Linux runs on Everything ? Part two.
Mar 14Find PART ONE of this series HERE.
IN our second part of the series about “Linux running on everything” we are going to take it one step further. Lets take look at a few Linux distributions that work ‘from the command line’. Now “From the command line” can mean quite a lot of things. It can be an all black screen with a cryptic cursor blinking, or a fully equipped (ASCII) menu interface that lets you do (almost) all the things that you do and then some. So depending on what version you choose your mileage may vary. When it comes down to the ” Hardware Footprint ” these Linux distributions vary a little. It depends on what you install, how many applications you are running, how many users are connected and what the machine actually has to DO for you. Many people think that a “command line” install of any version of Linux requires only “minimal hardware” but that is where you are wrong. When installing a command line version of Ubuntu Server last year, and using it as a VM-ware Server to run 5 Virtual machines, i can assure you that CPU power, Memory and Hard disk space where very high on my wish list. But that’s not what we are looking for today. We are going to take a look at three “command line” versions of Linux that you might be able to use on a day to day basis…. on minimal hardware.
Ubuntu Server.
The “Ubuntu Server” distribution is what we could call ‘Ubuntu Linux without the graphical user interface’ . No Kde , no Gnome, No fancy desktop, just a plain black screen with a blinking cursor, but PLENTY of possibilities. Setting up the Ubuntu server (as mentioned in our screencasts ) is not that hard.
These days you get a fairly easy installation wizzard that lets you ‘choose” what kind of server (if any) you want to set up. Where installing a LAMP (Linux, Apache, Mysql) webserver was hard before, now you can just tick the box when installing and.. Hopla. The new 9.10 version also comes with the ability to turn it into a virtual machine server during setup (or even enable some cloud computing) just by ticking a box. But when we are talking about everyday use, the great thing about the command line interface is that it is “very light” to interface with either locally or remotely.
Enabling SSH to connect via a ‘secure shell’ is a breeze and lets you interface with the command line of your system from ANY computer all over the globe, as long as you open up the correct port on the firewall. Enabling the SSH server is done by checking the right box at installtion and after about 20 minutes you have your system up and running. This is of course a very “basic” system. Its versatile but it also means it does not come with a lot of “basic” applications installed. Its like a big box of lego and you have to choose what you want to build. You can install apps VERY easily over the command line with the apt-get command (Sudo apt-get install NAMEOFAPPLICATION) and there are a lot of cool ones out there. Caferninja has posted a link in his blog to THIS website listing a whole slew of command line applications you can use.
Some of them are fairly easy to use, some of them are pretty hard to use. We come back to the statement that some applications just need a graphical interface (For example Video Editing) and others are better to do with the command line interface (renaming a bunch of files etc). But the “Command line version” of Ubuntu is very suited as a versatile platform for your command line stuff. With the combination of “Screen” (see our Docu cast episode about how to use that ) and applications like Centerim, Irssi, Alpine, Mc and others you can have a pretty nice machine up and running in no time.
Minimal hardware record : An Ubuntu 8.04 server, with a LAMP web server, an SSH server, running Alpine (mail) Centerim (chat) Irssi (irc) Mc (file explorer) doing automated backups using Rsync and Cron and some other stuff : Compaq Armada E500 (with a busted screen and keyboard) 256 meg ram and a 8 gigabyte hard drive. DOWNLOAD HERE
Adriane Knoppix.
For a change this is NOT a Ubuntu installation. Its actually based on the famous KNOPPIX live cd’s but this version has a little bit of a twist. This is a command line version of Linux, Pre-packed with quite a few applications AND a screen reader that reads out everything that is on the screen. WHY i hear you say ? Well, this version is originally intended for the visually impaired who, thanks to the simple setup of the command line menu’s AND the screen reader, can use the system very easily. For those of you who don’t want a blinking cursor at the command line, but want an easy menu to run all of your applications ? Adriane Linux might be an interesting tool. The cool thing is you can also use your mouse to navigate. Adriane comes with browser, email, notebook manager AND some graphical programs out of the box. SO if you are running this distribution on a laptop you CAN always open up Firefox when you need to.
Minimal Hardware Record : A virtual machine, with a harddrive of 4 gigabytes and 256 megabytes of ram assigned. Download HERE.
INX linux.
This last distribution we are talking about is one for the true command line geeks. If you want to do (almost) everything from the command line, want ALL of your applications pre-installed AND you want an easy menu structure to navigate, you might want to try out INX linux. INX is a ubuntu 8.10 based distribution that has an intricate menu structure, a LOT of applications AND the ability to PLAY VIDEO ! (using a thing called the “frame buffer” it IS able to display videos on your- otherwise command line – screen). This is a pretty complex and complicated command line version of Linux, but the designer HAS made sure there are some basic tutorials included. If you want to try out all kinds of text-based apps and see how far you can take your command line fetish : THIS is the distro you want. You can download the pre-built virtual machine (very nice to tinker with), the Live cd (that works on ANY computer) or build it yourself by installing a basic version of ubuntu 8.10 and downloading and running the installation script. Inx is the lightest distro in this series
Minimal Hardware Record : A virtual machine with 128 megs of ram and a 2 gigabyte harddrive footprint. DOWNLOAD HERE.
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Linux runs on Everything ? Part one.
Mar 13One of the myths that are out there , is that Linux runs on “everything”. Technically, this is true, Linux does “RUN” on even the smallest and most underpowered devices (Appliances like routers, your Tivo and some cellphones) and sure enough, geeks manage to run Linux on lighter computers like a 486, just to prove their point. The question is : What kind of “Linux” are they running on those machines. I mean : Linux is a very broad term when you think about it. It can range from command-line-Linux only, to a full desktop version with tons of apps and cool COMPIZ effects, to even a super cluster rendering the next pixar movie. There are many “variations” and “incarnations” of Linux, and depending on what you work with , they sure don’t run on “everything”. There is a difference between ‘application-like bare minimum Linux versions’ that do one thing and one thing well, there is the “mid range” that lets you do about everything as long as you are happy with the command line. Finally there is the “everyday Linux” that lets us live our life on the web inside a graphical user interface with common applications like Firefox, Flash etc. In the next series of articles I’ll write up some personal experiences on working with these several “incarnations” of Linux. I’ll show you what i used them for, and what my personal “record” is on lowest hardware requirements.
The Bare Minimum Linux Distro called … FREESCO.
Sure , you can run Linux on a 468, if you only install the Kernel (the heart of the operating system) and a VI or Nano editor. What you have then is a glorified typewriter (that is if you add in some network support) and I’ve been known to use “light” versions of Linux like that to get stuff done. Back when I worked for the educational department was in need of some network printers. Most printers they had lying around came with a parallel port connector and where only useful when they where hooked up to a “local” computer. Pretty shitty if you wanted to use them as a network printer, so other students could print to that printer via the network. In those days people would “sneaker net” their files around using Floppy disks from computer to computer. I had to put and end to that and get those printers networked. Sharing out the printers on the local computers ? not done. (Systems would be shut down and printers would be unreachable). Network printers ? no money for that. Network-printing boxes ( Parallel to Lan adapter ) ? No money for that either. The only thing I had lying around in plenty of number where old 486 computers. Time for some Linux Magic : FREESCO A Linux based distribution that allowed you to turn an old computer into a router AND a print server. The only thing you needed was : 8 MEGAbytes of ram, one or more network cards, a parallel port an .. a floppy drive. No harddisk required. This baby booted completely off a floppy drive and had easy (command line) wizards to follow in order to setup your old box as a router, a firewall or a print server. So this meant all the old machines I had could be turned into network print servers ! The devices could be turned on and off at random without damage to the operating system (everything was stored on a floppy) I could easily backup the ENTIRE print server (all i needed to do was ‘copy the floppy’ AND the thing played “money money money” by Abba when it finished booting ! Bare minimum Linux to the rescue.
My lowest hardware record : 486mhz processor, 8 megabytes of Edo Ram, 1 PCI network card, 1 Floppy drive.
Freesco Linux. A router, Firewall and a print server using nothing but a floppy drive.
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Back on the Blog : Get well soon Dave.
Mar 12I could say life has been getting in the way, I could say I have been busy with work, I could say I’ve been abducted by aliens. But only two out of those three statements would be correct. The truth is I’ve been getting a masters degree in procrastination and have been a bad bad blogger. So without further ado, lets kick back into rattling on the keyboard. Quite a bit has been going down the last few weeks, and you’ll be pleased to know that i’ve been working on some new projects and some new technology to "tune into your way of life". Its not always easy to find ‘new stuff’ to talk / podcast / screencast about, but the last few weeks of silence have brought up some interesting topics that we can talk about in the upcoming weeks. For those of you who realy want their "Knightwise-Fix" to trickle into their digital vains on a daily basis you can always check out my twitter feed (that is very active) on www.twitter.com/knightwise
But before we kick off into the new series of articles and stuff, I want to take a moment to wish my good friend Dave Gray a " Get well Soon " from the heart. He’s my long time digital friend and we’ve been co-hosting both the Global geek and the Aussigeek podcast for a few years now. He’s had some serious health issues the last couple of weeks and all our hearts and thoughts go out to Dave and his family. So "Get Well Soon " buddy !
But since one picture is kinda dull, I decided to rally up some more Belgians to wish Dave Well . Its amazing how friendly, loving and caring all of them where. You can join in and send your own picture to the AGP Forums here .
