First post - please tell me if this is not what list is intended for...

I installed CentOS5.6 - but I have a minor problem using usb stick as root dir - so was going to wait for CentOS6 and re-install differently.

In the interim I found SL, which I did not know about.

If anyone has the time, please can they post some advice on whether SL6 site/spin building would work for me in the following context:

I have a task that is on-going (like perpetual) meteorological data processing.  I know what tools I need/don't need for this system.  I'd like to build a system based on SL6 - which includes standard repository stuff plus a mix of my own code and non-repository tarball type installs (both binary and make from src) - then to build a distribution that somehow includes all this stuff.

The aim is to have a distribution (as DVD-iso) to install on other machines (and that I can send to colleagues) without having to go through the hassle of finding and installing the "extras".

Does this sound like what SL6 site- (now called "spin-") building is for?  Am I on the right track - or is there a simpler/smarter way?  I thought about gentoo and its system makefile type approach - but I don't think I want the bother of building absolutely everything - and I am quite sure my colleagues don't.

One final question:  Window managers can be a drag on machines intended primarily as compute engines - so I am tempted leave them out - but sometimes I  get advice on problem solving that assumes GUI tools are available.  Do you think iceWM is a good solution to this dilemma?

Thanks,    Jim.