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this post was submitted on 25 Jun 2024
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Linux
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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It's not for everyone. The idea is to have your entire system reproducible with a few configuration files, which you'd then ideally store in a VCS like git.
I haven't messed with it, but there is something appealing about the ability to reboot to an older snapshot of the system if an update breaks something, or being able to use a config file to restore your system to the exact OS version and exact versions of whatever apps you use.
I see . Seems suitable for infras with thousand of servers and is not the same backing up configuration files than whole snapshots of the OS. Don’t know how works with installed apps like nginx and their configurations.
I guess that's where the advantages come into play the most. I only use it for a handful of machines (2 notebooks, one workstation, an SBC and 2 VPSs) and it's still a great solution, though there is quite the overhead for the first setup.
Anyhow, that doesn't mean that it's more work in total than other distributions. The module system catches a lot of configuration errors for you which means you basically never and up with a "broken" configuration, and even if you did, you could select an older generation (more correct way to say rolling back on NixOS). Sure, the configuration might not do want you intended, but it will most likely be functional.
This even goes so far that some modules detect common configuration pitfalls for applications, like headers not being inherited because they got redefined.