Linux Distributions Comparison
September 1st, 1999 by Ellen M. Dahl in
Caldera OpenLinux 2.2 | Debian 2.1 | Linux Mandrake 6.1 | LinuxPPC 1999, Release 5 | Project Independence 6.0-0.2 | Red Hat 6.0 | Slackware 4.0 | Stampede Linux 0.90 | SuSE 6.1 | TurboLinux Workstation 3.6 | |
Price | $49.95 | free | $50.00 | $32.00 | free | $79.95 | $39.95 | $19.95 | $49.95 | $19.95 |
Target Consumers | CDEHOV | CDEHOV | EDHOCV | CDEHOV | DEH | CDEHOV | CDEHO | DEHOC | CDEHOV | CDEHOV |
Kernel | 2.2 | 2.0.36 | 2.2.9 | 2.2.6 | 2.2.10 | 2.2.5 | 2.2.6 | 2.2.10 | 2.2.5 | 2.2.9 |
Binary Format | ||||||||||
Primary/Other | ELF | ELF libc6; libc5 for compatibility | ELF | ELF | ELF | ELF | ELF/a.out | x86, alpha | ELF | i386/ppc, alpha in development |
Hardware Required | ||||||||||
Minimum Install | 386, 8, 40 | 4MB, 100MB HD, 386 | i586/50Mhz, 8MB, 350MB | 16MB RAM, 100MB disk | 250MB disk | P166, 16(64M), 500MB | 386, 8, 40 | 386, 8, 60 | 386, 4(8), 50 | 386, 8, 150MB |
Minimum Use | 386,8,40 as server; 486,32,300 as workstation | 4 MB, 100 MB HD, 386 | i586/100Mhz, 16MB, 400MB | 64MB/350MB disk | 16MB RAM | 16 | 386, 8, 40 | 386, 6, 80 | 486, 8(16), 100 | 486, 16, 150-200MB |
Recommended Use | Pentium, 64, 1000 | 8MB, 16 w/X, 500MB HD, Pentium | i586/200 Mhz, 64MB, 900MB | 1GB (50MB for swap space) | 32MB RAM | 16 | Pentium, 32, 1 GB | Pentium, 32, 500 | Pentium, 16(32), 300 | Pentium+, 32+, 500+ |
Packaging | ||||||||||
Package Format | RPM | .deb | RPM | RPM | RPM | RPM | .tgz | SLP w/support for RPM | RPM,.tgz | RPM plus auto-upgrade |
Source Code Packages | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
Management Interface | X, command line, Lizard, COAS, KDE | dselect/apt | kpackage, GnoRPM | X, command line, pdisk | GnoRPM | tty, web, X | ncurses, menus | console and X | YaST utility | custom curses and X interfaces |
Group/Subgroup Packages | yes | classification, 3rd party | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
Boot Media | ||||||||||
Boot Floppy included | yes | yes | no | no | no | yes | no, CD-ROM is bootable | no | yes | yes, boot and extra hardware |
Boot images to select from | module-based, no limit | 2 for i386; diff for other architectures | 9 | n/a | 2 | 2 | 60 | 10 | 1 with module support | 1 modular; extra HW floppy has module for rare devices |
Floppies required | none | none from CD; 1 or 2 if CD not bootable; 2 from network | FTP, NFS, HTTP installs,PCMCIA | none | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 boot floppy | 0,1,2,3 depends on boot media and HW |
Run from | ||||||||||
CD-ROM only | no | yes | yes | yes | no | no | yes | no | yes | yes |
CD-ROM mostly | yes | yes | yes | no | no | no | yes | yes | yes | yes |
Configuration | ||||||||||
Custom X | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
Network | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | X, tty, web | text | yes | YaST | yes (console) |
SLIP/PPP | yes | yes | no | yes | yes | X, tty, web | text, X (KDE) | yes | YaST | yes (console) |
User/Group | yes | yes | no | yes | yes | X, tty, web | command line | yes | YaST | yes (X or console) |
Filesystem | yes | yes | no | yes | yes | X, tty, web | text | yes | YaST | yes (X or console) |
Printer | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | X, tty, web | text (apsfilter) | no | YaST | yes (console) |
Runlevel/init | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | X, tty, web | no | yes | YaST, editing 1 config file | yes (console) |
Install | ||||||||||
PCMCIA Ethernet | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
PCMCIA CD-ROM | no | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
from CD-ROM | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
from Floppy | yes | yes | yes | no | no | no | yes | no | no | no |
from FTP | no | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | yes | yes | yes |
from local filesystem | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
from NFS | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
from Tape | no | media only | no | no | no | no | yes | no | no | no |
UMSDOS from Linux | no | no | no | no | no | no | yes | no | yes | no |
UMSDOS from DOS | no | no | no | no | no | no | yes | no | yes | no |
Media available | yes/CD-ROM | yes | from HTTP or Windows (to -o loop mounted file) | yes | yes, planned | yes | FTP, CD-ROM | yes | yes | yes |
Documentation | ||||||||||
Custom manual included | yes | yes, electronic form | yes | manual is on-line | no | yes | 36-page install guide | yes | yes | yes, 300 pages |
3rd party books/manuals | yes (manuals) | yes | no | yes | no | no | yes | no | no | yes; over 30 w/3 in the works |
Extras | ||||||||||
Non-GPLed extras included | BRU, StarOffice, LISA | 432 packages available | over 30 apps incl. WP 8.0, SO 5.1, IBM Lotus eSuite DevPack 1.5, QuakeII & Hopkins FBI demos | some MacOS software | N/A | bonus Linux Application CD w/samples of StarOffice, Applixware, etc. | Netscape, QT, xv | NetComm | AGAd, B,IX, LD, Me, MP, Net, SF, V | WP8, StarOffice 5, Tripwire. Non-Linux: X-Win32, TTWin, postgresODBC, vnc for Win32 |
Support | ||||||||||
Included | 5-incident e-mail, 5-incdt/90-day install | mailing lists, bug tracking syst, online forums | 100-day e-mail | e-mail installation support | none | 30-day install/tel, 90-day e-mail | e-mail, phone | 60 day e-mail, phone, fax | 60-day e-mail | |
Optional | support contracts | 3rd-party only | nono | none | none | commercial | none | phone | consulting/professional | phone, 24x7, custom service level agreements |
Special certifications | forthcoming Caldera training | - | - | - | - | Red Hat Certified Engineer | - | - | - | - |
Sales method used | DFX | DF | DF | DFX | F now, D soon | DFX | DFX | DFX | DFX | DFX |
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