How to associate with distribution

I know there is a reason why you rebuild/create your own packages.

• Unfortunately, there's no official package that is necessary to provide service to your customers
• distro package is not suitable for your purpose by default
• maybe since its features
• maybe since performance issue

However, I want to ask you one question.

Is it necessary that you'd maintain it in your private repository?

Because create custom package repository is a kind of "fork"

• Of course, you can do folk. But if you don't want to be "upstream", every time you need to follow your upstream to fix bugs, vulnerabilities and introduce new features. Important: Merge cost would become larger and larger from the time you did folk.
• It's best that if your system can be used "out of box", but you need to modify packages for some reason (as above).
  Then, what would you do? - minimize
• minimize numbers of private package
  = reduce maintenance cost
• minimize diff with distro package
  = minimize diff with upstream = reduce maintenance cost

If you could minimize diff with distro, you can update and introduce new attractive features from updated distro package easily (maybe you don't need to maintain your custom package since its feature is merged to upstream).

Yes, you can get Agility.


And, if you would put your package to Debian official repository, we Debian can give you below benefits

• build daemon with many architectures
• open bug tracking system
• world wide mirror network
• security vulnerabilities tracker
• users

1. We can provide build system, including non-x86 arch (none of you have thought arm* architecture become important, right?) You can deal with porting as daily job, no huge jump to support newer architectures. It also brings the view to build  cleaner structures in your code.
   It is much work to setup such system, but you can use it without any trouble.
2. You can get bug report/wishlist/patches from Debian BTS (without any pay for it! :-)
   It will help you to improve software packages, it cannot be sent to you if you would put packages to closed private repository.
3. Package is mirrored to many repositories in world wide. Robust. You can get binary/source code immediately, anywhere. No need to backup your package source.
4. Any CVE is tracked. You can analyze security status in your system easily (it means you don't need to pay much money to build such system)
5. Debian has huge user base. It would work as good "showcase" test (of course, without any pay for it...)

Conclusion)

 It's okay to create/modify package. It's FLOSS. As you like! :)

 However, to maintain custom package, you need to pay its cost (someone should work for it. If it's in only your own repository, it means you should work, no one can help it).

 To maintain packages in distro can reduce its cost, can get many benefit - Less cost, more benefit - why not? Let's get involved to distribution!