1. To add repositories to your apt sources, you will need to login as root.

su

2. Edit the sources.list file found in the apt configuration directory:

nano /etc/apt/sources.list or vi /etc/apt/sources.list

3. Copy the source line given to you by the repository maintainer, and paste it on an empty line at the bottom of the file. It should look something like this:

deb http://websiteurl.net/debian sid main contrib free

3. Save the file and exit.

4. After saving, the new packages will not show up in the cache until you refresh it. Run the following command:

apt-get update

Now, you should see the new packages when you search and try to install them. If you ever need to disable the repository, simply place a “#” in front of it in the sources.list file to comment out the line. To remove it completely, just delete it. Anytime you make changes, be sure to run “apt-get update” again.

To begin you will need to specify the location of the new packages in /etc/apt/sources.list. In other words, APT will need to know where the new packages are.

To upgrade an entire distribution to a new version of it, just run the following command as root:

apt-get dist-upgrade

There are a couple of things to consider when performing a full upgrade. Do you really need any of the latest packages? If your current distribution is still supported, it may not be worth the risk, and the risk is that some packages might not install correctly. Furthermore, downloading and installing so many packages will slow down your server while it is upgrading.

It is best to weigh the pros against the cons and then decide if your system really needs the upgrade or if you can keep it updated and secure with the current version.

Answer: If you are running a Debian-based server, boot-logging is disabled by default. The only way to find out what is happening during a boot, other than being at the console and watching it happen, is to enable bootlogd.

Using a text editor (such as vi or nano), edit the file /etc/default/bootlogd as root.

Find the line that has “BOOTLOGD_ENABLE” and change “no” to “yes”.

BOOTLOGD_ENABLE=yes

Once you have rebooted, you should now have information in /var/log/boot about your system’s booting process.

Redhat Enterprise Linux – With the biggest financial revenue in the Linux market, Redhat is a force to be reckoned with, but whether they are right for your web hosting company depends on how much you can afford. If you like Redhat, you might consider CentOS.

CentOS – A free alternative to RHEL, based on the same source code, minus Redhat’s guarantees, technical support, and logo artwork.

Fedora – The cutting-edge testbed for RHEL. This is a community driven OS with a lot of community support but not paid technical support.

Debian – A community-based distribution known for its stability and large software repository, Debian might be perfect for a server that might not need the latest apps but needs to work consistently.

Ubuntu Server Edition – Although it is famous for its desktop Linux offerings, Ubuntu, a Debian-based OS, is a force to be reckoned with.

SUSE Linux Enterprise – Novell’s direct competition with RHEL, this OS is backed by Novell’s long history of server support and also some deals with Microsoft that have brought a degree of controversy.

Slackware – Described by “distrowatch” as “highly technical” and “clean”, Slackware sticks to the principles that made UNIX rock solid for decades but comes in a nice free Linux package. You need to know your stuff to use Slackware, and don’t expect a lot of glamour.

Gentoo – One of the newer major players on the block, Gentoo is a complete rethinking of the way a Linux distribution should be handled, largely build around the FreeBSD “ports” feature, which builds packages from source automatically. It is highly customizable but can be time consuming and unstable for those who are not experienced with it.

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