Picking a Linux Distro: Part 4, Slackware and Ubuntu
At the start of August, we began our deep dive into the different Linux distributions offered by Linode. Where did each come from? What sets one apart from another? Which is best for me? These are questions we have tried to answer.
We began with Arch Linux and CentOS, then moved on to Debian and Fedora. Last time we covered Gentoo and OpenSUSE, and today we’ll conclude with Slackware and Ubuntu.
Slackware
Background
Most Linux users have at least a handful of modifications they make to their distro of choice after a fresh installation. Whether adding packages, changing themes or building modules for obscure hardware, the purpose is ultimately to make the system work better for you. It then seems fitting that Slackware’s primordial constituents were a university student’s collection of post-install notes and fixes for the Softlanding Linux System.
In 1993, Patrick Volkerding was asked by one of his professors to show him how to install Linux. That specific flavor of Linux was SLS, one of the very first distributions, but the user experience was rough. SLS was not known for its reliability, and the reconfiguration process of fixes and changes required about as much time as the installation itself.
After the professor’s office and personal computers were running SLS, Patrick was given the green light to install it in the university’s computer lab. Patrick’s eureka moment came when his professor asked him if there was a way to modify the SLS installation disk to already include the required fixes. As Patrick said in a 1994 interview for Linux Journal, this marked the start of the project.
Patrick modified the original SLS installation scripts to fix bugs and add features, including the luxury of installing the Linux kernel automatically. He also combed through the software packages to fix bugs there too, but this required patching source code, which often wasn’t included in the SLS installation. This meant the source needed to be sought online, and since Patrick was pulling directly from package maintainers, that resulted in newer software than what was included with SLS.
At that point, Patrick’s friends were urging him to put the distribution online for others to use outside the university. Several weeks and a few popular-demand-driven server outages later, Slackware 1.00 was readily available in July 1993 by FTP, installable via 23 floppy disks.
Why call the distribution Slackware? The “Slack” part of the name is a nod to the Church of SubGenius. Slackware became a sort of pet name Patrick had given the effort before it became noticed, but it just stuck around because the project was never intended to become anything serious. Yet 13 years later, Slackware has pedigree, a core development team and a user community all its own, and Patrick remains Slackware’s benevolent dictator for life.
What Makes Slackware Stand Out?
Slackware is perhaps best known for being one of the most “UNIX-like” Linux distributions, and this is a founding point of the distro’s philosophy. Slackware’s init system is a hybrid of System V and BSD methods.
Slackware also aims to give a complete system which includes a lot of software you won’t find packaged in other distros by default. Development environments, mail, web and FTP servers, diagnostics tools, even kernel source code are all included out of the box.
Slackware comes in two branches: stable and current, both for 32-bit x86, 64-bit x86_64, and ARM. Stable is offered as a solid, thoroughly tested release for desktops or servers, while current is the development branch which gives you the latest software, but at the cost of some reliability.
Slackware is also known for long lifespans, and at the time of this writing, milestone releases dating back to Slackware 13, released in mid-2009, still have no planned end of life.
Slackware is a distro whose maintainers choose not to make changes to upstream software. Hardly any patching is done to alter software from the state it’s provided in, and that pre-packaged purity is often one of Slackware’s most desirable features.
Pkgtool is Slackware’s package management toolkit, and rather than DEB or RPM binaries, software is packaged into XZ archives using LZMA2 compression, so downloads and extractions are as efficient as possible.
For software which isn’t packaged by the Slackware team, there’s SlackBuilds.org, or SBo, as it’s often referred to. SBo is a volunteer project which maintains a repository of build scripts to download, compile and install various applications into Slackware, similar in concept to Arch User Repository.
SlackBuilds is not affiliated with Slackware or the core team, but there are thousands of GPG-signed SlackBuild scripts available with a concise HOW-TO page to get them installed, or to write your own.
Package dependencies are handled differently in Slackware than most other distributions. All dependencies of the recommended full installation are satisfied, but then the responsibility falls to the end user to ensure the dependencies of additional software are met. Albeit a somewhat controversial decision, this is considered one aspect of Slackware’s core principles.
Slackware holds no set release schedule; new milestones are made available only when they’re ready. Slackware has no official policy regarding support lifespan, either, so milestones reaching back to Slackware 13 (released in 2009) are still fully supported, both in terms of new features and security patches. Upgrading from one release to another is done with Slackpkg, so you wouldn’t need a full reinstallation.
Who Would Enjoy Slackware?
Slackware is a “no-BS” distro, and while it provides one of the larger default software sets compared to others, Slackware doesn’t aim to satisfy everyone. The Slackware team knows they’re not creating something for the masses, and that is their distinct choice.
Slackware is generally viewed as a distribution for experienced Linux users. Various wikis and documentation sites exist to help you get started with Slackware. Should you hit a snag, Slackware sub-forums at LinuxQuestions.org, a disparate IRC channel, and a newsgroup exist online to help.
Once Slackware is up and running, you will have deployed a stable system backed by long-term support. In fact, Slackware is the oldest Linux distribution available still maintained.
If you were to find yourself glancing through the Slackware Way, with your smile widening as you read down the list of bulleted features, you should give Slackware a try. If you’re looking for a server or desktop distribution that you can slim down to a minimal installation for as lean a system as possible, give Slackware a try.
If you prefer configuring the system with text files, a simple init system and deliberate lack of upstream changes — along with the assurance that these traits will not change — then, give Slackware a try.
Ubuntu
Background
Ubuntu is a South African word which loosely assumes two meanings: “humanity to others” and “I am what I am because of who we all are.” Ubuntu as a Linux operating system was launched in 2004 by South African entrepreneur, Mark Shuttleworth, with an inaugural release of 4.10, codenamed Warty Warthog.
The vision behind Ubuntu was to provide a free operating system built from open-source software while generating revenue by selling services to support the product. Shuttleworth founded the London based Canonical Ltd. in 2004 to ensure Ubuntu’s prosperity by providing commercial support for Ubuntu.
Then in 2005, Shuttleworth formed the Ubuntu Foundation, comprised of himself and key Ubuntu community members, with an initial $10 million fund to act as a safety net if Canonical’s involvement with Ubuntu were ever in jeopardy.
Canonical makes upstream contributions and creates new FOSS projects which often become exclusive to Ubuntu. Probably the most familiar of these projects is the Unity desktop environment which debuted in 2010.
Canonical’s in-house init system, Upstart, was put forward as a contender during the times of systemd vs. The Internet, and was used by several distributions, including Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Now, as the Linux world moves away from the X Window System to Wayland, Canonical’s Mir display server is powering Unity 8 in Ubuntu Touch and is in queue to land in the Ubuntu Desktop in the near future.
Though Canonical is acknowledged as the commercial arm of Ubuntu, the Ubuntu project is made up of community contributors around the globe, guided by an encompassing philosophy, a code of conduct and other forms of governance. Various teams work on different aspects of the distribution, overseen by a community council and, of course, Mark Shuttleworth, who presides as benevolent dictator for life.
What Makes Ubuntu Stand Out?
Few would argue that Ubuntu ranks among the most visible and popular desktop Linux distributions available. Canonical has put substantial effort into making the distribution an easy and smooth experience to install, maintain and upgrade; so, it’s no surprise to see Ubuntu one of the most often recommended distributions to those new to Linux.
Ubuntu releases come in two support lifespans. Regular releases are made every six months and receive support for a subsequent nine months. LTS (long-term support) releases are made every two years and each is supported for the following five years.
Ubuntu is one of the most often forked distributions and is the base for distros such as Linux Mint, Zorin OS and Google’s internally used Goobuntu.
In addition to the standard Unity version provided by Canonical, Ubuntu comes in many flavors. These are pre-built images using different desktop environments (KDE, XFCE, etc.) and while not Canonical products, many are supported in part by Canonical and receive direct contribution by the Ubuntu project.
A significant amount of work with Ubuntu Touch has brought Ubuntu to tablets and smartphones. The first commercially available Ubuntu smartphone shipped in 2015 and the first tablet followed in 2016.
Unity 8 will finally bring Convergence to Ubuntu for a seamless experience between desktop and mobile devices, and Canonical has been expanding Ubuntu’s reach to Internet-of-Things, cloud solutions, and smart televisions. Even in-car electronics have been discussed.
Because it’s such a popular distribution, community support is not far away, and answers are usually found quickly. Ubuntu’s Personal Package Archives makes it easy to install software which isn’t available in the repositories, and to package your own projects or builds. Canonical has also worked with Microsoft to build an Ubuntu userspace in Windows 10, with a full Bash shell.
For security features, Ubuntu has detailed security matrix which includes things like memory protection, kernel hardening and no-listening network services. The FTP archives contain OpenPGP signed checksum files for verifying installation images.
Who Would Enjoy Ubuntu?
Ubuntu is a bit of an “every-man” distro. It is largely considered very friendly to Linux newcomers, and you won’t be hard pressed to find tales of experienced Linux users outfitting their elderly grandparents’ computer with Ubuntu, and achieving positive results.
The source for Ubuntu’s package base is Debian’s Unstable repository (Sid). Depending on where Debian and Ubuntu are in their release cycles, an Ubuntu LTS could suit you well if you want long term support and newer packages than the current Debian Stable, but without leaving the DEB ecosystem. Best is that if you already have knowledge of Debian, the workflow is synonymous with Ubuntu, with differences mainly coming down to provided package versions as opposed to native properties of the OS.
Ubuntu’s assortment of installers caters to various needs: from building your own operating system from a minimal installation base with the mini.iso, to server, to the general desktop installer which can automatically configure disk partitioning for installing, to a dual-boot configuration with another operating system.
Ubuntu has become the most available multi-platform Linux distribution and is becoming more accessible as an OEM-supplied operating system. If you’re interested in an Ubuntu phone, tablet or other Smart device, Ubuntu on your desktop or server could be a perfect complement.
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Ladies and gentlemen, we live in a universe of beginnings and endings, so this series is officially wrapped up. We hope you enjoyed it and we wish to leave you with some final thoughts.
No one knows what works best for you, other than you, and it’s natural to spend some time “distro-hopping.” Think of it as part of the initiation process. If you don’t find a distribution that hits your sweet spot on the first or fourth try, don’t let it deter you; there’s a lot out there. So — install, test, experiment; win supremely and fail epically. That’s life, that’s Linux. And have fun!
Share your experiences with us in the space below or at @Linode. We’d love to hear from you.
