 I am using ARMBIAN 5.25 stable Ubuntu 16.04.1 LTS 3.4.113.... OK, so if I understand it correctly, the "tasksel --list" command listed packages are not all on the actual drive. They are only executables to be able to pull them through network connection and install them.All u marked are possible to install..All i marked are actually installed components.Am I on the right track...?
Igor Posted February 12, 2017 Posted February 12, 2017 dpkg -l This way you check what's installed. More info.
tkaiser Posted February 12, 2017 Posted February 12, 2017 I would like to remove "everything" from the installation, which I don’t need, with the goal to minimize the footprint. Why? Try to answer this question first (with facts and not feelings) and you're already done. Remember the joke that Emacs (some call it an editor, others an operating system) was an abbreviation for 'Eight megabytes and continuously swapping'? Back at that time 8 MB RAM was considered a lot. And back at that time it made some sense to minimize the OS' footprint. It's 2017 now, just take the server images and live with a few 'wasted' MB storage.
arox Posted February 12, 2017 Posted February 12, 2017 Why? Try to answer this question first (with facts and not feelings) and you're already done. Remember the joke that Emacs (some call it an editor, others an operating system) was an abbreviation for 'Eight megabytes and continuously swapping'? Back at that time 8 MB RAM was considered a lot. And back at that time it made some sense to minimize the OS' footprint. It's 2017 now, just take the server images and live with a few 'wasted' MB storage. I don't think that things are so simple. Having unnecessary software on system disk make system slower, take much time to boot, to backup, to upgrade, more difficult to maintain, etc ... And even if you had huge disk, you will sooner or later run out of space - and then be unable to determine what is needed or not because you never managed the content ! Anyway, this is not an armbian problem but it concerns debian packaging and dependencies. And it is not a debian problem but it concern any linux (or other OS) distribution. One suggestion would be : - if you want to develop, test or have a general purpose system, then start with a full maximal system like ubuntu and suppress packages when you need storage. - if you know exactly what you need and will need in the future, then start with a minimal system and even compile packages yourself in order to reduce dependencies and keep bullshits at bay.
jkajolin Posted February 12, 2017 Posted February 12, 2017 Generally speaking linux boot will not slow down from any number of application installations. The core operation system is already running and the apps are started only after the os is already running. What does slow down is network errors, forced filesystem checks or maltunction on device layer. Just check the boot cycle from console to spot errors. Kernel modules do eat memory space but we are not talking here about 3party application gadgets. Example network manager will try to use dhcp even when the lan cable is not even connected... Run a apt-get clean to remove the package cache or if it does not help remove them manually. If you do not like to see the packages cut the available repositories from use but however upgrading becomes harder
tkaiser Posted February 12, 2017 Posted February 12, 2017 I don't think that things are so simple. Having unnecessary software on system disk make system slower, take much time to boot Well, I made these tests already. Comparing Armbian desktop image (after 'systemctl disable nodm') with server image. Automatic reboot several times and always monitoring time until login is possible. No real difference if the same storage is used. You get way more difference in speed caused by 'storage issues' (slow SD card vs. fast eMMC for example) than by the amount of installed software. Regarding the other issues (backup/update time) you're right but if you just take an Armbian 'server image' it's still negligible whether you start to waste your time 'minimizing' count of installed packages or not. You need really deep knowledge to identify the stuff that might slow down your OS installation. And as soon as you've this knowledge you automagically stop to think about 'minimizing'. Example network manager will try to use dhcp even when the lan cable is not even connected... Sure? I thought this is the annoying default behaviour when not using NM but relying on fiddling around in config file like /etc/network/interfaces?
Blars Posted February 12, 2017 Posted February 12, 2017 Network manager's default behavior is to look for networks to connect to, killing long-running ssh sessions to "scan" for other wireless networks, etc. It may be possible to tell it not to, but if you don't want the obnoxious behavior the easy way to get rid of it is to uninstall it. Configuring via /etc/network/interfaces will do exactly what you tell it to and no more. If you want to scan for networks, you can do it manually. It may be harder for beginners to configure their network properly, but reliable networks are important to me.
arox Posted February 12, 2017 Posted February 12, 2017 Some years ago, in order to configure a system you just had to define a couple of VARIABLES in ONE file : HOSTNAME/KEYMAP/TZ/IPADDRESS. In a few years, you will surely need to compile your NTB (Network Tree Blob) to achieve the same goal ...
tkaiser Posted February 13, 2017 Posted February 13, 2017 The main problem with 'network manager' quoting Douglas Adams (author of 'Hitchiker's guide to galaxy') Everything that’s already in the world when you’re born is just normal; Anything that gets invented between then and before you turn thirty is incredibly exciting and creative and with any luck you can make a career out of it; Anything that gets invented after you’re thirty is against the natural order of things and the beginning of the end of civilization as we know it until it’s been around for about ten years when it gradually turns out to be alright really. 1
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