This is too complicated to be completely covered in TrinityOS. But, to get you started, here are a few comments that talk about what Linux distribution might be right for you.
One thing I've been asked over and over is regarding users that are trying out Linux with an old Linux CD ( given to them, etc.). With the new 2.4.x kernels out, all the newest Linux distributions BLOW AWAY the old ones in terms of ease of setup, performance, hardware compatibility, etc. So, I recommend that you get a new copy a given Linux distribution and give that a look. And you can't tell me it's expensive when you can get almost ANY Linux distribution for under $3.00 US a CD from places like http://www.cheapbytes.com.
*-----------------------------------------------------------------------------* * What do I use? I currently use Mandrake v9.1 on my work laptop (Dell) and * * * * 7.0 at home but I'm worried about Mandrake's direction (see more below) * *-----------------------------------------------------------------------------*
So, with that behind us, here is a few notes:
Redhat has recently discontinued both their regular Linux distribution via retail channels as well as their downloadable ISO version (currently 9.0). Moving forward, Redhat has created two projects. The "Fedora" project which is an opensource distribution and then their Redhat Enterprise Linux v3.0 distro line. A good question is if the Fedora project will take over where the RH9.0 distro left off in terms of quality, etc. I have no idea but I do know that the testing won't be nearly as good and I doubt the installer and GUI tools will be as refined as they've been in the past.
Fedora: The main differentiation with with the two RH distros is there isn't any Redhat commercial grade testing or tech support for the Fedora version This is no different than using distros like Debian, Gentoo, etc. which are well supported by the Linux community as a whole. All Fedora support will be via web forums, 3rd party support vendors, etc.
Enterprise Linux: The RH Enterprise Linux line offers email/phone support for 2-3 years for email/phone support and 5 years for critical security patches, etc. which is very good in my option. Unfortunately, the Enterprise line comes in three versions (workstation only (WS), small server (ES), and big server (AS)) and thus charges accordingly:
As of November, 2003 -------------------- WS - $180 - only initial install support :: Full 1 yr support is $299 US. - NO servers support - this is only a workstation (very limiting)
ES - $350 - only initial install support :: Full 1 yr support is $799 US.A - Full servers support - Dual SMP only - limited RPM package list
AS - $1500 - support included but 4 CPU version starts at $2500 US. - Full servers support - 4way CPU + - more complete RPM package list
Yes, this is expensive for a enduser but not bad for an enterprise setup. BUT, my major gripe with RHEL is that the software package list or RPM list Linux is probably < 50% that of RH 9.0 was. Check it out, here is a full list of the RHEL ES 3.0 RPMs - http://www.ecst.csuchico.edu/~dranch/LINUX/Rhel/ As you can tell, not only does this make EL expensive but you don't get a whole lot for your money other than a good software patch policy.
Anyway, Redhat has been a premier Linux distribution that has a strong installation tool and has some great system administration utilities too. One of the best parts of Redhat is its increamental RPM package installation and upgrade system. Redhat is constantly upgraded, they even support / offer patches for their oldest distro versions, and it is well supported in the Linux community.
Redhat is a good choice for the Linux newbie that wants a more server-focused distro or a GUI configuration approach running with all kinds functionality. Don't let the server focus fool you.. this distro is very desktop friendly as well. Redhat is a Gnome shop vs. a KDE-centric distro.
If you are already a UNIX snob, you might find Redhat's layout a little wierd (unless you are a Sun Solaris (SYSV) person - the /etc/rc.d/rc2.d layout is similar).
*BUT*, many people don't like Redhat. Why?
1. Redhat has a LOT of extra software built-in. Yes, you can choose the "Custom" installation process and get rid of most of the options (recommended) but a FULL install is quite large (a full RH8.0 install is 4.6GB!). Yes, you can pick a "custom" install and reduce the number of installed packages but it's still a heavy distro.
2. If you want to *learn* UNIX (not specifically Linux) in the classic LINUX step-by-step fashion and truly understand it (the hardest but BEST way (IMHO)), Redhat probably wouldn't be my first choice! Yet, I do have to admit my opinion is slowly changing though.
3. Redhat changes the entire behavior of how Linux is set up and configured compared to other distributions like Slackware to be more easy to use, modifible via scripts, etc. Unfortunately, Redhat's GUI tools don't easily tell you what it is going to do to your config files. If you want to learn UNIX in a classic fashion, go with Slackware or, to a lesser extent, Debian, SuSe, etc! Those distributions are a LOT more plain and easier to initially figure out.
4. RPM Hell. You've might have heard about this term before. What this basically means is that if you want install a given program, sometimes it has prerequisite of installing another program first. Ok, so you try to install that required program to only find thhat this sub-required program might have THREE other required programs. Then when you try to install the sub-sub programs, they TOO have requirements. Get the idea? Though it is always solved with patience (using RPM manually and installing all the required programs), many people hate RPMs for this reason. Fortunately, Redhat's newest RPM GUI tools determine all the required other programs for youi. Some say this is a fundamental flaw of the RPM system itself. I don't think it's that bad but I'm a patient kind of guy (most of the time at least).
All Newer versions of Redhat have enhanced installation programs for simple installations but with the ability to configure advanced options like software RAID, LVM, etc. Also, the ASCII, NCURSES, and X-Windows versions of the "linuxconf" and "control-panel" GUI interfaces are getting VERY cool!
Mandrake Linux, currently at version 9.2, is a close derivative of Redhat Linux with some significant changes and add-ons. The main difference between Mandrake and Redhat (even today) is that Mandrake is compiled for [ Pentium ] or newer machines. Redhat is currently compiled for Intel 386 (i386) processors though their kernels are optimized. With the Pentium optimizations alone, Mandrake can yeild anywhere from a 10-20% performance increase over RedHat on some platforms.
Next, Mandrake has been adding more customized tools to their distribution. With these tools, like the "Mandrake Updater", administration is easier. If you like GUI tools, Mandrake has them!
One thing I do want to mention is that Mandrake installers within the "Drak" have become very powerful. The installers are very simple for the newbie but can also be very powerful (installtion of software RAID, LVM, etc). Mandrake is also very security conscious and gives the user the option of different default security settings, etc.
Much like Redhat, Mandrake also shares with the RPM hell problem. Fortunately, Mandrake has RPMdrake which determines all of the required dependancies for you and fixes most of this issue.
One last thing that must be noted is that like most Linux vendors, Mandrake has changed their patch support policies. They now only offers security patches for ONE year from the release of the distro. After that, you MUST upgrade to their newest distro. The alternative is to buy their Corporate Server version which is pretty expensive (Corp. Server 1.1 is $799) but will give you support 2+ years. In comparison to Redhat and SuSe's support policies, Mandrake is both expensive and lacking equal support. This pains me as I'm a big Mandrake fan but servers need to be supported and upgrading every two years is silly. Ultimately, if it's a server that you don't plan on upgrading very often, getting the Corporate version might make sense. For a destop system, only getting patches for 1 year sucks but then again, newer distros will have more featuress, etc.
SuSE, currently in version 9.0, is a powerful distribution from Germany. I had previously tried their older releases but there was so much embedded German text in it, it bothered me so I gave up on it. I recently installed newer versions and it seemed much better. The installation program is pretty good though I think Redhat or Mandrake's is better. But, SuSE has a nice configuration tool called YaST and they were one of the first to come with the KDE window manager.
If you like the BSD style of configuring services (much like Slackware, FreeBSD, etc.), you'll like SuSe.
BUT.. recently, Novell with a grant from IBM is trying to buy SuSe. What will this mean to SuSe? Good question but it will take them a while to improve or bury it.
Debian is currently on their 3.0R1 release and though I haven't used Debian much, many people out there (mostly power users) seem to like it a lot. Debian is a community distro which means that there is no "Debian" corporation trying to make money at it. It's run and maintained by the community so the distro is only as good as the contributors. It has been best described to me as as a distribution that old Slackware users will LOVE which hate Redhat. Interestingly enough, the defunct Corel and Storm distributions were based on Debian.
Debian doesn't include the kitchen sink in for software like Mandrake or Redhat but it's laid out in a good manner and it has it's own RPM-like installation/upgrade system called dPKG with GUI frontends like "apt" or the older too, "dselect". One thing to note about Debian's package system is that unlike the "RPM hell" situation (see the Redhat section above), it can automatically determine a package's dependancies (what other programs are needed to get this particular program to run) and automatically download AND install the required packages. In this respect, Debian is still untouched in ease of use.
Like Redhat, Debian is reported to be constantly updated and well supported. Many people argue that Debian is even better updated than Redhat though they are considerably slower to release new distributions with the newest versions of Gnome, KDE, etc. compared to the other distro vendors.
Gentoo is a new distro community distro that is very similar to Debian in the respect that there is no "Gentoo" corporation trying to make money from it. It's run and maintained by the community so the distro is only as good as the contributors.
Fortunately, Gentoo brings something new to the Linux distro mix. Most traditional linux distros (Redhat, Mandrake, SuSe, etc.) all install pre-compiled binaries which makes the installation quick and painless but the resulting distro might not take advantage of your hardware (ahem.. Redhat). Gentoo takes a totally different stance on the installation phase. Specifically, after you pick the packages you want to install, Gentoo will compile ALL of them from the sources to maximize your hardware. This is great though a full installation can take DAYS if not even a WEEK or more depending on how fast your hardware is and how many packages you are installing.
Once installed, Gentoo uses the "portage" program installation system which is similar to the *BSD "ports" system. This is where everything is compiled from source. It's a pretty easy system to use as it automatically figures out where to download the programs from and how to compile them. It just is time consuming. But, the sweetest aspect to "portage" system is that with one command, you can upgrade your ENTIRE distro install to the current versions of all packages with ONE command! Very powerful though I also consider this dangerous too (config files change, too many variables if something breaks, etc.)
Slackware, now at version 9.1 is one of the original Linux distributions and it is still one of my favorites. It definately isn't as slick in terms of installation or functionality compared to Mandrake but it's laid out in a clear manner. The INIT scripts (the scripts that are executed to bring the system up) are laid out in a very readable fashion (BSD-style - So is SuSe) and everything is obvious (in the open). Slackware will be a comfortable fit for the UNIX guru peoples out there.
Like Redhat, Slackware uses a software package system (pkg) for modularized system upgrades. Though it isn't as fancy as Redhat's RPM system.. it has almost all the same functionality. Though patches do come out for Slackware, Redhat's community usually has patches available FASTER.
Caldera or SCO, now at v3.1, is the most commercial of all the Linux distributions. They initially pulled ahead of the pack with a better installation program and auto-installing hardware modules but almost everyone has caught up pretty quickly. Caldera was understood to have one of the easiest installation program of ALL the distributions though Mandrake might have them beat now.
Caldera differentiates itself by trying to meet the needs of the corporate market. For example, they have completed a port of Novell's NDS directory services to Linux. Pretty cool!
But, it should be noted that SCO seems to be taking on Linux on the legal front. They are sueing various companies for Millions if not Billions of dollars. In my opinion, this is a last gasp for them to stay alive but this isn't a way to keep the Linux community happy with them.
There are other Distributions out there to pick from depending on your hardware platform (Dec Alpha, Motorola PowerPC, etc) such as:
TurboLinux - popular in Japan / Network clusters
LinuxPPc http://www.linuxppc.org - for PowerPC machines
LinuxPro http://www.wgs.com/
LinuxWare http://www.trans-am.com/
MkLinux http://www.mklinux.apple.com/ - For 680x0 and PPC Apples
Stampede http://www.stampede.org/
You'll have to experiment and ask other Linux people what distribution they like and WHY! Personally, I'd recommend to get one of those multiple Distrobution CD sets from places like http://www.cheapbytes.com and try them out yourself!!
For more Distribution details, check out:
http://www.linux.org/dist/english.html
http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/CD-Distributions-EN-HOWTO/index.html
http://www.linuxgazette.com/issue31/hughes.html