Linux: 100 flavours and counting

In the fourth Linux Special Report we take a look at the companies which have taken the
original kernel and developed their own distributions.Written by James Middleton vnunet.com,
20 Sep 2002 Using Linus Torvalds's latest stable kernel release as a base, there are over 100
recognised flavours of the operating system in development, and possibly many more 'home
brew' efforts in the hands of hobbyists and enthusiasts. Out of these socalled 'distros', perhaps
a dozen or so are recognised as mainstream commercial/enterprise offerings. Although
adhering to the nature of open source and being available for free download, these
distributions can be bought off the shelf accompanied by a multitude of service options and
additional programs. These distributions are leading the foray into the enterprise space and,
while competing against Windows, they are also competing against each other. As is evident
from the following analysis, each current mainstream flavour of Linux has its own unique
characteristics, but all come bundled with hundreds or even thousands of packages ranging
from office suites to graphical desktops.
MANDRAKE LINUX 8.2
Mandrake Linux was created in 1998 with the goal of making Linux easier to use for everyone.
Although at the time Linux was well known as a powerful and stable operating system, it
demanded strong technical knowledge and extensive use of the command line. MandrakeSoft
seized this opportunity to integrate a userfriendly graphical desktop environment as well as to
contribute its own graphical configuration utilities. As a result Mandrake quickly became
famous for setting the standard in easeof use and functionality and proved that Linux as a
server or workstation has no reason to be jealous of any other more established operating
systems.
RED HAT 7.3
Founded in 1994, Red Hat is widely recognised as the leader in the enterprise Linux space; the
330lb gorilla holding the biggest market share. It's also pegged as the top distro in terms of
the development, deployment and management of Linux for an internet infrastructure. The
Red Hat distributions for Intel, Alpha and Sparc are built from the exact same source
packages. This is to ensure maximum portability between platforms regardless of the
underlying hardware architecture. Red Hat is also famous for a very easy installation system
known as Red Hat Package Management, which effectively allows download and installation of
packages with a single command.
DEBIAN 3.0
The Debian Project claims to be "an association of individuals who have made common cause
to create a free operating system". But it has a reputation for being the 'elite' users choice in
Linux, infamous for its uber techie 'holier than thou' user base. Although, like many Linux
variants, Debian is updated and maintained through the work of many users who volunteer
their efforts, extensive pre release testing is done to ensure the highest degree of reliability
possible, and a publicly accessible bug tracking system provides an easy way to monitor user
feedback. Debian comes with over 8,000 packages and is well known for its advanced package
management tools that allow for easy installation and maintenance on individual systems and
workstation clusters.
GENTOO LINUX 1.2
Gentoo Linux is a versatile and fast distribution geared towards developers and network
professionals. Again, a benefit of Gentoo is its advanced package management system called
Portage. This is a true ports system in the tradition of BSD ports, but is Pythonbased and
sports a number of advanced features including dependencies, fine grained package
management, 'fake' installs, sand boxing, safe un merging, system profiles, virtual packages,
config file management and more. It's smooth and sleek, but definitely a Linux for power
users.
SUSE 8.0
SuSE is the leading Linux distro in Europe and the biggest competitor to Red Hat. Known for
its easy to use interface, SuSE is also renowned for good customer service, making it a strong
player in the enterprise space. Like Red Hat, SuSE is one of the oldest flavours of Linux. SuSE
is also involved in the UnitedLinux project (see below).
SLACKWARE 8.1
Slackware is an advanced Linux operating system, designed with the twin goals of ease ofuse
and stability but, again, one for the power users. Slackware is equipped to serve in any
capacity from desktop workstation to machine room server with web, FTP, and email servers
ready to go out of the box. But for the developers, a full range of tools, editors and current
libraries are included for users who wish to develop or compile additional software.
LYCORIS AMETHYST 2 DESKTOP
Formerly known as Redmond Linux, Lycoris is located in Redmond, Washington, home of
Microsoft. Lycoris is a relative newcomer to the market, started in 2000 with a vision of
making Linux easy enough for anyone to use. Lycoris has managed to bag positive reviews
and has become renowned as a simplified Linux desktop for those unfamiliar with the
operating system.
CALDERA 3.1.1
OpenLinux product line is a multitasking, multi user Linux based operating system surrounded
with utilities, graphical interfaces, installation procedures, thirdparty applications, etc. But, like
Turbolinux (below), the SCO Group which was recently acquired by Caldera will now focus on
the UnitedLinux project.
TURBOLINUX 8.0
Although TurboLinux was recently acquired by Japanese firm Software Research Associates it
is still one of the more prominent Linux flavours. Turbolinux distributions are designed from
the groundup specifically for enterprise computing, a claim evident in the server version which
supports the Large File Support standard for working with applications that manage or handle
up to four terabytes of data. TurboLinux is now one of the key players in the new UnitedLinux
distribution.
UNITEDLINUX
A new contender to the throne, but worth a mention because it is being backed by some of the
biggest players in the Linux arena. Red Hat is not involved and it is thought that UnitedLinux
will seek to usurp that particular distro from its current throne. Due for preview this month,
with release 1.0 out in November, UnitedLinux is the combined effort of SCO, Conectiva,
SuSE and Turbolinux to bring a standardsbased Linux to the market. It is primarily targeted at
business users who are baffled by the minor differences in all the other flavours of Linux and is
again set up as a main competitor to claim market share from current behemoth Red Hat.
Opting for standards rather than unique tweaks also means that UnitedLinux could even be
the contender to the Microsoft throne that the open source movement has been waiting for
but, even so, it demonstrates the next evolution of Linux as a more businesslike and focused
contender. This thread isn't to be about the pros and cons of Linux versus Windows, but a
guide to the different broad categories of Linux around. Further I'm not trying to list every
known distro that's already been attempted at http://distrowatch.com/ There are, currently, 2
main groups of Linux distributions (or distros), separated by their software installation and
handling. The first are .rpm based, the second .deb based. rpm stands for Red Hat Package
Management, .deb is short for Debian. As the names imply, rpm based distros are, somewhere
along the line, either forked from Red Hat or based on large sections of Red Hat code.
Included are Red Hat itself, Fedora Core (the Community release of Red Hat), Mandrake,
Suse, and various others. Most "userfriendly" distros fall in this group. Debian, which has one
of the most regimented and fundamentally "free" philosophies of any distribution, has equally
been used as the base for many other distros. The most commonly known is Knoppix, the
famous live CD (which can run on a machine with no hard drive). There are many others,
including Mepis, Ubuntu, and various other live CDs based around Knoppix. Although Debian is
not easy to install, there are various methods (including the live CD Knoppix) around to make
it simpler, and the enormous quantities of software waiting on internet repositories is mind
boggling. Then there distros which fit into neither group. Mepis actually accepts both .rpm and
.deb files for installing new software, so is an in between case. Slackware, the oldest
maintained Linux based OS, has its own package management system, essentially a
compressed folder with pre compiled software in it. Many other systems have sprung up from
Slack, due to it's age and dedicated following Collage Linux is perhaps the most prominent.
Gentoo employs the philosophy of "the source code is available, let's use it" and compiles
every program from scratch (including the kernel, if you let it, during installation). Thus it
doesn't use a "package management" system as such, but a carefully maintained repository of
source code, for virtually any program you can imagine. Similarly Linux from Scratch is a set
of tools allowing a user to build a homegrown OS, using only source code. If I've missed any
groups, post below. If you think this is a stupid way of classifying Linux distros, tell why.