What to tweak/remove in Debian/Ubuntu to make 'em fastest/faster

[kerry_s]

Why?

It it true. I have used CLI only setups before.

i agree, start from the command line and add only what you need.

with debian use the net installer, uncheck everything at package selection.

with ubuntu use the alternate installer, select install a command line system.

once you have the base you can make it anything you want. a custom install is the best way to get the most speed.

[smartboyathome]

Why?

It it true. I have used CLI only setups before.

So have I, though these forums can be hard to browse from lynx sometimes.

[oldos2er]

"A quick Q: How to remove virtual terminals"

If you're running such a low-end system that you need to start counting the number of ttys loaded, I'd consider a distro far lighter than Ubuntu, e.g. Arch or Slax. The ttys use a very small amount of RAM.

Google is your friend in looking up Tips & Tricks on slimming down Ubuntu. And if you haven't already, look at this forum's Tutorials and Tips section.

[xArv3nx]

Why?

It it true. I have used CLI only setups before.

That's the kind of stupidity that kills mass adoption for Linux.

[crimesaucer]

remove gnome
install xfce4

".....For a Desktop my usage is pretty basic I guess... Firefox, RSS Reader, Pidgin, GIMP, Open-Office Writer, gedit, VLC Media Player, Brasero, BitTorrent(rarely). Few unwanted things I know already... Evolution, Banshee/Totem, Games etc.....

This already sounds like xfce4, no games, using brassero instead of nautilus, Thunderbird and Firefox instead of Epiphany and Evolution..... add deluge and a very fast Thunar and Mousepad, along with Abiword, use slim instead of gdm.... then you have a very light and fast distro.


Don't get me wrong, I like gnome, but I find Thunar is faster to use than Nautilus, it loads faster, plus it is easier to navigate in, and the Thunar custom actions are pretty cool and simple to use..... almost easier than Nautilus scripts.


I also like gedit, but it loads so much slower than mousepad..... I basically use mousepad if I just need to do a quick edit because it loads lightning fast, but I use gedit if I plan on actually working on something for a while becasue I like the find/replace better.


As for gdm, it is much slower than slim, but slim doesn't have the gui features like gdm does..... slim is basically just a log-in window with a customizable background that loads super quick and can even use your wallpaper for a seamless transition from the log-in window to your desktop wallpaper.

[mkrahmeh]

i got ubuntu installed on my machine, then the KDE installed afterwards,
i noticed a lot of apps being duplicated, cant find an efficient method for removing these duplicates, assuming it has to be done manually, and i hate the chain reaction of install/remove of the system..

can this affect the system's performance ? of course these duplicated apps are not loaded to the memory all the time..

[sertse]

For what it's worth, (and probably straying from the OP..) CLI only setups doesn't always have to be intimidating. For example try INX (http://inx.maincontent.net/) It's CLI only distro, that is menu driven and user friendly with the aim of teaching more about using the console and how most things you use a computer for can be done from the console. Net, Media etc

By back to the topic, it always found Kmandla's guide to be useful. Covers mosts things. http://kmandla.wordpress.com/2008/05...rdy-for-speed/

[cardinals_fan]

That's the kind of stupidity that kills mass adoption for Linux.

Why? And how is it stupidity?

[Scruffynerf]

There's a list of things that can speed up a system listed at the Ultimate Edition's HOWTO pages, specifically:
http://ubuntusoftware.info/Howto_twe..._ultimate.html

Note: In the latter parts of the HOWTO, some of the options may break systems, so be careful.

[Jags_FL]

Many, many thanks to all of you. I really appreciated your inputs.

Though I still have to implement few more suggestions, so far I've applied following tweaks (mostly from this link: http://ubuntusoftware.info/Howto_twe..._ultimate.html ) and boot time has improved from 47 to 38 sec and most importantly Intrepid feels faster/responsive than before (and still this one is my experimental desktop with P4 2.5GHz/2GB so I'm sure the results would be alott better on XPS 420 with Intel Q9550/4GB) :



(1) Installed boot chart: sudo apt-get install bootchart

(2) Services Disabled:

(a)System>>Administration>>Services
1, Bluetooth device management
2, Computer activity logger (klogd)
3, Computer activity logger (sysklogd)
4, Hotkeys management (hotkey-setup)
5, Multicast DNS service discovery (avahi-daemon)
6, Power management (acpid)
7, Power management (apmd)

(b) System>>Administration>>Boot-up Manager
1, CUPS
2, rsync
3, laptop mode

(c) sysv-rc-conf
(after installing: sudo apt-get install -y --force-yes sysv-rc-conf)

Disabled (for runlevel 3,4,5) :
acpid
apmd
avahi-dae$
bluetooth
hotkey-se$
klogd

(3) Softwares removed:

1, Evolution
2, totem
3, Rhythmbox

(4) Programs removed from startup:

System>>Preferences>>Sessions
1, Bluetooth Manager
2, power manager
3, Print Que Applet
4, visual assistance

(5) Tweak for Filesystem EXT3:
added to grub:
defoptions=quiet splash rootflags=data=writeback
altoptions=(recovery mode) single rootflags=data=writeback

updated grub: sudo update-grub

sudo gedit /etc/fstab
Modified Ubuntu fstab enry to: relatime,errors=remount-ro,data=writeback,noatime

sudo tune2fs -o journal_data_writeback /dev/sdb1

(6) swappiness: sudo gedit /etc/sysctl.conf
added a line: vm.swappiness=0

(7) Concurrent Booting (this may not have any effect unless the processor is dual core)

sudo gedit /etc/init.d/rc
find : CONCURRENCY=none
changed it to CONCURRENCY=shell

(8 ) Edit GRUB while booting first time and add "profile" at the end of kernel options to improve subsequent boots.

*****

Haven't installed preload, neither have I disabled virtual terminals so far.