Comparison of Linux distributions
Encyclopedia
Technical variations of Linux distribution
Linux distribution
A Linux distribution is a member of the family of Unix-like operating systems built on top of the Linux kernel. Such distributions are operating systems including a large collection of software applications such as word processors, spreadsheets, media players, and database applications...

s include support for different hardware devices and systems or software package configurations. Organizational differences may be motivated by historical reasons. Other criteria include security, including how quickly security upgrades are available; ease of package management; and number of packages available.

These tables compare each noteworthy distribution's latest stable release on wide-ranging objective criteria. It does not cover each operating system's subjective merits
Operating system advocacy
Operating system advocacy is the practice of attempting to increase the awareness and improve the perception of a computer operating system. The motivation behind this may be to increase the number of users of a system, to assert the superiority of one choice over another or out of brand loyalty,...

, branches marked as unstable or beta, nor compare Linux distributions with other operating systems.

General

Basic general information about the distributions: creator or producer, release date and latest version, and so forth.
Distribution Creator Producer First public release Base distribution Latest release date Purpose
64 Studio Daniel James and Free Ekanayaka 64 Studio Ltd. 2005 Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...

2008 multimedia
Alinex
Alinex
Alinex is a Portuguese operating system. It started with as an initiative between the regional government of Extremadura and the University of Évora , in 2005. Version 1.0 was initially based on gnuLinEx, but since version 2.0 it is based on Ubuntu. It is currently being developed by the...

Alinex Team and University of Évora Alinex Team and University of Évora 2005 Ubuntu
Ubuntu (operating system)
Ubuntu is a computer operating system based on the Debian Linux distribution and distributed as free and open source software. It is named after the Southern African philosophy of Ubuntu...

2008 general
aLinux
ALinux
aLinux is a Linux distribution created and maintained by Jay Klepacs. It uses KDE as its default desktop environment. It is designed to have a Windows-style "look".-Version History:Retrieved on May 22, 2007aLinux's original name was Peanut Linux...

Jay Klepacs Jay Klepacs 2001 Red Hat Linux
Red Hat Linux
Red Hat Linux, assembled by the company Red Hat, was a popular Linux based operating system until its discontinuation in 2004.Red Hat Linux 1.0 was released on November 3, 1994...

2010 desktop
Alpine Linux
Alpine Linux
Alpine Linux is a Linux distribution based on uClibc and BusyBox, which has the goal of being lightweight and secure by default while still being useful for general-purpose tasks. Alpine Linux uses PaX and grsecurity patches in the default kernel and compiles all packages with stack-smashing...

Alpine Linux Team Alpine Linux Team 2006 none 2011 network
ALT Linux
ALT Linux
ALT Linux is a set of RPM-based operating systems built on top of the Linux kernel and Sisyphus packages repository. ALT Linux is developed jointly by ALT Linux Team developers community and ALT Linux Ltd.- History :...

ALT Linux Team ALT Linux Team / ALT Linux LLC 2001 Mandriva Linux
Mandriva Linux
Mandriva Linux is a Linux distribution distributed by Mandriva. It uses the RPM Package Manager...

2011 general, school
Annvix
Annvix
Annvix is a Canadian security-focused operating system based on Mandriva Linux . It is a dormant operating system with the last version being released December 30, 2007....

Vincent Danen Vincent Danen 2003 Mandriva Linux
Mandriva Linux
Mandriva Linux is a Linux distribution distributed by Mandriva. It uses the RPM Package Manager...

2007 server
Arch Linux
Arch Linux
Arch Linux is an independently developed, Linux-based operating system for i686 and x86-64 computers. It is composed predominantly of free and open source software, and supports community involvement....

Judd Vinet dev team 2002 none 2011/Rolling
Rolling release
In software development, a rolling release development model refers to a continuously developing software system; this is opposed to a standard release development model which uses software versions that must be reinstalled over the previous version...

general
Ark Linux
Ark Linux
Ark Linux is a Linux distribution maintained by a group of volunteers and aims to be easy to install and use. Its default desktop environment is KDE.Ark Linux is available both as an installable CD and as a Live CD, and is free software.-Principles:...

Bernhard Rosenkränzer dev team 2003 none 2008 desktop
Asianux
Asianux
Asianux is a Linux distribution. It is a joint development between Linux vendors Red Flag Software of China, Miracle Linux of Japan , Haansoft of South Korea, VietSoftware of Vietnam , WTEC from Thailand and Enterprise Technology Limited of Sri Lanka...

Red Flag Linux
Red Flag Linux
Red Flag Linux is a Chinese Linux distribution developed by Red Flag Software. Red Flag's logo is Tux carrying a prominent red flag.The current executive president of Red Flag Software is Jia Dong .-Description:...

, Miracle Linux
Miracle Linux
Miracle Linux is a Linux distribution developed by Miracle Linux Co., Ltd., a company which Oracle Corporation owns 50.5 percent stock. Originally, it was designed to be an OS with good support of Oracle Database...

, Haansoft Linux
dev team 2004 RHEL
Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is a Linux-based operating system developed by Red Hat and targeted toward the commercial market. Red Hat Enterprise Linux is released in server versions for x86, x86-64, Itanium, PowerPC and IBM System z, and desktop versions for x86 and x86-64...

2007 server, workstation
BackTrack
BackTrack
BackTrack is an operating system based on the Ubuntu GNU/Linux distribution aimed at digital forensics and penetration testing use. It is named after backtracking, a search algorithm...

Max Moser, Mati Aharoni, and Martin J. Muench Remote-Exploit 2006 Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...

2011 auditing
BLAG Linux and GNU
BLAG Linux and GNU
BLAG Linux and GNU is a GNU/Linux distribution made by the Brixton Linux Action Group.BLAG is a single-CD distro with applications desktop users "expect" from a desktop including multimedia, graphics, desktop internet applications and more. BLAG also includes a collection of server packages...

Brixton Linux Action Group Brixton Linux Action Group 2002 Fedora
Fedora (operating system)
Fedora is a RPM-based, general purpose collection of software, including an operating system based on the Linux kernel, developed by the community-supported Fedora Project and sponsored by Red Hat...

2011 desktop
Bharat Operating System Solutions
Bharat Operating System Solutions
Bharat Operating System Solutions is a free and open source computer operating system developed by the National Resource Centre for Free/Open Source Software of India. This software is also known by the acronym BOSS GNU/Linux or simply BOSS Linux...

C-DAC (Centre for Development of Advanced Computing) C-DAC (Centre for Development of Advanced Computing) 2007 Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...

2011 general, server, education, netbooks, live
Caixa Mágica
Caixa Mágica
Caixa Mágica is a Portuguese Linux distribution based on Debian and maintained by Caixa Mágica Software. It uses the .deb format...

Daniel Neves, José Guimarães, Paulo Trezentos Caixa Mágica Software
Caixa Mágica
Caixa Mágica is a Portuguese Linux distribution based on Debian and maintained by Caixa Mágica Software. It uses the .deb format...

2000 Mandriva Linux
Mandriva Linux
Mandriva Linux is a Linux distribution distributed by Mandriva. It uses the RPM Package Manager...

2009 general
CentOS
CentOS
CentOS is a free operating system based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux . It exists to provide a free enterprise class computing platform and strives to maintain 100% binary compatibility with its upstream distribution...

CentOS Project CentOS Project 2003 RHEL
Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is a Linux-based operating system developed by Red Hat and targeted toward the commercial market. Red Hat Enterprise Linux is released in server versions for x86, x86-64, Itanium, PowerPC and IBM System z, and desktop versions for x86 and x86-64...

2011 server, workstation
Google Chrome OS
Google Chrome OS
Google Chrome OS is a Linux-based operating system designed by Google to work exclusively with web applications. Google announced the operating system on July 7, 2009 and made it an open source project, called Chromium OS, that November....

Google Google 2009 Gentoo 2011/Rolling
Rolling release
In software development, a rolling release development model refers to a continuously developing software system; this is opposed to a standard release development model which uses software versions that must be reinstalled over the previous version...

netbooks
ClearOS
ClearOS
ClearOS is a Linux distribution, based on CentOS and Red Hat Enterprise Linux, designed for use in small and medium enterprises as a network gateway and network server with a web-based administration interface. It is designed to be an alternative to Windows Small Business Server. ClearOS succeeds...

Peter Baldwin ClearFoundation 2000 CentOS
CentOS
CentOS is a free operating system based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux . It exists to provide a free enterprise class computing platform and strives to maintain 100% binary compatibility with its upstream distribution...

2010 server, gateway, network
CrunchBang Linux
CrunchBang Linux
CrunchBang Linux is a lightweight Debian based Linux distribution, created by Philip Newborough, designed to offer a good balance of speed and functionality.- Features :...

Philip Newborough Philip Newborough 2008 Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...

2011 desktop
CRUX
CRUX
CRUX is a lightweight, i686-optimized GNU/Linux distribution targeted at experienced GNU/Linux users and delivered by a tar.gz-based package system with BSD-style initscripts. It also utilizes a ports system to install and upgrade applications. The current release is 2.7.1.Although crux is the...

Per Liden CRUX Linux community 2001 none 2010 general
Damn Small Linux
Damn Small Linux
Damn Small Linux or DSL is a computer operating system for the x86 family of personal computers. It is free and open source software under the terms of GNU GPL and other free and open source licenses. It was designed to run graphical applications on older PC hardware—for example, machines with...

John Andrews dev team 2003 Knoppix
Knoppix
Knoppix, or KNOPPIX , is an operating system based on Debian designed to be run directly from a CD / DVD or a USB key , one of the first of its kind for any operating system. Knoppix was developed by Linux consultant Klaus Knopper. When starting a program, it is loaded from the removable medium...

2008 portable, lightweight
Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...

Ian Murdock
Ian Murdock
Ian Murdock is the founder of the Debian distribution and Progeny Linux Systems, a commercial Linux company.- Life and career :Murdock was born in Konstanz, Germany....

Debian Project 1993 none 2011 general
DeLi Linux Henry Jensen Henry Jensen 2002 none 2008 desktop
dyne:bolic
Dyne:bolic
dyne:bolic is a Live CD/DVD based on the Linux kernel with a focus on multimedia production, and is distributed with a large assortment of applications for audio and video manipulation...

Jaromil
Jaromil
Denis Roio is a free software programmer, a media artist and activist. He has made significant contributions to the development of multimedia and streaming applications on the Linux platform...

Jaromil
Jaromil
Denis Roio is a free software programmer, a media artist and activist. He has made significant contributions to the development of multimedia and streaming applications on the Linux platform...

2001 none 2007 multimedia
EasyPeasy Jon Ramvi, EasyPeasy community Jon Ramvi, EasyPeasy community 2008 Ubuntu
Ubuntu (operating system)
Ubuntu is a computer operating system based on the Debian Linux distribution and distributed as free and open source software. It is named after the Southern African philosophy of Ubuntu...

2010 netbooks
ELinOS
ELinOS
ELinOS is a commercial development environment for embedded Linux. It consists of a Linux distribution for the target embedded system and development tools for a development host computer. The development host computer usually is a standard desktop computer running Linux or Windows...

SYSGO
SYSGO
SYSGO AG is a German company oriented in embedded software since its founding in 1991. The company is focused on the basic software building blocks for embedded systems used in critical environments such as airplanes, medical instruments or industrial automation...

SYSGO
SYSGO
SYSGO AG is a German company oriented in embedded software since its founding in 1991. The company is focused on the basic software building blocks for embedded systems used in critical environments such as airplanes, medical instruments or industrial automation...

1999 none 2010 embedded system
Embedded system
An embedded system is a computer system designed for specific control functions within a larger system. often with real-time computing constraints. It is embedded as part of a complete device often including hardware and mechanical parts. By contrast, a general-purpose computer, such as a personal...

s
Elive
Elive
Elive is a GNU/Linux distribution based on Debian for legacy and commodity hardware with Intel processors. Elive uses the Enlightenment X window manager instead of GNOME or KDE...

Thanatermesis Thanatermesis 2005 Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...

2010 desktop
EnGarde Secure Linux
EnGarde Secure Linux
EnGarde Secure Linux is an open source server-only Linux distribution developed by . EnGarde incorporates open source tools such as Postfix, BIND, and the LAMP stack....

Guardian Digital, Inc. Guardian Digital, Inc. 2001 none 2008 server
Fedora
Fedora (operating system)
Fedora is a RPM-based, general purpose collection of software, including an operating system based on the Linux kernel, developed by the community-supported Fedora Project and sponsored by Red Hat...

Fedora Project
Fedora Project
The Fedora Project is an endeavor sponsored by Red Hat to co-ordinate the development of the Fedora operating system. Founded on September 2003 as a result of a merger between the Red Hat Linux and old Fedora Linux projects...

Fedora Project
Fedora Project
The Fedora Project is an endeavor sponsored by Red Hat to co-ordinate the development of the Fedora operating system. Founded on September 2003 as a result of a merger between the Red Hat Linux and old Fedora Linux projects...

2003 Red Hat Linux
Red Hat Linux
Red Hat Linux, assembled by the company Red Hat, was a popular Linux based operating system until its discontinuation in 2004.Red Hat Linux 1.0 was released on November 3, 1994...

2011 general
Finnix
Finnix
Finnix is a Debian-based Live CD operating system, developed by Ryan Finnie and intended for system administrators for tasks such as filesystem recovery, network monitoring and OS installation...

Ryan Finnie Ryan Finnie 2000 Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...

2011 maintenance
Foresight Linux
Foresight Linux
- External links :* *...

Ken VanDine dev team 2004 rPath
RPath
rPath, Inc. is a technology company based in Raleigh, North Carolina that provides a platform for enterprise IT organizations, independent software vendors and on-demand service providers to automate the process of constructing , deploying and updating software stacks across physical, virtual and...

2009/Rolling
Rolling release
In software development, a rolling release development model refers to a continuously developing software system; this is opposed to a standard release development model which uses software versions that must be reinstalled over the previous version...

general
Freespire
Freespire
Freespire was a community-driven Linux distribution which was composed mostly of free, open source software, while providing users the choice of including proprietary software including multimedia codecs, device drivers and application software....

Lindows.com, Inc. Linspire, Inc. 2002 Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...

2007 desktop
Frugalware
Frugalware
Frugalware Linux is a general-purpose Linux distribution designed for intermediate users who are familiar with command-line operations. Early versions were based on Slackware, but it is now an independently-developed distribution...

Miklos Vajna dev team 2004 Slackware
Slackware
Slackware is a free and open source Linux-based operating system. It was one of the earliest operating systems to be built on top of the Linux kernel and is the oldest currently being maintained. Slackware was created by Patrick Volkerding of Slackware Linux, Inc. in 1993...

2011/Rolling
Rolling release
In software development, a rolling release development model refers to a continuously developing software system; this is opposed to a standard release development model which uses software versions that must be reinstalled over the previous version...

general
Gentoo Linux
Gentoo Linux
Gentoo Linux is a computer operating system built on top of the Linux kernel and based on the Portage package management system. It is distributed as free and open source software. Unlike a conventional software distribution, the user compiles the source code locally according to their chosen...

Daniel Robbins
Daniel Robbins
Daniel Robbins is a computer programmer and consultant best known as the founder and former chief architect of the Gentoo Linux project. In 2008, he launched the Funtoo project, a free GNU/Linux distribution based on Gentoo, and is the project's lead hacker and organizer...

Gentoo Foundation, Inc. 2002 none 2011/Rolling
Rolling release
In software development, a rolling release development model refers to a continuously developing software system; this is opposed to a standard release development model which uses software versions that must be reinstalled over the previous version...

general
gNewSense
GNewSense
gNewSense is a Linux distribution based on Ubuntu. Its goal is to maintain the user-friendliness of Ubuntu, but with all non FSF approved software and binary blobs removed. The Free Software Foundation considers gNewSense to be a Linux distribution composed entirely of free software.gNewSense takes...

Brian Brazil and Paul O'Malley dev team 2006 Ubuntu
Ubuntu (operating system)
Ubuntu is a computer operating system based on the Debian Linux distribution and distributed as free and open source software. It is named after the Southern African philosophy of Ubuntu...

2009 desktop
Gnoppix
Gnoppix
Gnoppix was an operating system primarily intended to offer the GNOME desktop environment on a Live CD, which allows the operating system to be used without installing it to hard disk....

Klaus Knopper
Klaus Knopper
Klaus Knopper is a German electrical engineer and free software developer. "My nationality from my passport is austrian, not german, though I will absolutely not complain about being listed as "german engineer", because I was born and have lived in Germany all of my life", - says Klaus...

dev team 2005 Knoppix
Knoppix
Knoppix, or KNOPPIX , is an operating system based on Debian designed to be run directly from a CD / DVD or a USB key , one of the first of its kind for any operating system. Knoppix was developed by Linux consultant Klaus Knopper. When starting a program, it is loaded from the removable medium...

2005 live
gnuLinEx
GnuLinEx
gnuLinEx, or LinEx, is a Debian-based GNU-Linux operating system that uses GNOME for its desktop. An initiative of the regional government of Extremadura, Spain, gnuLinEx is intended to be used in all schools in Extremadura, as well as in official institutions. It is actively promoted for business...

Regional Government of Extremadura
Extremadura
Extremadura is an autonomous community of western Spain whose capital city is Mérida. Its component provinces are Cáceres and Badajoz. It is bordered by Portugal to the west...

dev team 2002 Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...

2006 desktop
GoboLinux
GoboLinux
GoboLinux is a free and open source operating system whose most prominent feature is a reorganization of the traditional Linux file system. Rather than following the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard like most Unix-like systems, each program in a GoboLinux system has its own subdirectory tree, where...

Hisham Muhammad, Andre Detsch dev team 2002 none 2008 desktop
gOS
GOS (operating system)
gOS or "good OS" was an Ubuntu-based GNU/Linux distribution created by Good OS LLC, a Los Angeles-based corporation. Its CIO Dave Liu described that after meeting Enlightenment and open source people, he realized that his dream to bring Web 2.0 applications into mainstream use could be achieved by...

Good OS LLC Good OS LLC 2007 Ubuntu
Ubuntu (operating system)
Ubuntu is a computer operating system based on the Debian Linux distribution and distributed as free and open source software. It is named after the Southern African philosophy of Ubuntu...

2009 desktop
Impi Linux Gauteng Linux Users Group Impi Linux (Pty) Ltd. 2003 Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...

2006 desktop
Kanotix
Kanotix
Kanotix, also referred to as KANOTIX, is an operating system Live CD based on Debian, with advanced hardware detection. It can run from an optical disc drive or other media i.e. USB-stick without using a hard disk drive....

Jörg Schirottke (Kano) dev team 2003 Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...

, Knoppix
Knoppix
Knoppix, or KNOPPIX , is an operating system based on Debian designed to be run directly from a CD / DVD or a USB key , one of the first of its kind for any operating system. Knoppix was developed by Linux consultant Klaus Knopper. When starting a program, it is loaded from the removable medium...

2010 desktop, live
KateOS KateOS Team KateOS Team 2004 Slackware
Slackware
Slackware is a free and open source Linux-based operating system. It was one of the earliest operating systems to be built on top of the Linux kernel and is the oldest currently being maintained. Slackware was created by Patrick Volkerding of Slackware Linux, Inc. in 1993...

2007 desktop
Knoppix
Knoppix
Knoppix, or KNOPPIX , is an operating system based on Debian designed to be run directly from a CD / DVD or a USB key , one of the first of its kind for any operating system. Knoppix was developed by Linux consultant Klaus Knopper. When starting a program, it is loaded from the removable medium...

Klaus Knopper
Klaus Knopper
Klaus Knopper is a German electrical engineer and free software developer. "My nationality from my passport is austrian, not german, though I will absolutely not complain about being listed as "german engineer", because I was born and have lived in Germany all of my life", - says Klaus...

dev team 2003 Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...

2010 live
KnoppMyth
KnoppMyth
KnoppMyth is a Linux distribution designed for use on Home Theater PCs . As of version R6, it is now called LinHES . The most recent release is based on Arch Linux, though previous versions were based on Debian Linux with configuration scripts from the Knoppix Linux distribution...

Cecil Watson dev team 2004 Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...

, Knoppix
Knoppix
Knoppix, or KNOPPIX , is an operating system based on Debian designed to be run directly from a CD / DVD or a USB key , one of the first of its kind for any operating system. Knoppix was developed by Linux consultant Klaus Knopper. When starting a program, it is loaded from the removable medium...

2009 desktop, live
Kuki Linux
Kuki Linux
Kuki Linux is a lightweight Ubuntu based distribution. It was created to be a replacement for the Fedora based Linpus Linux distribution bundled with the Acer Aspire One. It is built with the aim of being lightweight, fast, and being optimized for netbooks...

João Ferro kuki bakers 2008 Ubuntu
Ubuntu (operating system)
Ubuntu is a computer operating system based on the Debian Linux distribution and distributed as free and open source software. It is named after the Southern African philosophy of Ubuntu...

2009 netbooks
Kurumin Carlos Morimoto GuiadoHardware 2003 Knoppix
Knoppix
Knoppix, or KNOPPIX , is an operating system based on Debian designed to be run directly from a CD / DVD or a USB key , one of the first of its kind for any operating system. Knoppix was developed by Linux consultant Klaus Knopper. When starting a program, it is loaded from the removable medium...

2008 desktop, live
Linspire
Linspire
Linspire, previously known as LindowsOS, was a commercial operating system based on Debian GNU/Linux and later Ubuntu. Linspire was published by Linspire, Inc. and focused on ease-of-use, targeting home PC users...

Lindows.com, Inc. Linspire, Inc. 2002 Ubuntu
Ubuntu (operating system)
Ubuntu is a computer operating system based on the Debian Linux distribution and distributed as free and open source software. It is named after the Southern African philosophy of Ubuntu...

2007 desktop
Linux Mint
Linux Mint
Linux Mint is a Linux-based computer operating system best known for its usability and ease of installation, particularly for users with no previous GNU/Linux experience...

Clement Lefebvre dev team 2006 Ubuntu
Ubuntu (operating system)
Ubuntu is a computer operating system based on the Debian Linux distribution and distributed as free and open source software. It is named after the Southern African philosophy of Ubuntu...

, Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...

2011 desktop
Lunar Linux
Lunar Linux
Lunar Linux is an operating system maintained around a source-based package management system also called Lunar. The project is a descendant of the Sorcerer Linux distribution.The installation disk installs a complete bootstrap development system first...

Chuck Mead
Chuck Mead
Chuck Mead is a long time member and leader in the Linux and open source communities.He works for Red Hat in their division.Mead was the former President, Treasurer, and Director of Information Technology for the Linux Professional Institute as well as the former Chief Technical Officer of...

, Lunar Penguin Project
Foo-Projects.org 2002 Sorcerer 2007 general
Mageia
Mageia
Mageia is the name of a non-profit organization and Linux distribution. The first release of the distribution was made on 1 June 2011.-Name:The term "mageia" — μαγεία in Greek — means "magic" in English...

Mageia Community mageia.org 2010 Mandriva Linux
Mandriva Linux
Mandriva Linux is a Linux distribution distributed by Mandriva. It uses the RPM Package Manager...

2011 general
Mandriva Linux
Mandriva Linux
Mandriva Linux is a Linux distribution distributed by Mandriva. It uses the RPM Package Manager...

Mandrakesoft S.A. Mandriva S.A. 1998 Red Hat Linux
Red Hat Linux
Red Hat Linux, assembled by the company Red Hat, was a popular Linux based operating system until its discontinuation in 2004.Red Hat Linux 1.0 was released on November 3, 1994...

2011 general
MEPIS
MEPIS
MEPIS is a set of Linux distributions, distributed as Live CDs that can be installed onto a hard disk drive.MEPIS is developed and maintained by an active community begun by Warren Woodford and the eponymous company MEPIS LLC....

Warren Woodford MEPIS LLC 2003 Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...

2010 desktop, server, embedded
Micro Core Linux
Tiny Core Linux
Tiny Core Linux is a minimal Linux operating system focusing on providing a base system using BusyBox and FLTK. The lead developer of the project is Robert Shingledecker. The distribution is notable for its size under 12MB, with additional functionality provided by extensions of which there are...

Robert Shingledecker Team Tiny Core 2009 Tiny Core Linux
Tiny Core Linux
Tiny Core Linux is a minimal Linux operating system focusing on providing a base system using BusyBox and FLTK. The lead developer of the project is Robert Shingledecker. The distribution is notable for its size under 12MB, with additional functionality provided by extensions of which there are...

2011 portable
MintPPC
MintPPC
Linux MintPPC, also known as MintPPC, is a free and open source operating system for the PowerPC architecture. MintPPC was first released in May 2010. The most recent version, MintPPC 11, was released on November 14, 2011...

Jeroen Diederen Jeroen Diederen 2010 Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...

2011 desktop
MontaVista Linux
MontaVista
MontaVista Software is a software developer that develops embedded Linux system software, development tools, and related software. Its products are targeted at other corporations developing embedded systems such as automotive electronics, communications equipment, mobile phones, and other...

MontaVista Software
MontaVista
MontaVista Software is a software developer that develops embedded Linux system software, development tools, and related software. Its products are targeted at other corporations developing embedded systems such as automotive electronics, communications equipment, mobile phones, and other...

MontaVista Software
MontaVista
MontaVista Software is a software developer that develops embedded Linux system software, development tools, and related software. Its products are targeted at other corporations developing embedded systems such as automotive electronics, communications equipment, mobile phones, and other...

1999 Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...

2007 embedded
Musix GNU/Linux Marcos Guglielmetti dev team 2008 Knoppix
Knoppix
Knoppix, or KNOPPIX , is an operating system based on Debian designed to be run directly from a CD / DVD or a USB key , one of the first of its kind for any operating system. Knoppix was developed by Linux consultant Klaus Knopper. When starting a program, it is loaded from the removable medium...

, Kanotix
Kanotix
Kanotix, also referred to as KANOTIX, is an operating system Live CD based on Debian, with advanced hardware detection. It can run from an optical disc drive or other media i.e. USB-stick without using a hard disk drive....

, Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...

2009 audio
Network Security Toolkit
Network Security Toolkit
The Network Security Toolkit is a Linux-based Live CD that provides a set of open source computer security and networking tools to perform routine security and networking diagnostic and monitoring tasks. The distribution can be used as a network security analysis, validation and monitoring tool on...

Ronald W. Henderson, Paul Blankenbaker dev team 2003 Fedora
Fedora (operating system)
Fedora is a RPM-based, general purpose collection of software, including an operating system based on the Linux kernel, developed by the community-supported Fedora Project and sponsored by Red Hat...

2011 network, security
NimbleX
NimbleX
NimbleX is a small Slackware-based Linux distribution optimized to run from a CD, USB drive or a network environment. NimbleX has been praised for how fast it boots, as well as for its small disk footprint, which is considered surprising for a distribution using KDE as desktop environment...

Bogdan Radulescu Bogdan Radulescu 2005 Slackware
Slackware
Slackware is a free and open source Linux-based operating system. It was one of the earliest operating systems to be built on top of the Linux kernel and is the oldest currently being maintained. Slackware was created by Patrick Volkerding of Slackware Linux, Inc. in 1993...

2008 desktop
Nitix
Nitix
Nitix is a retail Linux distribution, produced in Canada. The software is developed by , which has been acquired by IBM as of January 2008 and currently operates as IBM Lotus Foundations.-History:...

Net Integration Technologies, Inc. Net Integration Technologies, Inc. 2001 none 2007 server
Novell Open Enterprise Server
Novell Open Enterprise Server
Novell Open Enterprise Server is the successor product to Novell, Inc.'s NetWare operating system, based on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server . Originally released in March 2005, the current release is OES 2 SP3...

Novell
Novell
Novell, Inc. is a multinational software and services company. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Attachmate Group. It specializes in network operating systems, such as Novell NetWare; systems management solutions, such as Novell ZENworks; and collaboration solutions, such as Novell Groupwise...

Novell
Novell
Novell, Inc. is a multinational software and services company. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Attachmate Group. It specializes in network operating systems, such as Novell NetWare; systems management solutions, such as Novell ZENworks; and collaboration solutions, such as Novell Groupwise...

, Inc. dev team
2003 SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server is a Linux distribution supplied by SUSE and targeted at the business market. It is targeted for servers, mainframes, and workstations but can be installed on desktop computers for testing as well. New major versions are released at an interval of 3-4 years, while...

2009 server
openSUSE
OpenSUSE
openSUSE is a general purpose operating system built on top of the Linux kernel, developed by the community-supported openSUSE Project and sponsored by SUSE...

SUSE Linux / Novell Novell
Novell
Novell, Inc. is a multinational software and services company. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Attachmate Group. It specializes in network operating systems, such as Novell NetWare; systems management solutions, such as Novell ZENworks; and collaboration solutions, such as Novell Groupwise...

, Inc. and openSUSE Project
OpenSUSE Project
The openSUSE Project is a community project to produce, improve and document the openSUSE Linux distribution and make it the "world's best Linux distribution".-Project:The openSUSE Project is a community program sponsored by Novell, AMD and IP Exchange...

1994 SUSE Linux
SUSE Linux distributions
SUSE Linux is a computer operating system. It is built on top of the open source Linux kernel and is distributed with system and application software from other open source projects. SUSE Linux is of German origin and mainly developed in Europe. The first version appeared in early 1994, making...

2011 general
OpenWrt
OpenWrt
OpenWrt is a Linux distribution primarily targeted at routing on embedded devices. It comprises a set of about 2000 software packages, installed and uninstalled via the opkg package management system. OpenWrt can be configured using the command-line interface of BusyBox ash, or the web interface...

OpenWrt team 2007 none 2010 embedded
Oracle Enterprise Linux
Oracle Enterprise Linux
Oracle Linux, formerly known as Oracle Enterprise Linux, is a Red Hat Enterprise Linux-compatible distribution, repackaged and sold by Oracle, available under the GNU General Public License since late 2006....

Oracle Corporation Oracle Corporation 2006 RHEL
Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is a Linux-based operating system developed by Red Hat and targeted toward the commercial market. Red Hat Enterprise Linux is released in server versions for x86, x86-64, Itanium, PowerPC and IBM System z, and desktop versions for x86 and x86-64...

2009 server
Pardus
Pardus (operating system)
Pardus is a Linux distribution developed with support from the Turkish government. Pardus’ main focus is office-related work, including the use in Turkish government agencies. Despite that, Pardus ships in several languages. Its ease of use and availability free of charge spawned numerous...

TUBITAK
TÜBITAK
The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey is the main body responsible for organizing research and development activities on the national level in Turkey, with headquarters located in Ankara.-History:...

TUBITAK
TÜBITAK
The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey is the main body responsible for organizing research and development activities on the national level in Turkey, with headquarters located in Ankara.-History:...

2005 none 2011 general
Parsix
Parsix
Parsix GNU/Linux is a live and installation DVD based on Debian. The Parsix project's goal is to provide a ready to use, easy to install, desktop and laptop optimized operating system based on Debian's testing branch and the latest stable release of GNOME desktop environment. It is possible to...

Alan Baghumian Parsix Project 2005 Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...

2011 desktop
PCLinuxOS
PCLinuxOS
PCLinuxOS, often shortened to PCLOS, is a GNU/Linux distribution, with KDE Plasma Desktop as its default user interface. It is a primarily free software operating system for personal computers aimed at ease of use...

Bill Reynolds dev team 2003 PCLinuxOS 2010 desktop
Pentoo
Pentoo
Pentoo is a Live CD and Live USB designed for penetration testing and security assessment. Based on Gentoo Linux, Pentoo is provided both as 32 and 64 bit livecd. It features packet injection patched wifi drivers, GPGPU cracking software, and lots of tools for penetration testing and security...

Michael Zanetta, Rick Farina, Jens Pranaitis Pentoo 2005 Gentoo 2009 auditing, security
Puppy Linux
Puppy Linux
Puppy Linux is a lightweight Linux distribution that focuses on ease of use. The entire system can be run from RAM, allowing the boot medium to be removed after the operating system has started...

Barry Kauler Puppy Foundation 2003 none 2010 portable, lightweight
Puredyne Aymeric Mansoux GOTO10, Puredyne Team 2005 Ubuntu
Ubuntu (operating system)
Ubuntu is a computer operating system based on the Debian Linux distribution and distributed as free and open source software. It is named after the Southern African philosophy of Ubuntu...

, Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...

2010 art, design, audio, multimedia
Red Flag Linux
Red Flag Linux
Red Flag Linux is a Chinese Linux distribution developed by Red Flag Software. Red Flag's logo is Tux carrying a prominent red flag.The current executive president of Red Flag Software is Jia Dong .-Description:...

Institute of Software, Chinese Academy of Sciences, NewMargin Venture Capital Red Flag Software Co., Ltd. 1999 Red Hat Linux
Red Hat Linux
Red Hat Linux, assembled by the company Red Hat, was a popular Linux based operating system until its discontinuation in 2004.Red Hat Linux 1.0 was released on November 3, 1994...

2009 general
Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is a Linux-based operating system developed by Red Hat and targeted toward the commercial market. Red Hat Enterprise Linux is released in server versions for x86, x86-64, Itanium, PowerPC and IBM System z, and desktop versions for x86 and x86-64...

Red Hat
Red Hat
Red Hat, Inc. is an S&P 500 company in the free and open source software sector, and a major Linux distribution vendor. Founded in 1993, Red Hat has its corporate headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina with satellite offices worldwide....

Red Hat
Red Hat
Red Hat, Inc. is an S&P 500 company in the free and open source software sector, and a major Linux distribution vendor. Founded in 1993, Red Hat has its corporate headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina with satellite offices worldwide....

2002 Red Hat Linux
Red Hat Linux
Red Hat Linux, assembled by the company Red Hat, was a popular Linux based operating system until its discontinuation in 2004.Red Hat Linux 1.0 was released on November 3, 1994...

/Fedora
Fedora (operating system)
Fedora is a RPM-based, general purpose collection of software, including an operating system based on the Linux kernel, developed by the community-supported Fedora Project and sponsored by Red Hat...

2011 server, workstation
Red Hat Linux
Red Hat Linux
Red Hat Linux, assembled by the company Red Hat, was a popular Linux based operating system until its discontinuation in 2004.Red Hat Linux 1.0 was released on November 3, 1994...

Red Hat
Red Hat
Red Hat, Inc. is an S&P 500 company in the free and open source software sector, and a major Linux distribution vendor. Founded in 1993, Red Hat has its corporate headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina with satellite offices worldwide....

Red Hat
Red Hat
Red Hat, Inc. is an S&P 500 company in the free and open source software sector, and a major Linux distribution vendor. Founded in 1993, Red Hat has its corporate headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina with satellite offices worldwide....

1995 none 2003 server, workstation
Rocks Cluster Distribution
Rocks Cluster Distribution
Rocks Cluster Distribution is a Linux distribution intended for high-performance computing clusters. It was started by National Partnership for Advanced Computational Infrastructure and the SDSC in 2000 and was initially funded in part by an NSF grant but is currently funded by the followup NSF...

UCSD Supercomputing Center, Clustercorp UCSD Supercomputing Center, Clustercorp 2000 Red Hat Linux
Red Hat Linux
Red Hat Linux, assembled by the company Red Hat, was a popular Linux based operating system until its discontinuation in 2004.Red Hat Linux 1.0 was released on November 3, 1994...

2009 server, workstation
Rxart
Pixart
Pixart SRL is a company based in Argentina dedicated to the development of free software, particularly the Rxart computer operating system, which is based on Debian.- History :...

Pixart SRL Pixart SRL 2000 Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...

2006 general
Sabayon Linux lxnay Design dev team 2005 Gentoo
Gentoo Linux
Gentoo Linux is a computer operating system built on top of the Linux kernel and based on the Portage package management system. It is distributed as free and open source software. Unlike a conventional software distribution, the user compiles the source code locally according to their chosen...

2010/Rolling
Rolling release
In software development, a rolling release development model refers to a continuously developing software system; this is opposed to a standard release development model which uses software versions that must be reinstalled over the previous version...

desktop
Scientific Linux
Scientific Linux
Scientific Linux is a Linux distribution produced by Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and the European Organization for Nuclear Research...

CERN
CERN
The European Organization for Nuclear Research , known as CERN , is an international organization whose purpose is to operate the world's largest particle physics laboratory, which is situated in the northwest suburbs of Geneva on the Franco–Swiss border...

, Fermilab
Fermilab
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory , located just outside Batavia, Illinois, near Chicago, is a US Department of Energy national laboratory specializing in high-energy particle physics...

dev team 2004 Red Hat Linux
Red Hat Linux
Red Hat Linux, assembled by the company Red Hat, was a popular Linux based operating system until its discontinuation in 2004.Red Hat Linux 1.0 was released on November 3, 1994...

/Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is a Linux-based operating system developed by Red Hat and targeted toward the commercial market. Red Hat Enterprise Linux is released in server versions for x86, x86-64, Itanium, PowerPC and IBM System z, and desktop versions for x86 and x86-64...

2011 science
SHR
SHR (operating system)
SHR is a community-driven Linux distribution for smartphones which is based on OpenEmbedded and the framework. Several different graphical toolkits are made available, such as GTK+, Qt and more.-System requirements:...

Bobby Martin SHR community 2008 OpenEmbedded
OpenEmbedded
OpenEmbedded is a software framework to create Linux distributions aimed for, but not restricted to, embedded devices. The build system is based on BitBake recipes, which behave similar to Gentoo's ebuilds....

Rolling
Rolling release
In software development, a rolling release development model refers to a continuously developing software system; this is opposed to a standard release development model which uses software versions that must be reinstalled over the previous version...

portable
sidux sidux team sidux team 2007 Debian Sid
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...

2009 desktop
Slackware
Slackware
Slackware is a free and open source Linux-based operating system. It was one of the earliest operating systems to be built on top of the Linux kernel and is the oldest currently being maintained. Slackware was created by Patrick Volkerding of Slackware Linux, Inc. in 1993...

Patrick Volkerding
Patrick Volkerding
Patrick Volkerding is the founder and maintainer of the Slackware Linux distribution. He is the "Slackware Benevolent Dictator for Life." Volkerding earned a Bachelor of Science in computer science from Minnesota State University Moorhead in 1993.For a short while, Chris Lumens and others assisted...

dev team 1993 Softlanding Linux System
Softlanding Linux System
Softlanding Linux System was an early Linux distribution founded by Peter MacDonald in May, 1992.SLS was the first release to offer a comprehensive Linux distribution containing more than the Linux kernel and basic utilities, including TCP/IP and the X Window System.- History :SLS was the most...

2011 general
Slax
SLAX
Slax is a LiveCD Linux distribution based on Slackware and is currently being developed by Tomáš Matějíček. Packages can be selected in a website where users can build a custom Slax iso image. Slax slogan refers to the software as a "Pocket Operating System"...

Tomas Matejicek Tomas Matejicek 2002 Slackware
Slackware
Slackware is a free and open source Linux-based operating system. It was one of the earliest operating systems to be built on top of the Linux kernel and is the oldest currently being maintained. Slackware was created by Patrick Volkerding of Slackware Linux, Inc. in 1993...

2009 live
SliTaz GNU/Linux
SliTaz GNU/Linux
SliTaz GNU/Linux is a community-based software project started in 2006 by Christophe Lincoln. It is a Linux distribution with a root filesystem that takes up approximately 100 MB of disk space, and its ISO image installation media is around 30 MB...

Christophe Lincoln dev team 2008 none 2010 portable
Source Mage GNU/Linux
Source Mage GNU/Linux
Source Mage GNU/Linux is a Linux distribution. As a package is being installed, its source code is automatically downloaded, compiled, and installed. Source Mage is descended from Sorcerer.-Notable features:...

Ryan Abrams, Eric Schabell dev team 2002 Sorcerer 2009 general
Super OS hacktolive hacktolive 2008 Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...

/Ubuntu
Ubuntu (operating system)
Ubuntu is a computer operating system based on the Debian Linux distribution and distributed as free and open source software. It is named after the Southern African philosophy of Ubuntu...

2011 general, offline use
SUSE Linux
SUSE Linux distributions
SUSE Linux is a computer operating system. It is built on top of the open source Linux kernel and is distributed with system and application software from other open source projects. SUSE Linux is of German origin and mainly developed in Europe. The first version appeared in early 1994, making...

SUSE Linux / Novell Novell
Novell
Novell, Inc. is a multinational software and services company. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Attachmate Group. It specializes in network operating systems, such as Novell NetWare; systems management solutions, such as Novell ZENworks; and collaboration solutions, such as Novell Groupwise...

, Inc. dev team
1994 Slackware
Slackware
Slackware is a free and open source Linux-based operating system. It was one of the earliest operating systems to be built on top of the Linux kernel and is the oldest currently being maintained. Slackware was created by Patrick Volkerding of Slackware Linux, Inc. in 1993...

, Jurix
Jurix
jurix is an early day, mainly floppy based Linux distribution that is now discontinued. It was created and maintained by Florian La Roche from the legal department at Saarland University, and stamped with a copyright for at least the span from 1994 to 1996...

2010 workstation, server
Symphony OS
Symphony OS
Symphony OS, SymphonyOne or Symphony Linux, is a Live CD Linux-based operating system, developed by Ryan Quinn, Jason Spisak, and Alexander Drummond. The distribution was dormant until 29 June 2011, when a new build was released....

Ryan Quinn Ryan Quinn and Jason Spisak
Jason Spisak
Jason Spisak is an American voice actor in animation and video games, and a Computer Programmer.Spisak is also the co-leader of the Symphony OS Project. He is the designer of Symphony's unique Mezzo desktop environment and wrote the Laws of Interface Design, for which the project tries to adhere...

2005 Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...

2008 desktop
SYS
SYS (operating system)
SYS is a Linux distribution intended to be easy to use for beginners, but also including sufficient tools for advanced users.- Characteristics :* Install DVD contains ca...

W.Landgraf W.Landgraf 2007 Slackware
Slackware
Slackware is a free and open source Linux-based operating system. It was one of the earliest operating systems to be built on top of the Linux kernel and is the oldest currently being maintained. Slackware was created by Patrick Volkerding of Slackware Linux, Inc. in 1993...

2010 general
Tiny Core Linux
Tiny Core Linux
Tiny Core Linux is a minimal Linux operating system focusing on providing a base system using BusyBox and FLTK. The lead developer of the project is Robert Shingledecker. The distribution is notable for its size under 12MB, with additional functionality provided by extensions of which there are...

Robert Shingledecker Team Tiny Core 2009 none 2011 portable
Tor-ramdisk
Tor-ramdisk
Tor-ramdisk is an i686 uClibc-based micro Linux distribution whose only purpose is to host a Tor server in an environment that maximizes security and privacy. Tor is a network of virtual tunnels that allows people and groups to improve their privacy and security on the Internet...

Anthony G. Basile dev team 2008 Gentoo
Gentoo Linux
Gentoo Linux is a computer operating system built on top of the Linux kernel and based on the Portage package management system. It is distributed as free and open source software. Unlike a conventional software distribution, the user compiles the source code locally according to their chosen...

 Embedded, uClibc
UClibc
In computing, uClibc is a small C standard library intended for embedded Linux systems. uClibc was created to support uClinux, a version of Linux not requiring a memory management unit and thus suited for microcontrollers .The project lead is Erik Andersen. The other main contributor is Manuel...

2011 Tor server
Trustix
Trustix
Trustix Secure Linux was a Linux distribution intended for use on servers and focused on security and stability. It was a hardened and secure OS, meaning that non-essential services and binaries are not installed, while UNIX staples like Sendmail are replaced by programs like Postfix.Trustix was...

Comodo Group, Inc. Comodo Group, Inc. 2000 Red Hat Linux
Red Hat Linux
Red Hat Linux, assembled by the company Red Hat, was a popular Linux based operating system until its discontinuation in 2004.Red Hat Linux 1.0 was released on November 3, 1994...

2007 server
Ubuntu
Ubuntu (operating system)
Ubuntu is a computer operating system based on the Debian Linux distribution and distributed as free and open source software. It is named after the Southern African philosophy of Ubuntu...

Canonical Ltd.
Canonical Ltd.
Canonical Ltd. is a private company founded by South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth to market commercial support and related services for Ubuntu Linux and related projects. Canonical is registered in London and employs staff around the world...

Canonical Ltd.
Canonical Ltd.
Canonical Ltd. is a private company founded by South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth to market commercial support and related services for Ubuntu Linux and related projects. Canonical is registered in London and employs staff around the world...

2004 Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...

2011 general
Kubuntu
Kubuntu
Kubuntu is an official derivative of the Ubuntu operating system using the KDE Plasma Desktop instead of the Unity graphical environment. It is part of the Ubuntu project and uses the same underlying system. It is possible to install both the KDE Plasma Desktop as well as the Unity desktop on...

Canonical Ltd.
Canonical Ltd.
Canonical Ltd. is a private company founded by South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth to market commercial support and related services for Ubuntu Linux and related projects. Canonical is registered in London and employs staff around the world...

Canonical Ltd.
Canonical Ltd.
Canonical Ltd. is a private company founded by South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth to market commercial support and related services for Ubuntu Linux and related projects. Canonical is registered in London and employs staff around the world...

2005 Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...

2011 desktop
Xubuntu
Xubuntu
Xubuntu is a Canonical Ltd. recognized, community maintained derivative of the Ubuntu operating system, using the Xfce desktop environment.The name Xubuntu is a portmanteau of Xfce and Ubuntu...

Canonical Ltd.
Canonical Ltd.
Canonical Ltd. is a private company founded by South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth to market commercial support and related services for Ubuntu Linux and related projects. Canonical is registered in London and employs staff around the world...

Canonical Ltd.
Canonical Ltd.
Canonical Ltd. is a private company founded by South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth to market commercial support and related services for Ubuntu Linux and related projects. Canonical is registered in London and employs staff around the world...

2006 Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...

2011 desktop
Edubuntu
Edubuntu
Edubuntu, also previously known as Ubuntu Education Edition, is an official derivative of the Ubuntu operating system designed for use in classrooms inside schools, homes and communities....

Canonical Ltd.
Canonical Ltd.
Canonical Ltd. is a private company founded by South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth to market commercial support and related services for Ubuntu Linux and related projects. Canonical is registered in London and employs staff around the world...

Canonical Ltd.
Canonical Ltd.
Canonical Ltd. is a private company founded by South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth to market commercial support and related services for Ubuntu Linux and related projects. Canonical is registered in London and employs staff around the world...

2005 Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...

2011 computer lab
Gobuntu
Gobuntu
Gobuntu was an official derivative of the Ubuntu operating system that was conceived to provide a distribution consisting entirely of free software....

Canonical Ltd.
Canonical Ltd.
Canonical Ltd. is a private company founded by South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth to market commercial support and related services for Ubuntu Linux and related projects. Canonical is registered in London and employs staff around the world...

Canonical Ltd.
Canonical Ltd.
Canonical Ltd. is a private company founded by South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth to market commercial support and related services for Ubuntu Linux and related projects. Canonical is registered in London and employs staff around the world...

2007 Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...

2008 desktop
Ubuntu Studio
Ubuntu Studio
Ubuntu Studio is an officially recognized derivative of the Ubuntu Linux distribution, which is explicitly geared to general multimedia production. The original version, based on Ubuntu 7.04, was released on May 10, 2007.-Real-time kernel:...

Canonical Ltd.
Canonical Ltd.
Canonical Ltd. is a private company founded by South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth to market commercial support and related services for Ubuntu Linux and related projects. Canonical is registered in London and employs staff around the world...

Canonical Ltd.
Canonical Ltd.
Canonical Ltd. is a private company founded by South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth to market commercial support and related services for Ubuntu Linux and related projects. Canonical is registered in London and employs staff around the world...

2007 Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...

2011 multimedia
Ututo
Ututo
Ututo GNU/Linux is a GNU/Linux operating system consisting entirely of free software. The name makes reference to a gecko known by this name from northern Argentina. It is compiled using Gentoo Linux "ebuilds" and "emerge" software. All documentation is in Spanish.Ututo was the first fully free...

Diego Saravia, Daniel Olivera UTUTO dev team 2000 Gentoo Linux
Gentoo Linux
Gentoo Linux is a computer operating system built on top of the Linux kernel and based on the Portage package management system. It is distributed as free and open source software. Unlike a conventional software distribution, the user compiles the source code locally according to their chosen...

2009 general
VectorLinux Robert S. Lange dev team 1999 Slackware
Slackware
Slackware is a free and open source Linux-based operating system. It was one of the earliest operating systems to be built on top of the Linux kernel and is the oldest currently being maintained. Slackware was created by Patrick Volkerding of Slackware Linux, Inc. in 1993...

2009 desktop
Vanillux Vanillux Foundation dev team 2011 Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...

2011 desktop
Wolvix
Wolvix
Wolvix is a desktop-oriented Linux distribution based on Slackware, mainly targeted at home users, and strives to provide a balance between everyday computing tasks, creativity, work and enjoyment...

Wolven Wolven 2007 Slackware
Slackware
Slackware is a free and open source Linux-based operating system. It was one of the earliest operating systems to be built on top of the Linux kernel and is the oldest currently being maintained. Slackware was created by Patrick Volkerding of Slackware Linux, Inc. in 1993...

2009 desktop
Xandros
Xandros
Xandros is the name of both a line of operating systems and Xandros Corporation, the company which creates them. Xandros Desktop was a Linux distribution. The name Xandros is derived from the X Window System and the Greek island of Andros....

Xandros Corp. Xandros, Inc. 2002 Corel Linux
Corel Linux
Corel Linux, also called Corel LinuxOS, was a Debian-based operating system made by Corel that was released in late 1999. Corel later discontinued the distribution, but did not remove the former Corel Open Source Development website until March 2002....

2007 desktop
XBMC The XBMC Project Team-XBMC 2008 Ubuntu
Ubuntu (operating system)
Ubuntu is a computer operating system based on the Debian Linux distribution and distributed as free and open source software. It is named after the Southern African philosophy of Ubuntu...

2011 multimedia
Yellow Dog Linux
Yellow Dog Linux
Yellow Dog Linux, also known as YDL, is a free and open source operating system for high performance computing on multicore architectures. It focuses on GPU systems and computers using the Power Architecture . YDL is currently developed by Fixstars...

Terra Soft Solutions Fixstars Solutions
Fixstars Solutions
Fixstars Solutions, Inc is a software and services company specializing in Multi-core processor, particularly in the Nvidia's GPU and CUDA environment, IBM Power7 and Cell....

1999 Fedora
Fedora (operating system)
Fedora is a RPM-based, general purpose collection of software, including an operating system based on the Linux kernel, developed by the community-supported Fedora Project and sponsored by Red Hat...

, CentOS
CentOS
CentOS is a free operating system based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux . It exists to provide a free enterprise class computing platform and strives to maintain 100% binary compatibility with its upstream distribution...

2009 general
Yoper
YOPER
Yoper Linux—Your Operating System—is a Linux distribution for PCs with i686 or higher processor types. It can be used for both personal computers and server use and uses hardware recognition tools known from Knoppix...

Andreas Giradet The Yoper Team 2003 none 2010 general
Zenwalk Jean-Philippe Guillemin dev team 2004 Slackware
Slackware
Slackware is a free and open source Linux-based operating system. It was one of the earliest operating systems to be built on top of the Linux kernel and is the oldest currently being maintained. Slackware was created by Patrick Volkerding of Slackware Linux, Inc. in 1993...

2011 general
Distribution Creator Producer First public release Base distribution Latest release date Purpose

Cost

The following distributions are available for free (without cost): aLinux
ALinux
aLinux is a Linux distribution created and maintained by Jay Klepacs. It uses KDE as its default desktop environment. It is designed to have a Windows-style "look".-Version History:Retrieved on May 22, 2007aLinux's original name was Peanut Linux...

, Alpine Linux
Alpine Linux
Alpine Linux is a Linux distribution based on uClibc and BusyBox, which has the goal of being lightweight and secure by default while still being useful for general-purpose tasks. Alpine Linux uses PaX and grsecurity patches in the default kernel and compiles all packages with stack-smashing...

, ALT Linux
ALT Linux
ALT Linux is a set of RPM-based operating systems built on top of the Linux kernel and Sisyphus packages repository. ALT Linux is developed jointly by ALT Linux Team developers community and ALT Linux Ltd.- History :...

, Annvix
Annvix
Annvix is a Canadian security-focused operating system based on Mandriva Linux . It is a dormant operating system with the last version being released December 30, 2007....

, Arch Linux
Arch Linux
Arch Linux is an independently developed, Linux-based operating system for i686 and x86-64 computers. It is composed predominantly of free and open source software, and supports community involvement....

, Ark Linux
Ark Linux
Ark Linux is a Linux distribution maintained by a group of volunteers and aims to be easy to install and use. Its default desktop environment is KDE.Ark Linux is available both as an installable CD and as a Live CD, and is free software.-Principles:...

, Asianux
Asianux
Asianux is a Linux distribution. It is a joint development between Linux vendors Red Flag Software of China, Miracle Linux of Japan , Haansoft of South Korea, VietSoftware of Vietnam , WTEC from Thailand and Enterprise Technology Limited of Sri Lanka...

, BLAG Linux and GNU
BLAG Linux and GNU
BLAG Linux and GNU is a GNU/Linux distribution made by the Brixton Linux Action Group.BLAG is a single-CD distro with applications desktop users "expect" from a desktop including multimedia, graphics, desktop internet applications and more. BLAG also includes a collection of server packages...

, Bodhi Linux
Bodhi Linux
Bodhi Linux is a small Linux distribution using the Enlightenment window manager and based upon Ubuntu. Its philosophy is to provide a base system with a minimal desktop, file browser, web browser, terminal emulator and leave the exact choice of applications to the user...

, Caixa Mágica
Caixa Mágica
Caixa Mágica is a Portuguese Linux distribution based on Debian and maintained by Caixa Mágica Software. It uses the .deb format...

, CentOS
CentOS
CentOS is a free operating system based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux . It exists to provide a free enterprise class computing platform and strives to maintain 100% binary compatibility with its upstream distribution...

, CRUX
CRUX
CRUX is a lightweight, i686-optimized GNU/Linux distribution targeted at experienced GNU/Linux users and delivered by a tar.gz-based package system with BSD-style initscripts. It also utilizes a ports system to install and upgrade applications. The current release is 2.7.1.Although crux is the...

, Damn Small Linux
Damn Small Linux
Damn Small Linux or DSL is a computer operating system for the x86 family of personal computers. It is free and open source software under the terms of GNU GPL and other free and open source licenses. It was designed to run graphical applications on older PC hardware—for example, machines with...

, Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...

, DeLi Linux, Devil-Linux
Devil-Linux
Devil-Linux is a Linux distribution for use as a router/firewall which boots and runs completely from CD-ROM. Devil-Linux is capable of running on an older PC. This, combined with a hub or switch is a solution some Linux users may prefer instead of using a dedicated router.Devil-Linux does not...

, dyne:bolic
Dyne:bolic
dyne:bolic is a Live CD/DVD based on the Linux kernel with a focus on multimedia production, and is distributed with a large assortment of applications for audio and video manipulation...

, EasyPeasy, Edubuntu
Edubuntu
Edubuntu, also previously known as Ubuntu Education Edition, is an official derivative of the Ubuntu operating system designed for use in classrooms inside schools, homes and communities....

, Elive
Elive
Elive is a GNU/Linux distribution based on Debian for legacy and commodity hardware with Intel processors. Elive uses the Enlightenment X window manager instead of GNOME or KDE...

, EnGarde Secure Linux
EnGarde Secure Linux
EnGarde Secure Linux is an open source server-only Linux distribution developed by . EnGarde incorporates open source tools such as Postfix, BIND, and the LAMP stack....

, Fedora
Fedora (operating system)
Fedora is a RPM-based, general purpose collection of software, including an operating system based on the Linux kernel, developed by the community-supported Fedora Project and sponsored by Red Hat...

, Finnix
Finnix
Finnix is a Debian-based Live CD operating system, developed by Ryan Finnie and intended for system administrators for tasks such as filesystem recovery, network monitoring and OS installation...

, Foresight Linux
Foresight Linux
- External links :* *...

, Freespire
Freespire
Freespire was a community-driven Linux distribution which was composed mostly of free, open source software, while providing users the choice of including proprietary software including multimedia codecs, device drivers and application software....

, Frugalware
Frugalware
Frugalware Linux is a general-purpose Linux distribution designed for intermediate users who are familiar with command-line operations. Early versions were based on Slackware, but it is now an independently-developed distribution...

, Gentoo
Gentoo Linux
Gentoo Linux is a computer operating system built on top of the Linux kernel and based on the Portage package management system. It is distributed as free and open source software. Unlike a conventional software distribution, the user compiles the source code locally according to their chosen...

, gNewSense
GNewSense
gNewSense is a Linux distribution based on Ubuntu. Its goal is to maintain the user-friendliness of Ubuntu, but with all non FSF approved software and binary blobs removed. The Free Software Foundation considers gNewSense to be a Linux distribution composed entirely of free software.gNewSense takes...

, gnuLinEx
GnuLinEx
gnuLinEx, or LinEx, is a Debian-based GNU-Linux operating system that uses GNOME for its desktop. An initiative of the regional government of Extremadura, Spain, gnuLinEx is intended to be used in all schools in Extremadura, as well as in official institutions. It is actively promoted for business...

, GoboLinux
GoboLinux
GoboLinux is a free and open source operating system whose most prominent feature is a reorganization of the traditional Linux file system. Rather than following the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard like most Unix-like systems, each program in a GoboLinux system has its own subdirectory tree, where...

, Gobuntu
Gobuntu
Gobuntu was an official derivative of the Ubuntu operating system that was conceived to provide a distribution consisting entirely of free software....

, Impi Linux, Kanotix
Kanotix
Kanotix, also referred to as KANOTIX, is an operating system Live CD based on Debian, with advanced hardware detection. It can run from an optical disc drive or other media i.e. USB-stick without using a hard disk drive....

, Knoppix
Knoppix
Knoppix, or KNOPPIX , is an operating system based on Debian designed to be run directly from a CD / DVD or a USB key , one of the first of its kind for any operating system. Knoppix was developed by Linux consultant Klaus Knopper. When starting a program, it is loaded from the removable medium...

, KnoppMyth
KnoppMyth
KnoppMyth is a Linux distribution designed for use on Home Theater PCs . As of version R6, it is now called LinHES . The most recent release is based on Arch Linux, though previous versions were based on Debian Linux with configuration scripts from the Knoppix Linux distribution...

, Kubuntu
Kubuntu
Kubuntu is an official derivative of the Ubuntu operating system using the KDE Plasma Desktop instead of the Unity graphical environment. It is part of the Ubuntu project and uses the same underlying system. It is possible to install both the KDE Plasma Desktop as well as the Unity desktop on...

, Kurumin, Linux Mint
Linux Mint
Linux Mint is a Linux-based computer operating system best known for its usability and ease of installation, particularly for users with no previous GNU/Linux experience...

, Lunar Linux
Lunar Linux
Lunar Linux is an operating system maintained around a source-based package management system also called Lunar. The project is a descendant of the Sorcerer Linux distribution.The installation disk installs a complete bootstrap development system first...

, Micro Core Linux
Tiny Core Linux
Tiny Core Linux is a minimal Linux operating system focusing on providing a base system using BusyBox and FLTK. The lead developer of the project is Robert Shingledecker. The distribution is notable for its size under 12MB, with additional functionality provided by extensions of which there are...

, Mageia
Mageia
Mageia is the name of a non-profit organization and Linux distribution. The first release of the distribution was made on 1 June 2011.-Name:The term "mageia" — μαγεία in Greek — means "magic" in English...

. MintPPC
MintPPC
Linux MintPPC, also known as MintPPC, is a free and open source operating system for the PowerPC architecture. MintPPC was first released in May 2010. The most recent version, MintPPC 11, was released on November 14, 2011...

, Musix GNU/Linux, Network Security Toolkit
Network Security Toolkit
The Network Security Toolkit is a Linux-based Live CD that provides a set of open source computer security and networking tools to perform routine security and networking diagnostic and monitoring tasks. The distribution can be used as a network security analysis, validation and monitoring tool on...

, NimbleX
NimbleX
NimbleX is a small Slackware-based Linux distribution optimized to run from a CD, USB drive or a network environment. NimbleX has been praised for how fast it boots, as well as for its small disk footprint, which is considered surprising for a distribution using KDE as desktop environment...

, NUbuntu
NUbuntu
nUbuntu or Network Ubuntu was a project to take the existing Ubuntu operating system LiveCD and Full Installer and remaster it with tools needed for penetration testing servers and networks. The main idea is to keep Ubuntu's ease of use and mix it with popular penetration testing tools...

, openSUSE
OpenSUSE
openSUSE is a general purpose operating system built on top of the Linux kernel, developed by the community-supported openSUSE Project and sponsored by SUSE...

, Pardus
Pardus (operating system)
Pardus is a Linux distribution developed with support from the Turkish government. Pardus’ main focus is office-related work, including the use in Turkish government agencies. Despite that, Pardus ships in several languages. Its ease of use and availability free of charge spawned numerous...

, Parsix
Parsix
Parsix GNU/Linux is a live and installation DVD based on Debian. The Parsix project's goal is to provide a ready to use, easy to install, desktop and laptop optimized operating system based on Debian's testing branch and the latest stable release of GNOME desktop environment. It is possible to...

, PCLinuxOS
PCLinuxOS
PCLinuxOS, often shortened to PCLOS, is a GNU/Linux distribution, with KDE Plasma Desktop as its default user interface. It is a primarily free software operating system for personal computers aimed at ease of use...

, Puppy Linux
Puppy Linux
Puppy Linux is a lightweight Linux distribution that focuses on ease of use. The entire system can be run from RAM, allowing the boot medium to be removed after the operating system has started...

, Sabayon Linux, Scientific Linux
Scientific Linux
Scientific Linux is a Linux distribution produced by Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and the European Organization for Nuclear Research...

, sidux, Slackware
Slackware
Slackware is a free and open source Linux-based operating system. It was one of the earliest operating systems to be built on top of the Linux kernel and is the oldest currently being maintained. Slackware was created by Patrick Volkerding of Slackware Linux, Inc. in 1993...

, Slax
SLAX
Slax is a LiveCD Linux distribution based on Slackware and is currently being developed by Tomáš Matějíček. Packages can be selected in a website where users can build a custom Slax iso image. Slax slogan refers to the software as a "Pocket Operating System"...

, SliTaz GNU/Linux
SliTaz GNU/Linux
SliTaz GNU/Linux is a community-based software project started in 2006 by Christophe Lincoln. It is a Linux distribution with a root filesystem that takes up approximately 100 MB of disk space, and its ISO image installation media is around 30 MB...

, Source Mage GNU/Linux
Source Mage GNU/Linux
Source Mage GNU/Linux is a Linux distribution. As a package is being installed, its source code is automatically downloaded, compiled, and installed. Source Mage is descended from Sorcerer.-Notable features:...

, Symphony OS
Symphony OS
Symphony OS, SymphonyOne or Symphony Linux, is a Live CD Linux-based operating system, developed by Ryan Quinn, Jason Spisak, and Alexander Drummond. The distribution was dormant until 29 June 2011, when a new build was released....

, SYS
SYS (operating system)
SYS is a Linux distribution intended to be easy to use for beginners, but also including sufficient tools for advanced users.- Characteristics :* Install DVD contains ca...

, Tiny Core Linux
Tiny Core Linux
Tiny Core Linux is a minimal Linux operating system focusing on providing a base system using BusyBox and FLTK. The lead developer of the project is Robert Shingledecker. The distribution is notable for its size under 12MB, with additional functionality provided by extensions of which there are...

, Tor-ramdisk
Tor-ramdisk
Tor-ramdisk is an i686 uClibc-based micro Linux distribution whose only purpose is to host a Tor server in an environment that maximizes security and privacy. Tor is a network of virtual tunnels that allows people and groups to improve their privacy and security on the Internet...

, Trustix
Trustix
Trustix Secure Linux was a Linux distribution intended for use on servers and focused on security and stability. It was a hardened and secure OS, meaning that non-essential services and binaries are not installed, while UNIX staples like Sendmail are replaced by programs like Postfix.Trustix was...

, Ubuntu
Ubuntu (operating system)
Ubuntu is a computer operating system based on the Debian Linux distribution and distributed as free and open source software. It is named after the Southern African philosophy of Ubuntu...

, Ututo
Ututo
Ututo GNU/Linux is a GNU/Linux operating system consisting entirely of free software. The name makes reference to a gecko known by this name from northern Argentina. It is compiled using Gentoo Linux "ebuilds" and "emerge" software. All documentation is in Spanish.Ututo was the first fully free...

, Super OS, Xubuntu
Xubuntu
Xubuntu is a Canonical Ltd. recognized, community maintained derivative of the Ubuntu operating system, using the Xfce desktop environment.The name Xubuntu is a portmanteau of Xfce and Ubuntu...

, XBMC Live, Yoper
YOPER
Yoper Linux—Your Operating System—is a Linux distribution for PCs with i686 or higher processor types. It can be used for both personal computers and server use and uses hardware recognition tools known from Knoppix...

, Zenwalk and OpenWrt
OpenWrt
OpenWrt is a Linux distribution primarily targeted at routing on embedded devices. It comprises a set of about 2000 software packages, installed and uninstalled via the opkg package management system. OpenWrt can be configured using the command-line interface of BusyBox ash, or the web interface...

.

The following distributions have several editions, some of which are without cost and some of which do cost money: ClearOS
ClearOS
ClearOS is a Linux distribution, based on CentOS and Red Hat Enterprise Linux, designed for use in small and medium enterprises as a network gateway and network server with a web-based administration interface. It is designed to be an alternative to Windows Small Business Server. ClearOS succeeds...

, Mandriva Linux
Mandriva Linux
Mandriva Linux is a Linux distribution distributed by Mandriva. It uses the RPM Package Manager...

, MEPIS
MEPIS
MEPIS is a set of Linux distributions, distributed as Live CDs that can be installed onto a hard disk drive.MEPIS is developed and maintained by an active community begun by Warren Woodford and the eponymous company MEPIS LLC....

 and Red Flag Linux
Red Flag Linux
Red Flag Linux is a Chinese Linux distribution developed by Red Flag Software. Red Flag's logo is Tux carrying a prominent red flag.The current executive president of Red Flag Software is Jia Dong .-Description:...

.

The following distributions cost money: Novell Open Enterprise Server
Novell Open Enterprise Server
Novell Open Enterprise Server is the successor product to Novell, Inc.'s NetWare operating system, based on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server . Originally released in March 2005, the current release is OES 2 SP3...

, Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is a Linux-based operating system developed by Red Hat and targeted toward the commercial market. Red Hat Enterprise Linux is released in server versions for x86, x86-64, Itanium, PowerPC and IBM System z, and desktop versions for x86 and x86-64...

, Rxart
Pixart
Pixart SRL is a company based in Argentina dedicated to the development of free software, particularly the Rxart computer operating system, which is based on Debian.- History :...

, SUSE Linux Enterprise
SUSE Linux distributions
SUSE Linux is a computer operating system. It is built on top of the open source Linux kernel and is distributed with system and application software from other open source projects. SUSE Linux is of German origin and mainly developed in Europe. The first version appeared in early 1994, making...

,

The following distribution had at least one version that used to cost money: Caixa Mágica
Caixa Mágica
Caixa Mágica is a Portuguese Linux distribution based on Debian and maintained by Caixa Mágica Software. It uses the .deb format...

 (now freely-available), Elive
Elive
Elive is a GNU/Linux distribution based on Debian for legacy and commodity hardware with Intel processors. Elive uses the Enlightenment X window manager instead of GNOME or KDE...

 (now freely-available), Xandros
Xandros
Xandros is the name of both a line of operating systems and Xandros Corporation, the company which creates them. Xandros Desktop was a Linux distribution. The name Xandros is derived from the X Window System and the Greek island of Andros....

 (discontinued), Linspire
Linspire
Linspire, previously known as LindowsOS, was a commercial operating system based on Debian GNU/Linux and later Ubuntu. Linspire was published by Linspire, Inc. and focused on ease-of-use, targeting home PC users...

 (discontinued)

Technical

The following table shows the default file system, but many Linux distributions support some or all of ext2
Ext2
The ext2 or second extended filesystem is a file system for the Linux kernel. It was initially designed by Rémy Card as a replacement for the extended file system ....

, ext3
Ext3
The ext3 or third extended filesystem is a journaled file system that is commonly used by the Linux kernel. It is the default file system for many popular Linux distributions, including Debian...

, ext4
Ext4
The ext4 or fourth extended filesystem is a journaling file system for Linux, developed as the successor to ext3.It was born as a series of backward compatible extensions to ext3, many of them originally developed by Cluster File Systems for the Lustre file system between 2003 and 2006, meant to...

, ReiserFS
ReiserFS
ReiserFS is a general-purpose, journaled computer file system designed and implemented by a team at Namesys led by Hans Reiser. ReiserFS is currently supported on Linux . Introduced in version 2.4.1 of the Linux kernel, it was the first journaling file system to be included in the standard kernel...

, Reiser4
Reiser4
Reiser4 is a computer file system, successor to the ReiserFS file system, developed from scratch by Namesys and sponsored by DARPA as well as Linspire...

, JFS, XFS
XFS
XFS is a high-performance journaling file system created by Silicon Graphics, Inc. It is the default file system in IRIX releases 5.3 and onwards and later ported to the Linux kernel. XFS is particularly proficient at parallel IO due to its allocation group based design...

, GFS
Global File System
In computing, the Global File System is a shared disk file system for Linux computer clusters. This is not to be confused with the Google File System, a proprietary distributed filesystem developed by Google....

, GFS2, OCFS
OCFS
OCFS is a shared disk file system developed by Oracle Corporation and released under the GNU General Public License....

, OCFS
OCFS
OCFS is a shared disk file system developed by Oracle Corporation and released under the GNU General Public License....

2, and NILFS
NILFS
NILFS is a log-structured file system implementation for Linux. It is being developed by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation CyberSpace Laboratories and released under the terms of the GNU General Public License .Version 2 of the filesystem, known as NILFS2, is included in Linux kernel...

. It is possible to install Linux onto the majority of these file systems. The ext file systems, namely ext2, ext3, and ext4 are based on the original Linux file system. File systems have been developed by companies to meet their specific needs, and by hobbyists, or adapted from UNIX, Microsoft Windows, and other operating systems. Linux has full support for XFS and JFS, along with FAT
File Allocation Table
File Allocation Table is a computer file system architecture now widely used on many computer systems and most memory cards, such as those used with digital cameras. FAT file systems are commonly found on floppy disks, flash memory cards, digital cameras, and many other portable devices because of...

 (the MS-DOS
MS-DOS
MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...

 file system), and HFS
Hierarchical File System
Hierarchical File System is a file system developed by Apple Inc. for use in computer systems running Mac OS. Originally designed for use on floppy and hard disks, it can also be found on read-only media such as CD-ROMs...

 which is the primary file system for the Macintosh
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...

. Support for Microsoft Windows NT
Windows NT
Windows NT is a family of operating systems produced by Microsoft, the first version of which was released in July 1993. It was a powerful high-level-language-based, processor-independent, multiprocessing, multiuser operating system with features comparable to Unix. It was intended to complement...

's NTFS
NTFS
NTFS is the standard file system of Windows NT, including its later versions Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, and Windows 7....

 file system has appeared, and is now comparable to the support available for other native Unix
Unix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...

 file systems. CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray discs' ISO 9660
ISO 9660
ISO 9660, also referred to as CDFS by some hardware and software providers, is a file system standard published by the International Organization for Standardization for optical disc media....

 and Universal Disk Format
Universal Disk Format
Universal Disk Format is an implementation of the specification known as ISO/IEC 13346 and ECMA-167 and is an open vendor-neutral file system for computer data storage for a broad range of media. In practice, it has been most widely used for DVDs and newer optical disc formats, supplanting ISO 9660...

 (UDF) are supported. Unlike other operating systems, Linux and UNIX allow any file system to be used regardless of the medium it is stored on, whether that medium is a magnetic disk, an optical disk (CD, DVD, etc.), a USB flash memory key, or even contained within a file located on another file system.

Similarly, many C-compilers (mainly GCC
GNU Compiler Collection
The GNU Compiler Collection is a compiler system produced by the GNU Project supporting various programming languages. GCC is a key component of the GNU toolchain...

), desktop environments and window managers are widely supported.
Distribution Default file system
File system
A file system is a means to organize data expected to be retained after a program terminates by providing procedures to store, retrieve and update data, as well as manage the available space on the device which contain it. A file system organizes data in an efficient manner and is tuned to the...

Install-time desktop environment
Desktop environment
In graphical computing, a desktop environment commonly refers to a style of graphical user interface derived from the desktop metaphor that is seen on most modern personal computers. These GUIs help the user in easily accessing, configuring, and modifying many important and frequently accessed...

 or window manager
Window manager
A window manager is system software that controls the placement and appearance of windows within a windowing system in a graphical user interface. Most window managers are designed to help provide a desktop environment...

 selection
64 Studio GNOME
GNOME
GNOME is a desktop environment and graphical user interface that runs on top of a computer operating system. It is composed entirely of free and open source software...

Alinex
Alinex
Alinex is a Portuguese operating system. It started with as an initiative between the regional government of Extremadura and the University of Évora , in 2005. Version 1.0 was initially based on gnuLinEx, but since version 2.0 it is based on Ubuntu. It is currently being developed by the...

ext3 GNOME
aLinux
ALinux
aLinux is a Linux distribution created and maintained by Jay Klepacs. It uses KDE as its default desktop environment. It is designed to have a Windows-style "look".-Version History:Retrieved on May 22, 2007aLinux's original name was Peanut Linux...

none KDE Plasma Workspaces
ALT Linux
ALT Linux
ALT Linux is a set of RPM-based operating systems built on top of the Linux kernel and Sisyphus packages repository. ALT Linux is developed jointly by ALT Linux Team developers community and ALT Linux Ltd.- History :...

ext3 KDE Plasma Workspaces, Xfce
Xfce
Xfce is a free software desktop environment for Unix and other Unix-like platforms, such as Linux, Solaris, and BSD – though recent compatibility issues have arisen with regard to BSD Unix platforms...

Annvix
Annvix
Annvix is a Canadian security-focused operating system based on Mandriva Linux . It is a dormant operating system with the last version being released December 30, 2007....

none
aptosid ext3 KDE Plasma Workspaces
Arch Linux
Arch Linux
Arch Linux is an independently developed, Linux-based operating system for i686 and x86-64 computers. It is composed predominantly of free and open source software, and supports community involvement....

none none
Ark Linux
Ark Linux
Ark Linux is a Linux distribution maintained by a group of volunteers and aims to be easy to install and use. Its default desktop environment is KDE.Ark Linux is available both as an installable CD and as a Live CD, and is free software.-Principles:...

JFS KDE Plasma Workspaces
Asianux
Asianux
Asianux is a Linux distribution. It is a joint development between Linux vendors Red Flag Software of China, Miracle Linux of Japan , Haansoft of South Korea, VietSoftware of Vietnam , WTEC from Thailand and Enterprise Technology Limited of Sri Lanka...

ext3 K Desktop Environment 3
BackTrack
BackTrack
BackTrack is an operating system based on the Ubuntu GNU/Linux distribution aimed at digital forensics and penetration testing use. It is named after backtracking, a search algorithm...

ext3 KDE Plasma Workspaces
BLAG Linux and GNU
BLAG Linux and GNU
BLAG Linux and GNU is a GNU/Linux distribution made by the Brixton Linux Action Group.BLAG is a single-CD distro with applications desktop users "expect" from a desktop including multimedia, graphics, desktop internet applications and more. BLAG also includes a collection of server packages...

ext3 GNOME
Caixa Mágica
Caixa Mágica
Caixa Mágica is a Portuguese Linux distribution based on Debian and maintained by Caixa Mágica Software. It uses the .deb format...

CentOS
CentOS
CentOS is a free operating system based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux . It exists to provide a free enterprise class computing platform and strives to maintain 100% binary compatibility with its upstream distribution...

ext3 GNOME
ClearOS
ClearOS
ClearOS is a Linux distribution, based on CentOS and Red Hat Enterprise Linux, designed for use in small and medium enterprises as a network gateway and network server with a web-based administration interface. It is designed to be an alternative to Windows Small Business Server. ClearOS succeeds...

ext3 GNOME
CrunchBang Linux
CrunchBang Linux
CrunchBang Linux is a lightweight Debian based Linux distribution, created by Philip Newborough, designed to offer a good balance of speed and functionality.- Features :...

ext3 Openbox
Openbox
Openbox is a free window manager for the X Window System, licensed under the GNU General Public License. Originally derived from Blackbox 0.65.0 , Openbox has now been totally rewritten in the C programming language and since version 3.0 is not based upon any code from Blackbox.Openbox is designed...

 or Xfce
CRUX
CRUX
CRUX is a lightweight, i686-optimized GNU/Linux distribution targeted at experienced GNU/Linux users and delivered by a tar.gz-based package system with BSD-style initscripts. It also utilizes a ports system to install and upgrade applications. The current release is 2.7.1.Although crux is the...

none Openbox
Damn Small Linux
Damn Small Linux
Damn Small Linux or DSL is a computer operating system for the x86 family of personal computers. It is free and open source software under the terms of GNU GPL and other free and open source licenses. It was designed to run graphical applications on older PC hardware—for example, machines with...

ext3 JWM
JWM
JWM is a lightweight stacking window manager for the X Window System written by Joe Wingbermuehle. JWM is written in C and uses only Xlib at a minimum...

Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...

ext4 GNOME
GNOME
GNOME is a desktop environment and graphical user interface that runs on top of a computer operating system. It is composed entirely of free and open source software...

, KDE
KDE
KDE is an international free software community producing an integrated set of cross-platform applications designed to run on Linux, FreeBSD, Microsoft Windows, Solaris and Mac OS X systems...

, Xfce
Xfce
Xfce is a free software desktop environment for Unix and other Unix-like platforms, such as Linux, Solaris, and BSD – though recent compatibility issues have arisen with regard to BSD Unix platforms...

, LXDE
LXDE
LXDE is a free and open source desktop environment for Unix and other POSIX compliant platforms, such as Linux or BSD. The goal of the project is to provide a desktop environment that is fast and energy efficient...

DeLi Linux ext3/ext2 IceWM
IceWM
IceWM is a stacking window manager for the X Window System graphical infrastructure, written by Marko Maček. It was coded from scratch in C++ and is released under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License...

Dreamlinux
Dreamlinux
Dreamlinux is a Brazilian computer operating system based on Debian GNU/Linux. It can boot as a live CD, from USB flash drive, or can be installed on a hard drive...

ext3 Xfce
dyne:bolic
Dyne:bolic
dyne:bolic is a Live CD/DVD based on the Linux kernel with a focus on multimedia production, and is distributed with a large assortment of applications for audio and video manipulation...

SquashFS
SquashFS
SquashFS is a compressed read-only file system for Linux. SquashFS compresses files, inodes and directories, and supports block sizes up to 1 MB for greater compression...

, ext3
Xfce
EasyPeasy ext3 GNOME, Ubuntu Netbook Edition
Elive
Elive
Elive is a GNU/Linux distribution based on Debian for legacy and commodity hardware with Intel processors. Elive uses the Enlightenment X window manager instead of GNOME or KDE...

SquashFS, ReiserFS Enlightenment
Enlightenment (window manager)
Enlightenment, also known simply as E, is a stacking window manager for the X Window System which can be used alone or in conjunction with a desktop environment such as GNOME or KDE...

EnGarde Secure Linux
EnGarde Secure Linux
EnGarde Secure Linux is an open source server-only Linux distribution developed by . EnGarde incorporates open source tools such as Postfix, BIND, and the LAMP stack....

ext3 none
Fedora
Fedora (operating system)
Fedora is a RPM-based, general purpose collection of software, including an operating system based on the Linux kernel, developed by the community-supported Fedora Project and sponsored by Red Hat...

ext4 GNOME
Finnix
Finnix
Finnix is a Debian-based Live CD operating system, developed by Ryan Finnie and intended for system administrators for tasks such as filesystem recovery, network monitoring and OS installation...

SquashFS none
Foresight Linux
Foresight Linux
- External links :* *...

ext3 GNOME
Frugalware
Frugalware
Frugalware Linux is a general-purpose Linux distribution designed for intermediate users who are familiar with command-line operations. Early versions were based on Slackware, but it is now an independently-developed distribution...

none KDE Plasma Workspaces
Gentoo
Gentoo Linux
Gentoo Linux is a computer operating system built on top of the Linux kernel and based on the Portage package management system. It is distributed as free and open source software. Unlike a conventional software distribution, the user compiles the source code locally according to their chosen...

none KDE Plasma Workspaces (Live CD)
gnuLinEx
GnuLinEx
gnuLinEx, or LinEx, is a Debian-based GNU-Linux operating system that uses GNOME for its desktop. An initiative of the regional government of Extremadura, Spain, gnuLinEx is intended to be used in all schools in Extremadura, as well as in official institutions. It is actively promoted for business...

ext2 GNOME
GoboLinux
GoboLinux
GoboLinux is a free and open source operating system whose most prominent feature is a reorganization of the traditional Linux file system. Rather than following the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard like most Unix-like systems, each program in a GoboLinux system has its own subdirectory tree, where...

ReiserFS KDE Plasma Workspaces
gNewSense
GNewSense
gNewSense is a Linux distribution based on Ubuntu. Its goal is to maintain the user-friendliness of Ubuntu, but with all non FSF approved software and binary blobs removed. The Free Software Foundation considers gNewSense to be a Linux distribution composed entirely of free software.gNewSense takes...

ext3 GNOME
Impi Linux KDE Plasma Workspaces
KateOS Xfce
Kanotix
Kanotix
Kanotix, also referred to as KANOTIX, is an operating system Live CD based on Debian, with advanced hardware detection. It can run from an optical disc drive or other media i.e. USB-stick without using a hard disk drive....

ext3 KDE Plasma Workspaces
Knoppix
Knoppix
Knoppix, or KNOPPIX , is an operating system based on Debian designed to be run directly from a CD / DVD or a USB key , one of the first of its kind for any operating system. Knoppix was developed by Linux consultant Klaus Knopper. When starting a program, it is loaded from the removable medium...

XFS LXDE
Kurumin ext3 KDE Plasma Workspaces
Linspire
Linspire
Linspire, previously known as LindowsOS, was a commercial operating system based on Debian GNU/Linux and later Ubuntu. Linspire was published by Linspire, Inc. and focused on ease-of-use, targeting home PC users...

ReiserFS K Desktop Environment 3
Linux Mint
Linux Mint
Linux Mint is a Linux-based computer operating system best known for its usability and ease of installation, particularly for users with no previous GNU/Linux experience...

ext4 GNOME
Lunar Linux
Lunar Linux
Lunar Linux is an operating system maintained around a source-based package management system also called Lunar. The project is a descendant of the Sorcerer Linux distribution.The installation disk installs a complete bootstrap development system first...

none none
Mageia
Mageia
Mageia is the name of a non-profit organization and Linux distribution. The first release of the distribution was made on 1 June 2011.-Name:The term "mageia" — μαγεία in Greek — means "magic" in English...

ext4 KDE Plasma Workspaces, GNOME
Mandriva Linux
Mandriva Linux
Mandriva Linux is a Linux distribution distributed by Mandriva. It uses the RPM Package Manager...

ext4 KDE Plasma Workspaces
MEPIS
MEPIS
MEPIS is a set of Linux distributions, distributed as Live CDs that can be installed onto a hard disk drive.MEPIS is developed and maintained by an active community begun by Warren Woodford and the eponymous company MEPIS LLC....

ext3, ext4 KDE Plasma Workspaces
MintPPC
MintPPC
Linux MintPPC, also known as MintPPC, is a free and open source operating system for the PowerPC architecture. MintPPC was first released in May 2010. The most recent version, MintPPC 11, was released on November 14, 2011...

ext3, ext4 LXDE
Musix GNU/Linux IceWM
Network Security Toolkit
Network Security Toolkit
The Network Security Toolkit is a Linux-based Live CD that provides a set of open source computer security and networking tools to perform routine security and networking diagnostic and monitoring tasks. The distribution can be used as a network security analysis, validation and monitoring tool on...

ext4 GNOME, Fluxbox
Fluxbox
Fluxbox is a stacking window manager for the X Window System, which started as a fork of Blackbox 0.61.1, with the same aim to be lightweight. Its user interface has only a taskbar, a pop-up menu accessible by right-clicking on the desktop, and minimal support for graphical icons...

NimbleX
NimbleX
NimbleX is a small Slackware-based Linux distribution optimized to run from a CD, USB drive or a network environment. NimbleX has been praised for how fast it boots, as well as for its small disk footprint, which is considered surprising for a distribution using KDE as desktop environment...

SquashFS KDE Plasma Workspaces
Nitix
Nitix
Nitix is a retail Linux distribution, produced in Canada. The software is developed by , which has been acquired by IBM as of January 2008 and currently operates as IBM Lotus Foundations.-History:...

ReiserFS none
openSUSE
OpenSUSE
openSUSE is a general purpose operating system built on top of the Linux kernel, developed by the community-supported openSUSE Project and sponsored by SUSE...

ext4 KDE Plasma Workspaces, GNOME, Xfce
OpenWrt
OpenWrt
OpenWrt is a Linux distribution primarily targeted at routing on embedded devices. It comprises a set of about 2000 software packages, installed and uninstalled via the opkg package management system. OpenWrt can be configured using the command-line interface of BusyBox ash, or the web interface...

mini fo+SquashFS
SquashFS
SquashFS is a compressed read-only file system for Linux. SquashFS compresses files, inodes and directories, and supports block sizes up to 1 MB for greater compression...

/JFFS2
JFFS2
Journalling Flash File System version 2 or JFFS2 is a log-structured file system for use with flash memory devices. It is the successor to JFFS. JFFS2 has been included in the Linux kernel since the 2.4.10 release. JFFS2 is also available for a couple of bootloaders like Das U-Boot, Open...

None
Pardus
Pardus (operating system)
Pardus is a Linux distribution developed with support from the Turkish government. Pardus’ main focus is office-related work, including the use in Turkish government agencies. Despite that, Pardus ships in several languages. Its ease of use and availability free of charge spawned numerous...

ext4 KDE Plasma Workspaces
Parsix
Parsix
Parsix GNU/Linux is a live and installation DVD based on Debian. The Parsix project's goal is to provide a ready to use, easy to install, desktop and laptop optimized operating system based on Debian's testing branch and the latest stable release of GNOME desktop environment. It is possible to...

ext4 GNOME
PCLinuxOS
PCLinuxOS
PCLinuxOS, often shortened to PCLOS, is a GNU/Linux distribution, with KDE Plasma Desktop as its default user interface. It is a primarily free software operating system for personal computers aimed at ease of use...

none KDE Plasma Workspaces, GNOME, LXDE, Xfce, Enlightenment, Openbox
Pentoo
Pentoo
Pentoo is a Live CD and Live USB designed for penetration testing and security assessment. Based on Gentoo Linux, Pentoo is provided both as 32 and 64 bit livecd. It features packet injection patched wifi drivers, GPGPU cracking software, and lots of tools for penetration testing and security...

SquashFS Enlightenment
Puppy Linux
Puppy Linux
Puppy Linux is a lightweight Linux distribution that focuses on ease of use. The entire system can be run from RAM, allowing the boot medium to be removed after the operating system has started...

SquashFS containing ext2 JWM
Red Flag Linux
Red Flag Linux
Red Flag Linux is a Chinese Linux distribution developed by Red Flag Software. Red Flag's logo is Tux carrying a prominent red flag.The current executive president of Red Flag Software is Jia Dong .-Description:...

ext3 K Desktop Environment 3
Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is a Linux-based operating system developed by Red Hat and targeted toward the commercial market. Red Hat Enterprise Linux is released in server versions for x86, x86-64, Itanium, PowerPC and IBM System z, and desktop versions for x86 and x86-64...

ext4 GNOME
Rxart Desktop
Pixart
Pixart SRL is a company based in Argentina dedicated to the development of free software, particularly the Rxart computer operating system, which is based on Debian.- History :...

ext3 KDE Plasma Workspaces
Sabayon Linux ext4 KDE Plasma Workspaces, GNOME
Scientific Linux
Scientific Linux
Scientific Linux is a Linux distribution produced by Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and the European Organization for Nuclear Research...

ext3 GNOME
SHR
SHR (operating system)
SHR is a community-driven Linux distribution for smartphones which is based on OpenEmbedded and the framework. Several different graphical toolkits are made available, such as GTK+, Qt and more.-System requirements:...

ext3, JFFS2
JFFS2
Journalling Flash File System version 2 or JFFS2 is a log-structured file system for use with flash memory devices. It is the successor to JFFS. JFFS2 has been included in the Linux kernel since the 2.4.10 release. JFFS2 is also available for a couple of bootloaders like Das U-Boot, Open...

, UBIFS
UBIFS
The Unsorted Block Image File System is a successor to JFFS2, and competitor to LogFS, as a file system for use with raw flash memory media. Development began in earnest in 2007, with the first stable release made to Linux kernel 2.6.27 in October 2008.Note that UBIFS works on top of an Unsorted...

Enlightenment's Illume 2
Slackware
Slackware
Slackware is a free and open source Linux-based operating system. It was one of the earliest operating systems to be built on top of the Linux kernel and is the oldest currently being maintained. Slackware was created by Patrick Volkerding of Slackware Linux, Inc. in 1993...

ext4 KDE Plasma Workspaces, Xfce, Fluxbox
Fluxbox
Fluxbox is a stacking window manager for the X Window System, which started as a fork of Blackbox 0.61.1, with the same aim to be lightweight. Its user interface has only a taskbar, a pop-up menu accessible by right-clicking on the desktop, and minimal support for graphical icons...

, Blackbox
Blackbox
In Unix computing, Blackbox is a stacking window manager for the X Window System.Blackbox has specific design goals, and some functionality is provided only through other applications. One example is the bbkeys hotkey application....

, TWM
Twm
In computing, twm is the standard window manager for the X Window System, version X11R4 onwards...

Slax
SLAX
Slax is a LiveCD Linux distribution based on Slackware and is currently being developed by Tomáš Matějíček. Packages can be selected in a website where users can build a custom Slax iso image. Slax slogan refers to the software as a "Pocket Operating System"...

SquashFS KDE Plasma Workspaces
SliTaz GNU/Linux
SliTaz GNU/Linux
SliTaz GNU/Linux is a community-based software project started in 2006 by Christophe Lincoln. It is a Linux distribution with a root filesystem that takes up approximately 100 MB of disk space, and its ISO image installation media is around 30 MB...

ext3 Openbox
Source Mage GNU/Linux
Source Mage GNU/Linux
Source Mage GNU/Linux is a Linux distribution. As a package is being installed, its source code is automatically downloaded, compiled, and installed. Source Mage is descended from Sorcerer.-Notable features:...

ext2 none
Super OS ext4
Ext4
The ext4 or fourth extended filesystem is a journaling file system for Linux, developed as the successor to ext3.It was born as a series of backward compatible extensions to ext3, many of them originally developed by Cluster File Systems for the Lustre file system between 2003 and 2006, meant to...

Unity
Unity (user interface)
Unity is a shell interface for the GNOME desktop environment developed by Canonical Ltd for its Ubuntu operating system. Unity debuted in the netbook edition of Ubuntu 10.10. It is designed to make more efficient use of space given the limited screen size of netbooks, including, for example, a...

 with fallback to GNOME
GNOME
GNOME is a desktop environment and graphical user interface that runs on top of a computer operating system. It is composed entirely of free and open source software...

 2.x
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop , formerly introduced as Novell Linux Desktop, is a Linux distribution supplied by Novell and targeted at the business market. It is targeted for desktops. New major versions are released at an interval of 24–36 months, while minor versions are released every 9–12...

ext3 GNOME
Symphony OS
Symphony OS
Symphony OS, SymphonyOne or Symphony Linux, is a Live CD Linux-based operating system, developed by Ryan Quinn, Jason Spisak, and Alexander Drummond. The distribution was dormant until 29 June 2011, when a new build was released....

ReiserFS Mezzo
Mezzo (desktop environment)
Mezzo is the desktop environment created by Ryan Quinn. Added to Symphony OS, it follows Jason Spisak's Laws of Interface Design and poses a new way of presenting data to the user...

SYS
SYS (operating system)
SYS is a Linux distribution intended to be easy to use for beginners, but also including sufficient tools for advanced users.- Characteristics :* Install DVD contains ca...

ext3 KDE SC, GNOME, Xfce (selectable in kdm)
Tor-ramdisk
Tor-ramdisk
Tor-ramdisk is an i686 uClibc-based micro Linux distribution whose only purpose is to host a Tor server in an environment that maximizes security and privacy. Tor is a network of virtual tunnels that allows people and groups to improve their privacy and security on the Internet...

ext2 none
Ubuntu
Ubuntu (operating system)
Ubuntu is a computer operating system based on the Debian Linux distribution and distributed as free and open source software. It is named after the Southern African philosophy of Ubuntu...

/Edubuntu
Edubuntu
Edubuntu, also previously known as Ubuntu Education Edition, is an official derivative of the Ubuntu operating system designed for use in classrooms inside schools, homes and communities....

ext4 Unity
Unity (user interface)
Unity is a shell interface for the GNOME desktop environment developed by Canonical Ltd for its Ubuntu operating system. Unity debuted in the netbook edition of Ubuntu 10.10. It is designed to make more efficient use of space given the limited screen size of netbooks, including, for example, a...

 on top of GNOME
GNOME
GNOME is a desktop environment and graphical user interface that runs on top of a computer operating system. It is composed entirely of free and open source software...

, Unity 2D for fallback
Kubuntu
Kubuntu
Kubuntu is an official derivative of the Ubuntu operating system using the KDE Plasma Desktop instead of the Unity graphical environment. It is part of the Ubuntu project and uses the same underlying system. It is possible to install both the KDE Plasma Desktop as well as the Unity desktop on...

ext4 KDE Plasma Workspaces
Xubuntu
Xubuntu
Xubuntu is a Canonical Ltd. recognized, community maintained derivative of the Ubuntu operating system, using the Xfce desktop environment.The name Xubuntu is a portmanteau of Xfce and Ubuntu...

ext4 Xfce
Ututo
Ututo
Ututo GNU/Linux is a GNU/Linux operating system consisting entirely of free software. The name makes reference to a gecko known by this name from northern Argentina. It is compiled using Gentoo Linux "ebuilds" and "emerge" software. All documentation is in Spanish.Ututo was the first fully free...

ext3 GNOME
VectorLinux ReiserFS Fluxbox, IceWM, Xfce
Wolvix
Wolvix
Wolvix is a desktop-oriented Linux distribution based on Slackware, mainly targeted at home users, and strives to provide a balance between everyday computing tasks, creativity, work and enjoyment...

ext3 XFCE
Xfce
Xfce is a free software desktop environment for Unix and other Unix-like platforms, such as Linux, Solaris, and BSD – though recent compatibility issues have arisen with regard to BSD Unix platforms...

, OpenBox
Openbox
Openbox is a free window manager for the X Window System, licensed under the GNU General Public License. Originally derived from Blackbox 0.65.0 , Openbox has now been totally rewritten in the C programming language and since version 3.0 is not based upon any code from Blackbox.Openbox is designed...

Xandros Desktop OS
Xandros
Xandros is the name of both a line of operating systems and Xandros Corporation, the company which creates them. Xandros Desktop was a Linux distribution. The name Xandros is derived from the X Window System and the Greek island of Andros....

ReiserFS K Desktop Environment 3
XBMC Live ext3 XBMC Media Center
Yellow Dog Linux
Yellow Dog Linux
Yellow Dog Linux, also known as YDL, is a free and open source operating system for high performance computing on multicore architectures. It focuses on GPU systems and computers using the Power Architecture . YDL is currently developed by Fixstars...

Enlightenment
Yoper
YOPER
Yoper Linux—Your Operating System—is a Linux distribution for PCs with i686 or higher processor types. It can be used for both personal computers and server use and uses hardware recognition tools known from Knoppix...

ext3 KDE SC
Zenwalk ext4 Xfce
Distribution Default file system Install-time desktop environment
Desktop environment
In graphical computing, a desktop environment commonly refers to a style of graphical user interface derived from the desktop metaphor that is seen on most modern personal computers. These GUIs help the user in easily accessing, configuring, and modifying many important and frequently accessed...

 or window manager
Window manager
A window manager is system software that controls the placement and appearance of windows within a windowing system in a graphical user interface. Most window managers are designed to help provide a desktop environment...

 selection

Architecture support

Distribution IA-32
IA-32
IA-32 , also known as x86-32, i386 or x86, is the CISC instruction-set architecture of Intel's most commercially successful microprocessors, and was first implemented in the Intel 80386 as a 32-bit extension of x86 architecture...

x86-64
X86-64
x86-64 is an extension of the x86 instruction set. It supports vastly larger virtual and physical address spaces than are possible on x86, thereby allowing programmers to conveniently work with much larger data sets. x86-64 also provides 64-bit general purpose registers and numerous other...

IA-64
Itanium
Itanium is a family of 64-bit Intel microprocessors that implement the Intel Itanium architecture . Intel markets the processors for enterprise servers and high-performance computing systems...

ppc
PowerPC
PowerPC is a RISC architecture created by the 1991 Apple–IBM–Motorola alliance, known as AIM...

ppc64
Ppc64
ppc64 is an identifier commonly used within the Linux and GCC open source software communities to refer to the target architecture for applications optimized for 64-bit PowerPC- and Power Architecture processors, frequently used when compiling source code....

sparc32
SPARC
SPARC is a RISC instruction set architecture developed by Sun Microsystems and introduced in mid-1987....

sparc64
SPARC
SPARC is a RISC instruction set architecture developed by Sun Microsystems and introduced in mid-1987....

arm
ARM architecture
ARM is a 32-bit reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by ARM Holdings. It was named the Advanced RISC Machine, and before that, the Acorn RISC Machine. The ARM architecture is the most widely used 32-bit ISA in numbers produced...

hppa
PA-RISC
PA-RISC is an instruction set architecture developed by Hewlett-Packard. As the name implies, it is a reduced instruction set computer architecture, where the PA stands for Precision Architecture...

mips
MIPS architecture
MIPS is a reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by MIPS Technologies . The early MIPS architectures were 32-bit, and later versions were 64-bit...

sh
SuperH
SuperH is a 32-bit reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by Hitachi. It is implemented by microcontrollers and microprocessors for embedded systems....

s390 s390x
Z/Architecture
z/Architecture, initially and briefly called ESA Modal Extensions , refers to IBM's 64-bit computing architecture for IBM mainframe computers. IBM introduced its first z/Architecture-based system, the zSeries Model 900, in late 2000. Later z/Architecture systems include the IBM z800, z990, z890,...

alpha
DEC Alpha
Alpha, originally known as Alpha AXP, is a 64-bit reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by Digital Equipment Corporation , designed to replace the 32-bit VAX complex instruction set computer ISA and its implementations. Alpha was implemented in microprocessors...

64 Studio
aLinux
ALinux
aLinux is a Linux distribution created and maintained by Jay Klepacs. It uses KDE as its default desktop environment. It is designed to have a Windows-style "look".-Version History:Retrieved on May 22, 2007aLinux's original name was Peanut Linux...

Alinex
Alinex
Alinex is a Portuguese operating system. It started with as an initiative between the regional government of Extremadura and the University of Évora , in 2005. Version 1.0 was initially based on gnuLinEx, but since version 2.0 it is based on Ubuntu. It is currently being developed by the...

ALT Linux
ALT Linux
ALT Linux is a set of RPM-based operating systems built on top of the Linux kernel and Sisyphus packages repository. ALT Linux is developed jointly by ALT Linux Team developers community and ALT Linux Ltd.- History :...

Annvix
Annvix
Annvix is a Canadian security-focused operating system based on Mandriva Linux . It is a dormant operating system with the last version being released December 30, 2007....

Arch Linux
Arch Linux
Arch Linux is an independently developed, Linux-based operating system for i686 and x86-64 computers. It is composed predominantly of free and open source software, and supports community involvement....

Ark Linux
Ark Linux
Ark Linux is a Linux distribution maintained by a group of volunteers and aims to be easy to install and use. Its default desktop environment is KDE.Ark Linux is available both as an installable CD and as a Live CD, and is free software.-Principles:...

Asianux
Asianux
Asianux is a Linux distribution. It is a joint development between Linux vendors Red Flag Software of China, Miracle Linux of Japan , Haansoft of South Korea, VietSoftware of Vietnam , WTEC from Thailand and Enterprise Technology Limited of Sri Lanka...

BackTrack
BackTrack
BackTrack is an operating system based on the Ubuntu GNU/Linux distribution aimed at digital forensics and penetration testing use. It is named after backtracking, a search algorithm...

BLAG Linux and GNU
BLAG Linux and GNU
BLAG Linux and GNU is a GNU/Linux distribution made by the Brixton Linux Action Group.BLAG is a single-CD distro with applications desktop users "expect" from a desktop including multimedia, graphics, desktop internet applications and more. BLAG also includes a collection of server packages...

Bodhi Linux
Bodhi Linux
Bodhi Linux is a small Linux distribution using the Enlightenment window manager and based upon Ubuntu. Its philosophy is to provide a base system with a minimal desktop, file browser, web browser, terminal emulator and leave the exact choice of applications to the user...

Caixa Mágica
Caixa Mágica
Caixa Mágica is a Portuguese Linux distribution based on Debian and maintained by Caixa Mágica Software. It uses the .deb format...

CentOS
CentOS
CentOS is a free operating system based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux . It exists to provide a free enterprise class computing platform and strives to maintain 100% binary compatibility with its upstream distribution...

ClearOS
ClearOS
ClearOS is a Linux distribution, based on CentOS and Red Hat Enterprise Linux, designed for use in small and medium enterprises as a network gateway and network server with a web-based administration interface. It is designed to be an alternative to Windows Small Business Server. ClearOS succeeds...

CrunchBang Linux
CrunchBang Linux
CrunchBang Linux is a lightweight Debian based Linux distribution, created by Philip Newborough, designed to offer a good balance of speed and functionality.- Features :...

CRUX
CRUX
CRUX is a lightweight, i686-optimized GNU/Linux distribution targeted at experienced GNU/Linux users and delivered by a tar.gz-based package system with BSD-style initscripts. It also utilizes a ports system to install and upgrade applications. The current release is 2.7.1.Although crux is the...

Damn Small Linux
Damn Small Linux
Damn Small Linux or DSL is a computer operating system for the x86 family of personal computers. It is free and open source software under the terms of GNU GPL and other free and open source licenses. It was designed to run graphical applications on older PC hardware—for example, machines with...

Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...

DeLi Linux
dyne:bolic
Dyne:bolic
dyne:bolic is a Live CD/DVD based on the Linux kernel with a focus on multimedia production, and is distributed with a large assortment of applications for audio and video manipulation...

Elive
Elive
Elive is a GNU/Linux distribution based on Debian for legacy and commodity hardware with Intel processors. Elive uses the Enlightenment X window manager instead of GNOME or KDE...

EnGarde Secure Linux
EnGarde Secure Linux
EnGarde Secure Linux is an open source server-only Linux distribution developed by . EnGarde incorporates open source tools such as Postfix, BIND, and the LAMP stack....

Fedora
Fedora (operating system)
Fedora is a RPM-based, general purpose collection of software, including an operating system based on the Linux kernel, developed by the community-supported Fedora Project and sponsored by Red Hat...

Finnix
Finnix
Finnix is a Debian-based Live CD operating system, developed by Ryan Finnie and intended for system administrators for tasks such as filesystem recovery, network monitoring and OS installation...

Foresight Linux
Foresight Linux
- External links :* *...

Frugalware
Frugalware
Frugalware Linux is a general-purpose Linux distribution designed for intermediate users who are familiar with command-line operations. Early versions were based on Slackware, but it is now an independently-developed distribution...

Gentoo
Gentoo Linux
Gentoo Linux is a computer operating system built on top of the Linux kernel and based on the Portage package management system. It is distributed as free and open source software. Unlike a conventional software distribution, the user compiles the source code locally according to their chosen...

gnuLinEx
GnuLinEx
gnuLinEx, or LinEx, is a Debian-based GNU-Linux operating system that uses GNOME for its desktop. An initiative of the regional government of Extremadura, Spain, gnuLinEx is intended to be used in all schools in Extremadura, as well as in official institutions. It is actively promoted for business...

GoboLinux
GoboLinux
GoboLinux is a free and open source operating system whose most prominent feature is a reorganization of the traditional Linux file system. Rather than following the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard like most Unix-like systems, each program in a GoboLinux system has its own subdirectory tree, where...

Impi Linux
Kanotix
Kanotix
Kanotix, also referred to as KANOTIX, is an operating system Live CD based on Debian, with advanced hardware detection. It can run from an optical disc drive or other media i.e. USB-stick without using a hard disk drive....

Knoppix
Knoppix
Knoppix, or KNOPPIX , is an operating system based on Debian designed to be run directly from a CD / DVD or a USB key , one of the first of its kind for any operating system. Knoppix was developed by Linux consultant Klaus Knopper. When starting a program, it is loaded from the removable medium...

Kurumin
Linspire
Linspire
Linspire, previously known as LindowsOS, was a commercial operating system based on Debian GNU/Linux and later Ubuntu. Linspire was published by Linspire, Inc. and focused on ease-of-use, targeting home PC users...

Linux Mint
Linux Mint
Linux Mint is a Linux-based computer operating system best known for its usability and ease of installation, particularly for users with no previous GNU/Linux experience...

Lunar Linux
Lunar Linux
Lunar Linux is an operating system maintained around a source-based package management system also called Lunar. The project is a descendant of the Sorcerer Linux distribution.The installation disk installs a complete bootstrap development system first...

Mageia
Mageia
Mageia is the name of a non-profit organization and Linux distribution. The first release of the distribution was made on 1 June 2011.-Name:The term "mageia" — μαγεία in Greek — means "magic" in English...

Mandriva Linux
Mandriva Linux
Mandriva Linux is a Linux distribution distributed by Mandriva. It uses the RPM Package Manager...

MEPIS
MEPIS
MEPIS is a set of Linux distributions, distributed as Live CDs that can be installed onto a hard disk drive.MEPIS is developed and maintained by an active community begun by Warren Woodford and the eponymous company MEPIS LLC....

MintPPC
MintPPC
Linux MintPPC, also known as MintPPC, is a free and open source operating system for the PowerPC architecture. MintPPC was first released in May 2010. The most recent version, MintPPC 11, was released on November 14, 2011...

Musix GNU/Linux
Network Security Toolkit
Network Security Toolkit
The Network Security Toolkit is a Linux-based Live CD that provides a set of open source computer security and networking tools to perform routine security and networking diagnostic and monitoring tasks. The distribution can be used as a network security analysis, validation and monitoring tool on...

NimbleX
NimbleX
NimbleX is a small Slackware-based Linux distribution optimized to run from a CD, USB drive or a network environment. NimbleX has been praised for how fast it boots, as well as for its small disk footprint, which is considered surprising for a distribution using KDE as desktop environment...

Nitix
Nitix
Nitix is a retail Linux distribution, produced in Canada. The software is developed by , which has been acquired by IBM as of January 2008 and currently operates as IBM Lotus Foundations.-History:...

OES2-Linux
Novell Open Enterprise Server
Novell Open Enterprise Server is the successor product to Novell, Inc.'s NetWare operating system, based on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server . Originally released in March 2005, the current release is OES 2 SP3...

openSUSE
OpenSUSE
openSUSE is a general purpose operating system built on top of the Linux kernel, developed by the community-supported openSUSE Project and sponsored by SUSE...

OpenWrt
OpenWrt
OpenWrt is a Linux distribution primarily targeted at routing on embedded devices. It comprises a set of about 2000 software packages, installed and uninstalled via the opkg package management system. OpenWrt can be configured using the command-line interface of BusyBox ash, or the web interface...

Oracle Enterprise Linux
Oracle Enterprise Linux
Oracle Linux, formerly known as Oracle Enterprise Linux, is a Red Hat Enterprise Linux-compatible distribution, repackaged and sold by Oracle, available under the GNU General Public License since late 2006....

Pardus
Pardus (operating system)
Pardus is a Linux distribution developed with support from the Turkish government. Pardus’ main focus is office-related work, including the use in Turkish government agencies. Despite that, Pardus ships in several languages. Its ease of use and availability free of charge spawned numerous...

Parsix
Parsix
Parsix GNU/Linux is a live and installation DVD based on Debian. The Parsix project's goal is to provide a ready to use, easy to install, desktop and laptop optimized operating system based on Debian's testing branch and the latest stable release of GNOME desktop environment. It is possible to...

PCLinuxOS
PCLinuxOS
PCLinuxOS, often shortened to PCLOS, is a GNU/Linux distribution, with KDE Plasma Desktop as its default user interface. It is a primarily free software operating system for personal computers aimed at ease of use...

Pentoo
Pentoo
Pentoo is a Live CD and Live USB designed for penetration testing and security assessment. Based on Gentoo Linux, Pentoo is provided both as 32 and 64 bit livecd. It features packet injection patched wifi drivers, GPGPU cracking software, and lots of tools for penetration testing and security...

Puppy Linux
Puppy Linux
Puppy Linux is a lightweight Linux distribution that focuses on ease of use. The entire system can be run from RAM, allowing the boot medium to be removed after the operating system has started...

Red Flag Linux
Red Flag Linux
Red Flag Linux is a Chinese Linux distribution developed by Red Flag Software. Red Flag's logo is Tux carrying a prominent red flag.The current executive president of Red Flag Software is Jia Dong .-Description:...

Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is a Linux-based operating system developed by Red Hat and targeted toward the commercial market. Red Hat Enterprise Linux is released in server versions for x86, x86-64, Itanium, PowerPC and IBM System z, and desktop versions for x86 and x86-64...

Rxart Desktop
Pixart
Pixart SRL is a company based in Argentina dedicated to the development of free software, particularly the Rxart computer operating system, which is based on Debian.- History :...

Sabayon Linux
Scientific Linux
Scientific Linux
Scientific Linux is a Linux distribution produced by Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and the European Organization for Nuclear Research...

SHR
SHR (operating system)
SHR is a community-driven Linux distribution for smartphones which is based on OpenEmbedded and the framework. Several different graphical toolkits are made available, such as GTK+, Qt and more.-System requirements:...

sidux
Slackware
Slackware
Slackware is a free and open source Linux-based operating system. It was one of the earliest operating systems to be built on top of the Linux kernel and is the oldest currently being maintained. Slackware was created by Patrick Volkerding of Slackware Linux, Inc. in 1993...

Slax
SLAX
Slax is a LiveCD Linux distribution based on Slackware and is currently being developed by Tomáš Matějíček. Packages can be selected in a website where users can build a custom Slax iso image. Slax slogan refers to the software as a "Pocket Operating System"...

SliTaz GNU/Linux
SliTaz GNU/Linux
SliTaz GNU/Linux is a community-based software project started in 2006 by Christophe Lincoln. It is a Linux distribution with a root filesystem that takes up approximately 100 MB of disk space, and its ISO image installation media is around 30 MB...

Source Mage GNU/Linux
Source Mage GNU/Linux
Source Mage GNU/Linux is a Linux distribution. As a package is being installed, its source code is automatically downloaded, compiled, and installed. Source Mage is descended from Sorcerer.-Notable features:...

Super OS
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server is a Linux distribution supplied by SUSE and targeted at the business market. It is targeted for servers, mainframes, and workstations but can be installed on desktop computers for testing as well. New major versions are released at an interval of 3-4 years, while...

 
Symphony OS
Symphony OS
Symphony OS, SymphonyOne or Symphony Linux, is a Live CD Linux-based operating system, developed by Ryan Quinn, Jason Spisak, and Alexander Drummond. The distribution was dormant until 29 June 2011, when a new build was released....

SYS
SYS (operating system)
SYS is a Linux distribution intended to be easy to use for beginners, but also including sufficient tools for advanced users.- Characteristics :* Install DVD contains ca...

Tiny & Micro Core Linux
Tiny Core Linux
Tiny Core Linux is a minimal Linux operating system focusing on providing a base system using BusyBox and FLTK. The lead developer of the project is Robert Shingledecker. The distribution is notable for its size under 12MB, with additional functionality provided by extensions of which there are...

Tor-ramdisk
Tor-ramdisk
Tor-ramdisk is an i686 uClibc-based micro Linux distribution whose only purpose is to host a Tor server in an environment that maximizes security and privacy. Tor is a network of virtual tunnels that allows people and groups to improve their privacy and security on the Internet...

Ubuntu
Ubuntu (operating system)
Ubuntu is a computer operating system based on the Debian Linux distribution and distributed as free and open source software. It is named after the Southern African philosophy of Ubuntu...

/Kubuntu
Kubuntu
Kubuntu is an official derivative of the Ubuntu operating system using the KDE Plasma Desktop instead of the Unity graphical environment. It is part of the Ubuntu project and uses the same underlying system. It is possible to install both the KDE Plasma Desktop as well as the Unity desktop on...

/Xubuntu
Xubuntu
Xubuntu is a Canonical Ltd. recognized, community maintained derivative of the Ubuntu operating system, using the Xfce desktop environment.The name Xubuntu is a portmanteau of Xfce and Ubuntu...

/Lubuntu
Lubuntu
Lubuntu is a lightweight Linux operating system based on Ubuntu but using the LXDE desktop environment in place of Ubuntu's Unity shell and GNOME desktop...

Ututo
Ututo
Ututo GNU/Linux is a GNU/Linux operating system consisting entirely of free software. The name makes reference to a gecko known by this name from northern Argentina. It is compiled using Gentoo Linux "ebuilds" and "emerge" software. All documentation is in Spanish.Ututo was the first fully free...

VectorLinux
Xandros Desktop OS
Xandros
Xandros is the name of both a line of operating systems and Xandros Corporation, the company which creates them. Xandros Desktop was a Linux distribution. The name Xandros is derived from the X Window System and the Greek island of Andros....

XBMC
Yellow Dog Linux
Yellow Dog Linux
Yellow Dog Linux, also known as YDL, is a free and open source operating system for high performance computing on multicore architectures. It focuses on GPU systems and computers using the Power Architecture . YDL is currently developed by Fixstars...

Yoper
YOPER
Yoper Linux—Your Operating System—is a Linux distribution for PCs with i686 or higher processor types. It can be used for both personal computers and server use and uses hardware recognition tools known from Knoppix...

Zenwalk
Distribution x86 x86-64
X86-64
x86-64 is an extension of the x86 instruction set. It supports vastly larger virtual and physical address spaces than are possible on x86, thereby allowing programmers to conveniently work with much larger data sets. x86-64 also provides 64-bit general purpose registers and numerous other...

IA-64
Itanium
Itanium is a family of 64-bit Intel microprocessors that implement the Intel Itanium architecture . Intel markets the processors for enterprise servers and high-performance computing systems...

ppc
PowerPC
PowerPC is a RISC architecture created by the 1991 Apple–IBM–Motorola alliance, known as AIM...

ppc64
Ppc64
ppc64 is an identifier commonly used within the Linux and GCC open source software communities to refer to the target architecture for applications optimized for 64-bit PowerPC- and Power Architecture processors, frequently used when compiling source code....

sparc32
SPARC
SPARC is a RISC instruction set architecture developed by Sun Microsystems and introduced in mid-1987....

sparc64
SPARC
SPARC is a RISC instruction set architecture developed by Sun Microsystems and introduced in mid-1987....

arm
ARM architecture
ARM is a 32-bit reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by ARM Holdings. It was named the Advanced RISC Machine, and before that, the Acorn RISC Machine. The ARM architecture is the most widely used 32-bit ISA in numbers produced...

hppa
PA-RISC
PA-RISC is an instruction set architecture developed by Hewlett-Packard. As the name implies, it is a reduced instruction set computer architecture, where the PA stands for Precision Architecture...

mips
MIPS architecture
MIPS is a reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by MIPS Technologies . The early MIPS architectures were 32-bit, and later versions were 64-bit...

sh
SuperH
SuperH is a 32-bit reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by Hitachi. It is implemented by microcontrollers and microprocessors for embedded systems....

s390 s390x
Z/Architecture
z/Architecture, initially and briefly called ESA Modal Extensions , refers to IBM's 64-bit computing architecture for IBM mainframe computers. IBM introduced its first z/Architecture-based system, the zSeries Model 900, in late 2000. Later z/Architecture systems include the IBM z800, z990, z890,...

alpha
DEC Alpha
Alpha, originally known as Alpha AXP, is a 64-bit reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by Digital Equipment Corporation , designed to replace the 32-bit VAX complex instruction set computer ISA and its implementations. Alpha was implemented in microprocessors...


Package management and installation

Information on features in the distributions. Package numbers are only approximate.
Distribution Approximate number of pre-compiled packages
Software package (installation)
In package management systems, which are commonly used with Linux-based operating systems, a package is a specific piece of software which the system can install and uninstall....

Approximate number of source packages
Software package (installation)
In package management systems, which are commonly used with Linux-based operating systems, a package is a specific piece of software which the system can install and uninstall....

Default package management tools Package Format Default installer Graphical
Graphical user interface
In computing, a graphical user interface is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices with images rather than text commands. GUIs can be used in computers, hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices, household appliances and...

 installation procedure
Alinex
Alinex
Alinex is a Portuguese operating system. It started with as an initiative between the regional government of Extremadura and the University of Évora , in 2005. Version 1.0 was initially based on gnuLinEx, but since version 2.0 it is based on Ubuntu. It is currently being developed by the...

20300 APT
Advanced Packaging Tool
The Advanced Packaging Tool, or APT, is a free user interface that works with core libraries to handle the installation and removal of software on the Debian GNU/Linux distribution and its variants...

.deb
Deb (file format)
deb is the extension of the Debian software package format and the most often used name for such binary packages. Like the "Deb" part of the term Debian, it originates from the name of Debra, erstwhile girlfriend and now ex-wife of Debian's founder Ian Murdock.Debian packages are also used in...

aLinux
ALinux
aLinux is a Linux distribution created and maintained by Jay Klepacs. It uses KDE as its default desktop environment. It is designed to have a Windows-style "look".-Version History:Retrieved on May 22, 2007aLinux's original name was Peanut Linux...

1200 RPM
RPM Package Manager
RPM Package Manager is a package management system. The name RPM variously refers to the .rpm file format, files in this format, software packaged in such files, and the package manager itself...

RPM
RPM Package Manager
RPM Package Manager is a package management system. The name RPM variously refers to the .rpm file format, files in this format, software packaged in such files, and the package manager itself...

ALT Linux
ALT Linux
ALT Linux is a set of RPM-based operating systems built on top of the Linux kernel and Sisyphus packages repository. ALT Linux is developed jointly by ALT Linux Team developers community and ALT Linux Ltd.- History :...

8300 APT
Advanced Packaging Tool
The Advanced Packaging Tool, or APT, is a free user interface that works with core libraries to handle the installation and removal of software on the Debian GNU/Linux distribution and its variants...

 (APT-RPM
Apt-rpm
APT-RPM is a version of the Advanced Packaging Tool modified to work with the RPM Package Manager. It was originally ported to RPM by Alfredo Kojima and then further developed and improved by Gustavo Niemeyer, both working for the Conectiva Linux distribution at the time.In March 2005 the...

), RPM
RPM Package Manager
RPM Package Manager is a package management system. The name RPM variously refers to the .rpm file format, files in this format, software packaged in such files, and the package manager itself...

RPM
RPM Package Manager
RPM Package Manager is a package management system. The name RPM variously refers to the .rpm file format, files in this format, software packaged in such files, and the package manager itself...

Annvix
Annvix
Annvix is a Canadian security-focused operating system based on Mandriva Linux . It is a dormant operating system with the last version being released December 30, 2007....

APT
Advanced Packaging Tool
The Advanced Packaging Tool, or APT, is a free user interface that works with core libraries to handle the installation and removal of software on the Debian GNU/Linux distribution and its variants...

, RPM
RPM Package Manager
RPM Package Manager is a package management system. The name RPM variously refers to the .rpm file format, files in this format, software packaged in such files, and the package manager itself...

RPM
RPM Package Manager
RPM Package Manager is a package management system. The name RPM variously refers to the .rpm file format, files in this format, software packaged in such files, and the package manager itself...

Arch Linux
Arch Linux
Arch Linux is an independently developed, Linux-based operating system for i686 and x86-64 computers. It is composed predominantly of free and open source software, and supports community involvement....

6000 ABS: 6000, AUR: 31000 Pacman .pkg.tar.xz
Tar (file format)
In computing, tar is both a file format and the name of a program used to handle such files...

AIF
Ark Linux
Ark Linux
Ark Linux is a Linux distribution maintained by a group of volunteers and aims to be easy to install and use. Its default desktop environment is KDE.Ark Linux is available both as an installable CD and as a Live CD, and is free software.-Principles:...

4000 RPM
RPM Package Manager
RPM Package Manager is a package management system. The name RPM variously refers to the .rpm file format, files in this format, software packaged in such files, and the package manager itself...

, APT
Advanced Packaging Tool
The Advanced Packaging Tool, or APT, is a free user interface that works with core libraries to handle the installation and removal of software on the Debian GNU/Linux distribution and its variants...

RPM
RPM Package Manager
RPM Package Manager is a package management system. The name RPM variously refers to the .rpm file format, files in this format, software packaged in such files, and the package manager itself...

Asianux
Asianux
Asianux is a Linux distribution. It is a joint development between Linux vendors Red Flag Software of China, Miracle Linux of Japan , Haansoft of South Korea, VietSoftware of Vietnam , WTEC from Thailand and Enterprise Technology Limited of Sri Lanka...

mlupdater, RPM
RPM Package Manager
RPM Package Manager is a package management system. The name RPM variously refers to the .rpm file format, files in this format, software packaged in such files, and the package manager itself...

RPM
RPM Package Manager
RPM Package Manager is a package management system. The name RPM variously refers to the .rpm file format, files in this format, software packaged in such files, and the package manager itself...

BLAG
BLAG Linux and GNU
BLAG Linux and GNU is a GNU/Linux distribution made by the Brixton Linux Action Group.BLAG is a single-CD distro with applications desktop users "expect" from a desktop including multimedia, graphics, desktop internet applications and more. BLAG also includes a collection of server packages...

10000 RPM
RPM Package Manager
RPM Package Manager is a package management system. The name RPM variously refers to the .rpm file format, files in this format, software packaged in such files, and the package manager itself...

, yum, APT
Advanced Packaging Tool
The Advanced Packaging Tool, or APT, is a free user interface that works with core libraries to handle the installation and removal of software on the Debian GNU/Linux distribution and its variants...

RPM
RPM Package Manager
RPM Package Manager is a package management system. The name RPM variously refers to the .rpm file format, files in this format, software packaged in such files, and the package manager itself...

Caixa Mágica
Caixa Mágica
Caixa Mágica is a Portuguese Linux distribution based on Debian and maintained by Caixa Mágica Software. It uses the .deb format...

16000 urpmi
Urpmi
urpmi is a Mandriva Linux package management tool for installing, removing, updating and querying software packages of local or remote media. It wraps around the package manager rpm with the aim that the user should not have to suffer the often-encountered dependency hell...

, APT
Advanced Packaging Tool
The Advanced Packaging Tool, or APT, is a free user interface that works with core libraries to handle the installation and removal of software on the Debian GNU/Linux distribution and its variants...

 (APT-RPM
Apt-rpm
APT-RPM is a version of the Advanced Packaging Tool modified to work with the RPM Package Manager. It was originally ported to RPM by Alfredo Kojima and then further developed and improved by Gustavo Niemeyer, both working for the Conectiva Linux distribution at the time.In March 2005 the...

)
RPM
RPM Package Manager
RPM Package Manager is a package management system. The name RPM variously refers to the .rpm file format, files in this format, software packaged in such files, and the package manager itself...

CentOS
CentOS
CentOS is a free operating system based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux . It exists to provide a free enterprise class computing platform and strives to maintain 100% binary compatibility with its upstream distribution...

1660 RPM
RPM Package Manager
RPM Package Manager is a package management system. The name RPM variously refers to the .rpm file format, files in this format, software packaged in such files, and the package manager itself...

, yum/up2date
Up2date
up2date, also known as the Red Hat Update Agent, is a tool used by older versions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, CentOS and Fedora Core that downloads and installs new software and upgrades the operating system. It functions as a front-end to the RPM Package Manager and adds advanced features such as...

RPM
RPM Package Manager
RPM Package Manager is a package management system. The name RPM variously refers to the .rpm file format, files in this format, software packaged in such files, and the package manager itself...

ClearOS
ClearOS
ClearOS is a Linux distribution, based on CentOS and Red Hat Enterprise Linux, designed for use in small and medium enterprises as a network gateway and network server with a web-based administration interface. It is designed to be an alternative to Windows Small Business Server. ClearOS succeeds...

RPM
RPM Package Manager
RPM Package Manager is a package management system. The name RPM variously refers to the .rpm file format, files in this format, software packaged in such files, and the package manager itself...

, yum
RPM
RPM Package Manager
RPM Package Manager is a package management system. The name RPM variously refers to the .rpm file format, files in this format, software packaged in such files, and the package manager itself...

CrunchBang Linux
CrunchBang Linux
CrunchBang Linux is a lightweight Debian based Linux distribution, created by Philip Newborough, designed to offer a good balance of speed and functionality.- Features :...

23000 APT
Advanced Packaging Tool
The Advanced Packaging Tool, or APT, is a free user interface that works with core libraries to handle the installation and removal of software on the Debian GNU/Linux distribution and its variants...

.deb
Deb (file format)
deb is the extension of the Debian software package format and the most often used name for such binary packages. Like the "Deb" part of the term Debian, it originates from the name of Debra, erstwhile girlfriend and now ex-wife of Debian's founder Ian Murdock.Debian packages are also used in...

CRUX
CRUX
CRUX is a lightweight, i686-optimized GNU/Linux distribution targeted at experienced GNU/Linux users and delivered by a tar.gz-based package system with BSD-style initscripts. It also utilizes a ports system to install and upgrade applications. The current release is 2.7.1.Although crux is the...

1155 pkgutils tgz
Tar (file format)
In computing, tar is both a file format and the name of a program used to handle such files...

Damn Small Linux
Damn Small Linux
Damn Small Linux or DSL is a computer operating system for the x86 family of personal computers. It is free and open source software under the terms of GNU GPL and other free and open source licenses. It was designed to run graphical applications on older PC hardware—for example, machines with...

610 myDSL, APT
Advanced Packaging Tool
The Advanced Packaging Tool, or APT, is a free user interface that works with core libraries to handle the installation and removal of software on the Debian GNU/Linux distribution and its variants...

.dsl, .tar.gz, .uci, .unc, .deb
Deb (file format)
deb is the extension of the Debian software package format and the most often used name for such binary packages. Like the "Deb" part of the term Debian, it originates from the name of Debra, erstwhile girlfriend and now ex-wife of Debian's founder Ian Murdock.Debian packages are also used in...

Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...

29050 14975 APT
Advanced Packaging Tool
The Advanced Packaging Tool, or APT, is a free user interface that works with core libraries to handle the installation and removal of software on the Debian GNU/Linux distribution and its variants...

.deb
Deb (file format)
deb is the extension of the Debian software package format and the most often used name for such binary packages. Like the "Deb" part of the term Debian, it originates from the name of Debra, erstwhile girlfriend and now ex-wife of Debian's founder Ian Murdock.Debian packages are also used in...

Debian-Installer
Debian-Installer
Debian-Installer is the installation program for Debian. It was originally written for the Debian 3.1 release , although the first version of a Linux distribution it was used with was Skolelinux Venus ....

DeLi Linux 150
Dreamlinux
Dreamlinux
Dreamlinux is a Brazilian computer operating system based on Debian GNU/Linux. It can boot as a live CD, from USB flash drive, or can be installed on a hard drive...

23000 APT
Advanced Packaging Tool
The Advanced Packaging Tool, or APT, is a free user interface that works with core libraries to handle the installation and removal of software on the Debian GNU/Linux distribution and its variants...

.deb
Deb (file format)
deb is the extension of the Debian software package format and the most often used name for such binary packages. Like the "Deb" part of the term Debian, it originates from the name of Debra, erstwhile girlfriend and now ex-wife of Debian's founder Ian Murdock.Debian packages are also used in...

dyne:bolic
Dyne:bolic
dyne:bolic is a Live CD/DVD based on the Linux kernel with a focus on multimedia production, and is distributed with a large assortment of applications for audio and video manipulation...

none none
Elive
Elive
Elive is a GNU/Linux distribution based on Debian for legacy and commodity hardware with Intel processors. Elive uses the Enlightenment X window manager instead of GNOME or KDE...

20000 APT
Advanced Packaging Tool
The Advanced Packaging Tool, or APT, is a free user interface that works with core libraries to handle the installation and removal of software on the Debian GNU/Linux distribution and its variants...

.deb
Deb (file format)
deb is the extension of the Debian software package format and the most often used name for such binary packages. Like the "Deb" part of the term Debian, it originates from the name of Debra, erstwhile girlfriend and now ex-wife of Debian's founder Ian Murdock.Debian packages are also used in...

EnGarde Secure Linux
EnGarde Secure Linux
EnGarde Secure Linux is an open source server-only Linux distribution developed by . EnGarde incorporates open source tools such as Postfix, BIND, and the LAMP stack....

500 RPM
RPM Package Manager
RPM Package Manager is a package management system. The name RPM variously refers to the .rpm file format, files in this format, software packaged in such files, and the package manager itself...

, APT
Advanced Packaging Tool
The Advanced Packaging Tool, or APT, is a free user interface that works with core libraries to handle the installation and removal of software on the Debian GNU/Linux distribution and its variants...

RPM
RPM Package Manager
RPM Package Manager is a package management system. The name RPM variously refers to the .rpm file format, files in this format, software packaged in such files, and the package manager itself...

Fedora
Fedora (operating system)
Fedora is a RPM-based, general purpose collection of software, including an operating system based on the Linux kernel, developed by the community-supported Fedora Project and sponsored by Red Hat...

22000 yum,, PackageKit
PackageKit
PackageKit is an open source and free suite of software applications designed to provide a consistent and high-level front end for a number of different package management systems...

RPM
RPM Package Manager
RPM Package Manager is a package management system. The name RPM variously refers to the .rpm file format, files in this format, software packaged in such files, and the package manager itself...

Anaconda
Finnix
Finnix
Finnix is a Debian-based Live CD operating system, developed by Ryan Finnie and intended for system administrators for tasks such as filesystem recovery, network monitoring and OS installation...

350 APT
Advanced Packaging Tool
The Advanced Packaging Tool, or APT, is a free user interface that works with core libraries to handle the installation and removal of software on the Debian GNU/Linux distribution and its variants...

.deb
Deb (file format)
deb is the extension of the Debian software package format and the most often used name for such binary packages. Like the "Deb" part of the term Debian, it originates from the name of Debra, erstwhile girlfriend and now ex-wife of Debian's founder Ian Murdock.Debian packages are also used in...

Foresight Linux
Foresight Linux
- External links :* *...

15000 Conary
Conary (package manager)
Conary is a free software package management system created by rPath and distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License Version 3. It focuses on installing packages through automated dependency resolution against distributed online repositories, and providing a concise and...

, PackageKit
PackageKit
PackageKit is an open source and free suite of software applications designed to provide a consistent and high-level front end for a number of different package management systems...

Frugalware
Frugalware
Frugalware Linux is a general-purpose Linux distribution designed for intermediate users who are familiar with command-line operations. Early versions were based on Slackware, but it is now an independently-developed distribution...

6132 73 Pacman .fpm
Gentoo
Gentoo Linux
Gentoo Linux is a computer operating system built on top of the Linux kernel and based on the Portage package management system. It is distributed as free and open source software. Unlike a conventional software distribution, the user compiles the source code locally according to their chosen...

27119 14697 Portage
Portage (software)
Portage is a package management system used by Gentoo Linux, based on the concept of ports collections. Gentoo is sometimes referred to as a meta-distribution due to the extreme flexibility of Portage, which makes it operating-system-independent. The Gentoo/Alt project is concerned with using...

ebuild
Ebuild
An ebuild is a specialized bash script format created by the Gentoo Linux project for use in its Portage software management system, which automates compilation and installation procedures for software packages....

gnuLinEx
GnuLinEx
gnuLinEx, or LinEx, is a Debian-based GNU-Linux operating system that uses GNOME for its desktop. An initiative of the regional government of Extremadura, Spain, gnuLinEx is intended to be used in all schools in Extremadura, as well as in official institutions. It is actively promoted for business...

200 APT
Advanced Packaging Tool
The Advanced Packaging Tool, or APT, is a free user interface that works with core libraries to handle the installation and removal of software on the Debian GNU/Linux distribution and its variants...

.deb
Deb (file format)
deb is the extension of the Debian software package format and the most often used name for such binary packages. Like the "Deb" part of the term Debian, it originates from the name of Debra, erstwhile girlfriend and now ex-wife of Debian's founder Ian Murdock.Debian packages are also used in...

GoboLinux
GoboLinux
GoboLinux is a free and open source operating system whose most prominent feature is a reorganization of the traditional Linux file system. Rather than following the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard like most Unix-like systems, each program in a GoboLinux system has its own subdirectory tree, where...

2000 Manager, Compile, InstallPackage recipes, tar.bz2
Bzip2
bzip2 is a free and open source implementation of the Burrows–Wheeler algorithm. It is developed and maintained by Julian Seward. Seward made the first public release of bzip2, version 0.15, in July 1996.-Compression efficiency:...

Impi Linux
Kanotix
Kanotix
Kanotix, also referred to as KANOTIX, is an operating system Live CD based on Debian, with advanced hardware detection. It can run from an optical disc drive or other media i.e. USB-stick without using a hard disk drive....

1200 APT
Advanced Packaging Tool
The Advanced Packaging Tool, or APT, is a free user interface that works with core libraries to handle the installation and removal of software on the Debian GNU/Linux distribution and its variants...

.deb
Deb (file format)
deb is the extension of the Debian software package format and the most often used name for such binary packages. Like the "Deb" part of the term Debian, it originates from the name of Debra, erstwhile girlfriend and now ex-wife of Debian's founder Ian Murdock.Debian packages are also used in...

KateOS TGZex tgz
Tar (file format)
In computing, tar is both a file format and the name of a program used to handle such files...

Knoppix
Knoppix
Knoppix, or KNOPPIX , is an operating system based on Debian designed to be run directly from a CD / DVD or a USB key , one of the first of its kind for any operating system. Knoppix was developed by Linux consultant Klaus Knopper. When starting a program, it is loaded from the removable medium...

3600 APT
Advanced Packaging Tool
The Advanced Packaging Tool, or APT, is a free user interface that works with core libraries to handle the installation and removal of software on the Debian GNU/Linux distribution and its variants...

.deb
Deb (file format)
deb is the extension of the Debian software package format and the most often used name for such binary packages. Like the "Deb" part of the term Debian, it originates from the name of Debra, erstwhile girlfriend and now ex-wife of Debian's founder Ian Murdock.Debian packages are also used in...

Kurumin APT
Advanced Packaging Tool
The Advanced Packaging Tool, or APT, is a free user interface that works with core libraries to handle the installation and removal of software on the Debian GNU/Linux distribution and its variants...

.deb
Deb (file format)
deb is the extension of the Debian software package format and the most often used name for such binary packages. Like the "Deb" part of the term Debian, it originates from the name of Debra, erstwhile girlfriend and now ex-wife of Debian's founder Ian Murdock.Debian packages are also used in...

Linspire
Linspire
Linspire, previously known as LindowsOS, was a commercial operating system based on Debian GNU/Linux and later Ubuntu. Linspire was published by Linspire, Inc. and focused on ease-of-use, targeting home PC users...

2200 CNR "click and run"
CNR (software)
CNR was a free one-click software delivery service that was created to make finding and installing Linux software easier. It assists the user in finding and installing software on their computer, it sits dormant in the system tray when not in use....

.deb
Deb (file format)
deb is the extension of the Debian software package format and the most often used name for such binary packages. Like the "Deb" part of the term Debian, it originates from the name of Debra, erstwhile girlfriend and now ex-wife of Debian's founder Ian Murdock.Debian packages are also used in...

Linux Mint
Linux Mint
Linux Mint is a Linux-based computer operating system best known for its usability and ease of installation, particularly for users with no previous GNU/Linux experience...

30000 APT
Advanced Packaging Tool
The Advanced Packaging Tool, or APT, is a free user interface that works with core libraries to handle the installation and removal of software on the Debian GNU/Linux distribution and its variants...

.deb
Deb (file format)
deb is the extension of the Debian software package format and the most often used name for such binary packages. Like the "Deb" part of the term Debian, it originates from the name of Debra, erstwhile girlfriend and now ex-wife of Debian's founder Ian Murdock.Debian packages are also used in...

Ubiquity
Ubiquity (software)
Ubiquity is a simple Linux installer for Ubuntu and its derivatives. It runs on LiveCD and has a Qt frontend and a GTK+ frontend. Ubiquity was first introduced in Ubuntu 6.06 .-Features:* Internationalization support...

Lunar
Lunar Linux
Lunar Linux is an operating system maintained around a source-based package management system also called Lunar. The project is a descendant of the Sorcerer Linux distribution.The installation disk installs a complete bootstrap development system first...

3120 lin source
Mageia
Mageia
Mageia is the name of a non-profit organization and Linux distribution. The first release of the distribution was made on 1 June 2011.-Name:The term "mageia" — μαγεία in Greek — means "magic" in English...

17283 (i586), 11409 (x86_64) 8834 urpmi
Urpmi
urpmi is a Mandriva Linux package management tool for installing, removing, updating and querying software packages of local or remote media. It wraps around the package manager rpm with the aim that the user should not have to suffer the often-encountered dependency hell...

, rpmdrake
Rpmdrake
rpmdrake is a graphical interface to urpmi, which permits the installation of software packages. It is provided as part of Mandriva Linux for package installation.The application is written in gtk2-perl, and allows:...

RPM
RPM Package Manager
RPM Package Manager is a package management system. The name RPM variously refers to the .rpm file format, files in this format, software packaged in such files, and the package manager itself...

DrakX
Mandriva Linux
Mandriva Linux
Mandriva Linux is a Linux distribution distributed by Mandriva. It uses the RPM Package Manager...

22600 urpmi
Urpmi
urpmi is a Mandriva Linux package management tool for installing, removing, updating and querying software packages of local or remote media. It wraps around the package manager rpm with the aim that the user should not have to suffer the often-encountered dependency hell...

, rpmdrake
Rpmdrake
rpmdrake is a graphical interface to urpmi, which permits the installation of software packages. It is provided as part of Mandriva Linux for package installation.The application is written in gtk2-perl, and allows:...

RPM
RPM Package Manager
RPM Package Manager is a package management system. The name RPM variously refers to the .rpm file format, files in this format, software packaged in such files, and the package manager itself...

DrakX
MEPIS
MEPIS
MEPIS is a set of Linux distributions, distributed as Live CDs that can be installed onto a hard disk drive.MEPIS is developed and maintained by an active community begun by Warren Woodford and the eponymous company MEPIS LLC....

20000 APT
Advanced Packaging Tool
The Advanced Packaging Tool, or APT, is a free user interface that works with core libraries to handle the installation and removal of software on the Debian GNU/Linux distribution and its variants...

.deb
Deb (file format)
deb is the extension of the Debian software package format and the most often used name for such binary packages. Like the "Deb" part of the term Debian, it originates from the name of Debra, erstwhile girlfriend and now ex-wife of Debian's founder Ian Murdock.Debian packages are also used in...

MEPIS Install
MintPPC
MintPPC
Linux MintPPC, also known as MintPPC, is a free and open source operating system for the PowerPC architecture. MintPPC was first released in May 2010. The most recent version, MintPPC 11, was released on November 14, 2011...

23200 12123 APT
Advanced Packaging Tool
The Advanced Packaging Tool, or APT, is a free user interface that works with core libraries to handle the installation and removal of software on the Debian GNU/Linux distribution and its variants...

.deb
Deb (file format)
deb is the extension of the Debian software package format and the most often used name for such binary packages. Like the "Deb" part of the term Debian, it originates from the name of Debra, erstwhile girlfriend and now ex-wife of Debian's founder Ian Murdock.Debian packages are also used in...

Debian-Installer
Debian-Installer
Debian-Installer is the installation program for Debian. It was originally written for the Debian 3.1 release , although the first version of a Linux distribution it was used with was Skolelinux Venus ....

Musix GNU/Linux 1300 APT
Advanced Packaging Tool
The Advanced Packaging Tool, or APT, is a free user interface that works with core libraries to handle the installation and removal of software on the Debian GNU/Linux distribution and its variants...

.deb
Deb (file format)
deb is the extension of the Debian software package format and the most often used name for such binary packages. Like the "Deb" part of the term Debian, it originates from the name of Debra, erstwhile girlfriend and now ex-wife of Debian's founder Ian Murdock.Debian packages are also used in...

Mythbuntu
Mythbuntu
Mythbuntu is a media center operating system . It is based on Ubuntu and integrates the MythTV Media center software as its main function, and does not install with all of the programs included with Ubuntu....

35000 APT
Advanced Packaging Tool
The Advanced Packaging Tool, or APT, is a free user interface that works with core libraries to handle the installation and removal of software on the Debian GNU/Linux distribution and its variants...

.deb
Deb (file format)
deb is the extension of the Debian software package format and the most often used name for such binary packages. Like the "Deb" part of the term Debian, it originates from the name of Debra, erstwhile girlfriend and now ex-wife of Debian's founder Ian Murdock.Debian packages are also used in...

Ubiquity
Ubiquity (software)
Ubiquity is a simple Linux installer for Ubuntu and its derivatives. It runs on LiveCD and has a Qt frontend and a GTK+ frontend. Ubiquity was first introduced in Ubuntu 6.06 .-Features:* Internationalization support...

Network Security Toolkit
Network Security Toolkit
The Network Security Toolkit is a Linux-based Live CD that provides a set of open source computer security and networking tools to perform routine security and networking diagnostic and monitoring tasks. The distribution can be used as a network security analysis, validation and monitoring tool on...

8280 8280 yum RPM
RPM Package Manager
RPM Package Manager is a package management system. The name RPM variously refers to the .rpm file format, files in this format, software packaged in such files, and the package manager itself...

Anaconda
NimbleX
NimbleX
NimbleX is a small Slackware-based Linux distribution optimized to run from a CD, USB drive or a network environment. NimbleX has been praised for how fast it boots, as well as for its small disk footprint, which is considered surprising for a distribution using KDE as desktop environment...

500 none tgz
Tar (file format)
In computing, tar is both a file format and the name of a program used to handle such files...

Nitix
Nitix
Nitix is a retail Linux distribution, produced in Canada. The software is developed by , which has been acquired by IBM as of January 2008 and currently operates as IBM Lotus Foundations.-History:...

SoftUpdate, yum
Yum
- People :*Dong-Kyun Yum , a former boxer from South Korea*Edward Yum is a member of the Hong Kong pro-democracy camp League of Social Democrats...

RPM
RPM Package Manager
RPM Package Manager is a package management system. The name RPM variously refers to the .rpm file format, files in this format, software packaged in such files, and the package manager itself...

openSUSE
OpenSUSE
openSUSE is a general purpose operating system built on top of the Linux kernel, developed by the community-supported openSUSE Project and sponsored by SUSE...

14650 15260 YaST, Zypper RPM
RPM Package Manager
RPM Package Manager is a package management system. The name RPM variously refers to the .rpm file format, files in this format, software packaged in such files, and the package manager itself...

YaST
OpenWrt
OpenWrt
OpenWrt is a Linux distribution primarily targeted at routing on embedded devices. It comprises a set of about 2000 software packages, installed and uninstalled via the opkg package management system. OpenWrt can be configured using the command-line interface of BusyBox ash, or the web interface...

2000 opkg
Opkg
Opkg is a lightweight package management system based upon the now defunct ipkg. It is written in C and resembles APT/dpkg in operation. It is intended for use on embedded Linux devices and is used in this capacity in the OpenEmbedded and OpenWrt projects....

opk
OPK
OPK may refer to:*Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, former CEO of Nokia*Ovulation prediction kit...

opkg
Opkg
Opkg is a lightweight package management system based upon the now defunct ipkg. It is written in C and resembles APT/dpkg in operation. It is intended for use on embedded Linux devices and is used in this capacity in the OpenEmbedded and OpenWrt projects....

Pardus
Pardus (operating system)
Pardus is a Linux distribution developed with support from the Turkish government. Pardus’ main focus is office-related work, including the use in Turkish government agencies. Despite that, Pardus ships in several languages. Its ease of use and availability free of charge spawned numerous...

4000 PiSi .pisi YALI
Parsix
Parsix
Parsix GNU/Linux is a live and installation DVD based on Debian. The Parsix project's goal is to provide a ready to use, easy to install, desktop and laptop optimized operating system based on Debian's testing branch and the latest stable release of GNOME desktop environment. It is possible to...

29000 14900 APT
Advanced Packaging Tool
The Advanced Packaging Tool, or APT, is a free user interface that works with core libraries to handle the installation and removal of software on the Debian GNU/Linux distribution and its variants...

.deb
Deb (file format)
deb is the extension of the Debian software package format and the most often used name for such binary packages. Like the "Deb" part of the term Debian, it originates from the name of Debra, erstwhile girlfriend and now ex-wife of Debian's founder Ian Murdock.Debian packages are also used in...

PCLinuxOS
PCLinuxOS
PCLinuxOS, often shortened to PCLOS, is a GNU/Linux distribution, with KDE Plasma Desktop as its default user interface. It is a primarily free software operating system for personal computers aimed at ease of use...

12000 APT
Advanced Packaging Tool
The Advanced Packaging Tool, or APT, is a free user interface that works with core libraries to handle the installation and removal of software on the Debian GNU/Linux distribution and its variants...

, RPM
RPM Package Manager
RPM Package Manager is a package management system. The name RPM variously refers to the .rpm file format, files in this format, software packaged in such files, and the package manager itself...

RPM
RPM Package Manager
RPM Package Manager is a package management system. The name RPM variously refers to the .rpm file format, files in this format, software packaged in such files, and the package manager itself...

Puppy
Puppy Linux
Puppy Linux is a lightweight Linux distribution that focuses on ease of use. The entire system can be run from RAM, allowing the boot medium to be removed after the operating system has started...

700 PupGet, DotPup .pup, .pet
Red Flag
Red Flag Linux
Red Flag Linux is a Chinese Linux distribution developed by Red Flag Software. Red Flag's logo is Tux carrying a prominent red flag.The current executive president of Red Flag Software is Jia Dong .-Description:...

Red Flag Installer System, RPM
RPM Package Manager
RPM Package Manager is a package management system. The name RPM variously refers to the .rpm file format, files in this format, software packaged in such files, and the package manager itself...

RPM
RPM Package Manager
RPM Package Manager is a package management system. The name RPM variously refers to the .rpm file format, files in this format, software packaged in such files, and the package manager itself...

Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is a Linux-based operating system developed by Red Hat and targeted toward the commercial market. Red Hat Enterprise Linux is released in server versions for x86, x86-64, Itanium, PowerPC and IBM System z, and desktop versions for x86 and x86-64...

3000 RPM
RPM Package Manager
RPM Package Manager is a package management system. The name RPM variously refers to the .rpm file format, files in this format, software packaged in such files, and the package manager itself...

, yum
RPM
RPM Package Manager
RPM Package Manager is a package management system. The name RPM variously refers to the .rpm file format, files in this format, software packaged in such files, and the package manager itself...

Rxart
Pixart
Pixart SRL is a company based in Argentina dedicated to the development of free software, particularly the Rxart computer operating system, which is based on Debian.- History :...

5000 APT
Advanced Packaging Tool
The Advanced Packaging Tool, or APT, is a free user interface that works with core libraries to handle the installation and removal of software on the Debian GNU/Linux distribution and its variants...

.deb
Deb (file format)
deb is the extension of the Debian software package format and the most often used name for such binary packages. Like the "Deb" part of the term Debian, it originates from the name of Debra, erstwhile girlfriend and now ex-wife of Debian's founder Ian Murdock.Debian packages are also used in...

Sabayon Linux 12000 Portage
Portage (software)
Portage is a package management system used by Gentoo Linux, based on the concept of ports collections. Gentoo is sometimes referred to as a meta-distribution due to the extreme flexibility of Portage, which makes it operating-system-independent. The Gentoo/Alt project is concerned with using...

, Entropy
ebuild
Ebuild
An ebuild is a specialized bash script format created by the Gentoo Linux project for use in its Portage software management system, which automates compilation and installation procedures for software packages....

Scientific
Scientific Linux
Scientific Linux is a Linux distribution produced by Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and the European Organization for Nuclear Research...

APT
Advanced Packaging Tool
The Advanced Packaging Tool, or APT, is a free user interface that works with core libraries to handle the installation and removal of software on the Debian GNU/Linux distribution and its variants...

/yum
RPM
RPM Package Manager
RPM Package Manager is a package management system. The name RPM variously refers to the .rpm file format, files in this format, software packaged in such files, and the package manager itself...

SHR
SHR (operating system)
SHR is a community-driven Linux distribution for smartphones which is based on OpenEmbedded and the framework. Several different graphical toolkits are made available, such as GTK+, Qt and more.-System requirements:...

3000 3000 opkg
Opkg
Opkg is a lightweight package management system based upon the now defunct ipkg. It is written in C and resembles APT/dpkg in operation. It is intended for use on embedded Linux devices and is used in this capacity in the OpenEmbedded and OpenWrt projects....

opk
OPK
OPK may refer to:*Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, former CEO of Nokia*Ovulation prediction kit...

opkg
Opkg
Opkg is a lightweight package management system based upon the now defunct ipkg. It is written in C and resembles APT/dpkg in operation. It is intended for use on embedded Linux devices and is used in this capacity in the OpenEmbedded and OpenWrt projects....

sidux 23000 APT
Advanced Packaging Tool
The Advanced Packaging Tool, or APT, is a free user interface that works with core libraries to handle the installation and removal of software on the Debian GNU/Linux distribution and its variants...

.deb
Deb (file format)
deb is the extension of the Debian software package format and the most often used name for such binary packages. Like the "Deb" part of the term Debian, it originates from the name of Debra, erstwhile girlfriend and now ex-wife of Debian's founder Ian Murdock.Debian packages are also used in...

Slackware
Slackware
Slackware is a free and open source Linux-based operating system. It was one of the earliest operating systems to be built on top of the Linux kernel and is the oldest currently being maintained. Slackware was created by Patrick Volkerding of Slackware Linux, Inc. in 1993...

544 installpkg, upgradepkg tgz
Tar (file format)
In computing, tar is both a file format and the name of a program used to handle such files...

, .txz
Tar (file format)
In computing, tar is both a file format and the name of a program used to handle such files...

, .tlz, .tbz
Slax
SLAX
Slax is a LiveCD Linux distribution based on Slackware and is currently being developed by Tomáš Matějíček. Packages can be selected in a website where users can build a custom Slax iso image. Slax slogan refers to the software as a "Pocket Operating System"...

2050 none .lzm
SliTaz GNU/Linux
SliTaz GNU/Linux
SliTaz GNU/Linux is a community-based software project started in 2006 by Christophe Lincoln. It is a Linux distribution with a root filesystem that takes up approximately 100 MB of disk space, and its ISO image installation media is around 30 MB...

2300 Tazpkg .tazpkg
Source Mage GNU/Linux
Source Mage GNU/Linux
Source Mage GNU/Linux is a Linux distribution. As a package is being installed, its source code is automatically downloaded, compiled, and installed. Source Mage is descended from Sorcerer.-Notable features:...

5514 Sorcery Package Manager src
Super OS APT
Advanced Packaging Tool
The Advanced Packaging Tool, or APT, is a free user interface that works with core libraries to handle the installation and removal of software on the Debian GNU/Linux distribution and its variants...

.deb
Deb (file format)
deb is the extension of the Debian software package format and the most often used name for such binary packages. Like the "Deb" part of the term Debian, it originates from the name of Debra, erstwhile girlfriend and now ex-wife of Debian's founder Ian Murdock.Debian packages are also used in...

Ubiquity
Ubiquity (software)
Ubiquity is a simple Linux installer for Ubuntu and its derivatives. It runs on LiveCD and has a Qt frontend and a GTK+ frontend. Ubiquity was first introduced in Ubuntu 6.06 .-Features:* Internationalization support...

SUSE Linux
SUSE Linux distributions
SUSE Linux is a computer operating system. It is built on top of the open source Linux kernel and is distributed with system and application software from other open source projects. SUSE Linux is of German origin and mainly developed in Europe. The first version appeared in early 1994, making...

22000 YaST, Zypper RPM
RPM Package Manager
RPM Package Manager is a package management system. The name RPM variously refers to the .rpm file format, files in this format, software packaged in such files, and the package manager itself...

YaST
Symphony OS
Symphony OS
Symphony OS, SymphonyOne or Symphony Linux, is a Live CD Linux-based operating system, developed by Ryan Quinn, Jason Spisak, and Alexander Drummond. The distribution was dormant until 29 June 2011, when a new build was released....

APT
Advanced Packaging Tool
The Advanced Packaging Tool, or APT, is a free user interface that works with core libraries to handle the installation and removal of software on the Debian GNU/Linux distribution and its variants...

, OneClick
RPM
RPM Package Manager
RPM Package Manager is a package management system. The name RPM variously refers to the .rpm file format, files in this format, software packaged in such files, and the package manager itself...

SYS
SYS (operating system)
SYS is a Linux distribution intended to be easy to use for beginners, but also including sufficient tools for advanced users.- Characteristics :* Install DVD contains ca...

6000 installpkg, upgradepkg tgz
Tar (file format)
In computing, tar is both a file format and the name of a program used to handle such files...

Tiny SliTaz 50 Web site none
Tor-ramdisk
Tor-ramdisk
Tor-ramdisk is an i686 uClibc-based micro Linux distribution whose only purpose is to host a Tor server in an environment that maximizes security and privacy. Tor is a network of virtual tunnels that allows people and groups to improve their privacy and security on the Internet...

none none
Ubuntu
Ubuntu (operating system)
Ubuntu is a computer operating system based on the Debian Linux distribution and distributed as free and open source software. It is named after the Southern African philosophy of Ubuntu...

, Kubuntu
Kubuntu
Kubuntu is an official derivative of the Ubuntu operating system using the KDE Plasma Desktop instead of the Unity graphical environment. It is part of the Ubuntu project and uses the same underlying system. It is possible to install both the KDE Plasma Desktop as well as the Unity desktop on...

, Xubuntu
Xubuntu
Xubuntu is a Canonical Ltd. recognized, community maintained derivative of the Ubuntu operating system, using the Xfce desktop environment.The name Xubuntu is a portmanteau of Xfce and Ubuntu...

37000 APT
Advanced Packaging Tool
The Advanced Packaging Tool, or APT, is a free user interface that works with core libraries to handle the installation and removal of software on the Debian GNU/Linux distribution and its variants...

.deb
Deb (file format)
deb is the extension of the Debian software package format and the most often used name for such binary packages. Like the "Deb" part of the term Debian, it originates from the name of Debra, erstwhile girlfriend and now ex-wife of Debian's founder Ian Murdock.Debian packages are also used in...

Ubiquity
Ubiquity (software)
Ubiquity is a simple Linux installer for Ubuntu and its derivatives. It runs on LiveCD and has a Qt frontend and a GTK+ frontend. Ubiquity was first introduced in Ubuntu 6.06 .-Features:* Internationalization support...

Ututo
Ututo
Ututo GNU/Linux is a GNU/Linux operating system consisting entirely of free software. The name makes reference to a gecko known by this name from northern Argentina. It is compiled using Gentoo Linux "ebuilds" and "emerge" software. All documentation is in Spanish.Ututo was the first fully free...

5000 UTUTO Package Manager ebuild
Ebuild
An ebuild is a specialized bash script format created by the Gentoo Linux project for use in its Portage software management system, which automates compilation and installation procedures for software packages....

Vector Linux
Vector Linux
VectorLinux, abbreviated VL, is a Linux distribution for the x86 platform based on the Slackware Linux distribution. Originally developed by Canadian developers Robert S. Lange and Darell Stavem, the operating system is now also supported by an international community...

slapt-get
Slapt-get
slapt-get is an APT-like package management system for Slackware. Slapt-get tries to emulate the features of Debian's apt-get as closely as possible.Released under the terms of the GNU General Public License, slapt-get is free software.- Features :...

, gslapt, installpkg
tgz
Tar (file format)
In computing, tar is both a file format and the name of a program used to handle such files...

Wolvix
Wolvix
Wolvix is a desktop-oriented Linux distribution based on Slackware, mainly targeted at home users, and strives to provide a balance between everyday computing tasks, creativity, work and enjoyment...

installpkg, upgradepkg tgz
Tar (file format)
In computing, tar is both a file format and the name of a program used to handle such files...

, .txz
Tar (file format)
In computing, tar is both a file format and the name of a program used to handle such files...

Xandros Desktop OS
Xandros
Xandros is the name of both a line of operating systems and Xandros Corporation, the company which creates them. Xandros Desktop was a Linux distribution. The name Xandros is derived from the X Window System and the Greek island of Andros....

APT
Advanced Packaging Tool
The Advanced Packaging Tool, or APT, is a free user interface that works with core libraries to handle the installation and removal of software on the Debian GNU/Linux distribution and its variants...

.deb
Deb (file format)
deb is the extension of the Debian software package format and the most often used name for such binary packages. Like the "Deb" part of the term Debian, it originates from the name of Debra, erstwhile girlfriend and now ex-wife of Debian's founder Ian Murdock.Debian packages are also used in...

XBMC Live APT
Advanced Packaging Tool
The Advanced Packaging Tool, or APT, is a free user interface that works with core libraries to handle the installation and removal of software on the Debian GNU/Linux distribution and its variants...

.deb
Deb (file format)
deb is the extension of the Debian software package format and the most often used name for such binary packages. Like the "Deb" part of the term Debian, it originates from the name of Debra, erstwhile girlfriend and now ex-wife of Debian's founder Ian Murdock.Debian packages are also used in...

Yoper
YOPER
Yoper Linux—Your Operating System—is a Linux distribution for PCs with i686 or higher processor types. It can be used for both personal computers and server use and uses hardware recognition tools known from Knoppix...

2000 Smart RPM
RPM Package Manager
RPM Package Manager is a package management system. The name RPM variously refers to the .rpm file format, files in this format, software packaged in such files, and the package manager itself...

Zenwalk 2000 netpkg, installpkg, upgradepkg tgz, txz
Tar (file format)
In computing, tar is both a file format and the name of a program used to handle such files...

Distribution Approximate number of packages
Software package (installation)
In package management systems, which are commonly used with Linux-based operating systems, a package is a specific piece of software which the system can install and uninstall....

Approximate number of source packages
Software package (installation)
In package management systems, which are commonly used with Linux-based operating systems, a package is a specific piece of software which the system can install and uninstall....

Default package management tools Package Format Default installer Graphical
Graphical user interface
In computing, a graphical user interface is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices with images rather than text commands. GUIs can be used in computers, hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices, household appliances and...

 installation procedure

Live media

Distribution Size in MB RAM Use in MB Boots from CD
Live CD
A live CD, live DVD, or live disc is a CD or DVD containing a bootable computer operating system. Live CDs are unique in that they have the ability to run a complete, modern operating system on a computer lacking mutable secondary storage, such as a hard disk drive...

Boots from DVD
Live CD
A live CD, live DVD, or live disc is a CD or DVD containing a bootable computer operating system. Live CDs are unique in that they have the ability to run a complete, modern operating system on a computer lacking mutable secondary storage, such as a hard disk drive...

Installable Live CD/DVD Installable from USB
ALT Linux
ALT Linux
ALT Linux is a set of RPM-based operating systems built on top of the Linux kernel and Sisyphus packages repository. ALT Linux is developed jointly by ALT Linux Team developers community and ALT Linux Ltd.- History :...

 Desktop or Lite
700
Arch Linux
Arch Linux
Arch Linux is an independently developed, Linux-based operating system for i686 and x86-64 computers. It is composed predominantly of free and open source software, and supports community involvement....

181 to 673 MB
Ark Linux
Ark Linux
Ark Linux is a Linux distribution maintained by a group of volunteers and aims to be easy to install and use. Its default desktop environment is KDE.Ark Linux is available both as an installable CD and as a Live CD, and is free software.-Principles:...

700
AUSTRUMI Linux 50
BackTrack
BackTrack
BackTrack is an operating system based on the Ubuntu GNU/Linux distribution aimed at digital forensics and penetration testing use. It is named after backtracking, a search algorithm...

1910
CentOS
CentOS
CentOS is a free operating system based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux . It exists to provide a free enterprise class computing platform and strives to maintain 100% binary compatibility with its upstream distribution...

700 MB to 3.4 GB DVD
ClearOS
ClearOS
ClearOS is a Linux distribution, based on CentOS and Red Hat Enterprise Linux, designed for use in small and medium enterprises as a network gateway and network server with a web-based administration interface. It is designed to be an alternative to Windows Small Business Server. ClearOS succeeds...

700 MB
Damn Small Linux
Damn Small Linux
Damn Small Linux or DSL is a computer operating system for the x86 family of personal computers. It is free and open source software under the terms of GNU GPL and other free and open source licenses. It was designed to run graphical applications on older PC hardware—for example, machines with...

50 16 to 24
Debian Live
Debian Live
A Debian Live system is an instance of the Debian operating system which boots from removable media, without requiring installation or previous configuration. Supported removable media include CDs, DVDs, and USB flash drives ....

50 to 5120
Dreamlinux
Dreamlinux
Dreamlinux is a Brazilian computer operating system based on Debian GNU/Linux. It can boot as a live CD, from USB flash drive, or can be installed on a hard drive...

700
dyne:bolic
Dyne:bolic
dyne:bolic is a Live CD/DVD based on the Linux kernel with a focus on multimedia production, and is distributed with a large assortment of applications for audio and video manipulation...

650
Elive
Elive
Elive is a GNU/Linux distribution based on Debian for legacy and commodity hardware with Intel processors. Elive uses the Enlightenment X window manager instead of GNOME or KDE...

700
Feather Linux
Feather Linux
Feather Linux, created by Robert Sullivan, is a Knoppix-based operating system which fits in under 128 MB . It boots from either a CD or a USB flash drive, into a Fluxbox desktop environment. It has a wide range of desktop and rescue software, and can load entirely into RAM or be installed to a...

128 48 to 96
Fedora
Fedora (operating system)
Fedora is a RPM-based, general purpose collection of software, including an operating system based on the Linux kernel, developed by the community-supported Fedora Project and sponsored by Red Hat...


Live CD
683 256 to 1024
Finnix
Finnix
Finnix is a Debian-based Live CD operating system, developed by Ryan Finnie and intended for system administrators for tasks such as filesystem recovery, network monitoring and OS installation...

100 to 130 28 to 64
Freespire
Freespire
Freespire was a community-driven Linux distribution which was composed mostly of free, open source software, while providing users the choice of including proprietary software including multimedia codecs, device drivers and application software....

700 128 to 768
Gentoo 100 up to 128
Inquisitor
Inquisitor (hardware testing software)
Inquisitor is a software suite used for hardware diagnostics, stress testing, certification and benchmarking platform. It is available in 3 formats:...

 live CD
210 96
Kanotix
Kanotix
Kanotix, also referred to as KANOTIX, is an operating system Live CD based on Debian, with advanced hardware detection. It can run from an optical disc drive or other media i.e. USB-stick without using a hard disk drive....

700
Knoppix
Knoppix
Knoppix, or KNOPPIX , is an operating system based on Debian designed to be run directly from a CD / DVD or a USB key , one of the first of its kind for any operating system. Knoppix was developed by Linux consultant Klaus Knopper. When starting a program, it is loaded from the removable medium...

 CD
edition
700 128 to 320
Knoppix
Knoppix
Knoppix, or KNOPPIX , is an operating system based on Debian designed to be run directly from a CD / DVD or a USB key , one of the first of its kind for any operating system. Knoppix was developed by Linux consultant Klaus Knopper. When starting a program, it is loaded from the removable medium...

 DVD
"Maxi" edition
4812.8
Knoppix STD
Knoppix STD
Knoppix STD is a Live CD Linux distribution based on Knoppix that focused on computer security tools. It included GPL licensed tools in the following categories: authentication, password cracking, encryption, forensics, firewalls, honeypots, intrusion detection system, network utilities,...

497
Gnoppix
Gnoppix
Gnoppix was an operating system primarily intended to offer the GNOME desktop environment on a Live CD, which allows the operating system to be used without installing it to hard disk....

4812.8
gOS
GOS (operating system)
gOS or "good OS" was an Ubuntu-based GNU/Linux distribution created by Good OS LLC, a Los Angeles-based corporation. Its CIO Dave Liu described that after meeting Enlightenment and open source people, he realized that his dream to bring Web 2.0 applications into mainstream use could be achieved by...

700
Linux Mint
Linux Mint
Linux Mint is a Linux-based computer operating system best known for its usability and ease of installation, particularly for users with no previous GNU/Linux experience...

700 256 to 768
Lunar Linux
Lunar Linux
Lunar Linux is an operating system maintained around a source-based package management system also called Lunar. The project is a descendant of the Sorcerer Linux distribution.The installation disk installs a complete bootstrap development system first...

421
Mandriva Linux
Mandriva Linux
Mandriva Linux is a Linux distribution distributed by Mandriva. It uses the RPM Package Manager...

 One
700 128 to 768
MEPIS
MEPIS
MEPIS is a set of Linux distributions, distributed as Live CDs that can be installed onto a hard disk drive.MEPIS is developed and maintained by an active community begun by Warren Woodford and the eponymous company MEPIS LLC....

700 to 4000 128 to 512
MCNLive
MCNLive
MCNLive is a Live CD and Live USB Linux distribution based on Mandriva Linux. It is a desktop system. It contains graphical wizards to put it on a USB key, the copy2ram feature to speed things up....

350
Micro Core Linux
Tiny Core Linux
Tiny Core Linux is a minimal Linux operating system focusing on providing a base system using BusyBox and FLTK. The lead developer of the project is Robert Shingledecker. The distribution is notable for its size under 12MB, with additional functionality provided by extensions of which there are...

≈8 ≈48
Musix GNU/Linux 700
Network Security Toolkit
Network Security Toolkit
The Network Security Toolkit is a Linux-based Live CD that provides a set of open source computer security and networking tools to perform routine security and networking diagnostic and monitoring tasks. The distribution can be used as a network security analysis, validation and monitoring tool on...


Live CD/DVD
483 to 1300 256 to 1024
NimbleX
NimbleX
NimbleX is a small Slackware-based Linux distribution optimized to run from a CD, USB drive or a network environment. NimbleX has been praised for how fast it boots, as well as for its small disk footprint, which is considered surprising for a distribution using KDE as desktop environment...

200 96 to 320
nUbuntu
NUbuntu
nUbuntu or Network Ubuntu was a project to take the existing Ubuntu operating system LiveCD and Full Installer and remaster it with tools needed for penetration testing servers and networks. The main idea is to keep Ubuntu's ease of use and mix it with popular penetration testing tools...

265
openGEU
OpenGEU
OpenGEU is a free computer operating system based upon the popular GNU/Linux distribution, Ubuntu, which in turn is based on Debian Linux.OpenGEU's aim is to successfully combine the power and ease of use of GNOME desktop environment with the lightweight, and graphical eye candy features of the...

700 192 to 512
openSUSE
OpenSUSE
openSUSE is a general purpose operating system built on top of the Linux kernel, developed by the community-supported openSUSE Project and sponsored by SUSE...

700 128 to 768
OpenWrt
OpenWrt
OpenWrt is a Linux distribution primarily targeted at routing on embedded devices. It comprises a set of about 2000 software packages, installed and uninstalled via the opkg package management system. OpenWrt can be configured using the command-line interface of BusyBox ash, or the web interface...

min 4 min 16
Oralux
Oralux
Oralux is an association whose objective is to foster digital accessibility using solutions based upon Free Software and open standards. The association proposes Voxin, an easily installable add-on which provides yet another text-to-speech to blind users of Linux....

500
Pardus
Pardus (operating system)
Pardus is a Linux distribution developed with support from the Turkish government. Pardus’ main focus is office-related work, including the use in Turkish government agencies. Despite that, Pardus ships in several languages. Its ease of use and availability free of charge spawned numerous...

1256 to 1276 256 to 1024
PCLinuxOS
PCLinuxOS
PCLinuxOS, often shortened to PCLOS, is a GNU/Linux distribution, with KDE Plasma Desktop as its default user interface. It is a primarily free software operating system for personal computers aimed at ease of use...

130 to 700 96 to 512
Pentoo
Pentoo
Pentoo is a Live CD and Live USB designed for penetration testing and security assessment. Based on Gentoo Linux, Pentoo is provided both as 32 and 64 bit livecd. It features packet injection patched wifi drivers, GPGPU cracking software, and lots of tools for penetration testing and security...

666 and 700 48 to 96
Puppy Linux
Puppy Linux
Puppy Linux is a lightweight Linux distribution that focuses on ease of use. The entire system can be run from RAM, allowing the boot medium to be removed after the operating system has started...

 (standard edition)
128 32 to 192
Puredyne 542
Red Hat Linux
Red Hat Linux
Red Hat Linux, assembled by the company Red Hat, was a popular Linux based operating system until its discontinuation in 2004.Red Hat Linux 1.0 was released on November 3, 1994...

Sabayon Linux Live CD 695
Sabayon Linux Live DVD 4000
sidux 400 to 1999 193
Slax
SLAX
Slax is a LiveCD Linux distribution based on Slackware and is currently being developed by Tomáš Matějíček. Packages can be selected in a website where users can build a custom Slax iso image. Slax slogan refers to the software as a "Pocket Operating System"...

200 96 to 320
Super OS 1200
SystemRescueCD
SystemRescueCD
SystemRescueCd is an operating system for the x86 computer platform, though the primary purpose of SystemRescueCD is to repair unbootable or otherwise damaged computer systems after a system crash. SystemRescueCD is not intended to be used as a permanent operating system. It runs from a Live CD or...

160
Tiny Core Linux
Tiny Core Linux
Tiny Core Linux is a minimal Linux operating system focusing on providing a base system using BusyBox and FLTK. The lead developer of the project is Robert Shingledecker. The distribution is notable for its size under 12MB, with additional functionality provided by extensions of which there are...

≈10 ≈48
SliTaz GNU/Linux
SliTaz GNU/Linux
SliTaz GNU/Linux is a community-based software project started in 2006 by Christophe Lincoln. It is a Linux distribution with a root filesystem that takes up approximately 100 MB of disk space, and its ISO image installation media is around 30 MB...

30 16 to 192
Tiny SliTaz 1.44 ≈8
Tor-ramdisk
Tor-ramdisk
Tor-ramdisk is an i686 uClibc-based micro Linux distribution whose only purpose is to host a Tor server in an environment that maximizes security and privacy. Tor is a network of virtual tunnels that allows people and groups to improve their privacy and security on the Internet...

5 256 or >
Trinity Rescue Kit
Trinity Rescue Kit
Trinity Rescue Kit is a free command-line Live CD Linux distribution created especially for rescuing Windows PCs It is aimed specifically at offline operations for Windows and Linux systems such as rescue, repair, password resets and disk cloning...

104
Ubuntu
Ubuntu (operating system)
Ubuntu is a computer operating system based on the Debian Linux distribution and distributed as free and open source software. It is named after the Southern African philosophy of Ubuntu...

700 384
Edubuntu
Edubuntu
Edubuntu, also previously known as Ubuntu Education Edition, is an official derivative of the Ubuntu operating system designed for use in classrooms inside schools, homes and communities....

700
Kubuntu
Kubuntu
Kubuntu is an official derivative of the Ubuntu operating system using the KDE Plasma Desktop instead of the Unity graphical environment. It is part of the Ubuntu project and uses the same underlying system. It is possible to install both the KDE Plasma Desktop as well as the Unity desktop on...

700 384
XBMC Live 700 256 to 1024
Xubuntu
Xubuntu
Xubuntu is a Canonical Ltd. recognized, community maintained derivative of the Ubuntu operating system, using the Xfce desktop environment.The name Xubuntu is a portmanteau of Xfce and Ubuntu...

700 256
Distribution Size RAM Use Boots from CD-ROM Boots from DVD Installable Live CD Installable Over USBs

Security features

Distribution Compile Time Buffer Checks Mandatory access control
Mandatory access control
In computer security, mandatory access control refers to a type of access control by which the operating system constrains the ability of a subject or initiator to access or generally perform some sort of operation on an object or target...

Software executable space protection
Executable space protection
In computer security, executable space protection is the marking of memory regions as non-executable, such that an attempt to execute machine code in these regions will cause an exception...

grsecurity
Grsecurity
grsecurity is a set of patches for the Linux kernel with an emphasis on enhancing security. Its typical application is in computer systems that accept remote connections from untrusted locations, such as web servers and systems offering shell access to its users.Released under the GNU General...

RSBAC
RSBAC
RSBAC is an open source access control framework for current Linux kernels, which has been in stable production use since January 2000 .-Features:*Free open source Linux kernel security extension....

Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...

/Ubuntu
Ubuntu (operating system)
Ubuntu is a computer operating system based on the Debian Linux distribution and distributed as free and open source software. It is named after the Southern African philosophy of Ubuntu...

(AppArmor
AppArmor
AppArmor is a security module for the Linux kernel, released under the GNU General Public License. AppArmor allows the system administrator to associate with each program a security profile that restricts the capabilities of that program. It supplements the traditional Unix discretionary access...

)
(PaX
PaX
PaX is a patch for the Linux kernel that implements least privilege protections for memory pages. The least-privilege approach allows computer programs to do only what they have to do in order to be able to execute properly, and nothing more. PaX was first released in 2000.PaX flags data memory as...

)
Fedora
Fedora (operating system)
Fedora is a RPM-based, general purpose collection of software, including an operating system based on the Linux kernel, developed by the community-supported Fedora Project and sponsored by Red Hat...

(SELinux
Security-Enhanced Linux
Security-Enhanced Linux is a Linux feature that provides a mechanism for supporting access control security policies, including United States Department of Defense-style mandatory access controls, through the use of Linux Security Modules in the Linux kernel...

)
(Exec Shield
Exec Shield
Exec Shield is a project started at Red Hat, Inc in late 2002 with the aim of reducing the risk of worm or other automated remote attacks on Linux systems. The first result of the project was a security patch for the Linux kernel that emulates an NX bit on x86 CPUs that lack a native NX...

)
Gentoo
Gentoo Linux
Gentoo Linux is a computer operating system built on top of the Linux kernel and based on the Portage package management system. It is distributed as free and open source software. Unlike a conventional software distribution, the user compiles the source code locally according to their chosen...

(SELinux
Security-Enhanced Linux
Security-Enhanced Linux is a Linux feature that provides a mechanism for supporting access control security policies, including United States Department of Defense-style mandatory access controls, through the use of Linux Security Modules in the Linux kernel...

)
(PaX
PaX
PaX is a patch for the Linux kernel that implements least privilege protections for memory pages. The least-privilege approach allows computer programs to do only what they have to do in order to be able to execute properly, and nothing more. PaX was first released in 2000.PaX flags data memory as...

)
Mandriva
Mandriva Linux
Mandriva Linux is a Linux distribution distributed by Mandriva. It uses the RPM Package Manager...

(AppArmor
AppArmor
AppArmor is a security module for the Linux kernel, released under the GNU General Public License. AppArmor allows the system administrator to associate with each program a security profile that restricts the capabilities of that program. It supplements the traditional Unix discretionary access...

)
SUSE Linux
SUSE Linux distributions
SUSE Linux is a computer operating system. It is built on top of the open source Linux kernel and is distributed with system and application software from other open source projects. SUSE Linux is of German origin and mainly developed in Europe. The first version appeared in early 1994, making...

(AppArmor
AppArmor
AppArmor is a security module for the Linux kernel, released under the GNU General Public License. AppArmor allows the system administrator to associate with each program a security profile that restricts the capabilities of that program. It supplements the traditional Unix discretionary access...

)
(Hardware NX and other methods in mainline kernel and toolchain )
Tor-ramdisk
Tor-ramdisk
Tor-ramdisk is an i686 uClibc-based micro Linux distribution whose only purpose is to host a Tor server in an environment that maximizes security and privacy. Tor is a network of virtual tunnels that allows people and groups to improve their privacy and security on the Internet...

(PaX
PaX
PaX is a patch for the Linux kernel that implements least privilege protections for memory pages. The least-privilege approach allows computer programs to do only what they have to do in order to be able to execute properly, and nothing more. PaX was first released in 2000.PaX flags data memory as...

)

See also

  • List of Linux distributions
  • DistroWatch
    DistroWatch
    DistroWatch is a website which provides news, popularity rankings, and other general information about various Linux distributions as well as other free software/open source Unix-like operating systems such as OpenSolaris, MINIX and BSD. It now contains information on several hundred distributions...

  • List of Linux distributions endorsed by the Free Software Foundation
  • Comparison of operating systems
    Comparison of operating systems
    These tables compare general and technical information for a number of widely used and currently available operating systems.Because of the large number and variety of available Linux distributions, they are all grouped under a single entry; see comparison of Linux distributions for a detailed...


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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