The open source nature of the Linux Operating System has resulted in a number of “distributions” or variations of Linux that are developed and promoted by Commercial as well as Non Commercial organizations and Universities. While a discussion on ALL the available distributions is beyond the scope of this article, we will be giving an introduction to the major distributions available.
The major Linux distributions are Red Hat, Debian, Mandrake, Slackware and their offshoots. While they are all derivatives from the original Linux system, they vary on various aspects such as Target Audience, Package Management and Support.
Red Hat & Fedora Core:
Red Hat is one of the oldest and most popular Linux distributions available from Red Hat Corporation. (http://www.redhat.com). Even though Red Hat has changed it's strategy to exclusively focus on Commercially available Enterprise Linux distributions, it has forked the community version into Fedora Core that is being developed on the same principles as the original Linux. Red Hat 9 was the last “free” version from Red Hat after which seekers of the “free” version must opt for Fedora.
Red Hat originated the RPM (Red Hat Package Manager format) that is adopted by many other distributions. It's popularity ensures that support is widely and easily available on forums and message boards on line.
Debian GNU/Linux:
Debian is a distribution that does not have a commercial organization as it's chief promoter. An extremely reliable system, Debian focuses more on stability versus “Bleeding edge” resulting in longer software cycles. Xandros is a popular Debian offshoot that attempts to make the installation and usage of the OS extremely easy as some popular Desktop Operating systems while not compromising on the stability and hardware support.
Mandrake:
An offshoot of Red Hat, Mandrake is popular as a desktop version of Linux because of it's look and feel and ease of use. They even provide GUI tools that ease the users into the user of the Linux Desktops as they are very similar to some of the most popular desktop Operating Systems.
SuSe Linux:
Originated in Germany, SuSe is currently a part of Novell, the Networking and Software giant. SuSe and Novell are also focusing on the Enterprise editions like Red Hat, even though the community versions are still freely downloadable. It is a fairly user friendly distribution with GUI configuration tools and it's RPM based structure makes software installation and updates easy and compatible with Red Hat RPMs.
Slackware:
The oldest Linux Distribution in popular use today, Slackware is geared more towards experienced users as it does not provide GUI system administration tools and installer. Also geared more towards stability rather than a rich set of features, Slackware has a much longer release cycle compared to the distributions that are community based.
Xandros:
Built upon a Debian Core, Xandros is created by Corel, the makers of WordPerfect and CorelDraw. Xandros is geared towards desktop users and thus the installation process is very simple and a basic install requires only 1 CD. It is marketed as a Linux for Windows users to ease the migration from Windows to Linux.
Lindows:
As the name suggests, it attempts to provide a viable alternative to the Microsoft Windows Operating System. As a result it is very easy to install and the look and feel is very similar to the Windows Operating system.
Depending on your type of usage, you can select from any one of the popular distributions. The core structure and the application packages developed around Linux are more or less same or similar.
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