 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 800, 4 February 2019 |
Welcome to this year's 5th issue of DistroWatch Weekly!
Some of us keep a lot of data on our hard drives - documents, family photos, favourite movies, copies of that website we were building, and archives of old e-mails tend to clutter up our hard drives. When we have a lot of data it helps to have it stored, or even backed up, in a central location for easy access. That is where a network attached storage (NAS) device comes in handy. This week we explore FreeNAS 11.2, a FreeBSD-based operating system which can turn a home computer or server into a file storage vault. In our Opinion Poll we continue to talk about network storage, asking if our readers use a NAS at home. We further explore the subject of storage in our Questions and Answers column where we discuss matching operating systems with file systems and the limiting factors when selecting a preferred file system. This week we also talk about Ubuntu Studio working toward making it possible to run Ubuntu Studio software on other flavours of the Ubuntu family and the Nitrux team developing a tool to manage multiple distributions on the same disk partition. Plus we link to a summary of experimental projects being worked on by the Linux Mint team. As usual, we share the distribution releases of the past week and we are pleased to list the torrents we are seeding. Finally, we are pleased to welcome the Condres OS distribution to our database. We wish you all a wonderful week and happy reading!
Content:
- Review: FreeNAS 11.2
- News: Using Ubuntu Studio as an add-on, Nitrux developing a tool to manage multiple distributions, Mint experimenting with new Cinnamon features
- Questions and answers: Matching operating systems with file systems
- Released last week: OPNsense 19.1, Tails 3.12, Alpine 3.9.0
- Torrent corner: 4MLinux, Alpine, Container, LibreELEC, Makulu, OPNsense, Slax, SmartOS, SWagArch, SystemRescueCd, Tails, Voyager
- Upcoming releases: Ubuntu 18.04.2
- Opinion poll: Do you have a NAS for home/personal use?
- New additions: Condres OS
- New distributions: Unknown OS
- Reader comments
Listen to the Podcast edition of this week's DistroWatch Weekly in OGG (18MB) and MP3 (13MB) formats.
|
| Feature Story (by Jesse Smith) |
FreeNAS 11.2
FreeNAS is an operating system for network attached storage (NAS) devices. The system is based on FreeBSD and features a streamlined setup process and friendly web-based administration interface.
The project's latest release is FreeNAS 11.2 and, at first, I nearly overlooked the new version because it appeared to be a minor point release. However, a lot of work went into the new version and 11.2 offers a lot of changes when compared next to 11.1, "including a major revamp of the web interface, support for self-encrypting drives, and new, backwards-compatible REST and WebSocket APIs. This update also introduces iocage for improved plugins and jails management and simplified plugin development."
The release announcement also mentions FreeNAS can backup to multiple on-line storage options, including Amazon's AWS, Azure, Dropbox and Google.
Installing
The new version of FreeNAS is available as a 575MB download. Booting from the install media brings up a text menu asking if we wish to install or upgrade the operating system, access a command line shell, or shutdown the system. Taking the install option first brought up a message letting me know FreeNAS recommends having at least 8GB of RAM on the host system. This seems like a lot to me. None of my computers (at home) have 8GB of RAM. Even my NAS-like backup server with ZFS storage only uses about 700MB of RAM, less than 10% the amount recommended for FreeNAS.
At any rate, I acknowledged the warning and then the installer asked which disk in my computer it should use for the operating system. It then warns all data will be wiped from the disk; FreeNAS does not wish to be run alongside another operating system. We are then asked to make up a password for the root account and given the chance to set up FreeNAS to boot in UEFI or legacy BIOS mode. The installer copies its files to the hard drive and then offers to reboot the computer, or open up a command line shell. The whole install process took less than eight minutes.
Early impressions
FreeNAS boots to a text console where we are shown a menu of configuration options and the computer's IP address. The configuration options include setting up a network connection, setting the default network route, setting DNS servers, and changing the root password. There are also menu items for resetting all options back to their defaults, launching a command line shell, and rebooting or shutting down the computer. Selecting these options presents us with prompts where we are asked to type in information, such as the address for the network gateway or a new root password.
I think it worth mentioning that there is no password protection on the console. Anyone with physical access (or VNC access to the NAS if it is on a virtual machine) immediately has root access and can access a shell, change our settings or take the system off-line. In a large business environment where the NAS is likely to be behind a locked door this approach is convenient, but in a small office or home situation I think leaving the console open and logged in as root is a risky way to operate.
Exploring the command line option, I found FreeNAS runs about 32 processes on a fresh install. My system used 460MB of Active memory and 310MB of Wired memory, with the bulk of RAM being used by ZFS and a handful of Python scripts.
The web interface
By default, FreeNAS's web interface is available over HTTP connections only. HTTPS is not enabled out of the box, but we can set it up later. Visiting the computer's IP address in a web browser brings up a login page where we can sign in as the root user. Later I tried signing in using other account names I had created, but they did not work, it seems root is the only user able to sign into the web portal.
The web interface begins by showing us a dashboard with an overview of the server's hardware. Further down the page we can see graphs which show current (and recent) statistics on memory, the CPU, system load and temperature. There is an area for monitoring bandwidth usage, but this graph failed to load when I first started using FreeNAS.
A menu is displayed down the left side of the web interface. There are a lot of menu options and rather than dive deeply into all of them, I will give a quick listing of the menu sections and then talk about some specifics from my trial below.
The menu items are as follows:
Accounts - This top-level menu includes two sub menus, one for working with groups and the other for managing user accounts. This lets us create users who will later be able to sign in remotely or access services.
System - This group of modules deals with the FreeNAS operating system, mostly low-level stuff. Specific items include connecting to time (NTP) servers, managing boot environments, notification e-mails, managing certificate authorities, creating security certificates and installing software updates. There are two generic modules called General and Advanced which mostly deal with connecting to the NAS's web service, describing which network port to use, our preferred language and time zone.
FreeNAS 11.2 -- Configuring portal connections
(full image size: 120kB, resolution: 1239x1024 pixels)
Tasks - Here we can set up scheduled tasks such as running cron jobs, taking snapshots of ZFS volumes, synchronizing files with cloud services and performing maintenance on ZFS pools.
Network - This small group of modules gives us access to network connections, available network interfaces, network routes and virtual LANs.
Storage - This category handles setting up ZFS storage pools, working with file system snapshots and accessing the disks attached to the NAS.
Directory Services - Lets us authenticate users over LDAP, Active Directory and Kerberos.
Sharing - Enables setting up Apple Shares, NFS, WebDAV and Samba network shares.
Services - Lists built-in services the NAS can use, such as secure shell. We can toggle a button to enable or disable services. Most are turned off out of the box.
FreeNAS 11.2 -- A list of available services
(full image size: 109kB, resolution: 1239x1024 pixels)
Plugins - There are two screens in the Plugins section, one to browse and install new Plugins. The other shows installed modules we may want to configure.
Jails - Enables the creation and management of FreeBSD style jails. There is a related section called Virtual Machines in case we need to work with services under a different operating system.
Reporting - This page shows us more detailed graphs related to our CPU usage and system load. These charts can be swapped out for others, showing ZFS statistics, memory consumption, disk usage and network traffic information.
Display System Processes - This page is basically just the output of the top process monitor in our web browser.
Shell - This page gives us access to a terminal shell from inside the web browser.
Guide - Gives us access to FreeNAS's on-line documentation.
FreeNAS 11.2 -- Accessing a command line in the web browser
(full image size: 122kB, resolution: 1239x1024 pixels)
Observations
While exploring and using FreeNAS's web interface I made a number of observations as I went about customizing the environment, updating the operating system and setting up an accessible storage volume. The first is I like the new interface's look and organization. I have used a handful of different NAS solutions over the years and most of them, frankly, are not organized in a way I find intuitive. FreeNAS's menu structure is pretty well organized and I feel the items are located in places which make sense. I only once had to dig for a menu item because enabling a feature occurred in one place and managing it was in another, but typically options were easy to find. This is important because there are a lot of configuration options, plugins and features. Being able to find something in the large list of modules is important. Plus the new dark theme looks good in my opinion, which made the whole experience nicer.
I found the FreeNAS interface was a bit slow to load new pages. Interacting with buttons or options on one page went quickly, but switching pages took a while. Operating from the command line interface was snappy, so the delay seems to be specific to page load times in my environment.
When setting up most NAS systems, including FreeNAS, I find there is often a certain order to the steps we need to perform. For example, my first instinct is to create a non-root user account, as I would on a server system. However, with FreeNAS we should first create a storage pool from additional disks attached to the server, then create a user account. That way we can place the user's home directory in the storage pool.
FreeNAS 11.2 -- Creating a storage pool
(full image size: 101kB, resolution: 1239x1024 pixels)
Earlier I mentioned the FreeNAS web interface is available over HTTP only. We can change this, but there are a series of steps we need to perform, in a set order. To enable HTTPS we need to enable a security certificate. To create the certificate we need to set up a self-signing authority. This might confuse users not familiar with setting up secure websites, but basically we are setting ourselves up as someone who can make certificates, then making one with these self-assigned credentials, then enabling the secure HTTPS connection. All of these actions can be performed under the System menu.
When creating a new pool the interface doesn't seem to give any indication of where the pool is mounted. This is information we need if we are to create user accounts with home directories in the pool or network shares. Pools are, I found, created under /mnt/<poolname>. So a home directory in the Data pool for my user might be located at /mnt/Data/jesse
When I first started using FreeNAS I performed a check for software updates, which failed. An error was displayed indicating the network could not be reached. It turned out that FreeNAS had correctly used DHCP to get an IP address and I could therefore access the web portal over my local network, however no Internet gateway had been set up and DNS was not working. I supplied the network gateway and two DNS servers which allowed the system to check for updates. New patches were found, downloaded and installed without any further issue. I like that the update module provides a link to the project's release notes so we can get a sense for new developments before installing the patches.
When I first began using FreeNAS the status dashboard would not show network statistics and graphs, but following the first wave of updates the network graph started to work.
On the subject of network errors, sometimes when trying to download items such as plugins, an error would be displayed saying FreeNAS could not access the network due to a missing gateway. When this happened I could still ping outside servers from the NAS and check for software updates, it was just when downloading plugins the system failed to connect to remote servers,
FreeNAS 11.2 -- Error when downloading plugins
(full image size: 111kB, resolution: 1239x1024 pixels)
There is a feature on FreeNAS which allows us to set up cloud storage and remote host accounts. This lets us connect to a service like Dropbox, or a server running FTP or OpenSSH. Once a remote service's credentials have been provided we can schedule tasks to synchronize files with this service. I had limited success with this feature. When I tried to set up a secure file transfer (SFTP) connection, the web interface would not accept just a username and password as credentials, it wanted a key file. There is a tip on the page which says if we do not have a key file to leave the field blank, but when the key file field is empty, the provided credentials cannot be saved.
I was able to set up credentials to connect to an FTP service and confirmed the connection worked from FreeNAS's command line. However, any time I tried to push or pull files across the connection the sync task failed without an error to indicate why it was unable to complete.
During my trial I tried to install a few plugins. There is quite a list of plugins available, including media servers, bittorrent clients, and various database tools. Whenever I tried to install a plugin, it would download and then the web interface would lock up during the installation process. None of the plugins installed successfully, even after waiting for the process to complete for 30 minutes.
I was able to enable a few built-in services, such as secure shell and Samba shares, and these worked without issue.
Creating snapshots and boot environments was quite easy and I like how straight forward it is to make a snapshot and schedule future snapshots. This makes it easier to recover from a bad update or to rescue a file that was deleted on the NAS.
Another feature of FreeNAS I appreciate is the system will prompt before performing any destructive tasks. Not only does the system offer a typical "Really do this? OK or Cancel" style prompt, but the web interface will also show a checkbox we need to click to confirm the action. This may seem like overkill to some people, but I like the extra speed bump that prevents us from wiping out potentially large amounts of data.
FreeNAS 11.2 -- Managing user accounts
(full image size: 121kB, resolution: 1239x1024 pixels)
Conclusions
In my opinion, FreeNAS is probably one of the easier NAS solutions to set up and it has probably the nicest web-based interface I have used. The web portal looks nice, I think it is well organized and there are a huge number of features. Further, FreeNAS offers good documentation and is fairly light on resources. The base system is smaller than 1GB on the disk and typically uses less than 1GB of RAM.
I also like the support for ZFS, an advanced file system well known for its reliability, snapshots and ability to handle vast amounts of data. FreeNAS makes setting up ZFS volumes, and user accounts on these volumes, a point-n-click process and I applaud the developers for that.
On the negative side of things, some features did not work for me. I struggled with plugins and file synchronization through the web portal (working with files from the command line worked fine for me) and getting networking set up properly took more effort than I had expected. I was also a bit concerned about the lack of local security. If your server is headless or in a locked room, it is not a big deal to have root logged in, but for a lot of environments it is not advisable to leave root logged in at the console.
I think whether FreeNAS is a good choice for managing storage will depend a lot on how comfortable the administrator is with FreeBSD. For people who are comfortable setting up a FreeBSD server and manually adding storage pools, there may not be a lot of added benefit to FreeNAS. However, if you want to manage a lot of storage space and other services through a polished point-n-click web interface rather than manually doing everything through the command line, then FreeNAS is an excellent tool. There are a few rough edges to work out, I think, but on the whole I found FreeNAS made administering ZFS volumes and related services pleasantly straight forward.
* * * * *
Visitor supplied rating
FreeNAS has a visitor supplied average rating of: N/A from 0 review(s).
Have you used FreeNAS? You can leave your own review of the project on our ratings page.
|
| Miscellaneous News (by Jesse Smith) |
Using Ubuntu Studio as an add-on, Nitrux developing a tool to manage multiple distributions, Mint experimenting with new Cinnamon features
The Ubuntu Studio team has been working on a method to enable users of other flavours of Ubuntu to enjoy the benefits of running the Ubuntu Studio suite of software. The team's goal is to allow people to use Ubuntu Studio's optimizations and applications as an add-on to other distributions. The project's blog explains: "One of the visions for Ubuntu Studio has been the ability for users of other Ubuntu flavors to essentially 'bolt-on' Ubuntu Studio to their existing installation. This will be easily available for those users beginning with Ubuntu 19.04 Disco Dingo. It will be a 2-step process: 1) install the 'ubuntustudio-installer' package, and 2) Launch it and select the features you want. It will allow you to install any of the meta packages along with the under-the-hood performance tweaks that Ubuntu Studio includes by default." This should allow more people to try Ubuntu Studio's software without requiring a lot of tweaking or installing a separate operating system.
* * * * *
The Nitrux team is working on a special operating system management program called znx. The znx software is designed to make it easier to experiment with multiple operating systems and multiple versions of operating systems. "A typical desktop operating system consumes about 4-5GB after installation, so that's at least 4-5GB consumed for every new root folder partition. All this complexity is unnecessary, and with that in mind, we developed znx. With znx, every single operating system that it deploys remains as a single file in the storage device, effectively consuming less space. Utilizing znx means the complexity of using more operating systems decreases. You may ask yourself if znx works by utilizing the ISO files of Linux distributions, wouldn't that mean the ISO files that it deploys to the storage device would be Live CDs? Yes and no, let me explain..." More information on znx can be found in this blog post and on the znx GitHub page.
* * * * *
The Linux Mint team mentioned a number of exciting developments in their January newsletter. The distribution earned a record $22,803 from donations in December of 2018 and the team is planning a number of ambitious projects to improve the Cinnamon desktop experience. One of these experimental projects separates Cinnamon components into separate processes, which could improve performance and make the desktop more secure. "Michael Webster is working on something really complicated, something we've talked about since the dawn of time: splitting Cinnamon into multiple processes. He's studying the possibility of having applets run in their own process and render objects remotely. This is very ambitious and pretty much R&D at this point. We're hoping he'll succeed with a prototype. Failing that there's also the idea of keeping the rendering of the applet content in Cinnamon itself and only delegating the processing (similar to dbus–menu), or to keep Cinnamon and applets together and split away the WM."
* * * * *
These and other news stories can be found on our Headlines page.
|
| Questions and Answers (by Jesse Smith) |
Matching operating systems with file systems
File-system-naive asks: I'm guessing that since "File System" is not listed as a criterion on the Search Distributions page, any OS can be installed on any file system. If that is not the case, what factors determine whether an OS is compatible with a given file system?
I envision (in a business, not home, context) using a partitioning tool to format a disk (or even RAID) in preparation for a desired file system, then installing the OS. I might prioritize a file system that provides integrity+reliability+security+snapshot-ability over speed. Which OSes will adapt immediately to this selected file system? Which OSes do not work "out-of-the-box", but could work with some effort? Which OSes will never work? (Example: Perhaps I've "landed" on OrangeFS as ideal. Can I run LMDE3 on top of it instead of ext3?) If my thinking is naive, what additional concepts should I first understand? Ultimately, once I'm sold on a (well-researched) specific file system, I'd like to distinguish the distros that include it by default or, at least, can play nicely with it.
TL;DR: Assuming a certain file system, which distros are recommended?
DistroWatch answers: There is a lot of ground to cover here so I am going to try to keep my answers brief. This may gloss over some finer points of file systems and operating systems, so please forgive me when I speak in generalities and ignore some corner cases.
In short, you cannot install every OS on any file system. Every operating system supports working with one or more file systems and will (usually) only boot on file systems it recognizes.
You can install an OS on any of the file systems supported natively by its kernel. This means you can install Windows on NTFS, FreeBSD can be installed on UFS or ZFS, Linux distributions can generally be installed on ext2/3/4, JFS, XFS, Btrfs, and Reiserfs. Some distributions may have exceptions or add-on options, but generally speaking Linux distributions will boot on the above list of file systems or a subset of them.
So basically if a file system is supported by the operating system's kernel without an add-on like FUSE or a third-party kernel module, then you can usually install the OS on that file system.
When it comes to Linux, the installer will usually recommend one or more file systems to use, depending on your situation. For example, most home-focused distros run on ext4 by default as it is a good, fast, general purpose file system. Enterprise distros like Red Hat Enterprise Linux and SUSE Linux Enterprise typically recommend XFS and Btrfs, respectively, for the massive amounts of storage and flexibility they offer.
With all that being said, you have some wiggle room if you keep your data on one file system and your operating system on another, which is fairly common. I recommend installing your OS on whichever file system its installer recommends. Then pick the best file system for your data later from the list of ones your OS supports. This will offer you more options and allow you to upgrade your OS later without affecting your data.
You specifically mentioned OrangeFS. While OrangeFS can work with Linux systems, it appears to be a recent addition to the kernel. (You traditionally needed to install the OrangeFS package as it was not included in the kernel.) This means most installers do not yet support OrangeFS and you will not be able to install Linux Mint on top of it. But you should be able to attach OrangeFS storage to your Mint system after you set up Mint on ext4 or Btrfs and make sure OrangeFS support is enabled.
In short, I recommend you install your distribution on whichever file system its installer suggests. Then find a separate file system for your data that can work with your kernel (such as Linux) and enable it. This will open up more options and avoid the issue of whether your kernel (and installer) can work on the file system you want to use for your data.
For the most part, since all Linux distributions use the Linux kernel, they can all work with the same file systems. The installers for different distributions may add or remove some options, but ultimately you can use any Linux-supporting file system for a data partition with any distro, you just may not be able to boot from it. For example, any Linux distro can work with ZFS, but very few distributions include support for booting from a ZFS volume because the file system is not included in the kernel.
* * * * *
Additional answers can be found in our Questions and Answers archive.
|
| Released Last Week |
MakuluLinux 2019.01.25
MakuluLinux is a Debian-based desktop distribution which ships with many applications and media codecs installed out of the box. The project has published an update, MakuluLinux 2019.01.25, to its Core series which experiments with mouse gestures. This allows users to optionally use their computer almost entirely without the aid of a keyboard. "The optional gesture system will let users navigate their computers with barely even having to touch a keyboard if that is their wish. The more traditional users don't have to enable gestures, they can simply use the operating system in much the same way they are used to navigating Linux. Core also offers many 'instant access' features like a one-click wallpaper changer or one-click 3D option, easily control every aspect of your OS with a simply few clicks." Further information and a list of supported features can be found in the distribution's blog post. The page also features a video of the gestures system in action.
MakuluLinux 2019.01.25 -- Initial desktop customization
(full image size: 857kB, resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
Tails 3.12
The Amnesic Incognito Live System (Tails) is a Debian-based live DVD/USB with the goal of providing complete Internet anonymity for the user. The project's latest release is Tails 3.12 which introduces a new install method: "The biggest news for 3.12 is that we completely changed the installation methods for Tails. In short, instead of downloading an ISO image (a format originally designed for CDs), you now download Tails as a USB image: an image of the data as it needs to be written to the USB stick. ISO files are still available for people using optical media and virtual machines. The distribution includes some additional changes: "Starting Tails should be a bit faster on most machines. Tell users to use sudo when they try to use su on the command line. Update Linux to 4.19. Update Intel and AMD microcodes and most firmware packages. This should improve the support for newer hardware (graphics, Wi-Fi, etc.). Remove Liferea, as announced in Tails 3.9. Update Tor Browser to 8.0.5. Update Thunderbird to 60.4.0." Further details can be found in the project's release announcement.
Alpine Linux 3.9.0
Alpine Linux is a lightweight distribution which features the BusyBox userland utilities and the musl C library. The project has published a new release, Alpine Linux 3.9.0, which expands hardware architecture support and switches its security library from LibreSSL to OpenSSL. "New features and noteworthy new packages: Support for armv7; Switch from LibreSSL to OpenSSL; Modloop is now being signed; Improved GRUB support; GRUB users should check if their config is generated correctly and have emergency boot media prepared. Significant updates: Linux 4.19; GCC 8.2.0; Busybox 1.29; musl libc 1.1.20; Go 1.11.5; LXC 3.1; PostgreSQL 11.1; Node.js 10.14.2; Crystal 0.27; Zabbix 4.0.3; Nextcloud 15.0.2." The release announcement also mentions that the Firefox browser will only be available on the x86_64 build of Alpine Linux due to its dependency on Rust.
OPNsense 19.1
OPNsense is a specialist operating system (and a fork of pfSense) designed for firewalls and routers. The project's latest release, OPNsense 19.1, shifts the operating system's base from FreeBSD to HardenedBSD which includes a number of security enhancements. "The 19.1 release, nicknamed "Inspiring Iguana", consists of a total of 620 individual changes since 18.7 came out 6 months ago, spread out over 12 intermediate releases including the recent release candidates. That is the average of two stable releases per month, security updates and important bug fixes included! If we had to pick a few highlights it would be: The firewall alias API is finally in place. The migration to HardenedBSD 11.2 has been completed. 2FA now works with a remote LDAP / local TOTP combination. And the OpenVPN client export was rewritten for full API support as well." Further details and links to the project's download mirrors can be found in the release announcement.
SystemRescueCd 6.0.0
SystemRescueCd is a Linux system on a bootable CD-ROM or USB drive, designed for repairing a system and data after a crash. The distribution's developers have published SystemRescueCd 6.0.0 which deviates from previous releases in two significant ways: 32-bit support has been dropped in favour of a 64-bit build, and the base distribution has been switched from Gentoo to Arch Linux. The project's changelog reports: "System is now based on ArchLinux and built using archiso and its dependencies. Kernel and user space programs are now fully 64-bit (dropped 32-bit support). Boot options are the ones provided by new upstream rather than old version. Graphical environment based on xorg-1.20.3 and xfce-4.12. Implemented 'setkmap=xx' option on the boot command line to setup keyboard. Updated kernel to Long-Term-Supported linux-4.19.19. Updated filesystem tools: e2fsprogs-1.44.5, xfsprogs-4.19.0, btrfs-progs-4.19.1. Updated disk tools: gparted-0.33.0, lvm2-2.02.183.
LibreELEC 9.0
LibreELEC is "just enough OS" to run the Kodi media centre. LibreELEC is a Linux distribution built to run Kodi on current and popular hardware. The project's latest release, LibreELEC 9.0, includes a number of security improvements. "Changeable SSH passwords and a default firewall configuration have been added to combat the increasing number of HTPC installs that can be found on the public internet. The increase is partly due to simple maths; our userbase has grown so the number of users inappropriately exposing their HTPC to the internet has also grown. The static password for libreelec is present on most/all password dictionary lists so it’s important we start encouraging users to change it (the first-run wizard will prompt when SSH is enabled). More people are using VPN services for privacy without realising this exposes SSH/SMB/Web services. To combat this problem we have added simple firewall configurations for Home/Public networks; the Home configuration blocks inbound connections from non-private networks, e.g. traffic from the Internet to the public IP address used with the VPN connection." Further details can be found in the project's release announcement.
* * * * *
Development, unannounced and minor bug-fix releases
|
| Torrent Corner |
Weekly Torrents
The table below provides a list of torrents DistroWatch is currently seeding. If you do not have a bittorrent client capable of handling the linked files, we suggest installing either the Transmission or KTorrent bittorrent clients.
Archives of our previously seeded torrents may be found in our Torrent Archive. We also maintain a Torrents RSS feed for people who wish to have open source torrents delivered to them. To share your own open source torrents of Linux and BSD projects, please visit our Upload Torrents page.
Torrent Corner statistics:
- Total torrents seeded: 1,230
- Total data uploaded: 23.7TB
|
| Upcoming Releases and Announcements |
|
Summary of expected upcoming releases
|
| Opinion Poll |
Do you have a NAS for home/personal use?
This week we began with a review of FreeNAS, a FreeBSD-based storage solution. While many NAS solutions are designed for offices and enterprise environments, they can be equally useful in the home. We would like to find out how many of our readers use a dedicated NAS device or operating system at home. Please let us know which operating system your NAS uses in the comments.
You can see the results of our previous poll on selecting a distribution for our Major Distributions page in last week's edition. All previous poll results can be found in our poll archives.
|
Do you have a NAS for home/personal use?
| Yes - I have a NAS at home: | 671 (36%) |
| No - I do not have a NAS at home: | 1204 (64%) |
|
|
| DistroWatch.com News |
New projects added to database
Condres OS
Condres OS is a rolling release distribution based on Arch Linux. The distribution is available in nine editions (most of them for various desktop environments) and ships with convenience features such as desktop icons enabled (on GNOME), the ICE site specific browser, and the TLP power management software.
Condres OS 19.02 -- Running the MATE desktop
(full image size: 684kB, resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
* * * * *
Distributions added to waiting list
- Unknown OS. Unknown OS is a Debian-based distribution which strives to keep the user anonymous when on-line and attempts to side-step fingerprinting methodology.
* * * * *
DistroWatch database summary
* * * * *
This concludes this week's issue of DistroWatch Weekly. The next instalment will be published on Monday, 11 February 2019. Past articles and reviews can be found through our Article Search page. To contact the authors please send e-mail to:
- Jesse Smith (feedback, questions and suggestions: distribution reviews/submissions, questions and answers, tips and tricks)
- Ladislav Bodnar (feedback, questions, donations, comments)
- Bruce Patterson (podcast)
|
|
| Tip Jar |
If you've enjoyed this week's issue of DistroWatch Weekly, please consider sending us a tip.
(Tips this week: 1, value: US$15.88) |
|
|
|
 bc1qxes3k2wq3uqzr074tkwwjmwfe63z70gwzfu4lx  lnurl1dp68gurn8ghj7ampd3kx2ar0veekzar0wd5xjtnrdakj7tnhv4kxctttdehhwm30d3h82unvwqhhxarpw3jkc7tzw4ex6cfexyfua2nr  86fA3qPTeQtNb2k1vLwEQaAp3XxkvvvXt69gSG5LGunXXikK9koPWZaRQgfFPBPWhMgXjPjccy9LA9xRFchPWQAnPvxh5Le paypal.me/distrowatchweekly • patreon.com/distrowatch |
|
| Extended Lifecycle Support by TuxCare |
|
|
|
| TUXEDO |
TUXEDO Computers - Linux Hardware in a tailor made suite
Choose from a wide range of laptops and PCs in various sizes and shapes at TUXEDOComputers.com. Every machine comes pre-installed and ready-to-run with Linux. Full 24 months of warranty and lifetime support included!
Learn more about our full service package and all benefits from buying at TUXEDO.
|
| Archives |
| • Issue 1100 (2024-12-09): Oreon 9.3, differences in speed, IPFire's new appliance, Fedora Asahi Remix gets new video drivers, openSUSE Leap Micro updated, Redox OS running Redox OS |
| • Issue 1099 (2024-12-02): AnduinOS 1.0.1, measuring RAM usage, SUSE continues rebranding efforts, UBports prepares for next major version, Murena offering non-NFC phone |
| • Issue 1098 (2024-11-25): Linux Lite 7.2, backing up specific folders, Murena and Fairphone partner in fair trade deal, Arch installer gets new text interface, Ubuntu security tool patched |
| • Issue 1097 (2024-11-18): Chimera Linux vs Chimera OS, choosing between AlmaLinux and Debian, Fedora elevates KDE spin to an edition, Fedora previews new installer, KDE testing its own distro, Qubes-style isolation coming to FreeBSD |
| • Issue 1096 (2024-11-11): Bazzite 40, Playtron OS Alpha 1, Tucana Linux 3.1, detecting Screen sessions, Redox imports COSMIC software centre, FreeBSD booting on the PinePhone Pro, LXQt supports Wayland window managers |
| • Issue 1095 (2024-11-04): Fedora 41 Kinoite, transferring applications between computers, openSUSE Tumbleweed receives multiple upgrades, Ubuntu testing compiler optimizations, Mint partners with Framework |
| • Issue 1094 (2024-10-28): DebLight OS 1, backing up crontab, AlmaLinux introduces Litten branch, openSUSE unveils refreshed look, Ubuntu turns 20
| | • Issue 1093 (2024-10-21): Kubuntu 24.10, atomic vs immutable distributions, Debian upgrading Perl packages, UBports adding VoLTE support, Android to gain native GNU/Linux application support |
| • Issue 1092 (2024-10-14): FunOS 24.04.1, a home directory inside a file, work starts of openSUSE Leap 16.0, improvements in Haiku, KDE neon upgrades its base |
| • Issue 1091 (2024-10-07): Redox OS 0.9.0, Unified package management vs universal package formats, Redox begins RISC-V port, Mint polishes interface, Qubes certifies new laptop |
| • Issue 1090 (2024-09-30): Rhino Linux 2024.2, commercial distros with alternative desktops, Valve seeks to improve Wayland performance, HardenedBSD parterns with Protectli, Tails merges with Tor Project, Quantum Leap partners with the FreeBSD Foundation |
| • Issue 1089 (2024-09-23): Expirion 6.0, openKylin 2.0, managing configuration files, the future of Linux development, fixing bugs in Haiku, Slackware packages dracut |
| • Issue 1088 (2024-09-16): PorteuX 1.6, migrating from Windows 10 to which Linux distro, making NetBSD immutable, AlmaLinux offers hardware certification, Mint updates old APT tools |
| • Issue 1087 (2024-09-09): COSMIC desktop, running cron jobs at variable times, UBports highlights new apps, HardenedBSD offers work around for FreeBSD change, Debian considers how to cull old packages, systemd ported to musl |
| • Issue 1086 (2024-09-02): Vanilla OS 2, command line tips for simple tasks, FreeBSD receives investment from STF, openSUSE Tumbleweed update can break network connections, Debian refreshes media |
| • Issue 1085 (2024-08-26): Nobara 40, OpenMandriva 24.07 "ROME", distros which include source code, FreeBSD publishes quarterly report, Microsoft updates breaks Linux in dual-boot environments |
| • Issue 1084 (2024-08-19): Liya 2.0, dual boot with encryption, Haiku introduces performance improvements, Gentoo dropping IA-64, Redcore merges major upgrade |
| • Issue 1083 (2024-08-12): TrueNAS 24.04.2 "SCALE", Linux distros for smartphones, Redox OS introduces web server, PipeWire exposes battery drain on Linux, Canonical updates kernel version policy |
| • Issue 1082 (2024-08-05): Linux Mint 22, taking snapshots of UFS on FreeBSD, openSUSE updates Tumbleweed and Aeon, Debian creates Tiny QA Tasks, Manjaro testing immutable images |
| • Issue 1081 (2024-07-29): SysLinuxOS 12.4, OpenBSD gain hardware acceleration, Slackware changes kernel naming, Mint publishes upgrade instructions |
| • Issue 1080 (2024-07-22): Running GNU/Linux on Android with Andronix, protecting network services, Solus dropping AppArmor and Snap, openSUSE Aeon Desktop gaining full disk encryption, SUSE asks openSUSE to change its branding |
| • Issue 1079 (2024-07-15): Ubuntu Core 24, hiding files on Linux, Fedora dropping X11 packages on Workstation, Red Hat phasing out GRUB, new OpenSSH vulnerability, FreeBSD speeds up release cycle, UBports testing new first-run wizard |
| • Issue 1078 (2024-07-08): Changing init software, server machines running desktop environments, OpenSSH vulnerability patched, Peppermint launches new edition, HardenedBSD updates ports |
| • Issue 1077 (2024-07-01): The Unity and Lomiri interfaces, different distros for different tasks, Ubuntu plans to run Wayland on NVIDIA cards, openSUSE updates Leap Micro, Debian releases refreshed media, UBports gaining contact synchronisation, FreeDOS celebrates its 30th anniversary |
| • Issue 1076 (2024-06-24): openSUSE 15.6, what makes Linux unique, SUSE Liberty Linux to support CentOS Linux 7, SLE receives 19 years of support, openSUSE testing Leap Micro edition |
| • Issue 1075 (2024-06-17): Redox OS, X11 and Wayland on the BSDs, AlmaLinux releases Pi build, Canonical announces RISC-V laptop with Ubuntu, key changes in systemd |
| • Issue 1074 (2024-06-10): Endless OS 6.0.0, distros with init diversity, Mint to filter unverified Flatpaks, Debian adds systemd-boot options, Redox adopts COSMIC desktop, OpenSSH gains new security features |
| • Issue 1073 (2024-06-03): LXQt 2.0.0, an overview of Linux desktop environments, Canonical partners with Milk-V, openSUSE introduces new features in Aeon Desktop, Fedora mirrors see rise in traffic, Wayland adds OpenBSD support |
| • Issue 1072 (2024-05-27): Manjaro 24.0, comparing init software, OpenBSD ports Plasma 6, Arch community debates mirror requirements, ThinOS to upgrade its FreeBSD core |
| • Issue 1071 (2024-05-20): Archcraft 2024.04.06, common command line mistakes, ReactOS imports WINE improvements, Haiku makes adjusting themes easier, NetBSD takes a stand against code generated by chatbots |
| • Issue 1070 (2024-05-13): Damn Small Linux 2024, hiding kernel messages during boot, Red Hat offers AI edition, new web browser for UBports, Fedora Asahi Remix 40 released, Qubes extends support for version 4.1 |
| • Issue 1069 (2024-05-06): Ubuntu 24.04, installing packages in alternative locations, systemd creates sudo alternative, Mint encourages XApps collaboration, FreeBSD publishes quarterly update |
| • Issue 1068 (2024-04-29): Fedora 40, transforming one distro into another, Debian elects new Project Leader, Red Hat extends support cycle, Emmabuntus adds accessibility features, Canonical's new security features |
| • Issue 1067 (2024-04-22): LocalSend for transferring files, detecting supported CPU architecure levels, new visual design for APT, Fedora and openSUSE working on reproducible builds, LXQt released, AlmaLinux re-adds hardware support |
| • Issue 1066 (2024-04-15): Fun projects to do with the Raspberry Pi and PinePhone, installing new software on fixed-release distributions, improving GNOME Terminal performance, Mint testing new repository mirrors, Gentoo becomes a Software In the Public Interest project |
| • Issue 1065 (2024-04-08): Dr.Parted Live 24.03, answering questions about the xz exploit, Linux Mint to ship HWE kernel, AlmaLinux patches flaw ahead of upstream Red Hat, Calculate changes release model |
| • Issue 1064 (2024-04-01): NixOS 23.11, the status of Hurd, liblzma compromised upstream, FreeBSD Foundation focuses on improving wireless networking, Ubuntu Pro offers 12 years of support |
| • Issue 1063 (2024-03-25): Redcore Linux 2401, how slowly can a rolling release update, Debian starts new Project Leader election, Red Hat creating new NVIDIA driver, Snap store hit with more malware |
| • Issue 1062 (2024-03-18): KDE neon 20240304, changing file permissions, Canonical turns 20, Pop!_OS creates new software centre, openSUSE packages Plasma 6 |
| • Issue 1061 (2024-03-11): Using a PinePhone as a workstation, restarting background services on a schedule, NixBSD ports Nix to FreeBSD, Fedora packaging COSMIC, postmarketOS to adopt systemd, Linux Mint replacing HexChat |
| • Issue 1060 (2024-03-04): AV Linux MX-23.1, bootstrapping a network connection, key OpenBSD features, Qubes certifies new hardware, LXQt and Plasma migrate to Qt 6 |
| • Issue 1059 (2024-02-26): Warp Terminal, navigating manual pages, malware found in the Snap store, Red Hat considering CPU requirement update, UBports organizes ongoing work |
| • Issue 1058 (2024-02-19): Drauger OS 7.6, how much disk space to allocate, System76 prepares to launch COSMIC desktop, UBports changes its version scheme, TrueNAS to offer faster deduplication |
| • Issue 1057 (2024-02-12): Adelie Linux 1.0 Beta, rolling release vs fixed for a smoother experience, Debian working on 2038 bug, elementary OS to split applications from base system updates, Fedora announces Atomic Desktops |
| • Issue 1056 (2024-02-05): wattOS R13, the various write speeds of ISO writing tools, DSL returns, Mint faces Wayland challenges, HardenedBSD blocks foreign USB devices, Gentoo publishes new repository, Linux distros patch glibc flaw |
| • Issue 1055 (2024-01-29): CNIX OS 231204, distributions patching packages the most, Gentoo team presents ongoing work, UBports introduces connectivity and battery improvements, interview with Haiku developer |
| • Issue 1054 (2024-01-22): Solus 4.5, comparing dd and cp when writing ISO files, openSUSE plans new major Leap version, XeroLinux shutting down, HardenedBSD changes its build schedule |
| • Issue 1053 (2024-01-15): Linux AI voice assistants, some distributions running hotter than others, UBports talks about coming changes, Qubes certifies StarBook laptops, Asahi Linux improves energy savings |
| • Issue 1052 (2024-01-08): OpenMandriva Lx 5.0, keeping shell commands running when theterminal closes, Mint upgrades Edge kernel, Vanilla OS plans big changes, Canonical working to make Snap more cross-platform |
| • Issue 1051 (2024-01-01): Favourite distros of 2023, reloading shell settings, Asahi Linux releases Fedora remix, Gentoo offers binary packages, openSUSE provides full disk encryption |
| • Issue 1050 (2023-12-18): rlxos 2023.11, renaming files and opening terminal windows in specific directories, TrueNAS publishes ZFS fixes, Debian publishes delayed install media, Haiku polishes desktop experience |
| • Issue 1049 (2023-12-11): Lernstick 12, alternatives to WINE, openSUSE updates its branding, Mint unveils new features, Lubuntu team plans for 24.04 |
| • Issue 1048 (2023-12-04): openSUSE MicroOS, the transition from X11 to Wayland, Red Hat phasing out X11 packages, UBports making mobile development easier |
| • Issue 1047 (2023-11-27): GhostBSD 23.10.1, Why Linux uses swap when memory is free, Ubuntu Budgie may benefit from Wayland work in Xfce, early issues with FreeBSD 14.0 |
| • Issue 1046 (2023-11-20): Slackel 7.7 "Openbox", restricting CPU usage, Haiku improves font handling and software centre performance, Canonical launches MicroCloud |
| • Full list of all issues |
| Star Labs |
Star Labs - Laptops built for Linux.
View our range including the highly anticipated StarFighter. Available with coreboot open-source firmware and a choice of Ubuntu, elementary, Manjaro and more. Visit Star Labs for information, to buy and get support.
|
| Random Distribution | 
ExTiX
ExTiX is a desktop Linux distribution and live DVD based on Ubuntu, offering a choice of alternative desktop environments.
Status: Active
|
| TUXEDO |
TUXEDO Computers - Linux Hardware in a tailor made suite
Choose from a wide range of laptops and PCs in various sizes and shapes at TUXEDOComputers.com. Every machine comes pre-installed and ready-to-run with Linux. Full 24 months of warranty and lifetime support included!
Learn more about our full service package and all benefits from buying at TUXEDO.
|
| Star Labs |
Star Labs - Laptops built for Linux.
View our range including the highly anticipated StarFighter. Available with coreboot open-source firmware and a choice of Ubuntu, elementary, Manjaro and more. Visit Star Labs for information, to buy and get support.
|
|
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
