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 |
Special Magazine Offer -- Free Gift with Subscription
Receive a free digital copy of Linux Journal's System Administration Special Edition as well as instant online access to current and past issues. CLICK HERE for offer
Linux Journal: delivering readers the advice and inspiration they need to get the most out of their Linux systems since 1994.
Subscribe now!
The Latest
Newsletter
Tech Tip Videos
- Nov-19-09
- Nov-04-09
Recently Popular
From the Magazine
December 2009, #188
If last month's Infrastrucuture issue was too "big" for you then try on this month's Embedded issue. Find out how to use Player for programming mobile robots, build a humidity controller for your root cellar, find out how to reduce the boot time of your embedded system, and if you're new to embedded systems find out the basics that go into one. You can also read about the Beagle Board, the Mesh Potato and a spate of other interestingly named items. And along with our regular columns don't miss our new monthly column: Economy Size Geek.
Delicious
Digg
StumbleUpon
Reddit
Facebook








Post new comment