By Ded Ryzing: Making the switch from Microsoft Windows or Apple’s OS X to Linux can be a daunting proposition for most people. There are a lot of negative myths, half truths and misinformation out there that scare many people off. Fortunately there are several ways to experiment with, and get to know, Linux that will not change your system as it is now.

Method 1 – LiveCD
The easiest way to try Linux without making the full commitment is via LiveCDs. Many Linux distributions make available a LiveCD version of their product. A LiveCD is a bootable CD that boots your computer into a fully functional Linux environment, including applications and network access. The entire system runs off the CD and does not touch your hard drive. Once done, you remove the CD and reboot your system normally.

To create a LiveCD, download the appropriate ISO image from your distribution of choice and use your CD burning application to create the disc. That’s it…no muss, no fuss.

Method 2 – Virtualization
The next step up the ladder in complexity is virtualization…think of it as a computer inside a computer. Installing and running Linux in a virtual machine within your regular Operating System. There are several Virtual Machine hosts available such as VMware and VirtualBox. Both are great but I prefer VirtualBox from Sun Microsystems for it’s simplicity.

Once you install the Virtual host, you use it to create and install a virtual Linux install that runs within your Windows or OS X environment like any other application. Doing so does install Linux to your hard drive but it is isolated from the rest of your system. It can also be removed easily without damaging your host OS. Do note that you still need to download the Linux install CDs as virtual hosts do not provide this as part of their package.

Method 3 – Wubi
The third method of painlessly trying Linux is Wubi. This is an Ubuntu specific product that is more or less a mix of virtualization and dual-booting. In a nutshell Wubi is an application that you run within Windows that will install Ubuntu (or Kubuntu or Xubuntu) to dual-boot on your system without the need to worry about partitioning your hard drive. It uses existing free space on your drive. To remove it, if so desired, you just deinstall Wubi from Window’s Add/Remove Programs.

Limitations
While all three methods work well, there are certain limitations with each. For example, with the LiveCD method, nothing is saved to your hard drive. Any files you create or changes you make will be lost when you reboot.

With the virtualization method, you can save data and make changes which will save. However, because it is running within Windows or OS X, it will use up system resources and may affect performance on weaker computers. You can also run into certain issues with Linux detecting and installing drivers for the virtual “hardware” of the host.

Finally, with Wubi, though the closest to a full fledged dual boot or native install, you are limited to a Linux install of 30GB max…though in most situations this is plenty.

Conclusion
Linux need not be the scary beast. It can be fun and educational. It also does not mean you need to give up the Operating Systems you know and tolerate. In the world of Linux all are friends and we know how to play with others.

Tags: Linux, Wubi, VirtualBox, Sun Microsystems, Sun, VMware, virtualization

By Ded Ryzing: In Part 1 of “Order From Chaos: Choosing A Linux Distribution” we took a look at the different Linux family branches. In Part 2 we will define some criteria to apply to these branches when deciding on a distro to use.

For me, there are 5 criteria to take into consideration:

Ease of use – At the end of the day a Linux distro needs to be used. Software needs to be installed, patches applied, things changed, configured and tweaked. How easy a distro makes this for you should be a major consideration. This includes actual installation. Ignoring this criteria will lead to many tears and late nights in the future.

Primary use – Some distros are designed to be better at certain things than others. Whether it be for desktop use, servers, network appliances, whatever. Knowing what your primary use will be goes a long ways in helping you choose.

Support availability – Let’s face it, in the world of Linux, it is inevitable that questions will arise. How a distro handles support for it’s products is important. There are many generic Linux help resources available but in all honesty, distros have become so different that it is typically best to go to the source for answers.

Future maintenance – It seems that everyone and their dog want to create a Linux distro. Most start strong and fade away rather quickly. Some never really get off the ground. Will the distro you choose actually be around in 6 months? A year? 5 years? How actively is it being developed?

Criteria Applied

1. The Debian Tree:
   A) Ease of use – Debian based systems are among the easiest to install and use on a day to day basis. Ubuntu and Linux Mint can be installed, literally, with only a few mouse clicks and basic user information. Add to this the “best-of-breed” dpkg and APT packaging team, and you get a distro that is very easy to use and maintain.
   B) Primary use – Like all branches, there is something for everyone. You have eBox or Gibraltar for routers/firewalls or NAS/PDCs, G2Linux for Industrial automation, DeMuDi for multimedia production or the popular general purpose distros like Ubuntu, Linux Mint and Debian itself.
   C) Support – In general, the wider used flavors offer the best support. Top dog being Ubuntu. They want you to use their products and do whatever they can to make it as enjoyable of an experience as they can. Debian, itself, has great community support, as does Linux Mint.
   D) Future maintenance – Debian has been around for a long time and shows no signs of disappearing. Ubuntu has huge backing as well and should be around for the long term as well,
2. The Red Hat Tree
   A) Ease of use – For the most part Red Hat, Fedora, SuSE and the rest of it’s branch are very easy to install and configure. The RPM package manager works OK but I have had issues with it and “dependency hell”…issues I have yet to experience with dpkg or APT.
   B) Primary use – Again, there’s something for everyone. CentOS claims to be compatible with Red Hat Enterprise without any proprietary tools, EnGarde for server use, ClarkConnect for routers/firewalls and the popular general purpose distros like Fedora Core, SuSE and PCLinuxOS.
   C) Support – The big players in this tree, like SuSE and Fedora Core, have great support with SuSE having the backing of Novell. Other flavors within this tree may be limited to a smaller core group of distro developers.
   D) Future maintenance – The RPM package manager isn’t going anywhere. Unless something drastically changes in the world of Linux there will always be RPM based systems. Which flavors survive is always a debate. For general use, you’ll likely be safe with the large distros.
3. The Gentoo Tree
   A) Ease of use – In all honesty, I am not very familiar with this tree. From what experience I do have, I will say that Gentoo is geared towards the “power user” and those who take a keen interest in how Linux works.  Having worked with FreeBSD Ports, I will say that Gentoo’s Portage packaging system is likely very good and this feature alone makes this tree worth looking at.
   B) Primary use – Being a relatively young family, the diversity of child distros is not as great as the other branches. It is interesting to note, however, that there is a flavor designed for the Microsoft Xbox (Gentoox). In general, the all-purpose distros like Gentoo itself and Sabayon will make a good choice for desktop use.
   C) Support – Again, not having a lot of experience with this family, I can only speculate that support for the major distros is adequate.
   D) Future maintenance – Lacking the long heritage of the other branches, only time will tell what the future will be for this family. With it’s Portage system, though, I would venture to guess that Gentoo and Sabayon will be with us for a long time. They have caught on and have reached that critical mass of community members.
4. The Slackware Tree
   A) Ease of use – Slackware and “ease of use” are terms that usually do not go together. Of all the Linux families, Slackware’s is arguably the most difficult to install, configure and maintain. With it’s focus on performance and stability over easiness, the Slackware tree is probably best suited for more experienced Linux users.
   B) Primary use – Most distros within this family are general purpose. Vector and ZenWalk (in addition to Slackware itself) are good choices for intermediate to advanced users. Other distros of note are Austrumi, which will fit on a 50mb bootable business card CD-Rom and Topologilinux which is designed to be run from within Windows.
   C) Support – Because these distros don’t have the backing of large amounts of funding, support is usually limited to community maintained forms. This is another reason why this family is perhaps better suited towards more advanced users.
   D) Future maintenance – Slackware itself is the oldest still maintained distro. I would say that it is here for the long term. Other distros in this family, it’s hard to say. This is a great branch to the Linux tree, but with people wanting “easy” more and more, the spread of these distros will likely decrease to a small group of dedicated, hardcore users.

These are the main branches within the Linux “family”.  This is, by no means however, the whole story.  On top of the above mentioned, you will also find a smattering of other Distros that are unique unto themselves and do not fit within the 4 main branches.  An example of this is Arch Linux.

Now, for the quick out there, you may recall that I said there are 5 criteria one should use when choosing a distribution, yet I only mentioned 4 above. The fifth one is the most relevant, and I will leave that to Part 3, where I will also do a quick wrap up.

Tags: Linux, Choosing a Linux distribution, Debian, Ubuntu, Red Hat, Fedora, Gentoo, Sabayon, Slackware, FreeBSD, UNIX

By Ded Ryzing: Choosing a Linux distribution from the dozens, if not hundreds, of available options can be a daunting and confusing proposition. What is the best distro? What are the differences between distros? How do I choose? These are all good questions. In this multi-part article, I will give you my opinion and guidelines for choosing.

To start with, it is important to understand a little about the Linux family and the different branches. Most of the distributions out there did not spring up out of thin air. They are descendant from previous generations, each building off the last, each with it’s own philosophy.

Kissing Cousins Opinions may vary, but to me there are 4 different Linux families. All related, yet distinct, branches. I make the distinctions based on the type of application file packaging methods used by each branch.

1. Debian based – Debian GNU/Linux was first released in August of 1993 making it one of the oldest distros around. It used dpkg packages and the APT package manager. The design goal of Debian is stability using only free and Open source (FOSS) software. Debian based distros include Ubuntu, Knoppix, MEPIS and Linux Mint (among countless others).
2. Red Hat based – Red Hat Linux is another oldie distro, going back to 1994. Red Hat distros use RPM packages and package management system. Major descendants of Red Hat Linux include Fedora Core, Mandriva and PCLinuxOS. The final release of Red Hat Linux was Red Hat 9 in 2002. It has since split into Fedora Core (community supported) and Red Hat Enterprise.
3. Gentoo based – Gentoo is a relatively young distro, first coming out to play in early 2002. In my mind, what makes Gentoo it’s own branch is the inclusion of several FreeBSD technologies, including it’s Portage package management system (called Ports in FreeBSD) which is similar to what is used by Mac OS X, FreeBSD and Solaris UNIX. The most popular child distro of Gentoo is Sabayon.
4. Slackware based – Another old distribution that dates back to 1993. Slackware’s design goals are speed, stability and to be the most UNIX like Linux distro. It does not have a native package management system (though third-party tools do exist). More popular distros based on Slackware are SLAX, Vector Linux and ZenWalk.

There may be some out there who are asking about OpenSuSE, since it is a major distro used by millions. SuSE is an interesting breed. Originally related to Slackware, it adopted many features of Red Hat Linux over time, including the use of RPMs. For this reason I would slip it under as a descendant of Red Hat.  Some may disagree, but that’s ok.  For the sake of this article, that’s where it’s going.

Finally, there may also be some of you wondering where the *BSDs fit in (FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD, etc). While similar to Linux, they are not built on the Linux Kernel and are, therefore, not Linux. The *BSDs are, in fact, real Unix systems.

In Part 2 of this article, I will talk a bit about the criteria one might use to choose a distro and apply those criteria to the different family branches.

Tags: Linux, Choosing a Linux distribution, Debian, Ubuntu, Red Hat, Fedora, Gentoo, Sabayon, Slackware, FreeBSD, UNIX