Comparison of Linux distributions

Comparison of Linux distributions

Technical variations of Linux distributions include support for different hardware devices and systems or software package configurations. Organizational differences may be motivated by historical reasons. Other criteria include security, including how quickly security upgrades are available; ease of package management; and number of packages available.

These tables compare each noteworthy distribution's latest stable release on wide-ranging objective criteria. It does not cover each operating system's subjective merits, branches marked as unstable or beta, nor compare Linux distributions with other operating systems.

Contents

General

Basic general information about the distributions: creator or producer, release date and latest version, and so forth.

Distribution Creator Producer First public release Base distribution Latest release date Purpose
64 Studio Daniel James and Free Ekanayaka 64 Studio Ltd. 2005 Debian 2008 multimedia
Alinex Alinex Team and University of Évora Alinex Team and University of Évora 2005 Ubuntu 2008 general
aLinux Jay Klepacs Jay Klepacs 2001 Red Hat Linux 2010 desktop
Alpine Linux Alpine Linux Team Alpine Linux Team 2006 none 2011 network
ALT Linux ALT Linux Team ALT Linux Team / ALT Linux LLC 2001 Mandriva Linux 2011 general, school
Annvix Vincent Danen Vincent Danen 2003 Mandriva Linux 2007 server
Arch Linux Judd Vinet dev team 2002 none 2011/Rolling general
Ark Linux Bernhard Rosenkränzer dev team 2003 none 2008 desktop
Asianux Red Flag Linux, Miracle Linux, Haansoft Linux dev team 2004 RHEL 2007 server, workstation
BackTrack Max Moser, Mati Aharoni, and Martin J. Muench Remote-Exploit 2006 Debian 2011 auditing
BLAG Linux and GNU Brixton Linux Action Group Brixton Linux Action Group 2002 Fedora 2011 desktop
Bharat Operating System Solutions C-DAC (Centre for Development of Advanced Computing) C-DAC (Centre for Development of Advanced Computing) 2007 Debian 2011 general, server, education, netbooks, live
Caixa Mágica Daniel Neves, José Guimarães, Paulo Trezentos Caixa Mágica Software 2000 Mandriva Linux 2009 general
CentOS CentOS Project CentOS Project 2003 RHEL 2011 server, workstation
Google Chrome OS Google Google 2009 Gentoo Latest Stable 0.11.257.44 (Beta) / April 14, 2011 netbooks
ClearOS Peter Baldwin ClearFoundation 2000 CentOS 2010 server, gateway, network
CrunchBang Linux Philip Newborough Philip Newborough 2008 Debian 2011 desktop
CRUX Per Liden CRUX Linux community 2001 none 2010 general
Damn Small Linux John Andrews dev team 2003 Knoppix 2008 portable, lightweight
Debian Ian Murdock Debian Project 1993 none 2011 general
DeLi Linux Henry Jensen Henry Jensen 2002 none 2008 desktop
dyne:bolic Jaromil Jaromil 2001 none 2007 multimedia
EasyPeasy Jon Ramvi, EasyPeasy community Jon Ramvi, EasyPeasy community 2008 Ubuntu 2010 netbooks
ELinOS SYSGO SYSGO 1999 none 2010 embedded systems
Elive Thanatermesis Thanatermesis 2005 Debian 2010 desktop
EnGarde Secure Linux Guardian Digital, Inc. Guardian Digital, Inc. 2001 none 2008 server
Fedora Fedora Project Fedora Project 2003 Red Hat Linux 2011 general
Finnix Ryan Finnie Ryan Finnie 2000 Debian 2011 maintenance
Foresight Linux Ken VanDine dev team 2004 rPath 2009/Rolling general
Freespire Lindows.com, Inc. Linspire, Inc. 2002 Debian 2007 desktop
Frugalware Miklos Vajna dev team 2004 Slackware 2011/Rolling general
Gentoo Linux Daniel Robbins Gentoo Foundation, Inc. 2002 none 2011/Rolling general
gNewSense Brian Brazil and Paul O'Malley dev team 2006 Ubuntu 2009 desktop
Gnoppix Klaus Knopper dev team 2005 Knoppix 2005 live
gnuLinEx Regional Government of Extremadura dev team 2002 Debian 2006 desktop
GoboLinux Hisham Muhammad, Andre Detsch dev team 2002 none 2008 desktop
gOS Good OS LLC Good OS LLC 2007 Ubuntu 2009 desktop
Impi Linux Gauteng Linux Users Group Impi Linux (Pty) Ltd. 2003 Debian 2006 desktop
Kanotix Jörg Schirottke (Kano) dev team 2003 Debian, Knoppix 2010 desktop, live
KateOS KateOS Team KateOS Team 2004 Slackware 2007 desktop
Knoppix Klaus Knopper dev team 2003 Debian 2010 live
KnoppMyth Cecil Watson dev team 2004 Debian, Knoppix 2009 desktop, live
Kuki Linux João Ferro kuki bakers 2008 Ubuntu 2009 netbooks
Kurumin Carlos Morimoto GuiadoHardware 2003 Knoppix 2008 desktop, live
Linspire Lindows.com, Inc. Linspire, Inc. 2002 Ubuntu 2007 desktop
Linux Mint Clement Lefebvre dev team 2006 Ubuntu, Debian 2011 desktop
Lunar Linux Chuck Mead, Lunar Penguin Project Foo-Projects.org 2002 Sorcerer 2007 general
Mageia Mageia Community mageia.org 2010 Mandriva Linux 2011 general
Mandriva Linux Mandrakesoft S.A. Mandriva S.A. 1998 Red Hat Linux 2010 general
MEPIS Warren Woodford MEPIS LLC 2003 Debian 2010 desktop, server, embedded
Micro Core Linux Robert Shingledecker Team Tiny Core 2009 Tiny Core Linux 2011 portable
MintPPC Jeroen Diederen Jeroen Diederen 2010 Debian 2011 desktop
MontaVista Linux MontaVista Software MontaVista Software 1999 Debian 2007 embedded
Musix GNU/Linux Marcos Guglielmetti dev team 2008 Knoppix, Kanotix, Debian 2009 audio
Network Security Toolkit Ronald W. Henderson, Paul Blankenbaker dev team 2003 Fedora 2011 network, security
NimbleX Bogdan Radulescu Bogdan Radulescu 2005 Slackware 2008 desktop
Nitix Net Integration Technologies, Inc. Net Integration Technologies, Inc. 2001 none 2007 server
Novell Open Enterprise Server Novell Novell, Inc. dev team 2003 SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 2009 server
openSUSE SUSE Linux / Novell Novell, Inc. and openSUSE Project 1994 SUSE Linux 2011 general
OpenWrt ? OpenWrt team 2007 none 2010 embedded
Oracle Enterprise Linux Oracle Corporation Oracle Corporation 2006 RHEL 2009 server
Pardus TUBITAK TUBITAK 2005 none 2011 general
Parsix Alan Baghumian Parsix Project 2005 Debian 2011 desktop
PCLinuxOS Bill Reynolds dev team 2003 PCLinuxOS 2010 desktop
Pentoo Michael Zanetta, Rick Farina, Jens Pranaitis Pentoo 2005 Gentoo 2009 auditing, security
Puppy Linux Barry Kauler Puppy Foundation 2003 none 2010 portable, lightweight
Puredyne Aymeric Mansoux GOTO10, Puredyne Team 2005 Ubuntu, Debian 2010 art, design, audio, multimedia
Red Flag Linux Institute of Software, Chinese Academy of Sciences, NewMargin Venture Capital Red Flag Software Co., Ltd. 1999 Red Hat Linux 2009 general
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Red Hat Red Hat 2002 Red Hat Linux/Fedora 2011 server, workstation
Red Hat Linux Red Hat Red Hat 1995 none 2003 server, workstation
Rocks Cluster Distribution UCSD Supercomputing Center, Clustercorp UCSD Supercomputing Center, Clustercorp 2000 Red Hat Linux 2009 server, workstation
Rxart Pixart SRL Pixart SRL 2000 Debian 2006 general
Sabayon Linux lxnay Design dev team 2005 Gentoo 2010/Rolling desktop
Scientific Linux CERN, Fermilab dev team 2004 Red Hat Linux/Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2011 science
SHR Bobby Martin SHR community 2008 OpenEmbedded Rolling portable
sidux sidux team sidux team 2007 Debian Sid 2009 desktop
Slackware Patrick Volkerding dev team 1993 Softlanding Linux System 2011 general
Slax Tomas Matejicek Tomas Matejicek 2002 Slackware 2009 live
SliTaz GNU/Linux Christophe Lincoln dev team 2008 none 2010 portable
Source Mage GNU/Linux Ryan Abrams, Eric Schabell dev team 2002 Sorcerer 2009 general
Super OS hacktolive hacktolive 2008 Debian/Ubuntu 2011 general, offline use
SUSE Linux SUSE Linux / Novell Novell, Inc. dev team 1994 Slackware, Jurix 2010 workstation, server
Symphony OS Ryan Quinn Ryan Quinn and Jason Spisak 2005 Debian 2008 desktop
SYS W.Landgraf W.Landgraf 2007 Slackware 2010 general
Tiny Core Linux Robert Shingledecker Team Tiny Core 2009 none 2011 portable
Tor-ramdisk Anthony G. Basile dev team 2008 Gentoo Embedded, uClibc[1] 2011 Tor server
Trustix Comodo Group, Inc. Comodo Group, Inc. 2000 Red Hat Linux 2007 server
Ubuntu Canonical Ltd. Canonical Ltd. 2004 Debian 2011 general
Kubuntu Canonical Ltd. Canonical Ltd. 2005 Debian 2011 desktop
Xubuntu Canonical Ltd. Canonical Ltd. 2006 Debian 2011 desktop
Edubuntu Canonical Ltd. Canonical Ltd. 2005 Debian 2011 computer lab
Gobuntu Canonical Ltd. Canonical Ltd. 2007 Debian 2008 desktop
Ubuntu Studio Canonical Ltd. Canonical Ltd. 2007 Debian 2011 multimedia
Ututo Diego Saravia, Daniel Olivera UTUTO dev team 2000 Gentoo Linux 2009 general
VectorLinux Robert S. Lange dev team 1999 Slackware 2009 desktop
Vanillux Vanillux Foundation dev team 2011 Debian 2011 desktop
Wolvix Wolven Wolven 2007 Slackware 2009 desktop
Xandros Xandros Corp. Xandros, Inc. 2002 Corel Linux 2007 desktop
XBMC The XBMC Project Team-XBMC 2008 Ubuntu 2011 multimedia
Yellow Dog Linux Terra Soft Solutions Fixstars Solutions 1999 Fedora, CentOS 2009 general
Yoper Andreas Giradet The Yoper Team 2003 none 2010 general
Zenwalk Jean-Philippe Guillemin dev team 2004 Slackware 2011 general
Distribution Creator Producer First public release Base distribution Latest release date Purpose

Cost

The following distributions are available for free (without cost): aLinux, Alpine Linux, ALT Linux, Annvix, Arch Linux, Ark Linux, Asianux, BLAG Linux and GNU, Bodhi Linux, Caixa Mágica, CentOS, CRUX, Damn Small Linux, Debian, DeLi Linux, Devil-Linux, dyne:bolic, EasyPeasy, Edubuntu, Elive, EnGarde Secure Linux, Fedora, Finnix, Foresight Linux, Freespire, Frugalware, Gentoo, gNewSense, gnuLinEx, GoboLinux, Gobuntu, Impi Linux, Kanotix, Knoppix, KnoppMyth, Kubuntu, Kurumin, Linux Mint, Lunar Linux, Micro Core Linux, Mageia. MintPPC, Musix GNU/Linux, Network Security Toolkit, NimbleX, NUbuntu, openSUSE, Pardus, Parsix, PCLinuxOS, Puppy Linux, Sabayon Linux, Scientific Linux, sidux, Slackware, Slax, SliTaz GNU/Linux, Source Mage GNU/Linux, Symphony OS, SYS, Tiny Core Linux, Tor-ramdisk, Trustix, Ubuntu, Ututo, Super OS, Xubuntu, XBMC Live, Yoper, Zenwalk and OpenWrt.

The following distributions have several editions, some of which are without cost and some of which do cost money: ClearOS, Mandriva Linux, MEPIS and Red Flag Linux.

The following distributions cost money: Novell Open Enterprise Server,[2] Red Hat Enterprise Linux,[3][4] Rxart,[5] SUSE Linux Enterprise,[6]

The following distribution had at least one version that used to cost money: Caixa Mágica (now freely-available), Elive (now freely-available), Xandros (discontinued), Linspire[7] (discontinued)

Technical

The following table shows the default file system, but many Linux distributions support some or all of ext2, ext3, ext4, ReiserFS, Reiser4, JFS, XFS, GFS, GFS2, OCFS, OCFS2, and NILFS. It is possible to install Linux onto the majority of these file systems. The ext file systems, namely ext2, ext3, and ext4 are based on the original Linux file system. File systems have been developed by companies to meet their specific needs, and by hobbyists, or adapted from UNIX, Microsoft Windows, and other operating systems. Linux has full support for XFS and JFS, along with FAT (the MS-DOS file system), and HFS which is the primary file system for the Macintosh. Support for Microsoft Windows NT's NTFS file system has appeared, and is now comparable to the support available for other native Unix file systems. CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray discs' ISO 9660 and Universal Disk Format (UDF) are supported. Unlike other operating systems, Linux and UNIX allow any file system to be used regardless of the medium it is stored on, whether that medium is a magnetic disk, an optical disk (CD, DVD, etc.), a USB flash memory key, or even contained within a file located on another file system.

Similarly, many C-compilers (mainly GCC), desktop environments and window managers are widely supported.

Distribution Default file system Install-time desktop environment or window manager selection
64 Studio ? GNOME
Alinex ext3 GNOME
aLinux none KDE Plasma Workspaces
ALT Linux ext3 KDE Plasma Workspaces, Xfce
Annvix none ?
aptosid ext3 KDE Plasma Workspaces
Arch Linux none[8] none
Ark Linux JFS[9] KDE Plasma Workspaces
Asianux ext3 K Desktop Environment 3
BackTrack ext3 KDE Plasma Workspaces
BLAG Linux and GNU ext3 GNOME
Caixa Mágica ? ?
CentOS ext3 GNOME
ClearOS ext3 GNOME
CrunchBang Linux ext3 Openbox or Xfce
CRUX none Openbox
Damn Small Linux ext3 JWM
Debian ext4 GNOME, KDE, Xfce, LXDE[10]
DeLi Linux ext3/ext2 IceWM
Dreamlinux ext3[11] Xfce
dyne:bolic SquashFS, ext3 Xfce
EasyPeasy ext3 GNOME, Ubuntu Netbook Edition
Elive SquashFS, ReiserFS Enlightenment
EnGarde Secure Linux ext3 none
Fedora ext4 GNOME
Finnix SquashFS none
Foresight Linux ext3 GNOME
Frugalware none KDE Plasma Workspaces
Gentoo none KDE Plasma Workspaces (Live CD)
gnuLinEx ext2 GNOME
GoboLinux ReiserFS KDE Plasma Workspaces
gNewSense ext3 GNOME
Impi Linux ? KDE Plasma Workspaces
KateOS ? Xfce
Kanotix ext3 KDE Plasma Workspaces
Knoppix XFS LXDE
Kurumin ext3 KDE Plasma Workspaces
Linspire ReiserFS K Desktop Environment 3
Linux Mint[12] ext4 GNOME
Lunar Linux none none
Mageia ext4 KDE Plasma Workspaces, GNOME
Mandriva Linux ext4 KDE Plasma Workspaces
MEPIS ext3, ext4 KDE Plasma Workspaces
MintPPC ext3, ext4 LXDE
Musix GNU/Linux ? IceWM
Network Security Toolkit ext4 GNOME, Fluxbox
NimbleX SquashFS KDE Plasma Workspaces
Nitix ReiserFS none
openSUSE ext4 KDE Plasma Workspaces, GNOME, Xfce
OpenWrt mini_fo+SquashFS/JFFS2[13] None
Pardus ext4 KDE Plasma Workspaces
Parsix ext4 GNOME
PCLinuxOS none KDE Plasma Workspaces, GNOME, LXDE, Xfce, Enlightenment, Openbox
Pentoo SquashFS Enlightenment
Puppy Linux SquashFS containing ext2 JWM
Red Flag Linux ext3 K Desktop Environment 3
Red Hat Enterprise Linux ext4 [14] GNOME
Rxart Desktop ext3 KDE Plasma Workspaces
Sabayon Linux ext4[15] KDE Plasma Workspaces, GNOME
Scientific Linux ext3 GNOME
SHR ext3, JFFS2, UBIFS Enlightenment's Illume 2
Slackware ext4 KDE Plasma Workspaces, Xfce, Fluxbox, Blackbox, TWM
Slax SquashFS KDE Plasma Workspaces
SliTaz GNU/Linux ext3 Openbox
Source Mage GNU/Linux ext2 none
Super OS ext4 Unity with fallback to GNOME 2.x
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop ext3 GNOME
Symphony OS ReiserFS Mezzo
SYS ext3 KDE SC, GNOME, Xfce (selectable in kdm)
Tor-ramdisk ext2 none
Ubuntu/Edubuntu ext4 [16] Unity on top of GNOME, Unity 2D for fallback
Kubuntu ext4[16] KDE Plasma Workspaces
Xubuntu ext4[16] Xfce
Ututo ext3 GNOME
VectorLinux ReiserFS Fluxbox, IceWM, Xfce
Wolvix ext3 XFCE, OpenBox
Xandros Desktop OS ReiserFS K Desktop Environment 3
XBMC Live ext3 XBMC Media Center
Yellow Dog Linux ? Enlightenment
Yoper ext3 KDE SC
Zenwalk ext4 Xfce
Distribution Default file system Install-time desktop environment or window manager selection

Architecture support

Distribution IA-32 x86-64 IA-64 ppc ppc64 sparc32 sparc64 arm hppa mips sh s390 s390x alpha
64 Studio Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
aLinux Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
Alinex Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
ALT Linux Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
Annvix Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
Arch Linux Yes Yes No Yes[17] No No No Yes[18] No No No No No No
Ark Linux Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Asianux Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No
BackTrack Yes Yes No No No No No Yes No No No No No No
BLAG Linux and GNU Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
Bodhi Linux Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Caixa Mágica Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No
CentOS Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No Yes Yes Yes
ClearOS Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
CrunchBang Linux Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
CRUX Yes Yes No Yes No No No No No No No No No No
Damn Small Linux Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Debian[19] Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes[20] Yes Yes Yes Yes Unofficial Yes Yes Yes
DeLi Linux Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
dyne:bolic Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Elive Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
EnGarde Secure Linux Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
Fedora[21] Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes[22] Yes[23] No No No No No No
Finnix Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No
Foresight Linux Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
Frugalware Yes Yes No Yes No No No No No No No No No No
Gentoo Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes[24] Yes Yes[25][26] Yes Yes Yes Yes
gnuLinEx Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
GoboLinux[27] Yes No No No No No No Yes No No No No No No
Impi Linux Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Kanotix Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
Knoppix Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Kurumin Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Linspire Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Linux Mint Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
Lunar Linux Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
Mageia Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
Mandriva Linux Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
MEPIS Yes Yes No No No No No Yes No No No No No No
MintPPC No No No Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No
Musix GNU/Linux Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Network Security Toolkit Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
NimbleX Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Nitix Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
OES2-Linux Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No Yes No No
openSUSE[28] Yes Yes No No No No partial[29] No No No No No No No
OpenWrt[30] Yes No No No No No No Yes No Yes No No No No
Oracle Enterprise Linux[31] Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No
Pardus Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
Parsix Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
PCLinuxOS Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Pentoo Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
Puppy Linux Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Red Flag Linux Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No
Red Hat Enterprise Linux[32] Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No[33] Yes No
Rxart Desktop Yes No Yes No No No No No No No No No No No
Sabayon Linux Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
Scientific Linux Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No
SHR No No No No No No No Yes No No No No No No
sidux Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
Slackware Yes Yes No Yes No No No Yes No No No Yes Yes No
Slax Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
SliTaz GNU/Linux Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Source Mage GNU/Linux Yes Yes No Yes No No No No No No No No No No
Super OS Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server [34] Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No Yes No
Symphony OS Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
SYS Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Tiny & Micro Core Linux Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
Tor-ramdisk Yes Yes[35] No No No No No No No Yes[36] No No No No
Ubuntu/Kubuntu/Xubuntu/Lubuntu Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes No No No No No No
Ututo Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
VectorLinux Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Xandros Desktop OS Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
XBMC Yes No No No No No No Yes No No No No No No
Yellow Dog Linux No No No Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No
Yoper Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Zenwalk Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Distribution x86 x86-64 IA-64 ppc ppc64 sparc32 sparc64 arm hppa mips sh s390 s390x alpha

Package management and installation

Information on features in the distributions. Package numbers are only approximate.

Distribution Approximate number of pre-compiled packages Approximate number of source packages Default package management tools Package Format Default installer Graphical installation procedure
Alinex 20300 APT .deb Yes
aLinux 1200 RPM RPM No
ALT Linux 8300[37] APT (APT-RPM), RPM RPM Yes
Annvix APT, RPM RPM
Arch Linux 6000[38] ABS: 6000, AUR: 31000 [39] Pacman .pkg.tar.xz AIF No
Ark Linux 4000 RPM, APT RPM Yes
Asianux mlupdater, RPM RPM Yes
BLAG 10000 [40] RPM, yum, APT RPM Yes
Caixa Mágica 16000 urpmi, APT (APT-RPM) RPM Yes
CentOS 1660 RPM, yum/up2date RPM Yes
ClearOS RPM, yum RPM No
CrunchBang Linux 23000 APT .deb Yes
CRUX 1155 pkgutils tgz No
Damn Small Linux 610 myDSL, APT .dsl, .tar.gz, .uci, .unc, .deb No
Debian 29050[41] 14975 APT .deb Debian-Installer Yes
DeLi Linux 150 No
Dreamlinux 23000 APT .deb Yes
dyne:bolic none none Yes
Elive 20000 APT .deb Yes
EnGarde Secure Linux 500 RPM, APT RPM
Fedora 22000 yum,, PackageKit RPM Anaconda Yes
Finnix 350 APT .deb No
Foresight Linux 15000 Conary, PackageKit[42] Yes
Frugalware 6132[43] 73 Pacman .fpm Yes
Gentoo 27119 14697[44] Portage ebuild Yes[45]
gnuLinEx 200 APT .deb Yes
GoboLinux 2000 Manager,[46] Compile, InstallPackage recipes, tar.bz2 Yes
Impi Linux No
Kanotix 1200 APT .deb Yes
KateOS TGZex tgz Yes
Knoppix 3600 APT .deb No
Kurumin APT .deb Yes
Linspire 2200 CNR "click and run" .deb Yes
Linux Mint 30000 APT .deb Ubiquity Yes
Lunar 3120 lin source Yes
Mageia 17283 (i586)[47], 11409 (x86_64)[48] 8834 [49] urpmi, rpmdrake RPM DrakX Yes
Mandriva Linux 22600 urpmi, rpmdrake[50] RPM DrakX Yes
MEPIS 20000 APT .deb MEPIS Install Yes
MintPPC 23200 12123 APT .deb Debian-Installer No
Musix GNU/Linux 1300 APT .deb Yes
Mythbuntu 35000[51] APT .deb Ubiquity
Network Security Toolkit 8280 8280 yum RPM Anaconda Yes
NimbleX 500 none tgz No
Nitix SoftUpdate, yum RPM Yes
openSUSE 14650[52] 15260 YaST, Zypper RPM YaST Yes
OpenWrt 2000 opkg opk opkg No
Pardus 4000 PiSi .pisi YALI Yes
Parsix 29000 14900 APT .deb Yes
PCLinuxOS 12000 APT, RPM RPM Yes
Puppy 700 PupGet, DotPup .pup, .pet Yes
Red Flag Red Flag Installer System, RPM RPM Yes
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3000 RPM, yum RPM Yes
Rxart 5000 APT .deb Yes
Sabayon Linux 12000 Portage, Entropy ebuild Yes
Scientific APT/yum RPM Yes
SHR 3000 3000 opkg opk opkg Yes[53]
sidux 23000 APT .deb Yes
Slackware 544 installpkg, upgradepkg tgz, .txz, .tlz, .tbz No
Slax 2050 none .lzm
SliTaz GNU/Linux 2300 Tazpkg .tazpkg Yes
Source Mage GNU/Linux 5514 Sorcery Package Manager src Yes
Super OS APT .deb Ubiquity Yes
SUSE Linux 22000 YaST, Zypper RPM YaST Yes
Symphony OS APT, OneClick RPM Yes
SYS 6000 installpkg, upgradepkg tgz No
Tiny SliTaz 50 Web site[54] none No
Tor-ramdisk none none No
Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Xubuntu 37000[51] APT .deb Ubiquity Yes
Ututo 5000 UTUTO Package Manager ebuild
Vector Linux slapt-get, gslapt, installpkg tgz Yes
Wolvix installpkg, upgradepkg tgz, .txz Yes
Xandros Desktop OS APT .deb Yes
XBMC Live APT .deb No
Yoper 2000 Smart RPM No
Zenwalk 2000 netpkg, installpkg, upgradepkg tgz, txz Yes
Distribution Approximate number of packages Approximate number of source packages Default package management tools Package Format Default installer Graphical installation procedure

Live media

Distribution Size in MB RAM Use in MB Boots from CD Boots from DVD Installable Live CD/DVD Installable from USB
ALT Linux Desktop or Lite 700 Yes Yes No
Arch Linux 181 to 673 MB[55] Yes Yes Yes Yes
Ark Linux 700 Yes Yes
AUSTRUMI Linux 50 Yes Yes
BackTrack 1910 No Yes Yes Yes
CentOS 700 MB to 3.4 GB DVD Yes Yes Officially not supported[56]
ClearOS 700 MB Yes No
Damn Small Linux 50 16 to 24[57] Yes Yes Yes Yes
Debian Live 50 to 5120 Yes Yes Yes Yes
Dreamlinux 700 Yes Yes
dyne:bolic 650 Yes Yes
Elive 700 Yes Yes
Feather Linux 128 48 to 96 Yes Yes
Fedora
Live CD
683 256 to 1024 Yes Yes Yes Yes
Finnix 100 to 130 28 to 64 Yes Yes No
Freespire 700 128 to 768 Yes No Yes
Gentoo 100 up to 128 Yes Yes Yes Yes
Inquisitor live CD 210 96 Yes Yes Yes
Kanotix 700 Yes Yes
Knoppix CD
edition
700 128 to 320 Yes Yes Only DVD edition is maintained
Knoppix DVD
"Maxi" edition
4812.8 No Yes
Knoppix STD 497 Yes Yes No longer updated
Gnoppix 4812.8 No Yes No longer updated
gOS 700 Yes Yes Yes
Linux Mint 700 256 to 768 Yes Yes Yes Yes
Lunar Linux 421 Yes Yes Yes Yes[58]
Mandriva Linux One 700 128 to 768 Yes Yes Yes Yes
MEPIS 700 to 4000 128 to 512 Yes Yes Yes Yes
MCNLive 350 Yes Yes
Micro Core Linux ≈8 ≈48 Yes Yes Yes Yes
Musix GNU/Linux 700 Yes Yes Yes
Network Security Toolkit
Live CD/DVD
483 to 1300 256 to 1024 Yes Yes Yes Yes
NimbleX 200 96 to 320 Yes Yes Yes Yes
nUbuntu 265 Yes Yes
openGEU 700 192 to 512 Yes Yes
openSUSE 700 128 to 768 Yes Yes Yes Yes
OpenWrt min 4 min 16 No No No No
Oralux 500 Yes Yes No longer updated
Pardus 1256 to 1276 256 to 1024 Yes Yes Yes Yes
PCLinuxOS 130 to 700 96 to 512 Yes Yes Yes
Pentoo 666 and 700 48 to 96 Yes Yes By hand[59] By hand
Puppy Linux (standard edition) 128 32 to 192 Yes Yes Yes Yes
Puredyne 542 Yes Yes Yes Yes
Red Hat Linux
Sabayon Linux Live CD 695 Yes Yes Yes
Sabayon Linux Live DVD 4000 No Yes Yes
sidux 400 to 1999 193 Yes Yes Yes Yes
Slax 200 96 to 320 Yes Yes Yes
Super OS 1200 No Yes Yes Yes
SystemRescueCD 160 Yes Yes Yes Yes
Tiny Core Linux ≈10 ≈48 Yes Yes Yes Yes
SliTaz GNU/Linux 30 16 to 192 Yes Yes Yes Yes
Tiny SliTaz 1.44 ≈8 Yes Yes By SliTaz By SliTaz
Tor-ramdisk 5 256 or >[60] Yes Yes Yes Yes
Trinity Rescue Kit 104 Yes Yes
Ubuntu 700 384 Yes Yes Yes Yes
Edubuntu 700 Yes Yes Yes
Kubuntu 700 384 Yes Yes Yes Yes
XBMC Live 700 256 to 1024 Yes No Yes Yes
Xubuntu 700 256 Yes Yes Yes Yes
Distribution Size RAM Use Boots from CD-ROM Boots from DVD Installable Live CD Installable Over USBs

Security features

Distribution Compile Time Buffer Checks Mandatory access control Software executable space protection grsecurity RSBAC
Debian/Ubuntu Yes Yes (AppArmor) Optional (PaX) Optional Optional
Fedora Yes Yes (SELinux[61]) Yes (Exec Shield[62]) No No
Gentoo[63] Optional Optional (SELinux) Optional (PaX) Optional Optional
Mandriva Unknown Yes (AppArmor[64]) Unknown Unknown Yes
SUSE Linux Yes Yes (AppArmor[65]) Yes (Hardware NX and other methods in mainline kernel and toolchain [66]) No No
Tor-ramdisk Unknown Unknown Yes (PaX) Yes No

See also

References

  1. ^ "Building Tor-ramdisk from scratch: Obtain a working UCLIBC Based Linux System". http://opensource.dyc.edu/tor-ramdisk-fromscratch-uclibc. Retrieved 2011-04-15. 
  2. ^ How to Buy: Novell Open Enterprise Server 2
  3. ^ redhat.com | Red Hat Enterprise Linux
  4. ^ redhat.com | Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop Operating Systems
  5. ^ Linux- RXART- Soluciones Linux - Linux Solutions
  6. ^ SUSE Linux Enterprise Operating Systems from Novell
  7. ^ Linspire.com - Products
  8. ^ Official Arch Linux Install Guide: Set Filesystem Mountpoints
  9. ^ Installing - ArkWiki
  10. ^ "Index of /debian-cd/current/amd64/iso-cd". http://cdimage.debian.org/debian-cd/current/amd64/iso-cd/. 
  11. ^ "DistroWatch.com: Dreamlinux". http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=dreamlinux. 
  12. ^ http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=mint
  13. ^ http://wiki.openwrt.org/doc/techref/flash.layout
  14. ^ "Red Hat 6 ext4 documentation". http://docs.redhat.com/docs/en-US/Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux/6/html/Storage_Administration_Guide/newfilesys-ext4.html. 
  15. ^ http://forum.sabayonlinux.org/viewtopic.php?f=60&t=16766
  16. ^ a b c "Ubuntu 10.10 Release Notes". https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MaverickMeerkat/ReleaseNotes. 
  17. ^ Arch Linux PPC project
  18. ^ Arch Linux ARM
  19. ^ Debian - Ports
  20. ^ Jurij Smakov (2007-07-18). "Retiring the sparc32 port". debian-devel-announce mailing list. http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel-announce/2007/07/msg00006.html. 
  21. ^ Fedora Architecture Specific Notes
  22. ^ https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Architectures/SPARC
  23. ^ "Architectures/ARM". https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Architectures/ARM. Retrieved 2010-07-20. 
  24. ^ "Gentoo Linux ARM Handbook". http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/handbook/handbook-arm.xml. 
  25. ^ "Gentoo Linux/MIPS Frequently Asked Questions". http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/gentoo-mips-faq.xml#hw-what. 
  26. ^ "Gentoo/MIPS Linux Hardware Requirements". http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/mips-requirements.xml. 
  27. ^ GoboLinux - the alternative Linux distribution
  28. ^ openSUSE download page
  29. ^ http://en.opensuse.org/SPARC
  30. ^ [1]
  31. ^ Oracle Enterprise Linux Technical Information
  32. ^ Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Version comparison chart
  33. ^ RHEL 4 is the last version to support 31-bit s390. RHEL 5 only supports 64-bit s390x.
  34. ^ SUSE Linux Enterprise Server Tech Specs
  35. ^ "Tor-ramdisk x86_64 Port". http://opensource.dyc.edu/tor-x86_64-ramdisk. Retrieved 2011-04-15. 
  36. ^ "Tor-ramdisk MIPS Port". http://opensource.dyc.edu/tor-mips-ramdisk. Retrieved 2011-04-15. 
  37. ^ http://sisyphus.ru/
  38. ^ Arch Linux package search
  39. ^ Arch Linux AUR repository
  40. ^ BLAG :: View topic - rolling or frozen
  41. ^ "What's new in Debian GNU/Linux 6.0". http://www.debian.org/releases/stable/i386/release-notes/ch-whats-new.en.html#newdistro. 
  42. ^ Foresight Linux | 1.4.1 Release Notes
  43. ^ Frugalware Linux Package search
  44. ^ Gentoo Packages Categories
  45. ^ Can be installed graphically (GTK+ and ncurses), but traditionally done by command line (install cd, live cd, netboot, and from distributions).
  46. ^ GoboLinux - the alternative Linux distribution
  47. ^ [2]
  48. ^ [3]
  49. ^ [4]
  50. ^ Mandriva 2008 release notes
  51. ^ a b "All Ubuntu Packages in "lucid"". Canonical. http://packages.ubuntu.com/maverick/allpackages?format=txt.gz. Retrieved 2010-10-11. 
  52. ^ Using the script http://jengelh.medozas.de/files/dist/countpkg-suse2 . Excludes known non-SUSE projects and build targets from the project list retrieved from the openSUSE.org Build Service instance.
  53. ^ NeoTool, a zenity installation GUI for Openmoko devices
  54. ^ Tiny SliTaz, the configuration builder webtool
  55. ^ "Arch Linux - Downloads". https://www.archlinux.org/download/. Retrieved 27 August 2011. 
  56. ^ The CentOS LiveCD Project
  57. ^ http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/wiki/index.php/FAQ#Will_DSL_ever_get_bigger_than_50_MBytes.3F
  58. ^ http://wiki.lunar-linux.org/index.php/Installation:No_CD#Usb_bootable_lunar
  59. ^ Pentoo Development Website
  60. ^ "Tor-ramdisk Quickstart Guide". http://opensource.dyc.edu/tor-ramdisk-quickstart. Retrieved 2011-04-15. 
  61. ^ "Mandatory Access Control with SELinux". http://w3.linux-magazine.com/issue/69/Access_Control_with_SELinux.pdf. Retrieved 2007-12-24. 
  62. ^ "Fedora Core 1 Release Notes - Kernel Notes". http://docs.fedoraproject.org/release-notes/fc1/x86/#kernel-notes. Retrieved 2007-12-24. 
  63. ^ "Hardened Gentoo - 4. Subprojects". http://www.gentoo.org/proj/en/hardened/#doc_chap4. Retrieved 2007-12-24. 
  64. ^ "Mandriva Linux 2008 Release Notes: Apparmor has replaced RSBAC as the in-kernel application security tool.". http://wiki.mandriva.com/en/Releases/Mandriva/2008.0/Notes#AppArmor. 
  65. ^ "AppArmor". http://en.opensuse.org/AppArmor. 
  66. ^ "Security Features". http://en.opensuse.org/Security_Features. Retrieved 2009-11-23. [dead link]

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