 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 610, 18 May 2015 |
Welcome to this year's 20th issue of DistroWatch Weekly!
Much of the Internet runs on Linux. We're not just talking about the multitude of desktop computers and Android devices, but the millions of servers running various Linux distributions. This week we turn our focus to stable, server oriented distributions and their practises. We begin with a review of NethServer, a CentOS-based distribution that tries to make setting up and managing a server easier for system administrators. In our News sections we share an interview with Neil McGovern, the new Debian Project Leader, in which McGovern talks about how Debian is run, his role within the project and Debian's place in the Linux ecosystem. CentOS, another popular server distribution, has announced support for the 64-bit ARM architecture. We also report on Ubuntu maintaining unsupported versions of the Linux kernel, Fedora donating developer time to Mozilla and a Cinnamon spin of Fedora planned for later this year. Plus we say a fond farewell to Foresight Linux. Few licenses are more misunderstood than the GNU General Public License (GPL) and this week's Myths and Misunderstandings column discusses some of the finer points of the GPL. Then we provide a list of the distribution torrents we are seeding in our Torrent Corner and we share a list of the distributions released over the past week. We wish you all a wonderful week and happy reading!
Content:
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| Feature Story (by Jesse Smith) |
Server administration made easier with NethServer 6.6
NethServer is a Linux distribution based on the CentOS operating system. NethServer offers system administrators a "powerful web interface that simplifies common administration tasks, very easy/fast installation and a lot of pre-configured modules installable with a single click." The NethServer project provides service modules and web-based management tools for working with these modules. NethServer is available for the 64-bit x86 architecture exclusively and the ISO image for this distribution is 455MB in size.
Booting from the distribution's installation media brings up a menu. From the menu we can select whether we wish to perform an interactive installation or an unattended installation. We can also choose to perform a basic installation of CentOS, plus there are options for launching a rescue mode or opening a simple hardware browser. I decided to launch NethServer's interactive installer.
NethServer has a text-based system installer that walks us through a small number of steps. First, we are asked if we wish the installer to display prompts in English or Italian. Next, we are asked to configure the network interface and here we can mostly take default settings. Then we are shown the distribution's default password for the root account. The installer then lets us know it plans to wipe the computer's main hard drive and, once we confirm we are okay with this action, the system installer switches from a text console to a graphical interface. We can then watch a progress bar march across the screen as the installer copies its files and configures the operating system. The system installer sets up a LVM volume for us, formatted with the ext4 file system. It also creates swap space for us and a /boot partition formatted with the ext3 file system. When the system installer completes its tasks the computer automatically reboots.
NethServer boots to a text console where we are shown a login prompt. We can sign into the root (administrator) account using the password provided by the system installer. Exploring the operating system I found NethServer used approximately 700MB of hard drive space for its main partition. A little additional space was consumed for swap space and the /boot partition. While logged into the terminal NethServer used 114MB of RAM. Later I found the distribution would use approximately 190MB of memory when logged into the web-based interface and running the default services. From the terminal we have access to GNU's userland utilities and manual pages. There is no compiler present. In the background we find the Linux kernel, version 2.6.32. NethServer runs a few network services, including the OpenSSH secure shell service and the Postfix mail server.
NethServer 6.6 -- Status information from the dashboard
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At this point I was not sure what other services or utilities might be available to me and I found it useful to skim through a copy of the distribution's documentation. Through the documentation I learned we can access NethServer's web interface using a web browser and accessing the server on port 980. I found the distribution's web interface would only respond to HTTPS connections, insecure HTTP connections were rejected. Using our web browser we can log into NethServer's web interface using the account "root" and the password provided by the system installer. The first time we access the web interface we are walked through an initial configuration wizard. We are asked to set a new password for the root account, name our server and select our time zone from a list. We are then asked if we would like to change which port the secure shell server listens on for connections. The last screen asks if we would like to send usage data to the NethServer project.
After the initial configuration steps have been completed we are presented with the web interface's dashboard. The dashboard provides a general overview of the operating system, displaying disk usage, memory consumption and uptime. On the left side of the screen we find buttons for bringing up information and configuration pages. Each page typically has a simple layout and a nice, clean design. Some pages have multiple tabs for accessing further information or configuration options, but I found most pages just have one tab, simplifying navigation.
Let's take a quick look at the information and configuration pages available to us. One page acts as a log viewer. It displays a list of system logs and we can click on a log to see its contents. We can also search for text contained in any of our log files, making it much easier to find information we need. Another page in the web interface handles powering off or rebooting the operating system.
NethServer 6.6 -- Managing software modules
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One page contains the Software Centre and we find the Software Centre is divided into three tabs. In the first tab we can browse through modules the NethServer project provides. These modules offer the administrator backup solutions, install-and-go web server configurations, a FTP server, mail services and security features. We can click a box next to modules we wish to install and then download the items with a single button click. The second tab shows modules which have already been installed and we can use this second tab to remove installed modules. The third tab shows any available updates to low level software packages on the system. Clicking a button causes all available updates to be downloaded and installed. There does not appear to be any way to select specific packages to be upgraded while others are held back. I experimented with installing a handful of modules and installed all software upgrades. In both cases the Software Centre worked well for me.
One page in the admin interface shows us network services that are currently running. By default NethServer runs a fairly minimum configuration with just a secure shell, network time service and the web administration portal enabled. Another page of the web interface allows us to set white/black lists, indicating which remote computers can connect to our services.
Another page of the interface deals with OpenSSH settings and security. From this page we can change the network port OpenSSH listens on for new connections. We can also toggle whether to allow the root user to login from remote hosts and whether to enable password authentication when users login from remote locations.
NethServer 6.6 -- Securing the OpenSSH service
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I found a page which allows us to enable DNS servers. Through the web interface we can list up to two DNS servers NethServer will talk to for IP address resolution. We can also associate host names with IP addresses, short-cutting DNS look-ups. I found the web interface would only allow me to supply fully qualified domain names when matching a host to an IP address. In other words, "distrowatch.com" is seen as a valid host name while "backuppc" is not.
Other pages allow us to set the computer's clock, enable network time synchronization and change our network interface settings. Another page lets us input our organization's name, address and phone number. One page invites us to set the name of our server and another page allows us to enable static networking routes. A final page is available for viewing and generating server certificates for identification and security purposes.
NethServer's web interface locked up on me a few times and this always seemed to happen when I was accessing the Software Centre page. I found that when these lock-ups happened there was always a YUM package manager process running in the background. The web interface would be completely unresponsive until the YUM process either finished what it was doing or was manually terminated from the command line. I can understand software management not being available while YUM is running, but it struck me as odd (and inconvenient) that all web administration pages stopped working while YUM was running.
I installed a handful of modules, including a web server, FTP service, firewall configuration tools and a backup module. Once each module was installed it would appear in the list of installed software in the Software Centre. Options for removing or editing the module would appear next to each newly installed item. I found clicking the Edit button next to each module did not do anything. To configure a module (or activate it) I first had to logout of the web interface and then sign back in. When I logged in new tabs for each module would appear down the left side of the screen. Clicking these tabs brought up options or actions available to us. Some modules activate automatically (as with the web server) while others need to be manually enabled (as with the FTP server).
While experimenting with the various modules I found the FTP service worked as expected. I was able to enable the service, create virtual user accounts and specify custom home directories for the virtual FTP users. The Backup & Restore module worked, but it appears to only backup our NethServer configuration; user files and data are not backed up. There does not appear to be any way to transfer our configuration to another server, at least not through the web interface. I think this makes the Backup utility more of a snapshotting tool for configuration files than a proper backup service.
The web server module worked for me. I found the web server had to be configured entirely from the command line as the web interface would only enable/disable the web server. One module which did not work for me was the firewall module. NethServer divides working with firewalls into two tabs. In the first tab we can define units the firewall will work with. For example, we can declare hosts and define services in the first tab. In one instance I defined a unit called "ftpd" which represented services working on network port 21. The second firewall tab then uses the units we created in the first tab to build firewall rules. I tried setting up rules to block my network services from external Internet connections. Despite my efforts, connections from the outside world continued to get through. I eventually tried creating firewall rules that blocked all incoming traffic from any other computer to my local services. Connections from the outside world continued to get through. I checked the project's documentation and while its steps listed appear straight forward, I was unable to get the rules I created to function as expected.
NethServer 6.6 -- Creating firewall rules
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Conclusions
Despite the problems I ran into getting the firewall module to work, my experiment with NethServer generally went well. The distribution is fairly easy to install and there are few configuration steps. For the most part, new users can take the default settings and end up with a working server. The distribution is based on CentOS 6 and the current version should continue to receive security updates for about five years. Some of the software packages may be a bit old compared to other distributions, even other stable server offerings like CentOS 7 or Ubuntu Server LTS, but I do not think the distribution is lacking in functionality due to the age of its software.
For the most part, I liked NethServer's web interface. The interface is clean and well organized. I found most items were easy to locate and there was a good deal of information presented in a well organized manner. There were two minor issues I ran into with the web interface. One was that I had to logout and then log back in again to see newly installed service modules. The second concern was that accessing the Software Centre sometimes made the web interface lock up. The lock-up usually resolved itself once the YUM package manager process had completed its background work.
I think NethServer generally does a good job of being an easy to set up server distribution. Plus I like its long term support and stable base. I don't think NethServer is quite as newcomer friendly as a product like Zentyal, but NethServer is probably a close second when it comes to ease of use and may be lighter and have a longer support cycle than Zentyal.
Despite a few rough edges, my opinion of NethServer is generally positive and I think this distribution is worth examining. Especially if you're an administrator who prefers to work from a web-based interface rather than the command line.
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| Miscellaneous News (by Jesse Smith) |
Interview with Debian's Neil McGovern, CentOS offers AArch64 images, Ubuntu extends support for Linux 3.19, Fedora helps Mozilla and plans Cinnamon spin and Foresight Linux has been discontinued
Neil McGovern is a Debian developer and was recently elected to the position of Debian Project Leader. Linux.com shares an interview with McGovern in which he discusses personal package archives, Linux containers and the job of a Debian Project Leader. In response to how Debian fits into an ecosystem where Docker containers are becoming more popular, McGovern had the following to share: "The key issue is trust - when Debian distributes a package, you know that it's met various quality and stability standards. There's a risk in moving to an entire container based model that people will simply download random applications from the Internet. If a security problem is found in a shared library in Debian, we can fix it once. If that library is embedded in hundreds of different 'apps', then they'll all need fixing independently. This would certainly be a challenge to overcome. Mind you, in our latest release we had over 45,000 binary packages, so I don't think that there's a lack of choice of software in Debian!" The entire interview can be read on Linux.com.
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The ARM architecture is popular in many markets, particularly where energy efficiency is important. Recently we have been seeing an increased interest in 64-bit ARM processors and a few open source operating systems are providing support for the new ARM architecture. Jim Perrin announced last week that CentOS now offers support for 64-bit ARM (AArch64) processors. "We've produced a disk image intended to help hardware vendors and enthusiasts who are interested in bringing CentOS to their AArch64 based platform. This allows a vendor to bypass the installer or to edit the disk image before booting in order to test kernel modules or options. It is intended for development purposes only, and will only continue through the alpha and beta test phases." Perrin's mailing list post provides download links and instructions for unpacking and using the new CentOS images for AArch64.
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Often times organizations which offer long term support releases, such as Red Hat or Ubuntu, find they must continue to support software long after upstream projects have ceased supporting their own creations. As an example, it was announced that the most recent maintenance release of the 3.19 branch of the Linux kernel would be the last from the kernel developers. The Ubuntu distribution uses the 3.19 kernel and so the Ubuntu developers are now maintaining the 3.19 kernel branch, both for their own products and for the greater open source community.
As Kamal Mostafa wrote, "Canonical's kernel team will pick up stable maintenance where Greg KH left off with v3.19.8 (thanks, Greg!). Canonical's Ubuntu kernel team is pleased to announce that we will be providing extended stable support for the Linux 3.19 kernel until July 2016 as a third party effort maintained on our infrastructure. Our linux-3.19.y{-queue,-review} stable branches will fork from v3.19.8 and will be published here. We will use the same stable request/review workflow and follow the standard upstream stable kernel rules." A list of all kernels maintained by Ubuntu can be found in the project's wiki.
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Each year Google sponsors computer programming students from around the world to work on open source projects. The program, called Google's Summer of Code, gives students an opportunity to work on real world solutions and gain experience while open source projects gain new features and bug fixes. This year the Mozilla organization did not receive any of Google's sponsored positions. However, the Fedora Project obtained multiple sponsored positions. In an effort to support the Mozilla foundation, Fedora will be directing one of their students to work on Mozilla's Thunderbird e-mail application. "Mozilla Thunderbird is a fully-featured email client developed by the Mozilla Foundation. Regrettably, this year the Mozilla Foundation was not itself selected as a participant in the Google Summer of Code. However, thanks to our long-standing relationship, the Fedora Project has selected to provide one of our Google Summer of Code participation slots to them to support this mutually-beneficial email client. Suyash Agarwal will be spending his summer vacation working with the Fedora Project under the tutelage of R Kent James, a long-time Mozilla contributor. His efforts this year will be to enhance Mozilla Thunderbird to support the JMAP protocol for synchronizing the client with a mail server. Throughout the summer, Suyash will be blogging regularly." Further information on Fedora's sponsored projects can be found on the Fedora Magazine website.
Fans of the Cinnamon desktop will be pleased to know the Fedora community is working on a new spin which will use Cinnamon as the default graphical interface. The proposal for the new spin states, "Cinnamon is a Linux desktop which provides advanced innovative features and a traditional user experience. The desktop layout is similar to GNOME 2. The underlying technology is forked from GNOME Shell. The emphasis is put on making users feel at home and providing them with an easy to use and comfortable desktop experience." The new spin is expected to be released with Fedora 23, probably near the end of 2015.
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Sadly, not all distributions continue to grow and evolve. Last week Michael Johnson posted a formal notice that the Foresight distribution will be shutting down at the end of May. "The Foresight Linux Council has determined that there has been insufficient volunteer activity to sustain meaningful new development of Foresight Linux. Faced with the need either to update the project's physical infrastructure or cease operations, we find no compelling reason to update the infrastructure. Therefore, around the end of May, the following will be shut down: Software repositories (Foresight Linux and legacy rBuilder Online repositories); JIRA and Confluence servers; Shared development infrastructure; Mailing lists, including these lists. The foresightlinux.org domain will remain as an informal "alumni association" for an indefinite amount of time, along with the
project IRC channels for as long as they are in use." The rest of the notice is available on the Foresight developers' mailing list. We wish Foresight's developers the best of luck in their future endeavours.
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| Myths And Misunderstandings (by Jesse Smith) |
Myths and Misunderstandings: GPL
As someone who sets up, maintains and trouble-shoots computers, one of the most interesting (and often time consuming) aspects of my work is trying to understand and correct the misconceptions people have when it comes to technology. Calls to my phone and messages to my inbox frequently show that people carry with them a great deal of misinformation about what technology is and how it works. For instance, many people believe their computer cannot be infected with malware if they run anti-virus software. Many people use cloud synchronization software in place of backups, not realizing an accidental file deletion will remove the file from all their devices. Many people do not understand copyright and software licensing restrictions. I try, whenever possible, to clear up these misunderstandings in the hope of making computers less confusing to the people who use them. With this in mind, I present the second of a series of columns dedicated to common questions and misunderstandings I encounter on a regular basis, particularly in the open source community.
One of the more important documents in the GNU/Linux community, and one of the more discussed documents in the open source community as a whole, is the GNU General Public License. The General Public License (GPL) is available in a few different versions, the two most widely used are versions 2 and 3 of the license. These two versions of the license are applied to most of the key components in a Linux distribution, including the GNU command line tools, the Linux kernel, most often the default compiler along with most open source desktop environments. The GPL is an unusual software license in that it tries to encourage developers and users to share software and the source code which is used to create the software. The GPL is a "free software" license and attempts to uphold the Free Software Foundation's ideals and the four essential software freedoms.
Basically, the GPL encourages people to share software and the license allows people to gain access to the source code of the programs they use. The license allows programs to be modified and redistributed. This is generally seen as a good thing as the GPL encourages collaboration and sharing.
Unfortunately there are a lot of misunderstandings about what exactly the GPL requires and does not require. Almost any forum discussion about the GPL will unearth incorrect assumptions about what the GPL does and does not do. Part of the problem, I believe, is in the label "free software". Software licensed under the GPL is said to be free software and people tend to confuse the concept of "freedom of expression" with "no monetary cost". Software licensed under the GPL is "free" in the sense of giving the user freedom, allowing users to read and redistribute source code. Software licensed under the GPL has no requirement to be free of cost. This misunderstanding surfaces so frequently that the GNU website has multiple pages clarifying the subject. The GNU website has the following to say about charging for software licensed under the GPL:
Many people believe that the spirit of the GNU Project is that you should not charge money for distributing copies of software, or that you should charge as little as possible -- just enough to cover the cost. This is a misunderstanding.
Actually, we encourage people who redistribute free software to charge as much as they wish or can. If this seems surprising to you, please read on.
The word "free" has two legitimate general meanings; it can refer either to freedom or to price. When we speak of "free software", we're talking about freedom, not price. (Think of "free speech", not "free beer".) Specifically, it means that a user is free to run the program, change the program, and redistribute the program with or without changes.
Free programs are sometimes distributed gratis, and sometimes for a substantial price. Often the same program is available in both ways from different places. The program is free regardless of the price, because users have freedom in using it.
Another common misconception is that developers or companies which take GPL software and modify it must then make their changes public. This is not quite true. If I modify a program licensed under the GPL I can keep the modified copy for my own private use without giving back the changes. However, once I sell or otherwise distribute my modified copy to someone else, then I must be willing to make my modified source code available. Companies will often create modified versions of Linux distributions or optimize the Linux kernel without giving back their changes or making their modifications public. The GNU GPL's Frequently Asked Questions page explains:
The GPL does not require you to release your modified version, or any part of it. You are free to make modifications and use them privately, without ever releasing them. This applies to organizations (including companies), too; an organization can make a modified version and use it internally without ever releasing it outside the organization. But if you release the modified version to the public in some way, the GPL requires you to make the modified source code available to the program's users, under the GPL. Thus, the GPL gives permission to release the modified program in certain ways, and not in other ways; but the decision of whether to release it is up to you.
A similar misunderstanding I often encounter is people assume that because a software project is licensed under the GPL the project must make the program or the source code available to the public. While many projects do make their source code publicly available, they are not required to do so. Once again, the GNU website explains:
Q: If I know someone has a copy of a GPL-covered program, can I demand he give me a copy?
A: No. The GPL gives him permission to make and redistribute copies of the program if and when he chooses to do so. He also has the right not to redistribute the program, when that is what he chooses.
Even once a developer has distributed a binary or executable copy of their program, they may not need to share their source code unless the person receiving the program specifically asks for a copy of the source code. The specific requirements regarding the publishing and sharing of source code are covered under section #3 of the GPL version 2 and section #6 of the GPL version 3.
The GPL is a very interesting license and a powerful concept. The license has encouraged sharing and collaboration in many software projects. Unfortunately, its unusual nature also means it is often misunderstood. I definitely recommend reading the GPL as it is a cornerstone document in the free software community.
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| Torrent Corner |
Weekly Torrents
Bittorrent is a great way to transfer large files, particularly open source operating system images, from one place to another. Most bittorrent clients recover from dropped connections automatically, check the integrity of files and can re-download corrupted bits of data without starting a download over from scratch. These characteristics make bittorrent well suited for distributing open source operating systems, particularly to regions where Internet connections are slow or unstable.
Many Linux and BSD projects offer bittorrent as a download option, partly for the reasons listed above and partly because bittorrent's peer-to-peer nature takes some of the strain off the project's servers. However, some projects do not offer bittorrent as a download option. There can be several reasons for excluding bittorrent as an option. Some projects do not have enough time or volunteers, some may be restricted by their web host provider's terms of service. Whatever the reason, the lack of a bittorrent option puts more strain on a distribution's bandwidth and may prevent some people from downloading their preferred open source operating system.
With this in mind, DistroWatch plans to give back to the open source community by hosting and seeding bittorrent files for distributions that do not offer a bittorrent option themselves. For now, we are hosting a small number of distribution torrents, listed below. The list of torrents offered will be updated each week and we invite readers to e-mail us with suggestions as to which distributions we should be hosting. When you message us, please place the word "Torrent" in the subject line, make sure to include a link to the ISO file you want us to seed and please make sure the project you are recommending does not already host its own torrents. We want to primarily help distributions and users who do not already have a torrent option. To help us maintain and grow this free service, please consider making a donation.
The table below provides a list of torrents we currently host. If you do not currently have a bittorrent client capable of handling the linked files, we suggest installing either the Transmission or KTorrent bittorrent clients.
Archives of our previously seeded torrents may be found here. All torrents we make available here are also listed on the very useful Linux Tracker website. Thanks to Linux Tracker we are able to share the following torrent statistics.
Torrent Corner statistics:
- Total torrents seeded: 59
- Total downloads completed: 31,912
- Total data uploaded: 6.6TB
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| Released Last Week |
Black Lab Linux 6.5 SR 1
The Black Lab project has released its first service release to Black Lab Linux 6.5. The new service release completes the project's migrating to using one standard desktop environment (KDE), but the project reports community members are working on alternative spins, including a spin for the legacy CDE desktop. "Black Lab Linux 6.5 SR1 is the first service release of the free release of our distribution. This included all security and bug fixes from our initial release until May 6, 2015 which includes several important bug fixes. Along with security fixes Black Lab Linux 6.5 SR1 completes our transition to one standard desktop, KDE. Black Lab Linux 6.5 SR1 will not have separate ISOs of the different desktops but you can download and install alternative desktop environments from the repositories. Re-spins: We have community members who will be producing re-spins of Black Lab Linux with Xfce, MATE and we have one working on a CDE re-spin." More information on the service release can be found in the release announcement.
Black Lab Linux 6.5 SR1 -- Running the KDE desktop
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Rocks Cluster Distribution 6.2
Philip Papadopoulos has announced the release of Rocks Cluster Distribution 6.2, the latest stable version of the project's CentOS-based specialist distribution designed for building real and virtual clusters: "The latest update of Rocks, code name Sidewinder, is now released. Sidewinder is a 64-bit only release and is based upon CentOS 6.6. The Rocks-supplied OS rolls have all updates applied as of May 10, 2015. Support for ZFS has been updated to version 0.6.4.1. Condor is now the HTCondor roll release 8.2.8. Also included is support for perfSONAR where cluster builders can decide to install the full GUI (recommended for a standalone perfSONAR host) or just the command tools. Customizing what is installed for perfSONAR gives four attributes that control which elements of perfSONAR are installed on hosts. New to 6.2 is the ability to reconfigure the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of your cluster. There are some caveats to the process. When building a frontend on networks with jumbo frames, the cluster builder can specify the MTU on the 'build' command line." See the release announcement and release notes for further information.
Univention Corporate Server 4.0-2
Univention has announced the launch of its second point release of Univention Corporate Server (UCS) 4.0. The new release offers a new, less restrictive license for individuals running UCS in commerical settings along with the additional of Docker container technology. "We are pleased to announce the availability of UCS 4.0-2 for download, the second point release of Univention Corporate Server (UCS) 4.0. It includes all errata updates issued for UCS 4.0-1 and comprises the following highlights: The Free for personal Use licence was replaced by the UCS Core Edition license. This allows the usage of UCS in commercial settings without charge. The upgrade of the licence is described in SDB 1324... The container virtualization Docker was added to UCS. This allows to run Docker containers on UCS systems. First Docker images of UCS itself are also available." Further highlights can be found in the company's release announcement and more detailed information can be found in the distribution's release notes.
ConnochaetOS 14.1
ConnochaetOS, a desktop distribution based on Slackware, has recently reached version 14.1. The project's developers announced the new release on the distribution's forum: I'm happy to announce the release of ConnochaetOS 14.1. The installation ISO image comes with Kernel GNU Linux Libre 3.10.77, IceWM 1.3.7, Iceweasel 31.6.0esr libre. Compared with RC2 Icecat was replaced by Iceweasel libre because Iceweasel needs lesser resources. ConnochaetOS is a fully free/libre GNU/Linux distro for x86 computers with limited resources, based on Slackware and Salix OS. `Fully free' means, that ConnochaetOS does only contain free software and no proprietary, non-free software, blobs or firmware. Non-free parts of the upstream distros were removed and - where possible - replaced by free counterparts. ConnochaetOS retains full backwards compatibility with Slackware and Salix OS."
Tails 1.4
Tails, The Amnesic Incognito Live System, version 1.4, has been released. The new version of the Debian-based live disc offers users a number of new features, including an updated copy of the Tor Browser and the Tor anonymity software has been upgraded to version 0.2.6.7. Tails 1.4 also ships with Paperkey, a program which allows users to print physical copies of their security keys. "Tor Browser 4.5 now has a security slider that you can use to disable browser features, such as JavaScript, as a trade-off between security and usability. The security slider is set to low by default to provide the same level of security as previous versions and the most usable experience. We disabled in Tails the new circuit view of Tor Browser 4.5 for security reasons. You can still use the network map of Vidalia to inspect your circuits. Tails OpenPGP Applet now has a shortcut to the gedit text editor, thanks to Ivan Bliminse. Paperkey lets you print a backup of your OpenPGP secret keys on paper." Further information is available in the distribution's release announcement. It is recommended users upgrade to the latest version of Tails and read the project's list of known issues in order to achieve the highest level of on-line safety.
Tails 1.4 -- Running the GNOME desktop
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NuTyX 15.05
The NuTyX project has announced the release of NuTyX 15.05. The distribution is based on Linux From Scratch (LFS) and features a custom package manager, called cards. A revised version of cards (version 1.0) is present in NuTyX 15.05. Another new feature is the ability to work with JFS file systems. "The kernel used is a 3.19.6. A LTS release (Long Term Support) is also available in Version 3.18.12. The ISO is now translated to 100% in the following languages: French, Dutch, Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian and German. The file system JFS has been added as possible format. It seems that this is not the best file system we can find today. Performance level, there is the Btrfs, stability and control level there is XFS. If you want to install on a formatted NuTyX Btrfs partition, you must install GRUB on a separate and especially not install GRUB partition (again) on the partition of NuTyX. For example /dev/sda1 formatted in ext2 will be set to boot from the machine and /dev/sda2 formatted in Btrfs will be used for install NuTyX." More information on the new version of NuTyX, and instructions for using the cards package manager, can be found in the project's release announcement.
HandyLinux 2.0
HandyLinux is a Debian-based distribution for French speakers. The distribution is designed to be lightweight and fast. HandyLinux's developers have simplified the graphical user interface, making the distribution easier for novice users. The latest release of HandyLinux, version 2.0, is the first to be based on Debian 8.0 "Jessie" and features a unified ISO that runs on both i586 and i686 computers. HandyLinux 2.0 supplies the Orca screen reader to assist the visually impaired. The BTshare data sharing tool, based on bittorrent, is also included in this release. The release announcement (in French) provides links to the project's updated documentation, a series of tutorial videos and frequently asked questions. The announcement further supplies a release video, changelog and multiple screenshots. The release announcement also links to the project's new forum where users can get assistance and share information.
HandyLinux 2.0 -- Default desktop and application menu
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Netrunner 16
Clemens Toennies has announced the release of Netrunner 16, a Kubuntu-based Linux distribution featuring the KDE Plasma 5.3 desktop: "This is the release announcement of Netrunner 16 Main Edition (Ozymandias) 64-bit. 'Why Ozymandias?' you might ask? Here is how it goes: I met a traveler from an antique land... And he told that there once was a mighty king in the land of ancient desktops, called KDE - The King of DEsktops! And though the name and places have changed, its stories are still told and memories recalled. As it is known, there comes a point in time, where all things present must become a thing of the past to make way for the new and shiny. Much like sand exposed to heat is transformed into something new called silicon, Plasma was formed out of the building blocks of its ancestor KDE 4. And so the old king is back – in its new incarnation called Plasma Desktop 5! The Plasma Desktop carries all the DNA of its predecessor and moulds it into something new - a thing of the future, for the next generation to come." Here is the full release announcement with screenshots and several screencasts.
Netrunner 16 -- Running Plasma 5.3
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Parsix GNU/Linux 7.5
Alan Baghumian has announced the launch of Parsix GNU/Linux 7.5. The Debian-based distribution for desktop computers ships with GNOME Shell 3.14 as the default desktop environment, offers UEFI boot support and runs atop version 3.14 of the Linux kernel. "Parsix GNU/Linux 7.5 (code name Rinaldo) brings the stable GNOME 3.14 desktop environment, a new kernel built using our modernized kernel build system, updated installer, a new version of systemd and an upgraded X.Org Server. This version has been synchronized with Debian Wheezy repositories as of April 26, 2015. Parsix Rinaldo ships with GNOME 3.14 and LibreOffice 4.3.3 productivity suit by default. Highlights: improved desktop performance thanks to X.Org 1.16.4, updated installer system with better UEFI support, GNOME Shell 3.14.4, GRUB 2, GNU Iceweasel (Firefox) 37.0.2, GParted 0.12.1, Empathy 3.12.8, LibreOffice 4.3.3, VirtualBox 4.3.18 and a kernel based on Linux 3.14.41 with TuxOnIce 3.3, BFS and other extra patches. Live DVD has been compressed using SquashFS and XZ." Further information is available in the release notes.
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Development, unannounced and minor bug-fix releases
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| Upcoming Releases and Announcements |
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Summary of expected upcoming releases
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| DistroWatch.com News |
Distributions added to waiting list
- Lakka. Lakka is a lightweight Linux distribution that transforms a small computer into a full blown game console. The distribution runs on desktop computers, the Raspberry Pi, Hummingboard, CuBox-i and a range of other hobbyist boards.
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DistroWatch database summary
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This concludes this week's issue of DistroWatch Weekly. The next instalment will be published on Monday, 25 May 2015. To contact the authors please send email to:
- Jesse Smith (feedback, questions and suggestions: distribution reviews, questions and answers, tips and tricks)
- Ladislav Bodnar (feedback, questions, suggestions and corrections: news, donations, distribution submissions, comments)
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| Archives |
| • Issue 1090 (2024-09-30): Rhino Linux 2024.2, commercial distros with alternative desktops, Valve seeks to improve Wayland performance, HardenedBSD parterns with Protectli, Tails merges with Tor Project, Quantum Leap partners with the FreeBSD Foundation |
| • Issue 1089 (2024-09-23): Expirion 6.0, openKylin 2.0, managing configuration files, the future of Linux development, fixing bugs in Haiku, Slackware packages dracut |
| • Issue 1088 (2024-09-16): PorteuX 1.6, migrating from Windows 10 to which Linux distro, making NetBSD immutable, AlmaLinux offers hardware certification, Mint updates old APT tools |
| • Issue 1087 (2024-09-09): COSMIC desktop, running cron jobs at variable times, UBports highlights new apps, HardenedBSD offers work around for FreeBSD change, Debian considers how to cull old packages, systemd ported to musl |
| • Issue 1086 (2024-09-02): Vanilla OS 2, command line tips for simple tasks, FreeBSD receives investment from STF, openSUSE Tumbleweed update can break network connections, Debian refreshes media |
| • Issue 1085 (2024-08-26): Nobara 40, OpenMandriva 24.07 "ROME", distros which include source code, FreeBSD publishes quarterly report, Microsoft updates breaks Linux in dual-boot environments |
| • Issue 1084 (2024-08-19): Liya 2.0, dual boot with encryption, Haiku introduces performance improvements, Gentoo dropping IA-64, Redcore merges major upgrade |
| • Issue 1083 (2024-08-12): TrueNAS 24.04.2 "SCALE", Linux distros for smartphones, Redox OS introduces web server, PipeWire exposes battery drain on Linux, Canonical updates kernel version policy |
| • Issue 1082 (2024-08-05): Linux Mint 22, taking snapshots of UFS on FreeBSD, openSUSE updates Tumbleweed and Aeon, Debian creates Tiny QA Tasks, Manjaro testing immutable images |
| • Issue 1081 (2024-07-29): SysLinuxOS 12.4, OpenBSD gain hardware acceleration, Slackware changes kernel naming, Mint publishes upgrade instructions |
| • Issue 1080 (2024-07-22): Running GNU/Linux on Android with Andronix, protecting network services, Solus dropping AppArmor and Snap, openSUSE Aeon Desktop gaining full disk encryption, SUSE asks openSUSE to change its branding |
| • Issue 1079 (2024-07-15): Ubuntu Core 24, hiding files on Linux, Fedora dropping X11 packages on Workstation, Red Hat phasing out GRUB, new OpenSSH vulnerability, FreeBSD speeds up release cycle, UBports testing new first-run wizard |
| • Issue 1078 (2024-07-08): Changing init software, server machines running desktop environments, OpenSSH vulnerability patched, Peppermint launches new edition, HardenedBSD updates ports |
| • Issue 1077 (2024-07-01): The Unity and Lomiri interfaces, different distros for different tasks, Ubuntu plans to run Wayland on NVIDIA cards, openSUSE updates Leap Micro, Debian releases refreshed media, UBports gaining contact synchronisation, FreeDOS celebrates its 30th anniversary |
| • Issue 1076 (2024-06-24): openSUSE 15.6, what makes Linux unique, SUSE Liberty Linux to support CentOS Linux 7, SLE receives 19 years of support, openSUSE testing Leap Micro edition |
| • Issue 1075 (2024-06-17): Redox OS, X11 and Wayland on the BSDs, AlmaLinux releases Pi build, Canonical announces RISC-V laptop with Ubuntu, key changes in systemd |
| • Issue 1074 (2024-06-10): Endless OS 6.0.0, distros with init diversity, Mint to filter unverified Flatpaks, Debian adds systemd-boot options, Redox adopts COSMIC desktop, OpenSSH gains new security features |
| • Issue 1073 (2024-06-03): LXQt 2.0.0, an overview of Linux desktop environments, Canonical partners with Milk-V, openSUSE introduces new features in Aeon Desktop, Fedora mirrors see rise in traffic, Wayland adds OpenBSD support |
| • Issue 1072 (2024-05-27): Manjaro 24.0, comparing init software, OpenBSD ports Plasma 6, Arch community debates mirror requirements, ThinOS to upgrade its FreeBSD core |
| • Issue 1071 (2024-05-20): Archcraft 2024.04.06, common command line mistakes, ReactOS imports WINE improvements, Haiku makes adjusting themes easier, NetBSD takes a stand against code generated by chatbots |
| • Issue 1070 (2024-05-13): Damn Small Linux 2024, hiding kernel messages during boot, Red Hat offers AI edition, new web browser for UBports, Fedora Asahi Remix 40 released, Qubes extends support for version 4.1 |
| • Issue 1069 (2024-05-06): Ubuntu 24.04, installing packages in alternative locations, systemd creates sudo alternative, Mint encourages XApps collaboration, FreeBSD publishes quarterly update |
| • Issue 1068 (2024-04-29): Fedora 40, transforming one distro into another, Debian elects new Project Leader, Red Hat extends support cycle, Emmabuntus adds accessibility features, Canonical's new security features |
| • Issue 1067 (2024-04-22): LocalSend for transferring files, detecting supported CPU architecure levels, new visual design for APT, Fedora and openSUSE working on reproducible builds, LXQt released, AlmaLinux re-adds hardware support |
| • Issue 1066 (2024-04-15): Fun projects to do with the Raspberry Pi and PinePhone, installing new software on fixed-release distributions, improving GNOME Terminal performance, Mint testing new repository mirrors, Gentoo becomes a Software In the Public Interest project |
| • Issue 1065 (2024-04-08): Dr.Parted Live 24.03, answering questions about the xz exploit, Linux Mint to ship HWE kernel, AlmaLinux patches flaw ahead of upstream Red Hat, Calculate changes release model |
| • Issue 1064 (2024-04-01): NixOS 23.11, the status of Hurd, liblzma compromised upstream, FreeBSD Foundation focuses on improving wireless networking, Ubuntu Pro offers 12 years of support |
| • Issue 1063 (2024-03-25): Redcore Linux 2401, how slowly can a rolling release update, Debian starts new Project Leader election, Red Hat creating new NVIDIA driver, Snap store hit with more malware |
| • Issue 1062 (2024-03-18): KDE neon 20240304, changing file permissions, Canonical turns 20, Pop!_OS creates new software centre, openSUSE packages Plasma 6 |
| • Issue 1061 (2024-03-11): Using a PinePhone as a workstation, restarting background services on a schedule, NixBSD ports Nix to FreeBSD, Fedora packaging COSMIC, postmarketOS to adopt systemd, Linux Mint replacing HexChat |
| • Issue 1060 (2024-03-04): AV Linux MX-23.1, bootstrapping a network connection, key OpenBSD features, Qubes certifies new hardware, LXQt and Plasma migrate to Qt 6 |
| • Issue 1059 (2024-02-26): Warp Terminal, navigating manual pages, malware found in the Snap store, Red Hat considering CPU requirement update, UBports organizes ongoing work |
| • Issue 1058 (2024-02-19): Drauger OS 7.6, how much disk space to allocate, System76 prepares to launch COSMIC desktop, UBports changes its version scheme, TrueNAS to offer faster deduplication |
| • Issue 1057 (2024-02-12): Adelie Linux 1.0 Beta, rolling release vs fixed for a smoother experience, Debian working on 2038 bug, elementary OS to split applications from base system updates, Fedora announces Atomic Desktops |
| • Issue 1056 (2024-02-05): wattOS R13, the various write speeds of ISO writing tools, DSL returns, Mint faces Wayland challenges, HardenedBSD blocks foreign USB devices, Gentoo publishes new repository, Linux distros patch glibc flaw |
| • Issue 1055 (2024-01-29): CNIX OS 231204, distributions patching packages the most, Gentoo team presents ongoing work, UBports introduces connectivity and battery improvements, interview with Haiku developer |
| • Issue 1054 (2024-01-22): Solus 4.5, comparing dd and cp when writing ISO files, openSUSE plans new major Leap version, XeroLinux shutting down, HardenedBSD changes its build schedule |
| • Issue 1053 (2024-01-15): Linux AI voice assistants, some distributions running hotter than others, UBports talks about coming changes, Qubes certifies StarBook laptops, Asahi Linux improves energy savings |
| • Issue 1052 (2024-01-08): OpenMandriva Lx 5.0, keeping shell commands running when theterminal closes, Mint upgrades Edge kernel, Vanilla OS plans big changes, Canonical working to make Snap more cross-platform |
| • Issue 1051 (2024-01-01): Favourite distros of 2023, reloading shell settings, Asahi Linux releases Fedora remix, Gentoo offers binary packages, openSUSE provides full disk encryption |
| • Issue 1050 (2023-12-18): rlxos 2023.11, renaming files and opening terminal windows in specific directories, TrueNAS publishes ZFS fixes, Debian publishes delayed install media, Haiku polishes desktop experience |
| • Issue 1049 (2023-12-11): Lernstick 12, alternatives to WINE, openSUSE updates its branding, Mint unveils new features, Lubuntu team plans for 24.04 |
| • Issue 1048 (2023-12-04): openSUSE MicroOS, the transition from X11 to Wayland, Red Hat phasing out X11 packages, UBports making mobile development easier |
| • Issue 1047 (2023-11-27): GhostBSD 23.10.1, Why Linux uses swap when memory is free, Ubuntu Budgie may benefit from Wayland work in Xfce, early issues with FreeBSD 14.0 |
| • Issue 1046 (2023-11-20): Slackel 7.7 "Openbox", restricting CPU usage, Haiku improves font handling and software centre performance, Canonical launches MicroCloud |
| • Issue 1045 (2023-11-13): Fedora 39, how to trust software packages, ReactOS booting with UEFI, elementary OS plans to default to Wayland, Mir gaining ability to split work across video cards |
| • Issue 1044 (2023-11-06): Porteus 5.01, disabling IPv6, applications unique to a Linux distro, Linux merges bcachefs, OpenELA makes source packages available |
| • Issue 1043 (2023-10-30): Murena Two with privacy switches, where old files go when packages are updated, UBports on Volla phones, Mint testing Cinnamon on Wayland, Peppermint releases ARM build |
| • Issue 1042 (2023-10-23): Ubuntu Cinnamon compared with Linux Mint, extending battery life on Linux, Debian resumes /usr merge, Canonical publishes fixed install media |
| • Issue 1041 (2023-10-16): FydeOS 17.0, Dr.Parted 23.09, changing UIDs, Fedora partners with Slimbook, GNOME phasing out X11 sessions, Ubuntu revokes 23.10 install media |
| • Issue 1040 (2023-10-09): CROWZ 5.0, changing the location of default directories, Linux Mint updates its Edge edition, Murena crowdfunding new privacy phone, Debian publishes new install media |
| • Issue 1039 (2023-10-02): Zenwalk Current, finding the duration of media files, Peppermint OS tries out new edition, COSMIC gains new features, Canonical reports on security incident in Snap store |
| • Issue 1038 (2023-09-25): Mageia 9, trouble-shooting launchers, running desktop Linux in the cloud, New documentation for Nix, Linux phasing out ReiserFS, GNU celebrates 40 years |
| • Issue 1037 (2023-09-18): Bodhi Linux 7.0.0, finding specific distros and unified package managemnt, Zevenet replaced by two new forks, openSUSE introduces Slowroll branch, Fedora considering dropping Plasma X11 session |
| • Issue 1036 (2023-09-11): SDesk 2023.08.12, hiding command line passwords, openSUSE shares contributor survery results, Ubuntu plans seamless disk encryption, GNOME 45 to break extension compatibility |
| • Full list of all issues |
| Star Labs |
Star Labs - Laptops built for Linux.
View our range including the highly anticipated StarFighter. Available with coreboot open-source firmware and a choice of Ubuntu, elementary, Manjaro and more. Visit Star Labs for information, to buy and get support.
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| Random Distribution | 
RancherOS
RancherOS was a tiny Linux distribution that runs the entire operating system as Docker containers. This includes system services, such as udev and rsyslog. RancherOS includes only the bare minimum amount of software needed to run Docker. This keeps the binary download of RancherOS very small. Everything else can be pulled in dynamically through Docker.
Status: Discontinued
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TUXEDO Computers - Linux Hardware in a tailor made suite
Choose from a wide range of laptops and PCs in various sizes and shapes at TUXEDOComputers.com. Every machine comes pre-installed and ready-to-run with Linux. Full 24 months of warranty and lifetime support included!
Learn more about our full service package and all benefits from buying at TUXEDO.
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| Star Labs |
Star Labs - Laptops built for Linux.
View our range including the highly anticipated StarFighter. Available with coreboot open-source firmware and a choice of Ubuntu, elementary, Manjaro and more. Visit Star Labs for information, to buy and get support.
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