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

General [edit]

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

Distribution Creator Producer First public release Base distribution Purpose Cost
64 Studio Daniel James and Free Ekanayaka 64 Studio Ltd. 2005 Debian multimedia Free
Alinex Alinex Team and University of Évora Alinex Team and University of Évora 2005 Debian, Ubuntu general Free
aLinux Jay Klepacs Jay Klepacs 2001 Red Hat Linux desktop Free
Alpine Linux Alpine Linux Team Alpine Linux Team 2006 none network Free
ALT Linux ALT Linux Team ALT Linux Team, ALT Linux LLC 2001 Mandriva Linux general, school Free
Annvix Vincent Danen Vincent Danen 2003 Mandriva Linux server Free
antiX Anticapitalista Anticapitalista <2007 Debian - MEPIS old computers Free
ArchBang Stan McLaren 2010 Arch Linux general Free
Arch Linux Judd Vinet dev team 2002 none general Free
BackTrack Max Moser, Mati Aharoni, Martin J. Muench Remote-Exploit 2006 Debian auditing, forensic, security, network Free
BLAG Linux and GNU Brixton Linux Action Group Brixton Linux Action Group 2002 Fedora desktop, free software Free
Bharat Operating System Solutions Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) C-DAC 2007 Debian general, server, education, netbooks, live Free
Bodhi Linux Bodhi Linux Team Bodhi Linux Team 2011 Debian, Ubuntu desktop Free
Caixa Mágica Daniel Neves, José Guimarães, Paulo Trezentos Caixa Mágica Software 2000 Debian general Free
CentOS CentOS Project CentOS Project 2003 Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) server, workstation Free
Chakra Jan Mette and Arch Linux KDEmod developers The Chakra Project Team 2010 Independent (originally forked from Arch Linux) desktop Free
Google Chrome OS Google Google 2009 Debian[1] netbooks ?
ClearOS Peter Baldwin ClearFoundation 2000 RHEL, CentOS server, gateway, network Free
ConnochaetOS (formerly DeLi Linux) Henry Jensen Henry Jensen 2002 none old computer, desktop, free software Free
CrunchBang Linux Philip Newborough Philip Newborough 2008 Debian desktop Free
CRUX Per Liden CRUX Linux community 2001 none general Free
Damn Small Linux John Andrews dev team 2003 Debian, Knoppix portable, lightweight Free
Debian Ian Murdock Debian Project 1993 none general Free
DidJiX lacsaP lacsaP 2011 Arch Linux portable, dj Free
dyne:bolic Jaromil Jaromil 2001 none multimedia, free software Free
EasyPeasy Jon Ramvi, EasyPeasy community Jon Ramvi, EasyPeasy community 2008 Debian, Ubuntu netbooks Free
ELinOS SYSGO SYSGO 1999 none embedded systems ?
Elive Thanatermesis Thanatermesis 2005 Debian desktop Free
EnGarde Secure Linux Guardian Digital, Inc. Guardian Digital, Inc. 2001 none server Free
Fedora Fedora Project Fedora Project 2003 Red Hat Linux general Free
Finnix Ryan Finnie Ryan Finnie 2000 Debian maintenance Free
Foresight Linux Ken VanDine dev team 2004 rPath general Free
Freespire Lindows.com, Inc. Linspire, Inc. 2002 Debian desktop Free
Frugalware Miklos Vajna dev team 2004 Slackware general Free
Gentoo Linux Daniel Robbins Gentoo Foundation, Inc. 2002 none general Free
gNewSense Brian Brazil and Paul O'Malley dev team 2006 Debian, Ubuntu desktop, free software Free
Gnoppix Klaus Knopper dev team 2005 Debian, Knoppix live Free
gnuLinEx Regional Government of Extremadura dev team 2002 Debian desktop ?
GoboLinux Hisham Muhammad, Andre Detsch dev team 2002 none desktop Free
gOS Good OS LLC Good OS LLC 2007 Debian, Ubuntu desktop Free
Grml Michael Prokop The Grml Team 2005 Debian live, maintenance, security, network, forensic, accessibility Free
Impi Linux Gauteng Linux Users Group Impi Linux (Pty) Ltd. 2003 Debian desktop Free
Instant WebKiosk Marco Buratto Binary Emotions 2012 Debian web kiosks, digital signage Free
Kali Linux Max Moser, Mati Aharoni, Martin J. Muench Remote-Exploit 2013 Debian auditing, forensic, security, network Free
Kanotix Jörg Schirottke (Kano) dev team 2003 Debian, Knoppix desktop, live Free
Knoppix Klaus Knopper dev team 2003 Debian live Free
KnoppMyth Cecil Watson dev team 2004 Debian, Knoppix desktop, live Free
Kuki Linux João Ferro kuki bakers 2008 Debian, Ubuntu netbooks Free
Kurumin Carlos Morimoto GuiadoHardware 2003 Debian, Knoppix desktop, live Free
Linux Mint Clement Lefebvre dev team 2006 Debian, Ubuntu desktop Free
Lunar Linux Chuck Mead, Lunar Penguin Project Foo-Projects.org 2002 Sorcerer general ?
Mageia Mageia Community mageia.org 2010 Mandriva Linux general Free
Mandriva Linux Mandrakesoft S.A. Mandriva S.A. 1998 Red Hat Linux general ?
MEPIS Warren Woodford MEPIS LLC 2003 Debian desktop, server Free
MintPPC Jeroen Diederen Jeroen Diederen 2010 Debian desktop ?
MontaVista Linux MontaVista Software MontaVista Software 1999 Debian embedded systems No
Musix GNU/Linux Marcos Guglielmetti dev team 2008 Debian, Knoppix, Kanotix audio, free software ?
Netrunner Blue Systems dev team 2009 Debian, Ubuntu, Kubuntu desktop, kde Free
Network Security Toolkit Ronald W. Henderson, Paul Blankenbaker dev team 2003 Fedora network, security ?
NimbleX Bogdan Radulescu Bogdan Radulescu 2005 Slackware desktop Free
Nitix Net Integration Technologies, Inc. Net Integration Technologies, Inc. 2001 none server ?
Novell Open Enterprise Server Novell Novell, Inc. dev team 2003 SUSE Linux Enterprise Server server ?
openSUSE SUSE Linux, Novell Novell, Inc., openSUSE Project 1994 SUSE Linux general Free
OpenWrt ? OpenWrt team 2007 none embedded systems ?
Oracle Linux Oracle Corporation Oracle Corporation 2006 Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) server Free
Pardus Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) TÜBİTAK 2005 none general Yes
Parsix Alan Baghumian Parsix Project 2005 Debian desktop Yes
PCLinuxOS Bill Reynolds dev team 2003 PCLinuxOS desktop Free
Pentoo Michael Zanetta, Rick Farina, Jens Pranaitis Pentoo 2005 Gentoo Linux auditing, security ?
Porteus Fanthom Porteus 2010 Slackware lightweight, portable Free
Puppy Linux Barry Kauler Puppy Foundation 2003 none portable, lightweight Free
Qubes OS Joanna Rutkowska Invisible Things Lab 2012 Xen and Fedora secured desktop Free
Red Flag Linux Institute of Software, Chinese Academy of Sciences, NewMargin Venture Capital Red Flag Software Co., Ltd. 1999 Red Hat Linux general Free
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) Red Hat Red Hat 2002 Red Hat Linux, Fedora server, workstation No
Red Hat Linux Red Hat Red Hat 1995 none server, workstation Yes
Rocks Cluster Distribution UCSD Supercomputing Center, Clustercorp UCSD Supercomputing Center, Clustercorp 2000 Red Hat Linux server, workstation ?
Rxart Pixart SRL Pixart SRL 2000 Debian general ?
Sabayon Linux lxnay Design dev team 2005 Gentoo Linux general Free
Scientific Linux CERN, Fermilab dev team 2004 Red Hat Linux, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) server, workstation Free
SHR Bobby Martin SHR community 2008 OpenEmbedded embedded systems ?
aptosid sidux team sidux team 2007 Debian Sid desktop Free
Salix OS Cyrille Pontvieux, George Vlahavas, Pierrick Le Brun, Thorsten Mühlfelder Salix team 2009 Slackware general Free
Slackware Patrick Volkerding dev team 1993 Softlanding Linux System general Free
Slax Tomas Matejicek Tomas Matejicek 2002 Slackware live Free
SliTaz GNU/Linux Christophe Lincoln dev team 2008 none portable ?
Source Mage GNU/Linux Ryan Abrams, Eric Schabell dev team 2002 Sorcerer general ?
Super OS hacktolive hacktolive 2008 Debian, Ubuntu general, offline use ?
SUSE Linux SUSE Linux, Novell Novell, Inc. dev team 1994 Slackware, Jurix workstation, server ?
Symphony OS Ryan Quinn Ryan Quinn, Jason Spisak 2005 Debian desktop ?
SYS W.Landgraf W.Landgraf 2007 Slackware general ?
Tiny Core Linux Robert Shingledecker Team Tiny Core 2009 Tiny Core Linux portable Free
Tor-ramdisk Anthony G. Basile dev team 2008 Gentoo Linux Embedded, uClibc[2] Tor server ?
Trisquel Rubén Rodríguez Pérez (quidam) Rubén Rodríguez Pérez (quidam) 2005 Ubuntu LTS desktop, free software Free
Trustix Comodo Group, Inc. Comodo Group, Inc. 2000 Red Hat Linux server ?
Ubuntu Canonical Ltd. Canonical Ltd. 2004 Debian general Free
Kubuntu Canonical Ltd. Canonical Ltd. 2005 Debian desktop Free
Xubuntu Canonical Ltd. Canonical Ltd. 2006 Debian desktop Free
Edubuntu Canonical Ltd. Canonical Ltd. 2005 Debian computer lab Free
Gobuntu Canonical Ltd. Canonical Ltd. 2007 Debian desktop ?
Ubuntu Studio Canonical Ltd. Canonical Ltd. 2007 Debian multimedia Free
Ututo Diego Saravia, Daniel Olivera UTUTO dev team 2000 Gentoo Linux general, free software Free
VectorLinux Robert S. Lange dev team 1999 Slackware desktop ?
Webconverger Kai Hendry Webconverger Limited 2007 Debian Kiosk_software, digital signage Free
Wolvix Wolven Wolven 2007 Slackware desktop ?
Xandros Xandros Corp. Xandros, Inc. 2002 Corel Linux desktop No
XBMC The XBMC Project Team-XBMC 2008 Debian, Ubuntu multimedia Free
Yellow Dog Linux Terra Soft Solutions Fixstars Solutions 1999 RHEL, CentOS, Fedora general Free
Yoper Andreas Giradet The Yoper Team 2003 none general ?
Zentyal eBox Technologies eBox Technologies 2005 Debian, Ubuntu Small Business Server ?
Zenwalk Jean-Philippe Guillemin dev team 2004 Slackware general ?
Distribution Creator Producer First public release Base distribution Purpose

Cost [edit]

The following distributions are available for free (without cost):

The following distributions are in several editions, some that cost money and some that don't: ClearOS, Mandriva Linux, MEPIS, Red Flag Linux and Zentyal.

The following distributions cost money: Novell Open Enterprise Server,[3] Red Hat Enterprise Linux,[4][5] Rxart,[6] SUSE Linux Enterprise,[7]

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[8] (discontinued)

Technical [edit]

The following table shows the default file system, but many Linux distributions support some or all of ext2, ext3, ext4, ReiserFS, Reiser4, JFS, XFS, GFS2, OCFS2, and NILFS. It is possible to install Linux onto most 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, FAT (the DOS file system), and HFS, the main 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 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 GNU Compiler Collection (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[9] none
Asianux ext3 K Desktop Environment 3
BackTrack ext3 GNOME/KDE (Decided on download)
BLAG Linux and GNU ext3 GNOME
Bodhi Linux ext4 Enlightenment
Caixa Mágica ? ?
CentOS ext4 GNOME
Chakra ext4 KDE Plasma Workspaces
ClearOS ext3 GNOME
ConnochaetOS (formerly DeLi Linux) ext3/ext2 IceWM
CrunchBang Linux ext3 Openbox or Xfce
CRUX none Openbox
Damn Small Linux ext3 JWM
Debian ext4 GNOME, KDE, Xfce, LXDE[10]
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 Awesome, Enlightenment, Fluxbox, GNOME, KDE, LXDE-Meta, Openbox, XBMC and Xfce (live DVD)[12]
gnuLinEx ext2 GNOME
GoboLinux ReiserFS KDE Plasma Workspaces
gNewSense ext3 GNOME
Impi Linux ? KDE Plasma Workspaces
Instant WebKiosk SquashFS Has no DE. It's a browser-only interface
Kali Linux ext3 GNOME
Kanotix ext3 KDE Plasma Workspaces
KateOS ? Xfce
Knoppix XFS LXDE
Kurumin ext3 KDE Plasma Workspaces
Linspire ReiserFS K Desktop Environment 3
Linux Mint[13] ext4 MATE, Cinnamon
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[14] none
Pardus ext4 KDE Plasma Workspaces
Parsix ext4 GNOME
PCLinuxOS none KDE Plasma Workspaces, GNOME, LXDE, Xfce, Enlightenment, Openbox
Pentoo SquashFS Enlightenment
Porteus Squashfs, ext2, ext3, ext4, FAT32, reiser, xfs KDE, LXDE, Xfce, Openbox, Razor-qt
Puppy Linux SquashFS containing ext2 JWM
Red Flag Linux ext3 K Desktop Environment 3
Red Hat Enterprise Linux ext4 [15] GNOME
Rxart Desktop ext3 KDE Plasma Workspaces
Sabayon Linux ext4[16] 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
Trisquel ext4, XFS GNOME
Ubuntu/Edubuntu ext4 [17] Unity on GNOME, Unity 2D for fallback
Kubuntu ext4[17] KDE Plasma Workspaces
Xubuntu ext4[17] Xfce
Ututo ext3 GNOME
VectorLinux ReiserFS KDE, Openbox, Fluxbox, IceWM, Xfce
Webconverger gitfs dwm enforcing a Browser-only interface
Wolvix ext3 Xfce, Openbox
Xandros Desktop ReiserFS K Desktop Environment 3
XBMC Live ext3 XBMC Media Center
Yellow Dog Linux ? Enlightenment
Yoper ext3 KDE SC
Zentyal ext4 LXDE
Zenwalk ext4 Xfce
Distribution Default file system Install-time desktop environment or window manager selection

Architecture support [edit]

Most Linux distributions support the x86 architecture and its evolution the x86-64 architecture. This table lists only distributions supporting other architectures.

Distribution x86 x86-64 ia64 ppc[18] ppc64 sparc32 sparc64 arm hppa[19] mips[20] sh s390 s390x alpha[21] m68k[22]
Arch Linux Yes (>=i686) Yes No Yes[23] No No No Yes[24] No No No No No No No
Asianux Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No
BackTrack Yes Yes No No No No No Yes No No No No No No No
Bodhi Linux Yes Yes No No No No No Yes No No No No No No No
CentOS Yes Yes Discontinued
3.5-3.8
4.1-4.7[25]		 Beta
4.0		 No Beta
4.2[25][26]		 No No No No No Discontinued
3.5-3.8
4.1-4.7[25][27]		 Discontinued
3.5-3.8
4.1-4.7[25][27]		 Discontinued
4.2-4.3[25][28][29]		 No
Chakra No Yes No 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 No
Debian[30] Yes Yes
4.0+		 Yes
3.0+		 Yes
2.2+		 Yes Yes
2.1+[31]		 Yes Yes
2.2+		 Discontinued
3.0-5.0		 Yes
3.0+		 In progress Yes
3.0+		 In progress Discontinued
2.1-5.0		 Discontinued
2.0-3.1
Fedora[32] Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No Yes[33] No No No No Yes No No
Finnix Yes Yes No Yes Yes 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 No
Gentoo Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes[34] Yes Yes[35][36] Yes Yes Yes Yes No
GoboLinux[37] Yes No No No No No No Yes No No No No No No No
Kali Linux Yes Yes No No No No No Yes No No No No No No No
MEPIS Yes Yes No No No No No Yes No No No No No No No
MintPPC No No No Yes Yes 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 No
openSUSE[38] Yes Yes No Yes Yes No partial[39] partial[40] No No No No No No No
OpenWrt[41] Yes No No Yes No No No Yes No Yes Yes Yes No No No
Oracle Linux[42] Yes Yes Yes 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 No
Red Hat Linux[43] Yes No Discontinued
7.1-7.2		 Test release
5.1[44]		 No Discontinued
4.0-4.2
5.1-6.2		 Test release
5.1[44]		 No No Test release
5.1[44]		 No Discontinued
7.2		 Discontinued
7.1		 Discontinued
2.1-7.1		 Test release
5.1[44]
Red Hat Enterprise Linux[45] Yes Yes
3+		 Discontinued
2.1-5[46]		 Yes
3+		 Yes
3+		 No No No No No No Discontinued
3-4[47]		 Yes
3+		 No No
Rxart Desktop Yes No Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
Porteus Yes 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 No
SHR No No No No No No No Yes No No No No No No No
Slackware Yes Yes No No No Discontinued
?[48]		 No Yes No No No Yes Yes Discontinued
8.1[49]		 No
Source Mage GNU/Linux Yes Yes No Yes No No No No No No No No No No No
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server[50] Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No Yes No No
Tor-ramdisk Yes Yes[51] No No No No No No No Yes[52] No No No No No
Ubuntu/Kubuntu/Xubuntu/Lubuntu Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes No No No No No No No
XBMC Yes No No No No No No Yes No No No No No No No
Yellow Dog Linux No No No Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No
Distribution x86 x86-64 ia64 ppc ppc64 sparc32 sparc64 arm hppa mips sh s390 s390x alpha m68k

Package management and installation [edit]

Information on features in the distributions. Package numbers are only approximate (some distributions like Ubuntu tend to separate tools into different packages (usually stable release, development release, documentation and debug).

Distribution Approximate number of pre-compiled packages Approximate number of source packages Default package management tools Package format Default installer Graphical installation process
Alinex 700420300000000000020,300 APT .deb Yes
aLinux 70031200000000000001,200 RPM RPM No
ALT Linux 70038300000000000008,300[53] APT (APT-RPM), RPM RPM Yes
Annvix APT, RPM RPM
Arch Linux 700410162000000000010,162[54] 7004101620000000000ABS: 10,162, 7004402340000000000AUR: 40,234[55] Pacman .pkg.tar.xz None (install scripts only) No
Asianux mlupdater, RPM RPM Yes
BLAG 700410000000000000010,000[56] RPM, yum, APT RPM Yes
Bodhi Linux 700435000000000000035,000 APT, dpkg .deb Ubiquity Yes
Caixa Mágica 700416000000000000016,000 urpmi, APT (APT-RPM) RPM Yes
CentOS 70031660000000000001,660 RPM, yum/up2date RPM Yes
Chakra 70033074000000000003,074[57] 7003337400000000000CCR: 3,374[58] Pacman (will be replaced by Akabei in future), Bundle Manager .pkg.tar.xz Bundle manager, yes. Package manager in development
ClearOS RPM, yum RPM No
ConnochaetOS (formerly DeLi Linux) 7002150000000000000150 No
CrunchBang Linux 700423000000000000023,000 APT .deb Yes
CRUX 70031155000000000001,155 pkgutils tgz No
Damn Small Linux 7002610000000000000610 myDSL, APT .dsl, .tar.gz, .uci, .unc, .deb No
Debian 700437000000000000037,000[59] 700414975000000000014,975 APT .deb Debian-Installer Yes
Dreamlinux 700423000000000000023,000 APT .deb Yes
dyne:bolic none none Yes
Elive 700420000000000000020,000 APT .deb Yes
EnGarde Secure Linux 7002500000000000000500 RPM, APT RPM
Fedora 700422000000000000022,000 yum, PackageKit RPM Anaconda Yes
Finnix 7002350000000000000350 APT .deb No
Foresight Linux 70037000000000000007,000 Conary, PackageKit[60] Yes
Frugalware 70036132000000000006,132[61] 700173000000000000073 Pacman .fpm Yes
Gentoo 700415691000000000015,691 700431136000000000031,136[62] Portage ebuild Yes[63]
gnuLinEx 7002200000000000000200 APT .deb Yes
GoboLinux 70032000000000000002,000 Manager,[64] Compile, InstallPackage recipes, tar.bz2 Yes
Impi Linux No
Kanotix 70031200000000000001,200 APT .deb Yes
KateOS TGZex tgz Yes
Knoppix 70033600000000000003,600 APT .deb No
Kurumin APT .deb Yes
Linspire 70032200000000000002,200 CNR click and run .deb Yes
Linux Mint 700430000000000000030,000 APT .deb Ubiquity Yes
Lunar 70033120000000000003,120 lin source Yes
Mageia 700417283000000000017,283 (i586), 700411409000000000011,409 (x86-64)[65] 70038834000000000008,834[66] urpmi, rpmdrake RPM DrakX Yes
Mandriva Linux 700422600000000000022,600 urpmi, rpmdrake[67] RPM DrakX Yes
MEPIS 700420000000000000020,000 APT .deb MEPIS Install Yes
MintPPC 700423200000000000023,200 700412123000000000012,123 APT .deb Debian-Installer No
Musix GNU/Linux 70031300000000000001,300 APT .deb Yes
Mythbuntu 700435000000000000035,000[68] APT .deb Ubiquity
Network Security Toolkit 70038280000000000008,280 70038280000000000008,280 yum RPM Anaconda Yes
NimbleX 7002500000000000000500 none tgz No
Nitix SoftUpdate, yum RPM Yes
openSUSE 700440400000000000040,400 700425000000000000025,000[69] YaST, Zypper RPM YaST Yes
OpenWrt 70032000000000000002,000 opkg .ipk - No
Pardus 70034000000000000004,000 PiSi .pisi YALI Yes
Parsix 700429000000000000029,000 700414900000000000014,900 APT .deb Yes
PCLinuxOS 700412000000000000012,000 APT, RPM RPM Yes
Puppy 7002700000000000000700 PupGet, DotPup .pup, .pet Yes
Red Flag Red Flag Installer System, RPM RPM Yes
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 70033000000000000003,000 RPM, yum RPM Yes
Rxart 70035000000000000005,000 APT .deb Yes
Sabayon Linux 700412000000000000012,000 Portage, Entropy ebuild Yes
Scientific APT/yum RPM Yes
SHR 70033000000000000003,000 70033000000000000003,000 opkg opk opkg Yes[70]
sidux 700423000000000000023,000 APT .deb Yes
Slackware 70032292000000000002,292 installpkg, upgradepkg tgz, .txz, .tlz, .tbz No
Slax 70032050000000000002,050 none .lzm
SliTaz GNU/Linux 70032300000000000002,300 Tazpkg .tazpkg Yes
Source Mage GNU/Linux 70035514000000000005,514 Sorcery Package Manager src Yes
Super OS APT .deb Ubiquity Yes
SUSE Linux 700422600000000000022,600 700410300000000000010,300[69] YaST, Zypper RPM YaST Yes
Symphony OS APT, OneClick RPM Yes
SYS 70036000000000000006,000 installpkg, upgradepkg tgz No
Tiny Core Linux 700425160000000000025,160 ab, tce-load tcz tc-install, core2usb Yes
Tiny SliTaz 700150000000000000050 Web site[71] none No
Tor-ramdisk none none No
Trisquel 700444451000000000044,451[72] 700444451000000000044,451 APT .deb Ubiquity Yes
Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Xubuntu 700447595000000000047,595[68] APT .deb Ubiquity Yes
Ututo 70035000000000000005,000 UTUTO Package Manager ebuild
Vector Linux slapt-get, gslapt, installpkg tgz Yes
Wolvix installpkg, upgradepkg tgz, .txz Yes
Xandros Desktop APT .deb Yes
XBMC Live APT .deb No
Yoper 70032000000000000002,000 Smart RPM No
Zentyal APT .deb dpkg Yes
Zenwalk 70032000000000000002,000 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 process

Live media [edit]

Distribution Size (MB) RAM use (MB) Boots from CD Boots from DVD Installable live CD/DVD Installable from USB
ALT Linux Desktop or Lite 7002700000000000000700 Yes Yes No
Arch Linux 7002181000000000000181 to 7002673000000000000673[73] Yes Yes Yes Yes
AUSTRUMI Linux 700150000000000000050 Yes Yes
BackTrack 70031910000000000001,910 Yes Yes Yes Yes
Bodhi Linux 7002500000000000000500 700180000000000000080 Yes Yes Yes Yes
CentOS 7002700000000000000700 to 70033400000000000003,400 DVD Yes Yes Officially not supported[74]
Chakra 70031600000000000001,600 No Yes Yes No
ClearOS 7002700000000000000700 Yes No
CrunchBang Linux 7002873000000000000873 7002256000000000000256 to 1024 No Yes Yes Yes
Damn Small Linux 700150000000000000050 700116000000000000016 to 24[75] Yes Yes Yes Yes
Debian Live 700150000000000000050 to 70035120000000000005,120 Yes Yes Yes Yes
DidJiX 7002300000000000000300 Yes Yes
Dreamlinux 7002700000000000000700 Yes Yes
dyne:bolic 7002650000000000000650 Yes Yes
Elive 7002700000000000000700 Yes Yes
Feather Linux 7002128000000000000128 700148000000000000048 to 700196000000000000096 Yes Yes
Fedora
live CD		 7002683000000000000683 7002256000000000000256 to 70031024000000000001,024 Yes Yes Yes Yes
Finnix 7002100000000000000100 to 7002130000000000000130 700128000000000000028 to 700164000000000000064 Yes Yes No
Freespire 7002700000000000000700 7002128000000000000128 to 7002768000000000000768 Yes No Yes
Gentoo 7002100000000000000100 up to 7002128000000000000128 Yes Yes Yes Yes
Grml 7002110000000000000110 to 7002700000000000000700 700132000000000000032 to 7002128000000000000128 Yes No Yes Yes
Inquisitor live CD 7002210000000000000210 700196000000000000096 Yes Yes Yes
Kali Linux 70032400000000000002,400 Yes Yes Yes Yes
Kanotix 7002700000000000000700 Yes Yes
Knoppix CD
edition		 7002700000000000000700 7002128000000000000128 to 7002320000000000000320 Yes Yes Only DVD edition is maintained
Knoppix DVD
"Maxi" edition		 70034812800000000004,812.8 No Yes
Knoppix STD 7002497000000000000497 Yes Yes No longer updated
Gnoppix 70034812800000000004,812.8 No Yes No longer updated
gOS 7002700000000000000700 Yes Yes Yes
Linux Mint 7002700000000000000700 7002256000000000000256 to 7002768000000000000768 Yes Yes Yes Yes
Lunar Linux 7002421000000000000421 Yes Yes Yes Yes[76]
Mandriva Linux One 7002700000000000000700 7002128000000000000128 to 7002768000000000000768 Yes Yes Yes Yes
MEPIS 7002700000000000000700 to 70034000000000000004,000 7002128000000000000128 to 7002512000000000000512 Yes Yes Yes Yes
MCNLive 7002350000000000000350 Yes Yes
Micro Core Linux 7000800000000000000≈8 7001480000000000000≈48 Yes Yes Yes Yes
Musix GNU/Linux 7002700000000000000700 Yes Yes Yes
Network Security Toolkit
live CD/DVD		 7002483000000000000483 to 70031300000000000001,300 7002256000000000000256 to 70031024000000000001,024 Yes Yes Yes Yes
NimbleX 7002200000000000000200 700196000000000000096 to 7002320000000000000320 Yes Yes Yes Yes
nUbuntu 7002265000000000000265 Yes Yes
openGEU 7002700000000000000700 7002192000000000000192 to 7002512000000000000512 Yes Yes
openSUSE 7002700000000000000700 7002128000000000000128 to 7002768000000000000768 Yes Yes Yes Yes
OpenWrt 7000400000000000000min 4 7001160000000000000min 16 No No No No
Oralux 7002500000000000000500 Yes Yes No longer updated
Pardus 70031256000000000001,256 to 70031276000000000001,276 7002256000000000000256 to 70031024000000000001,024 Yes Yes Yes Yes
PCLinuxOS 7002130000000000000130 to 7002700000000000000700 700196000000000000096 to 7002512000000000000512 Yes Yes Yes Yes
Pentoo 7002666000000000000666 and 7002700000000000000700 700148000000000000048 to 700196000000000000096 Yes Yes By hand[77] By hand
Puppy Linux (standard edition) 7002128000000000000128 700132000000000000032 to 7002192000000000000192 Yes Yes Yes Yes
Puredyne 7002542000000000000542 Yes Yes Yes Yes
Sabayon Linux live CD 7002695000000000000695 Yes Yes Yes Yes
Sabayon Linux live DVD 70032400000000000002,400 No Yes Yes Yes
Scientific Linux 7002431000000000000431 to 70032300000000000002,300[78] 7002640000000000000640 Yes Yes Yes Yes
sidux 7002400000000000000400 to 70031999000000000001,999 7002193000000000000193 Yes Yes Yes Yes
Slax 7002200000000000000200 700196000000000000096 to 7002320000000000000320 Yes Yes Yes
Super OS 70031200000000000001,200 No Yes Yes Yes
SystemRescueCD 7002160000000000000160 Yes Yes Yes Yes
Tiny Core Linux 7001100000000000000≈10 7001480000000000000≈48 Yes Yes Yes Yes
SliTaz GNU/Linux 700130000000000000030 700116000000000000016 to 7002192000000000000192 Yes Yes Yes Yes
Tiny SliTaz 70001440000000000001.44 7000800000000000000≈8 Yes Yes By SliTaz By SliTaz
Tor-ramdisk 70005000000000000005 7002256000000000000256 or >[79] Yes Yes Yes Yes
Trinity Rescue Kit 7002104000000000000104 Yes Yes
Trisquel 7002700000000000000700 7002384000000000000384 Yes Yes Yes Yes
Ubuntu 7002700000000000000700 7002384000000000000384 Yes Yes Yes Yes
Edubuntu 7002700000000000000700 Yes Yes Yes
Kubuntu 7002700000000000000700 7002384000000000000384 Yes Yes Yes Yes
XBMC Live 7002700000000000000700 7002256000000000000256 to 70031024000000000001,024 Yes No Yes Yes
Zentyal 7002600000000000000600 7002256000000000000256 Yes Yes Yes Yes
Xubuntu 7002700000000000000700 7002256000000000000256 Yes Yes Yes Yes
Distribution Size (MB) RAM use (MB) Boots from CD Boots from DVD Installable live CD/DVD Installable from USB

Security features [edit]

Distribution Compile time buffer checks Mandatory access control Software executable space protection grsecurity RSBAC
Debian/Ubuntu Yes SELinux,[80] AppArmor PaX Optional Optional
Fedora Yes SELinux[81] Exec Shield[82] No No
Gentoo[83] Optional SELinux PaX Optional Optional
Mandriva Unknown AppArmor[84] Unknown Unknown Yes
SUSE Linux Yes AppArmor[85] Hardware NX and other methods in mainline kernel and toolchain[86] No No
Tor-ramdisk Unknown Unknown PaX Yes No

See also [edit]

Portal icon Free software portal

References [edit]

  1. ^ ChromeOS Open Sourced
  2. ^ "Building Tor-ramdisk from scratch: Obtain a working UCLIBC Based Linux System". Retrieved 2011-04-15. 
  3. ^ How to Buy: Novell Open Enterprise Server 2
  4. ^ redhat.com | Red Hat Enterprise Linux
  5. ^ redhat.com | Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop Operating Systems
  6. ^ Linux- RXART- Soluciones Linux - Linux Solutions
  7. ^ SUSE Linux Enterprise Operating Systems from Novell
  8. ^ Linspire.com - Products
  9. ^ Official Arch Linux Install Guide: Set Filesystem Mountpoints
  10. ^ "Index of /debian-cd/current/amd64/iso-cd". 
  11. ^ "DistroWatch.com: Dreamlinux". 
  12. ^ Abbott, David. "Gentoo Linux releases 11.2 LiveDVD". Gentoo Linux. Retrieved 21 December 2011. 
  13. ^ http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=mint
  14. ^ http://wiki.openwrt.org/doc/techref/flash.layout
  15. ^ "Red Hat 6 ext4 documentation". 
  16. ^ http://forum.sabayonlinux.org/viewtopic.php?f=60&t=16766
  17. ^ a b c "Ubuntu 10.10 Release Notes". 
  18. ^ penguinppc.org
  19. ^ PA-RISC Linux
  20. ^ LinuxMIPS
  21. ^ AlphaLinux
  22. ^ The Linux/m68k Home Pages
  23. ^ Arch Linux PPC project
  24. ^ Arch Linux ARM
  25. ^ a b c d e Pasi Pirhonen (2005-10-13). "CentOS-4.2 is Released for i386, x86_64, ia64, s390, s390x and alpha architectures". CentOS-announce mailing list. http://lists.centos.org/pipermail/centos-announce/2005-October/012286.html.
  26. ^ Pasi Pirhonen (2006-05-24). "EOL notice for CentOS-4/sparc beta release". CentOS-announce mailing list. http://lists.centos.org/pipermail/centos-announce/2006-May/012921.html.
  27. ^ a b Pasi Pirhonen (2005-06-24). "CentOS-4.1 s390(x) Release Announcement". CentOS-announce mailing list. http://lists.centos.org/pipermail/centos-announce/2005-July/011969.html.
  28. ^ Pasi Pirhonen (2005-06-26). "CentOS-4/alpha 4.1beta is there to play". CentOS-announce mailing list. http://lists.centos.org/pipermail/centos-announce/2005-June/000400.html.
  29. ^ Pasi Pirhonen (2006-06-25). "EOL notfication for CentOS-4/axp (alpha)". CentOS-announce mailing list. http://lists.centos.org/pipermail/centos-announce/2006-June/012979.html.
  30. ^ Debian - Ports
  31. ^ 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.
  32. ^ Fedora Architectures Specific Notes
  33. ^ "Architectures/ARM". Retrieved 2010-07-20. 
  34. ^ "Gentoo Linux ARM Handbook". 
  35. ^ "Gentoo Linux/MIPS Frequently Asked Questions". 
  36. ^ "Gentoo/MIPS Linux Hardware Requirements". 
  37. ^ GoboLinux - the alternative Linux distribution
  38. ^ openSUSE download page
  39. ^ http://en.opensuse.org/SPARC
  40. ^ openSUSE ARM Portal
  41. ^ [1]
  42. ^ Oracle Linux Technical Information
  43. ^ Red Hat Linux archive
  44. ^ a b c d Linux Rough Cuts
  45. ^ Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Version comparison chart
  46. ^ Red Hat Enterprise Linux, version 2.1
  47. ^ RHEL 4 is the last version to support 31-bit s390. RHEL 5 only supports 64-bit s390x.
  48. ^ Slackware Linux for SPARC
  49. ^ Slackware Linux for the Alpha
  50. ^ SUSE Linux Enterprise Server Tech Specs
  51. ^ "Tor-ramdisk x86_64 Port". Retrieved 2011-04-15. 
  52. ^ "Tor-ramdisk MIPS Port". Retrieved 2011-04-15. 
  53. ^ http://sisyphus.ru/
  54. ^ Arch Linux package search
  55. ^ Arch Linux AUR repository
  56. ^ BLAG :: View topic - rolling or frozen
  57. ^ The Chakra Project Packages
  58. ^ Chakra Community Repository
  59. ^ "Debian Community celebrates its 19th birthday". 
  60. ^ Foresight Linux | 70001000000000000001.4.1 Release Notes
  61. ^ Frugalware Linux Package search
  62. ^ Gentoo Packages Categories
  63. ^ Can be installed graphically (GTK+ and ncurses), but traditionally done by command line (install cd, live cd, netboot, and from distributions).
  64. ^ GoboLinux - the alternative Linux distribution
  65. ^ "Linux Free Software Catalog and Packages Search". Linux Free Software Catalog and Packages Search. Retrieved 23 December 2011. 
  66. ^ [2]
  67. ^ Mandriva 2008 release notes
  68. ^ a b "All Ubuntu Packages in "quantal"". Canonical. Retrieved 2012-12-26. 
  69. ^ a b Stats for openSUSE_12.3 for Mar 24, 2013, using the script http://inai.de/files/dist/countpkg-suse3 -r openSUSE_12.3 or -r 'SLE_11.*' . Excludes known non-SUSE projects from the project list retrieved from the openSUSE.org Build Service instance.
  70. ^ NeoTool, a zenity installation GUI for Openmoko devices
  71. ^ Tiny SliTaz, the configuration builder webtool
  72. ^ "All Trisquel Packages in "toutatis"". Trisquel. Retrieved 2013-04-28. 
  73. ^ "Arch Linux - Downloads". Retrieved 27 August 2011. 
  74. ^ The CentOS LiveCD Project
  75. ^ http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/wiki/index.php/FAQ#Will_DSL_ever_get_bigger_than_50_MBytes.3F
  76. ^ http://wiki.lunar-linux.org/index.php/Installation:No_CD#Usb_bootable_lunar
  77. ^ Pentoo Development Website
  78. ^ "Scientific Linux i386 Live CD/DVD". Retrieved 2012-09-26. 
  79. ^ "Tor-ramdisk Quickstart Guide". Retrieved 2011-04-15. 
  80. ^ "Debian SELinux". Retrieved 2012-07-22. 
  81. ^ "Mandatory Access Control with SELinux". Retrieved 2007-12-24. 
  82. ^ "Fedora Core 1 Release Notes - Kernel Notes". Retrieved 2007-12-24. 
  83. ^ "Hardened Gentoo - 4. Subprojects". Retrieved 2007-12-24. 
  84. ^ "Mandriva Linux 2008 Release Notes: Apparmor has replaced RSBAC as the in-kernel application security tool.". 
  85. ^ "AppArmor". 
  86. ^ "Security Features". Retrieved 2009-11-23. [dead link]

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