Comparison of Linux distributions

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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

[edit] General

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

Distribution Creator Producer First public release (yyyy-MM-dd) Base distribution Latest release date Purpose
64 Studio Daniel James, Free Ekanayaka 64 Studio Ltd. 2005-05-09 Debian 2008-06-09 multimedia
Alinex Alinex Team, University of Évora Alinex Team, University of Évora 2005-12-06 Ubuntu 2008-03-07 general purpose
aLinux Jay Klepacs Jay Klepacs ? pre-1999-08-19 (1.1) Red Hat Linux 2006-11-08 desktop
ALT Linux ALT Linux Team ALT Linux Team / ALT Linux LLC 2001-03-21 none 2009-02-20 desktop, workstation, server
Annvix Vincent Danen Vincent Danen 2003-11-? Mandrake Linux server
Arch Linux Judd Vinet dev team 2002-03-11 none 2009-02-16 general purpose
Ark Linux Bernhard Rosenkraenzer dev team 2003-01-25 none 2008-05-14 desktop
Arudius Haidut dev team 2005-11-04 none 2006-02-06 information assurance, security
Asianux Red Flag Linux, Miracle Linux, Haansoft Linux dev team 2004-06-? RHEL 2007-09-22 workstation, server
Aurox Software-Wydawnictwo Sp. z oo Aurox Sp. z oo 2002-09-? Fedora 2006-08-31 general purpose
BLAG Brixton Linux Action Group Brixton Linux Action Group 2002-10-22 Fedora 2008-07-21 [1] desktop
Caixa Mágica Daniel Neves, José Guimarães, Paulo Trezentos Caixa Mágica Software 2000-10-28 Mandriva Linux 2008-02-20 desktop, server
CentOS CentOS Project CentOS Project 2003-12-? RHEL 2008-06-23 server
CrunchBang Philip Newborough Philip Newborough 2008-01-30 Ubuntu 2009-01-19 desktop
CRUX Per Liden CRUX Linux community 2001-01-20 none 2008-12-18 general purpose
Damn Small Linux John Andrews dev team 2003-?-? Knoppix 2008-04-22 portable
Debian Ian Murdock Debian Project 1993-08-16 none 2009-02-14 general purpose
Desktop Light Linux Henry Jensen Henry Jensen 2002-10-? none 2008-05-28 desktop
DeMuDi AGNULA AGNULA 2002-04-? Debian 2005-11-03 producing audio, video
dyne:bolic Jaromil Jaromil 2001-06-? none 2007-09-22 producing audio, video
Elive Thanatermesis Thanatermesis 2005-01-01 Debian 2007-07-05 desktop
EnGarde Secure Linux Guardian Digital, Inc. Guardian Digital, Inc. 2001-?-? none 2008-04-? server
Fedora Fedora Project Fedora Project 2003-11-05 Red Hat Linux 2008-11-25 general purpose
Finnix Ryan Finnie Ryan Finnie 2000-03-22 Debian 2008-01-29 server administration
Foresight Linux Ken VanDine dev team 2004-12-? rPath 2008-11-24 desktop, workstation, gnome showcase
Frugalware Miklos Vajna dev team 2004-09-02[citation needed] Slackware 2009-03-22 general purpose
Gentoo Linux Daniel Robbins Gentoo Foundation, Inc. 2002-3-? none 2008-07-06 [2] general purpose
gNewSense Brian Brazil and Paul O'Malley dev team 2006-11-02 Ubuntu (8.04) 2008-04-30 desktop
Gnoppix Klaus Knopper dev team ? pre-2003-07-17 (0.4) Knoppix 2005-09-07 live CD
gnuLinEx Regional Government of Extremadura dev team 2002-06-09 Debian 2006-06-20 desktop
GoboLinux Hisham Muhammad, Andre Detsch dev team 2002-03-20 none 2008-03-30 desktop
gOS Good OS LLC Good OS LLC 2007-11-01 Ubuntu 2008-02-07 desktop
Impi Linux Gauteng Linux Users Group Impi Linux (Pty) Ltd. 2003-11-? Debian 2006-01-31 desktop
Kanotix Jörg Schirottke (Kano) dev team 2003-12-24 Debian, Knoppix 2007-12-31 live CD, desktop
Kiran Linux Kiran Shila Kiran Shila 2008-08-19 Slackware 2008-08-19 desktop, workstation
Knoppix Klaus Knopper dev team ? pre-2003-01-19 (3.1) Debian 2008-03-27 live CD
KnoppMyth Cecil Watson dev team ? Debian, Knoppix 2007-09-09 Live Frontend, Desktop
Kurumin Linux Carlos Morimoto GuiadoHardware 2003-01-? Knoppix 2007-02-21 desktop, live CD
Linspire Lindows.com, Inc. Linspire, Inc. 2002-03-? Debian 2007-10-10 desktop
Freespire Lindows.com, Inc. Linspire, Inc. 2002-03-? Debian/Ubuntu(developing) 2007-11-30 desktop
Linux4One  ???  ??? 2009-02-28 Ubuntu 2009-04-06 desktop
Linux Mint Clement Lefebvre dev team 2006-08-27 Ubuntu 2009-02-06 desktop
Lunar Linux Chuck Mead, Lunar Penguin Project Foo-Projects.org 2002-03-? Sorcerer 2007-02-17 desktop, workstation, server
Mandriva Linux Mandrakesoft S.A. Mandriva S.A. 1998-7-23 (5.1 (venice)) Red Hat Linux 2008-10-09 general purpose
MontaVista Linux MontaVista Software MontaVista Software 1999-?-? Debian 2007-03-? embedded systems
Mutagenix Dan Barber Dan Barber 2005-7-7 Slackware 2007-08-16 rescue, general purpose
Musix GNU+Linux Marcos Guglielmetti ? ? Knoppix, Kanotix, Debian 2007-03-05 producing audio
NexusWare Core Performance Technologies, Inc dev team 1998-?-? Debian and others 2008-02-02 embedded systems
NimbleX Bogdan Radulescu Bogdan Radulescu 2005-12-? Slackware 2006-12-25 desktop
Nitix Net Integration Technologies, Inc. Net Integration Technologies, Inc. 2001-?-? none 2006-10-18 server
Open Enterprise Server on Linux Novell Novell, Inc. dev team 2003 SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 2007-10-08 server
openSUSE SUSE Linux / Novell Novell, Inc. & openSUSE Project 1994-03-? SUSE Linux 2008-12-18 desktop, server
Paipix António Amorim António Amorim 2004-?-? Debian 2007-10-17 science
Pardus TUBITAK TUBITAK 2005-?-? none 2008-09-14 general purpose
Parsix Alan Baghumian Parsix Project 2005-01-25 Kanotix, Debian 2007-10-05 desktop
PCLinuxOS Bill Reynolds dev team 2003-11-? Mandriva 2007-05-21 desktop
Pie Box Enterprise Linux PixExcel PixExcel 2004-04-19 Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2006-08-15 general purpose
Puppy Linux Barry Kauler Puppy Foundation 2002-07-12 (0.4) none 2008-11-03 [3] portable
QiLinux QiLinux team QiLinux team 2003-10-31 (1.0alpha2) none 2006-08-01 desktop, server
Red Flag Linux Institute of Software, Chinese Academy of Sciences, NewMargin Venture Capital Red Flag Software Co., Ltd. 1999-09-20 Asianux 2005-11-11 general purpose
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Red Hat Red Hat 2002-03-26 Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1 AS (Pensacola) Fedora 2008-05-21 business workstation, server
Red Hat Linux Red Hat Red Hat 1995-05-13 (1.0) none 2003-03-31 server, workstation
Rxart Pixart SRL Pixart SRL 2000-03-? Debian 2006-04-16 desktop, workstation, server
Sabayon Linux lxnay Design dev team  ? Gentoo 2008-12-31 desktop
Satux Institute of Technology JRSC (iTJRSC) Institute of Technology JRSC (iTJRSC) 2007-?-? Debian 2007[4] desktop, end user
Scientific Linux CERN, Fermilab dev team 2004-5-10 RHL/RHEL 2008-06-28 science
sidux sidux team sidux team 2007-02-21 Debian Sid 2008-12-23 desktop
SimplyMEPIS Warren Woodford MEPIS LLC. 2003-09-05 Debian 2009-02-22 desktop
Slackware Patrick Volkerding dev team 1993-07-16 SLS 2008-05-02 desktop, workstation, server
SLAX Tomas Matejicek Tomas Matejicek 2002-06-16 Slackware 2008-04-18 live CD
SMS - Slack Mini Server gerasimos_h gerasimos_h 2007-08-10 Slackware 2009-02-28 server, live CD
SliTaz GNU/Linux Christophe Lincoln dev team 2008-03-22 none 2008-03-22 live CD
Source Mage GNU/Linux Ryan Abrams, Eric Schabell dev team 2002-06-? Sorcerer 2007-03-27 general purpose
SUSE Linux SUSE Linux / Novell Novell, Inc. dev team 1994-03-? Slackware, Jurix[5] 2008-05-21 business desktop, server
Symphony OS Ryan Quinn Ryan Quinn & Jason Spisak ? Debian 2006-12-13 desktop
SYS W.Landgraf W.Landgraf 2007-11-? Slackware 2009-02-04[6] desktop, development, server
Trustix Secure Linux Comodo Group, Inc. Comodo Group, Inc. 2000-02-? Red Hat Linux 2007-03-06 server
Ubuntu Canonical Ltd. Canonical Ltd. 2004-10-20 Debian 2008-10-30 desktop, server
Kubuntu Canonical Ltd. Canonical Ltd. 2005-04-08 Debian 2008-07-03 desktop
Xubuntu Canonical Ltd. Canonical Ltd. 2006-06-01 Debian 2008-07-03 desktop
Edubuntu Canonical Ltd. Canonical Ltd. 2005-10-13 Debian 2008-07-03 computer lab
Gobuntu Canonical Ltd. Canonical Ltd. 2007-10-18 Debian 2008-07-03 desktop
Ubuntu Studio Canonical Ltd. Canonical Ltd. 2007-05-11 Debian 2008-11-30 multimedia
Ututo Diego Saravia, Daniel Olivera UTUTO dev-team 2000-?-? Gentoo Linux 2006-03-04 general purpose
VectorLinux Robert S. Lange dev team 1999-?-? Slackware 2007-05-17 desktop
Xandros Xandros Corp. Xandros, Inc. 2002-10-22 Corel Linux 2006-06-21 desktop
Yellow Dog Linux Terra Soft Solutions Fixstars Solutions 1999 Fedora, CentOS 2008-11-19 desktop, workstation
Yoper Andreas Giradet The Yoper Team 2003-03-05 none 2007-10-03 desktop, workstation, server
Zenwalk Linux Jean-Philippe Guillemin dev team 2004-05-21 (as Minislack) Slackware 2009-03-07 desktop, server
Distribution Creator Producer First public release (yyyy-MM-dd) Base distribution Latest release date Purpose

[edit] Cost

The following distributions are completely without cost: aLinux, ALT Linux, Annvix, Arch Linux, Ark Linux, Arudius, Asianux, Aurox, BLAG Linux and GNU, CentOS, CRUX, Damn Small Linux, Debian, DeLi Linux, DeMuDi, Devil-Linux, dyne:bolic, Edubuntu, EnGarde Secure Linux, Fedora, Finnix, Foresight Linux, Freespire, Frugalware, Gentoo, gNewSense, Gnoppix, gnuLinEx, GoboLinux, Gobuntu, Impi Linux, Kanotix, Knoppix, Knoppmyth, Kubuntu, Kurumin Linux, Linux Mint, Lunar Linux, Musix GNU+Linux, NimbleX, NUbuntu, openSUSE, Paipix, Pardus, Parsix, PCLinuxOS, Puppy Linux, QiLinux, SabayonLinux, Satux, Scientific Linux, sidux, Slackware, SLAX, SliTaz GNU/Linux, Source Mage GNU/Linux, Symphony OS, SYS, Trustix, Ubuntu, Ututo GNU/Linux, Xubuntu, Yoper and Zenwalk.

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

The following distributions cost money : Elive, Linspire,[7] Novell Open Enterprise Server,[8] Pie Box Enterprise Linux, Red Hat Enterprise Linux,[9][10] Rxart,[11] SUSE Linux Enterprise.[12]

Note that when talking about "free software", the word "free" often refers to software freedom, not monetary cost: for an explanation of the difference, see The Free Software Definition.

[edit] Technical

Information on technical aspects of the distributions.

Distribution Linux kernel C Compiler Default file system Default desktop environment or window manager
Alinex 2.6.22 GCC 4.1.2 ext3 GNOME
aLinux 2.6.12 GCC 4.1.1 none KDE
ALT Linux 2.6.25 GCC 4.1.2 ext3 KDE, Xfce
Annvix 2.4.32 GCC 3.4.3 none
Arch Linux 2.6.28[13] GCC 4.3.2[14] none[15] none
Archie Xfce
Ark Linux 2.6.22.3 GCC 4.2.1 JFS[16] KDE
Arudius 2.6.13 GCC 3.3.6 ext3 Fluxbox
Asianux 2.6.18 GCC 4.1.1 ext3 KDE
Aurox 2.6.9 GCC 4.1.1 ext3 KDE
BLAG Linux and GNU 2.6.25.10-libre GCC 4.1.1 ext3 GNOME
Caixa Mágica ? GCC ? ? ?
CentOS 2.6.18 GCC 4.1.2 ext3 GNOME
CrunchBang Linux 2.6.27 GCC 4.3.1 ext3 Openbox
CRUX 2.6.27.8 GCC 4.3.2 none Openbox
Damn Small Linux 2.4.31 GCC 3.3.5, TCC ext3 JWM
Debian 2.6.26 GCC 4.3.2, 4.2.4, 4.1.2, 3.4.6 ext3 GNOME, KDE, LXDE or Xfce (depending on installation media)
DeLi Linux 2.4.32 GCC 2.95 ext3/ext2 IceWM
DeMuDi 2.6.12 GCC 3.3.5 ext3 GNOME
Dreamlinux Xfce
dyne:bolic 2.6.18 GCC 3.4.3 SquashFS, ext3 Xfce
Elive 2.6.15/2.6.18.2 GCC 3.4.3 SquashFS, ReiserFS Enlightenment
EnGarde Secure Linux 2.6.17 None ext3 none
Fedora 2.6.27 GCC 4.3.2 ? GNOME, KDE, Xfce (depending on spin)
Finnix 2.6.22 GCC 4.1.1 SquashFS none
Foresight Linux 2.6.27 GCC 4.1.2 ext3 GNOME
Frugalware 2.6.22.9 GCC 4.2.1 none none
Gentoo 2.6.27 GCC 4.3.3 none none
gnuLinEx 2.6.16 GCC 3.3.5 ext2 GNOME
GoboLinux 2.6.24.4 GCC 4.1.2 ReiserFS KDE
gNewSense 2.6.15.27 GCC 4.0.3 ext3 GNOME
Impi Linux 2.6.11.7 GCC 4.0.1 ? KDE
Kanotix 2.6.22 GCC 4.1.1 ext3 KDE
Knoppix 2.6.24.4 GCC 4.2.2 XFS ?
Kurumin Linux 2.6.18 GCC 4.1.1 ext3 KDE
Linspire 2.6.14 GCC 3.4.3 ReiserFS KDE
Linux Mint 2.6.27 GCC 4.1.2 ext3 GNOME, KDE or Xfce (depending on edition)
Lunar Linux 2.6.26 GCC 3.4.6
GCC 4.2.4[17]		 none none
Mandriva Linux 2.6.27 GCC 4.3.2 ext3 GNOME,KDE
MEPIS 2.6.22.14 GCC ? ReiserFS, ext3 KDE
Musix GNU+Linux 2.6.16 GCC 4.0.3 ? IceWM
Mutagenix 2.6.18 GCC ? ? KDE
NimbleX 2.6.11 ? SquashFS KDE
Nitix 2.4.21 GCC 3.3.4 ReiserFS none
openSUSE 2.6.25.5 GCC 4.3.1 ? GNOME, KDE, Xfce
Paipix 2.6.14 GCC 4.0.2 none KDE
Pardus 2.6.25 GCC 3.4.6 ext3 KDE
Parsix 2.6.23.9 GCC 4.2.2 ext3 GNOME
PCLinuxOS 2.6.16 GCC 3.3.1 none KDE
Pie Box Enterprise Linux 2.6.9 GCC 3.4.6 ext3 GNOME
Puppy Linux 2.6.21.7 GCC 3.3.4 SquashFS containing ext2 JWM
QiLinux 2.6.17 GCC 4.0.2 ReiserFS KDE
Red Flag Linux 2.6.9 GCC 3.4.3 ext3 KDE
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.6.18[18] GCC 4.1.2 ext3 GNOME
Rxart Desktop 2.6.11 ? ext3 KDE
Sabayon Linux 2.6.27 GCC 4.1.2 ext3/ext4[citation needed] KDE
Satux 2.6.22 GCC 4.1.2 ext3 GNOME
Scientific Linux 2.6.18 GCC 4.1.2 ext3 GNOME
sidux 2.6.27.10 GCC 4.3.2 ext3 ?
Slackware 2.6.24.4 GCC 4.1.2 ext3 [19] ?
SLAX 2.6.24.4 GCC 4.2.3 SquashFS ?
SMS - Slack Mini Server 2.6.27.7 GCC 4.2.4 ext3 KDE
SliTaz GNU/Linux 2.6.24.2 GCC 4.2.2 ext3 JWM
Source Mage GNU/Linux any (iso uses 2.6.19) GCC 4.1.2 ext2 none
SUSE Linux 2.6.16.46 GCC 4.1.2 ext3, JFS, ReiserFS, XFS GNOME, KDE, Xfce
Symphony OS 2.6.16 GCC 4.1.0 ReiserFS Mezzo
SYS 2.6.26.2 (iso) / 2.6.29.1 (repository) GCC 4.2.4 ext3 KDE, GNOME, Xfce
Ubuntu Edubuntu 2.6.27 GCC 4.1.2 ext3 GNOME
Kubuntu 2.6.27 GCC 4.1.2 ext3 KDE
Xubuntu 2.6.27 GCC 4.1.2 ext3 Xfce
Ututo GNU/Linux 2.6.15 GCC 3.3 ext3 GNOME
VectorLinux 2.6.13 GCC 3.4.6 ? Fluxbox, IceWM, Xfce
Xandros Desktop OS 2.6.15 GCC 3.3.5 ReiserFS KDE
Yoper 2.6 GCC 4.0, 4.2 ext3 KDE
Zenwalk Linux 2.6.28.7 GCC 4.2.3 ? Xfce
Distribution Linux kernel C Compiler Default file system Default desktop environment or window manager

[edit] Architecture support

Distribution x86 x86-64 IA-64 ppc ppc64 sparc32 sparc64 arm hppa mips loongson 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 No No No No No No No No No No No
Ark Linux Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Arudius 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
Aurox Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
BLAG Linux and GNU 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 No No No No No No No No Yes Yes Yes
CrunchBang Linux Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
CRUX Yes No No No 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[20] Yes Yes Yes Yes No ?[21] Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
DeLi Linux Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
DeMuDi 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
Eagle Linux 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[22] Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No ? 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 No No No No No No No No No No No
Gentoo Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes[23] Yes Yes[24][25] No No No Yes
gnuLinEx Yes Yes ? No No No No No No No No No No No
GoboLinux[26] Yes No No No No No No Yes No No No No No No
Impi Linux Yes Yes ? ? 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 Linux 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
Mandriva Linux Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
MEPIS Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
Mutagenix Yes No No No No 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
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
OES2-Linux Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No Yes No No
openSUSE[27] Yes Yes No Yes No No No No No No No No No No
Paipix Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
Pardus Yes No 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
Pie Box Enterprise Linux Yes No 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
QiLinux 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[28] Yes Yes Yes Yes ? No No No No No No No[29] 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
Satux Yes No 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
sidux Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
Slackware Yes ? No No No No No No No No No No No No
Slax Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
SMS -Slack Mini Server 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
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server [30] 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
Ubuntu/Kubuntu/Edubuntu/Xubuntu Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
UTUTO GNU/Linux 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
Xandros Desktop OS Yes No No No No No No No 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 Linux 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 loongson s390 s390x alpha

[edit] 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 GUI installation procedure Default package management tools Package Format Default installer
Alinex 20300 Yes APT DEB ?
aLinux 1200 No RPM RPM ?
ALT Linux 8300[31] Yes APT (apt-rpm), RPM RPM ?
Annvix APT, RPM RPM ?
Arch Linux 15000 No Pacman tgz ?
Archie ? ? ?
Ark Linux 4000 Yes RPM, APT RPM ?
Arudius ? No Slackware Pkgtools tgz ?
Asianux ? Yes mlupdater, RPM RPM ?
Aurox 3000 Yes RPM, yum RPM ?
BLAG 10000+ [32] Yes RPM, yum, APT RPM ?
Caixa Mágica 16000+ Yes urpmi, APT (apt-rpm) RPM ?
CrunchBang Linux 23000 Yes APT deb ?
CRUX 1155 No pkgutils tgz ?
CentOS 1660 Yes RPM, yum/up2date RPM ?
Damn Small Linux 610 No myDSL, APT .dsl, .tar.gz, .uci, .unc, deb ?
Debian 25113 12123 Yes APT deb Debian-Installer
Desktop Light Linux 150 No ? ? ?
DeMuDi 875 Yes APT deb ?
Dreamlinux 23000 Yes APT deb ?
dyne:bolic ? Yes none none ?
Elive 20000 Yes APT deb ?
EnGarde Secure Linux 500 ? RPM, APT RPM ?
Fedora 8000 Yes yum RPM Anaconda
Finnix 350 No APT deb ?
Foresight Linux 15000 Yes Conary, PackageKit[33] ?
Frugalware 3000 Yes Pacman .tar.bz ?
Gentoo 80 13000 Yes[34] Portage ebuild ?
gnuLinEx 200 Yes APT deb ?
GoboLinux 2000 Yes Manager,[35] Compile, InstallPackage recipes,tar.bz2
Impi Linux ? No ? ? ?
Kanotix 1200 Yes APT deb ?
KateOS ? ? ? ? ?
Knoppix 3600 No APT deb ?
Kurumin ? Yes APT deb ?
Linspire 2200 Yes CNR "click and run" deb ?
Linux Mint 23000 Yes APT, mintInstall deb Ubiquity
Lunar 3120 Yes lin source ?
Mandriva Linux 20000 Yes urpmi, rpmdrake[36] RPM DrakX
MEPIS 20000 Yes APT deb ?
Musix GNU+Linux 1300 Yes APT deb ?
Mutagenix  ? Yes  ? tgz ?
Mythbuntu 23000 ? APT deb Ubiquity
NimbleX 500 No none tgz ?
Nitix ? Yes SoftUpdate, yum RPM ?
openSUSE 22000 Yes YaST, Zypper RPM YaST
Paipix 2000 Yes APT deb ?
Pardus 1600 Yes PiSi .pisi ?
Parsix ? Yes APT deb ?
PCLinuxOS 5025 Yes APT, RPM RPM ?
Pie Box Enterprise Linux 1500 Yes up2date, yum RPM ?
Puppy 300 Yes PupGet, DotPup .pup, .pet ?
QiLinux 2500 Yes[37] RPM, APT RPM ?
Red Flag ? Yes Red Flag Installer System, RPM RPM ?
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3000 Yes RPM, yum RPM ?
Rxart 5000 Yes APT deb ?
Sabayon Linux 12000 Yes Portage, Entropy ebuild ?
SAM Linux ? ? ? ?
Satux ? Yes dpkg,apt-get deb ?
Scientific ? Yes APT/yum RPM ?
sidux 23000 Yes APT deb ?
Slackware 544 No installpkg, upgradepkg tgz ?
Slax 2050 ? none .lzm ?
SMS - Slack Mini Server 600 No installpkg, upgradepkg tgz, .lzm ?
SliTaz GNU/Linux 448 Yes Tazpkg .tazpkg ?
Source Mage GNU/Linux 5514 Yes Sorcery Package Manager src ?
SUSE 22000 Yes YaST, Zypper RPM ?
Symphony OS ? Yes APT, OneClick RPM ?
SYS 7000 No installpkg, upgradepkg tgz ?
Ubuntu 23000 Yes APT deb Ubiquity
Kubuntu 23000 Yes APT deb Ubiquity
Xubuntu 23000 Yes APT deb Ubiquity
Ututo 5000 ? UTUTO Package Manager ebuild ?
Vector Linux ? Yes slapt-get, gslapt, installpkg tgz ?
Xandros Desktop OS ? Yes APT deb ?
Yoper 2000 No Smart RPM ?
Zenwalk Linux ? Yes netpkg, installpkg, upgradepkg tgz ?
Distribution Approximate number of packages Approximate number of source packages GUI installation procedure Default package management tools Package Format Default installer

[edit] Live CDs/DVDs/USBs

Distribution Size RAM Use Boots
from
CD-ROM		 Boots from DVD[clarification needed] Installable Live CD Installable Over USBs
ALT Linux Desktop or Lite <700MB Yes Yes No
Archie Yes Yes
Ark Linux <700MB Yes Yes
Austrumi 50 MB Yes Yes
BackTrack ~700 MB Yes Yes
CentOS ≈700 MB Yes Yes
Damn Small Linux 50 MB 8 to 16 MB Yes Yes Yes Yes
Debian Live 50 MB to 5 GB Yes Yes Yes
Dreamlinux 700 MB Yes Yes
dyne:bolic ≈650 MB Yes Yes
Elive ~700 MB Yes Yes
Feather Linux <128 MB 48 to 96 MB Yes Yes
Fedora
Live CD		 683 MB 256 to 1024 MB Yes Yes Yes Yes
Finnix 100~130 MB 28~64 MB Yes Yes No
Freespire <700 MB 128 to 768 MB Yes No Yes
iloog ~700MB Yes No
Inquisitor live CD ~210MB ~96MB Yes Yes Yes
Kanotix ~700 MB Yes Yes
Knoppix CD
edition		 700 MB 128~320 MB Yes Yes Only DVD edition is maintained
Knoppix DVD
"Maxi" edition		 4.7 GB No Yes
Knoppix STD 497 MB Yes Yes No longer updated
Gnoppix 4.7 GB No Yes No longer updated
gOS ~700 MB Yes Yes Yes
Linux Mint ~700 MB 256~768 MB Yes Yes Yes Yes
Mandriva One ~700 MB 128~768 MB Yes Yes Yes Yes
Mandrake
MCNLive ~350 MB Yes Yes
Morphix 700 MB Yes Yes
Musix ~700Mb Yes Yes
NimbleX <200 MB 96~320 MB Yes Yes
nUbuntu ~265 MB Yes Yes
openGEU ~700 MB 192~512 MB Yes Yes
openSUSE ~700MB 128~768 MB Yes Yes Yes Yes
Oralux <500 MB Yes Yes No longer updated
Parted Magic 30 MB Yes Yes
PCLinuxOS between 130MB and 700 MB 96~512 MB Yes Yes Yes
Phlak > 500 MB Yes Yes No longer updated
Puppy Linux 70 MB (standard edition) 32~192 MB Yes Yes Yes
pure:dyne 542 MB Yes Yes
Red Hat Linux
Sabayon Linux Live CD ~695 MB Yes Yes Yes
Sabayon Linux Live DVD ~4000MB No Yes Yes
SAM Linux 683 MB Yes Yes
sidux 400 / 1999 MB 193 MB Yes Yes Yes
SimplyMEPIS 706 MB 128~512 MB Yes Yes Yes
SLAX <200 MB 96~320 MB Yes Yes Yes
SMS - Slack Mini Server 283 / 950 MB 128~786 MB Yes Yes Yes Yes
SliTaz GNU/Linux 25 MB Yes Yes Yes
SystemRescueCD ~160 MB Yes Yes Yes
Trinity
Rescue Kit		 ~104 MB Yes Yes
Ubuntu ~700 MB 384 MB Yes Yes Yes Yes
Edubuntu ~700 MB Yes Yes
Kubuntu ~700 MB 384 MB Yes Yes Yes Yes
Xubuntu ~700 MB 256 MB Yes Yes Yes Yes
Distribution Size RAM Use Boots
from
CD-ROM		 Boots from DVD Installable Live CD Installable Over USBs

[edit] Security features

Distribution Compile Time Buffer Checks Mandatory access control Software executable space protection grsecurity RSBAC
Fedora Yes Yes (SELinux[38]) Yes (Exec Shield[39]) No No
Gentoo[40] Optional (SELinux) Optional (PaX) Optional Optional
Mandriva Yes (AppArmor[41]) Yes
SUSE Yes (AppArmor[42])

[edit] See also

Free software portal

[edit] References

  1. ^ BLAG Linux And GNU - BLAG 90001 (oxygen) Released
  2. ^ Gentoo Linux - Gentoo Linux 2008.0 released
  3. ^ http://www.puppylinux.org/downloads/official-releases/puppy-linux-411
  4. ^ satux
  5. ^ [http://ftp1.us.proftpd.org/pub/historic-linux/distributions/jurix/README.txt
  6. ^ [1]
  7. ^ Linspire.com - Products
  8. ^ How to Buy: Novell Open Enterprise Server 2
  9. ^ redhat.com | Red Hat Enterprise Linux
  10. ^ redhat.com | Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop Operating Systems
  11. ^ Linux- RXART- Soluciones Linux - Linux Solutions
  12. ^ SUSE Linux Enterprise Operating Systems from Novell
  13. ^ Pkg: kernel26 - Arch Linux Package Details
  14. ^ Pkg: gcc - Arch Linux Package Details
  15. ^ Official Arch Linux Install Guide: Set Filesystem Mountpoints
  16. ^ Installing - ArkWiki
  17. ^ http://foo-projects.org/git/?p=lunar/moonbase.git;a=blob_plain;f=compilers/gcc/DETAILS;hb=HEAD
  18. ^ redhat.com | Knowledgebase
  19. ^ Installing Slackware 12 on Linux Software RAID and LVM2
  20. ^ Debian - Ports
  21. ^ Jurij Smakov. "Retiring the sparc32 port". debian-devel-announce mailing list. http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel-announce/2007/07/msg00006.html. 
  22. ^ Fedora Architecture Specific Notes
  23. ^ "Gentoo Linux ARM Handbook". http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/handbook/handbook-arm.xml. 
  24. ^ "Gentoo Linux/MIPS Frequently Asked Questions". http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/gentoo-mips-faq.xml#hw-what. 
  25. ^ "Gentoo/MIPS Linux Hardware Requirements". http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/mips-requirements.xml. 
  26. ^ GoboLinux - the alternative Linux distribution
  27. ^ openSUSE download page
  28. ^ Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Version comparison chart
  29. ^ RHEL 4 is the last version to support 31-bit s390. RHEL 5 only supports 64-bit s390x.
  30. ^ SUSE Linux Enterprise Server Tech Specs
  31. ^ http://sisyphus.ru/
  32. ^ BLAG :: View topic - rolling or frozen
  33. ^ Foresight Linux | 1.4.1 Release Notes
  34. ^ Can be installed graphically (GTK+ and ncurses), but traditionally done by command line (install cd, live cd, netboot, and from distributions).
  35. ^ GoboLinux - the alternative Linux distribution
  36. ^ Mandriva 2008 release notes
  37. ^ Ncurses-based first stage and then KDE-based second stage installation GUI.
  38. ^ "Mandatory Access Control with SELinux". http://w3.linux-magazine.com/issue/69/Access_Control_with_SELinux.pdf. Retrieved on 2007-12-24. 
  39. ^ "Fedora Core 1 Release Notes - Kernel Notes". http://docs.fedoraproject.org/release-notes/fc1/x86/#kernel-notes. Retrieved on 2007-12-24. 
  40. ^ "Hardened Gentoo - 4. Subprojects". http://www.gentoo.org/proj/en/hardened/#doc_chap4. Retrieved on 2007-12-24. 
  41. ^ "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. 
  42. ^ "AppArmor". http://en.opensuse.org/AppArmor. 

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