Debian 13 server
Install start time: 15:30 UTC
Completed install: 15:40 UTC
Then, I spent the next couple of hours re-learning Debian.
I have really missed Debian, as it has been a long, long while. The immediate difference when compared to Ubuntu server is that Debian is indeed a true, minimum server install. Whilst the net installer does allow the choice of various desktop environments, I went for the standard system utilities and the SSH server only.
The re-learning part came into it when I remembered that “standard” doesn’t even include things like curl, Rsync and the like. That’s the joy of Debian; it delivers only the bare minimum of packages, allowing for finely-tuned individualised configuration.
Ubuntu on the other hand comes with everything and it’s ready to go with minimal tweaking required. It does, however, come along with some bloat. If one does not want to touch anything Snap, for example, it must be uninstalled, its services stopped, etc., and that one in particular is a little taxing. I personally prefer to build up rather than tear down, so Debian (for me) seems to be a better logical choice in that regard. Having run Ubuntu for two weeks, I was more than happy with it. I had no issues but I fancied something a little bit slimmer and finely tuned.
Saturday
On Saturday, I started by installing Debian over Ubuntu and all was going well until I hit a snag with Rsync when it came time to move my Jellyfin media over to the server. Despite adding SSH-User ALL=(jellyfin) NOPASSWD: /usr/bin/rsync to sudo, Debian point-blank refused to allow the transfer from user “jellyfin”.
I added Ubuntu back, and weirdly, faced the same issue. How? Rsync was working perfectly and multiple times on the previous install. I gave up for the day, went away and did some reading.
Sunday
On Sunday morning, I decided to finally crack that Rsync issue — no one wants to (should need to) Rsync as root just to move files over with the correct permissions. I spun up a Debian VM on VirtualBox and went step-by-step through my setup. Then the breakthrough came: that line for permissions needs to go AT THE BOTTOM OF THE FILE. I was adding it in the middle, next to root permission root ALL=(ALL:ALL) ALL. That was the issue. Why I did that, I cannot say, but I learned the hard way.
So, after some sanity checks to make sure that I was not imagining it, I felt confident enough to try again on the server and away I went. After the Debian install, I tried a Rsync and bang! First time, files copied over and deposited with the correct owner permissions set. Happy days.
What is strange though, was when I was using Ubuntu, I could never get the files synced with the correct group assigned; they were always assigned to my SSH user’s group. It is stranger than the goings-on at Skinwalker Ranch. On Debian, jellyfin:jellyfin is set correctly.
Anyway, Debian is humming along. I’ve always loved Debian’s stability and how it keeps out of your way. A real pity that I cannot use Trixie as my daily driver at present due to Citrix Workspace not yet ready (I need that for work).
Oh, one more point… After install, it is generally customary to run a sudo apt update and sudo apt upgrade. With Ubuntu, there were at least 20 updates; with Debian? Exactly none, zero, nothing. Let the stability and quiet life begin.