LINUX DISTRIBUTIONS COMPARED
January 8th, 1998 by LJ Staff in
July 1997
Caldera OpenLinux Base 1.2 | Caldera OpenLinux Standard | Debian | LINUXWARE 2.5 | Red Hat 5.1 | S.u.S.E. 5.2 | Slackware 3.4 | Stampede Linux 1.0 (projected) | TurboLinux 1.0 | |
Price | $59.00 | $199.00 | $0.00 | $9.95 | $49.95 | $49.95 | $39.95 | $19.95 | $29.95 |
Target Consumers | CDEHOV | CDEOV | CDEHOV | DEH | CDEHOV | CDEHOV | CDEHO | DEHOC | CDEHOV |
Kernel | 2.0.33 | 2.0.33 | 2.1.0 | 2.0.32 | 2.0.34 | 2.0.33 | 2.0.33 | 2.0.33 | 0.0.0 |
Binary Format | |||||||||
Primary/Other | ELF | ELF | i386,68k,Alpha,Sparc | X | ELF | ELF | ELF/a.out | x86 | i386/ppc |
Hardware Required | |||||||||
Minimum Install | 386,8,40 | 386,8,40 | 386,4,40 | 586,64,4 | 8 | 386,4 (8),50 | 386,8,40 | 386,6,60 | 386, 8, 250 |
Minimum Use | 386,8,40 | 386,8,40 | disk20 | 486,8,100 | 8 | 486,8(16),100 | 386,8,40 | 386,4,80 | 386, 8, 300 |
Recommended Use | 486,16,300 | 486,16,300 | 486,8,850 | 586,16,1GB | 16 | Pentium,16(32),300 | 486,16,200 | Pentium,16,250 | Pentuim, 16+, 600+ |
Packaging | |||||||||
yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | yes | yes | |
Interdependencies | no | no | yes | no | yes | yes | no | yes | yes |
Package Format | RPM | RPM | deb,RPM,.tgz | RPM and .tgz | RPM | RPM,.tgz | .tgz | SLP (Stampede Linux Packages) | RPM plus auto-upgrade |
Source Code Packages | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
Management Interface | X Windows or command line | X Windows or command line | character terminal | yes | tty, web, X | YaST utility | curses menus and command line | Console adn X (gtk+) | custom-made X interfaces—mgmt |
Group/Subgroup Packages | no | no | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
Boot Media | |||||||||
Boot Floppy included | yes | yes | no | no | yes | yes | no, but CD-ROM is bootable | no | no |
Boot images to select from | module-based no limit | module-based, no limit | 6 | 5 | 1 | 1 with module support | 51 | 5 | One (modular) |
Floppies required | none | none | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 boot floppy | 2 | 2 | 0,1,2 depends on inst type |
Run from | |||||||||
CD-ROM only | no | no | no | no | no | yes | yes | yes | no |
CD-ROM mostly | yes | yes | no | yes | no | yes | yes | yes | no |
Configuration | |||||||||
Custom X | yes | yes | no | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
Network | yes | yes | TCP/IP,SMB,NFS,Appletalk,AX.25 | yes | X Windows, tty, web | YaST | text | yes | yes, X-based |
SLIP/PPP | yes | yes | yes | yes | X Windows, tty, web | YaST | text | yes | Yes, X or console-based |
User/Group | yes | yes | group-per-user | yes | X Windows, tty, web | YaST | command line | yes | Yes, X-based |
Filesystem | yes | yes | e2fs standard | yes | X Windows, tty, web | YaST | text | yes | Yes, X-based |
Printer | yes | yes | yes | yes | X Windows, tty, web | YaST | text (apsfilter) | no | Yes, X-based or Console-based |
Runlevel/init | yes | yes | sysVinit | yes | X Windows, tty, web | Yast, editing 1 conf file | no | yes | Yes, X-based |
Install | |||||||||
PCMCIA Ethernet | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
PCMCIA CD-ROM | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
from CD-ROM | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
from Floppy | no | no | yes | yes | no | no | yes | no | no |
from FTP | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | no | yes | yes |
from local filesystem | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
from NFS | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
from Tape | yes | no | no | no | no | no | yes | no | no |
UMSDOS from Linux | no | no | no | yes | no | yes | yes | no | no |
UMSDOS from DOS | no | no | no | yes | no | yes | yes | no | no |
Media available | yes | CD-ROM | yes | CD-ROM | yes | yes | Available via FTP, CD-ROM | yes | yes |
Documentation | |||||||||
Custom manual included | yes | yes | yes (on CD) | yes | yes | yes | 36 page install guide | yes | yes |
3rd party books/manuals | no | yes | yes http://www.linuxpress.com | yes | yes | no | yes | no | yes |
Extras | |||||||||
Non-GPLed extras included | BRU Backup, StarOffice, Netscape Communicator, Novell Netware client, LISA | BRU Backup, StarOffice 4.0, Communicator, NetWare client, FastTrack Server, AG Adabas | none | FreeBSD, NetBSD | Real Audio, Bru-PE, full bonusCD of demo/lite Linux apps | acroread.adabas, bartels, ixware, leda, mapledmo, mars_e, Netscape, sniff, vse | Netscape, QT | Netscape Communicator | Corel WordPerfect 7 demmo Japanese version: commercial fonts, commercial word proc. |
Support | |||||||||
Included | 5 incident e-mail support | 5 incident phone and email | lifetime free e-mail support | 90 days installation support | 60 days e-mail, phone,fax | E-mail and telephone | free e-mail tech support | ||
Optional | support contracts | Support contracts available | paid commercial support | yes | commercial support | consluting and professional | Phone | ||
Special certifications | forthcoming Caldera training | Forthcoming Caldera training | POSIX-compliant | no | Red Hat Certified Engineer | ||||
Sales method used | DFX | DFX | DF | X | DFX | DFX | DFX | DFX | D F X |
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