What to expect from Debian/Trixie

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Upgrade & rollback concerns

  • Strong warning that Debian release upgrades (including to Trixie) are effectively one‑way: “system downgrade” is theoretically documented but practically fails and can leave systems unbootable.
  • Databases (MySQL/MariaDB) are highlighted as particularly irreversible because on‑disk formats are migrated.
  • Others counter that this has never been supported and Debian docs explicitly require full backups before release upgrades.
  • Several people suggest LVM, btrfs, or ZFS snapshots (and tools like Timeshift/Snapper or Mint’s snapshot rollbacks) as the realistic way to “revert”.
  • Comparisons with Windows/macOS rollback features; some feel Linux is behind here, others say imaging/snapshots cover the need if planned.

/tmp on tmpfs, swap, and memory behavior

  • New default of /tmp on tmpfs is controversial: critics worry a misbehaving program can easily exhaust RAM and destabilize the system, especially with large downloads.
  • Clarifications: default tmpfs is capped (typically ~50% of RAM per mount; newer systemd adds additional quotas). It won’t literally consume all memory, but multiple tmpfs mountpoints can still be problematic.
  • Advocates like the performance and SSD wear reduction for short‑lived temp files and note it’s easy to revert via tmp.mount or fstab.
  • Long, heated subthread on swap:
    • One camp: disable swap for better behavior under memory pressure and more effective OOM killing.
    • Other camp: a modest amount of swap greatly reduces I/O thrash and random OOM kills, especially on servers.
  • Trade‑offs around hibernation (requires swap), laptops vs servers, and kernel OOM behavior are heavily debated.

Network interface naming & systemd

  • Discovery that systemd has many evolving “predictable” naming schemes leads to frustration: interface names still change across upgrades, even in VMs.
  • Some administrators argue old MAC‑based naming (udev rules) was more stable; others note MACs aren’t always immutable and hardware replacement was a real problem.
  • Workarounds: pin net.ifnames=0 to keep eth0 style names; use .link files to set custom names; NamePolicy=keep discussed.
  • Critics see repeated churn and brittle behavior; defenders point to real enterprise bugs that motivated the change.

SSH, DNS, and other systemd‑integrated services

  • Reports that OpenSSH server is now socket‑activated under systemd on some installs; changing the port must be done in the socket unit, not just sshd_config. Some call this “madness” because SSH is the main admin lifeline.
  • Others say socket activation for sshd is longstanding Unix practice (inetd‑style) and offers benefits like smooth restarts and simpler dependencies.
  • systemd‑resolved + NetworkManager is described as fragile; some users lock /etc/resolv.conf with chattr +i to keep manual DNS.
  • Broader unease about systemd’s breadth and attack surface (referencing the xz/libsystemd incident); others stress individual systemd components can be disabled or replaced.

Packaging, filesystems, and distro comparisons

  • Multiple links to Debian packaging guides and policy; suggestion to use sponsorship/DD/DM process or pragmatic internal .deb approaches.
  • One commenter finds Debian’s native packaging tooling “far from sane” compared to RPM or BSD‑style ports; others ask if RPM‑based, btrfs‑friendly, LTS distros (openSUSE, Oracle Linux, Alpine) are better fits.
  • Discussion of btrfs support on various RHEL rebuilds and openSUSE flavors.

Experiences with Trixie/testing and advice

  • Many users report Trixie/testing as “boring and functional” on laptops, desktops, and even RISC‑V boards (with ZFS root), often for months.
  • Positive experiences with newer KDE/Plasma and Wayland, GNOME, sway gestures, updated Python (3.13), Podman/Quadlet, and current hardware enablement.
  • Caution: people who track testing (or stable) instead of codename (bookworm, trixie) get surprise major upgrades when releases flip. Strong advice: always pin by codename, especially for newcomers.
  • Some see Debian as extremely stable and ideal for “just works” servers; a minority report frequent breakage on Debian/Ubuntu vs Fedora and call Debian’s integration “hacky”.

Mail stack and service compatibility

  • Warning: Dovecot 2.4 in the new stable removes replication/director features and can break existing configs; some plan to stay on Bookworm or containerize Dovecot 2.3.
  • Concerns that Dovecot’s HA features are becoming commercial‑only; alternatives like Stalwart or third‑party replication tools are mentioned.

Miscellaneous Debian behavior & lifecycle comments

  • Noted long‑standing annoyances: su vs su - PATH behavior; Raspberry Pi firmware package interfering with backports kernel upgrades.
  • Some want better cloud‑native automation (Ignition/Butane‑like) rather than relying on cloud‑init/Ansible.
  • A few complain about constant churn in core stacks (GTK/Qt, firewalls, etc.) and wish an OS of this age changed less; others embrace the pace as acceptable given Debian’s stability focus.