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I have redhat and mandrake but i want to know if it is a better distribution of linux than these two. I know that they are made around the same kernel but is hase to be something diferent about them. I'm not refering on how Xwindows looks. I will test them myself but i don't have time in the near future for all the distro. (maybe i will never have time for all, and maybe not all worth the time) so this is why i ask you.
Thx.
Here's the thing...it differs for what you're looking for. Some versions of linux are easier to use, some are designed for Admins to use, and some are designed for security. Some are built so that they can run Windows or Mac Apps. It really differs for what you're looking for.
Can you be a little bit more specific on this please? Thanks!
Trying to start a religious war are you? ;)
Seriously.......it all depends on what you want to do with it. Personally, I like Slackware, but that's because I frequently put linux on very old boxes and it's easy to slim the install down to about 400mb. Debian and Gentoo both have really cool package managers. Red Hat is pretty and very well supported, while Lycoris is very similar to windows, etc...... How about a smidge more detail on what you'd like to do. I'd be happy to offer a little bit of help.
i'm only interested in learning security with linux for all the other things i have windows.
Debian the pure distro
Why debian? What is special about debian? Don't take it like i don't like debian. I never seen it. I'm just curious!
Thx
Part of learning *nix security involves delving pretty deeply into the guts of the OS and understanding what makes it tick. Red Hat and Mandrake probably aren't ideal for this because the user is insulated from so much of the inner workings of the OS, much like Windows. That's not to say that you can't learn security on them; many people can and have. It's just that a lot of things are hidden from you and you have to go digging more than in other distros.Quote:
i'm only interested in learning security with linux
If you are serious about learning *nix security, your target should be a Linux distribution like Slackware or Gentoo. But if you don't have much Linux experience, I wouldn't jump directly into one of those. Depending on how brave you feel, perhaps you could stick with what you have until you get comfortable with Linux, then move on to one of the more "gears and guts" distros. Maybe even one of the BSDs.
Now that all the obligatory objectiveness is out of the way, Gentoo rocks. ;)
Definately Slackware if you are looking to getting into the guts of the machine. Although to qualify, my gentoo experience is lacking. I find myself constantly using a command line with all my Slack installations. Also slack is closer to "pure" Unix then any of the other big distros, so it makes it easier to jump on say......a FreeBSD box then if you've only ever used Red Hat. The entire SlackWare 8.1 OS fits on one CD, and you can tailor it however you like it during install. You also have full IP Table/IP chain support for firewalling. Most things you install you are going to have to compile from source, so it's never quite as easy as rpm -Uvh ****, but I still have all my Snort intrusion detectors running on Slackware, and it works great. I'm a bit of a glutton for punishment though, I like compiling everything from source.
Well i know linux but only on the outside. I've read some books about redhat but there is only the general stuff. I know for sure that in Romania are no books about slackware (not to mention gentoo) so it will be prety hard learning slackware. My only resource it will be the internet and the man pages. But i don't give up soo easy. If slackware is good for security then he will became my best friend. Any links about learning the inside of linux but not in the general way it will helpfull.
Thanks. And if any of you guys know any other distribution that is good for security please let me know.
www.justlinux..com
www.linuxquestions.org
Both excellent searchable forums.
Thanks for that links!
I have come across a link with interesting stuff . Mostly about AIX and Solaris but with some ebooks too. The owner of the link sayd that tomorow will put more on that link.
http://shells.lcsys.net/~b0b/images/Red-Ralf/
hi ...
i also love debian ! ... i tryd Suse linux and Mandrake before ... and it was nice to learn some basic stuff ... but i knew this could not be it...
ok.. so inbetween im using debian ... it really really rox ! reason: its simple structure on which u can build up ... and for sure the APT-GET system ! this is really a reason to check out this gnu/linux distri .... also u can check every dependencys that easy ... u can upgrade to diffrent kinds of debian .. im running testing/unstable ... i think u get to know what u use best (stable, testing, unstable) ... after installing just edit ur sources.list ! or do a internet installation from the beginning ....
im not using linux that long ... but i dont think i will change my distribution in the next years...
u can really kin of love debian ! :)
greetz
Thanks for your opinion uzer23.
Well i don't know yet what distr. is better but i'm begining to think that Slackware and Debian are on top. Well is a better situation now that it was at the begining.
If anyone think that i should add one more to the list please let me know!
Thanks all !