Linux Desktop & Linux Server
2012-01-27 17:18 By Jason Birch
Investigating the distributions used as a Linux Desktop OS and a Linux Server OS. Why some distributions are better suited for a particular purpose.
There are several distributions of Linux and within the distributions there are many customisations of each distribution. Linux is Open Source, so a distributor of Linux must provide access to all source files used to generate their distributions. This is where other groups then select a distribution and engineer the distribution for a particular purpose. This makes some variants of a distribution better suited to particular tasks. And the source files for the customised distribution must also be made publicly available under the Open Source license.
The Logo for Linux is TUX the Penguin
By Larry Ewing & The GIMP
Kernel
All Linux distributions are based around a common Kernel. The Kernel handles all low level operations which occur between the hardware/firmware of a system and packages which will run on the system. Kernels now also have support for modules which can be dynamically loaded by the Kernel, and allows the Kernel to accept specific drivers for hardware rather than have all drivers for all possible hardware statically compiled into a single Kernel.
Libraries
Many libraries are available to all Linux Distributions and as they are available as source code, a specific library can generally be compiled for any Distribution of Linux. However Distributions contain many libraries and specifically recognise a particular version of a library. This makes running a library from one distribution tricky to compile and run on another, if the distribution already contains a differnt version of the same library, but not impossible. Libraries also have dependancies on other libraries which can further complicate using a library from one distribution in another distribution.
Packages
A collection of libraries, application code and data make up a package. Packages perform a specific operation on a Linux Distribution. There are low level packages and high level packages. A high level package is one an end user would recognise such as a word processor or spreadsheet package. Low level packages a system administration would recognise such as an FTP server or a network protocol.
Distribution
The Distribution is a set of packages which make up an operating system installation for a computer or embedded system. The distribution can also contain a set of patches which customise the Linux Kernel to perform operations specific to the distribution. And the Distribution can contain customised graphics and configuration files to make the distribution look and operate how the Distribution is intended to.
Distributions
Some well knowen distributions include, but are not limited to:
Distribution Variants
Debian has the following distributions, and many others, based upon it:
Slackware has the following distributions, and many others, based upon it:
RedHat has the following distributions, and many others, based upon it:
Non-Linux Distributions
Linux is a Unix style operating system. There are other free Unix based operating systems available which are not Linux as they do not share the same Kernel.
- FreeBSD
- Darwim (Apple)
- Solaris (Oracle)
At this point I have to confess, there are far too many distributions and variations of distributions for Linux to compare, so I will discuss the ones have settled to use for situations and why.
|
Linux Desktop
Desktop installations have an additional group of packages installed which run the desktop appearance. Each type of desktop has a name and runs on the Linux windowing system called X. Examples of popular desktops are:
Debian based distributions seem to be ideal for desktop systems as there appears to be good support for hardware drivers. Server applications can probably get away with no sound or WiFi support, but these are essential for desktop systems.
Video and audio codecs are also readily available for Debian distributions. Making listening to MP3 audio files and viewing MPEG video files easy.
Debian distributions I have installed have all been a very simple. Place the CD or DVD into the drive and boot the machine. Then just follow a simple graphical install process.
The other thing I find very desirable for a desktop operating system is fast startup and shutdown times. This has also been the case with the Debian distributions I have installed.
Debian distributions have a package installer. So once the operating system is installed additional applications can be easily installed. The packages cover all of the applications I require for day to day operations.
Asus EeePC 701 Netbook
I installed the xUbuntu distribution, a variant of the Debian distribution, on these netbooks. This distribution was selected as it had a small hard disk requirement, the EeePC only has a 4GB internal drive. With this distribution I found the audio and video files could be played with no issues. I also found startup and shutdown times very swift and the ability to use the machines standby mode.
Desktop PC
On desktop machines I use the CentOS distribution, a variant of the RedHat distribution. This is because RedHat supports a software package called "VMWare Server" very well. Within VMWare Server many operating systems can be installed and run independently of each other. This has many advantages. An operating system environment becomes very easy to backup. Or a template operating system environment can be created and then restored back to it's clean state easily when required.
Asus W5F Laptop
Similar to desktop PCs VMWare is used on CentOS, however VMWare Workstation is used rather than VMWare Server. This provides a more sophisticated and better supported environment.
Recomended Desktop Application Packages
- GIMP (Art & Photo Manipulation Package)
- FireFox (Web Browser)
- OpenOffice (Microsoft Compatible Office Suite)
- VLC (Video & Audio Player)
- Thunderbird (e-mail & RSS)
- Pidgin (Multi Client Messaging)
- VMWare Server (www.vmware.com)
Linux Server
RedHat Enterprise based distributions seem to be ideal for server systems. RedHat Enterprise is a commercial distribution, however distributions such as CentOS are based on RedHat Enterprise and are free to use. I have used CentOS for many years now and have found it easy to maintain and administer. It has a server based installation option, which allows the install to be performed on systems which do not even have a graphical display. It has a lightweight install and is very simple to administer. It is also very reliable and based on RedHat Enterprise so should be very secure and benefit from a commercially funded distribution.
Amazon AWS WWW & e-mail Server
On the Amazon EC2 cloud I use the Amazon own Linux image. It runs on a dedicated Amazon micro instance which costs ~£5 per month. This provides e-mail and web site hosting. It is excellent value for money, however the upgrade process from one Amazon image to another is not as convenient as it could be.
File Server
I run a file server based on CentOS. It runs on an old Pentium II system to keep power requirements down. Being Linux this is not an issue, something that Microsoft server operating systems could not do. Any server feature required is available via the yum package installer.
Recomended Server Packages
- VMWare Server
- Apache Web Server
- Samba File Server
- Dovecot Mail Server
- SendMail SMTP Server
- iptables Firewall
- SELinux File Security
- CVS Version Control
Linux Live Disks
Many distributions have a live disk. Which can be any kind of removable medium such as CD, DVD, USB Pen Drive, SD Card, ... The live disk can be placed in the system and then the Linux distribution can be run by booting from the disk, so that the native operating system does not have to be effected. This is handy when trialing a distribution without actually installing the operating system. I have found this very handy for backing up entire systems by making an image of an entire disk partition of the system. Or for fixing a system which no longer boots correctly. Or for accessing files on a system where the password for the system is not known.
|
