List of Linux distributions
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List of Linux distributions
This page provides general information about notable
Linux distributions in the form of a categorized list. Distributions are organized into sections by the major distribution they are based on, or the
package management system they are based around.
Debian-based
Debian is a distribution that emphasizes
free software. It is supported on many hardware platforms. Debian and distributions based on it use the
.deb package format and the
dpkg package manager.{| class="wikitable"! Distribution !! Description
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| 64 Studio| Attempts to specialize in audio and video production on AMD64 workstations.
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| AbulÉdu| For education purposes
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| Alinex| date=September 2008}} |
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| Baltix| For Lithuanian and Latvian languages
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| BeatrIX| A compact distribution from the Czech Republic that focuses on providing a user-friendly desktop environment.
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| CubeLinux| date=September 2008}} |
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| Corel Linux| Shortlived desktop distribution
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| DeMuDi | For multimedia production
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| Dreamlinux| A Brazilian Linux distribution based on Morphix, Elive, Debian and Kanotix. It has a GUI that bears a strong similarity to that of Apple Computer's Mac OS X.
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| eBox | Router/Firewall and NAS/PDC
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| Elive| A Live CD and Distribution featuring Enlightenment as the only window manager. Aims to be intuitive and easy to use.
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| Feather Linux| Shares similar goals as Damn Small Linux, but not based on it (Feather is more closely related to Knoppix). Uses Knoppix-based hardware detection and the Fluxbox window manager. Compatible with Debian packages (.deb).
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| Finnix| A small system administration Live CD that is available for multiple architectures.
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| G2Linx| Realtime distribution for industrial automation
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| Gibraltar (Linux distribution)>Gibraltar | Router/firewall distribution. |
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| gnuLinEx| A distribution promoted by the government of Extremadura, Spain.
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| Kanotix| An installable live CD for desktop usage using KDE, focusing on convenient scripts and GUI for ease of use.
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| Knoppix| The first Live CD (later DVD) version of Debian GNU/Linux.
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| LEAF Project | The Linux Embedded Appliance Firewall. A tiny primarily floppy-based distribution for routers, firewalls and other appliances.
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| LiMux| ISO 9241 industry workplace certified Linux distribution, deployed at the Munich>City of Munich, Germany. |
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| Linspire| Desktop-oriented distribution, previously called Lindows. Focuses on a proprietary software application manager obtained via a paid (CNR) subscription.
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| The Linux Router Project | A defunct floppy-based distribution for routers and firewalls.
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| Maemo| Nokia N800 and Nokia N810>N810 Internet Tablets and other Linux-based devices. Parts of maemo (particularly the Hildon UI) are also planned to be used in the Ubuntu Mobile and Embedded Edition. |
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| MEPIS| Installable live CD-s
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| NepaLinux| A Debian and Morphix based distribution focused for desktop usage in Nepali language computing.
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| OpenZaurus | Sharp Zaurus Personal digital assistant>PDA. |
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| Outernet Server| A modified version of Debian that installs preconfigured and is specifically meant for a High speed multimedia Networks.
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| PAIPIX| Knoppix and Kanotix for desktop usage. Developed in Portugal, but with localizations in other languages.{{Fact>date=September 2008}} |
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| Parsix GNU/Linux| Installable live CD based on Kanotix and Debian
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| PingOO| French distribution aimed at local communities, public organizations, schools, etc. It comes in three editions: PingOO Communication Server, PingOO Secure Server and PingOO File Server.
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| Linux for PlayStation 3>PSUbuntu| A Ubuntu distribution intended for the Playstation 3. |
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| Progeny Componentized Linux| Distribution from Progeny Linux Systems which was also founded by Debian founder Ian Murdock.
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| Rxart| Desktop-oriented distribution. Focused on providing proprietary software.
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| Salgix| Distribution developed and maintained by GMSI (Gemini Microsystems International) for its line of Visual Computing workstations.
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| Satux| date=September 2008}} |
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| Skolelinux| A distribution from Norway. It is provided as a thin client distribution for schools.
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| sidux| Multilingual desktop-oriented Live CD based on Debian unstable (Sid)(1) providing a graphical installer. It is a rolling release, so once installed, it can be kept up-to-date with updates from the Debian Sid and sidux repositories.
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| Storm Linux 2000| Stormix{{Fact>date=August 2008}} |
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| Symphony OS| Mezzo (desktop environment)>Mezzo desktop environment. Previous versions were based on Knoppix. |
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| Trisquel| Created in Galicia (Spain). It has support for old PCs, includes a 3D desktop with Compiz.
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| Linux Tiger|Designed to be similar to Mac OS X.
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| Tuquito| Created in Argentina
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| Ubuntu (operating system)>Ubuntu| A distribution sponsored by Canonical Ltd as well as receiving major funding from South African Mark Shuttleworth. Aims to offer a complete and polished desktop on a single CD. |
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| UserLinux| Commercial distribution that would have included GNOME. It was never published.
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| Xandros>Xandros Open Circulation Edition| based on Xandros 3.0 Standard Edition with the exception of DVD burning being disabled and CD burning restricted to a maximum speed of 4X. |
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| Xebian | For the Xbox home gaming console.
Knoppix-based
Knoppix, itself, is based on Debian.{| class="wikitable"! Distribution !! Description|
| Buildix| For agile developers.
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| Damn Small Linux| Generally considered as the starter of mini distributions. A live CD designed for MiniCD with a hard drive install option.
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| Kaella | The French translation of Knoppix.
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| Feather Linux | Knoppix-based Linux distribution which currently fits in under 128 MB. It boots from either a CD or a USB Flash Drive, with a size suitable for a bootable business card.
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| Kalango Linux>Kalango| Another Brazilian Knoppix-based distribution designed to have strong visual appeal. |
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| KnoppMyth | Specialized Knoppix distribution for easy setup of the MythTV PVR software.
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| Kurumin| A version of the Knoppix distribution designed for Brazilian users.
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| Morphix| A Live CD distribution with different flavours, including GNOME. Used as a base for many other custom live distribution such as Clusterix, PHlAK or Gnix.
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| Musix| A Knoppix/Debian based distribution, intended for music production, graphic design, audio, video editing, and other tasks. It is built with only free software.
More distributions based on Knoppix are listed in the Knoppix article. Ubuntu-based
Ubuntu is based on Debian. For a list of distributions based on Ubuntu, see List of Ubuntu-based distributions.Gentoo-based
Gentoo is a distribution designed to have highly optimized and frequently updated software. Distributions based on Gentoo use the Portage package management system with emerge.{| class="wikitable"! Distribution !! Description|
| Gentoox| An adaptation of Gentoo for the Xbox.
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| Knopperdisk| A new distribution aimed at USB sticks.
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| Kororaa| A distribution which aims at easy installation of a Gentoo system by using install scripts instead of manual configuration.
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| Pentoo| Penetration-testing Live CD distribution.
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| Sabayon Linux| Live DVD which includes a wide range of desktop environments and open-source software applications. Like Knoppix, Sabayon Linux can be installed on the hard drive.
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| SystemRescueCD| System rescue Live CD version of Gentoo.
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| Ututo| A distribution made in Argentina.
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| VidaLinux| Anaconda installer>Anaconda as its installer. |
RPM-based
Red Hat Linux and SUSE Linux were the original major distributions that used the RPM file format, which is today used in several package management systems. Both of these later divided into commercial and community-supported distributions. Red Hat Linux divided into a community-supported distribution sponsored by Red Hat called Fedora, and a commercially supported distribution called Red Hat Enterprise Linux.Fedora-based
{| class="wikitable"! Distribution !! Description|
| Aurox| Poland>Polish distribution with emphasis for multimedia, graphics, localization and education. |
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| Aurora SPARC Linux| For Sun's SPARC architecture
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| BLAG Linux and GNU| date=September 2008}} |
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| K12Linux and K12LTSP| Linux Terminal Server Project>LTSP support. |
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| Linux XP| Focuses on ease of installation and use.
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| Linpus Linux| Focused on the Chinese market and EEE PC like computers (Linpus Lite).
Red Hat Enterprise Linux-based
{| class="wikitable"! Distribution !! Description|
| Asianux| Red Flag Linux>Red Flag Software Co., Ltd., Miracle Linux Corp. and Haansoft, INC., focused on Chinese, Japanese and Korean supports. |
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| CentOS| Community-supported distribution that aims to be compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux without the inclusion of proprietary software.
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| ClarkConnect| Router/firewall distribution
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| Scientific Linux| Fermilab>Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), which aims to be compatible with and based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux. |
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| SME Server| Based on CentOS and targeting Small and Medium Enterprises.
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| White Box Enterprise Linux| A distribution designed to be compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
See Red Hat Enterprise Linux derivatives for a more complete list, as well as Commercial products based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Others (RPM-based)
{| class="wikitable"! Distribution !! Description|
| TinyMe| A lightweight distribution based on PCLinuxOS
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| aLinux| A distribution for home use designed to be equivalent to Windows XP Home (formerly known as Peanut Linux).
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| ALT Linux| Several distributions including Master, Compact, and Junior. Provides support for Cyrillic languages.
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| Annvix| Mandriva Linux>Mandrake 9.2 but has diverged a lot. |
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| Ark Linux| A distribution focused on ease of use and ease of learning.
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| Berry Linux| A medium-sized Fedora-based distribution that provides support in Japanese and English.
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| Caixa Mágica| A Portuguese distribution.
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| Caldera Linux| Caldera bought SCO then took the SCO name and no longer produces a Linux distribution. Last release: 3.1.1 - Jan. 30, 2002
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| cAos Linux| A general purpose distribution. Designed to have low overhead, run on older hardware, and be easily customizable
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| EduLinux| A distribution for educational purposes (cf. Guadalinex, Skolelinux).
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| EnGarde Secure Linux| Server-only distribution designed to be secure.
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| Linkat| A distribution promoted by the government of Catalonia, Spain.
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| Mandriva Linux#Mandriva Linux Free>Mandriva Linux Free| Free |
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| MCNLive| A Mandriva-based distribution designed to run from CD or USB Flash Drive, focused on multimedia, internet, graphics.
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| PCLinuxOS| Mandriva Linux>Mandriva 2007. |
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| QiLinux| date=September 2008}} |
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| Red Flag Linux| A distribution developed in China and optimized for the Chinese market.
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| Red Hat Linux| Fedora (operating system)>Fedora Core and Red Hat Enterprise Linux. The last official release was Red Hat Linux 9 in March 2003. |
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| SAM Linux| A live and installation CD based on PCLinuxOS 2007 and Xfce.
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| SUSE Linux distributions>SUSE Linux | Desktop computer>desktop-oriented Linux distribution supplied by Novell, Inc.. SUSE is one of the most popular distributions in Europe. Like Red Hat Linux, it is a large distribution on several CDs/DVDs. Free | Eval versions are available for the SUSE Linux Enterprise versions.
*
openSUSE - A branch developed by the community and sponsored by
Novell. openSUSE maintains a strict policy of ensuring all code in the standard installs will be from
Free/Libre/Open-Source Software solutions, including
Linux kernel Modules. Novell's enterprise
Linux products are all based on the codebase that comes out of the openSUSE project.
*
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server - A server-oriented Linux distribution supplied by
Novell, Inc. and targeted at the business market.
*
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop (previously branded
Novell Linux Desktop) - A desktop-oriented Linux distribution supplied by
Novell, Inc. and targeted at the enterprise market.
* SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time - A specialized version of the SUSE distribution from Novell designed to support low latency for time critical operations.
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| Trustix| A distribution focused on security.
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| Turbolinux| Based on Red Hat Linux.
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| Vine Linux| A Japanese distribution based on Red Hat Linux.
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| YOPER| A desktop distribution from New Zealand that focuses on optimizing system performance for workstation use.
Slackware-based
Slackware is known as a highly customizable distribution that stresses ease of maintenance and reliability over cutting edge software and automated tools. Generally considered a distribution for advanced users, it is often suggested to those who want to learn the inner workings of a Linux operating system.{| class="wikitable"! Distribution !! Description|
| Austrumi| A business card size (50 MB) bootable live CD
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| BasicLinux| A mini linux designed to run in old PCs (386). Has a certain degree of compatibility with Slackware packages.
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| Frugalware| A general purpose Linux distribution designed for intermediate users.
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| GoblinX| A live CD that features multiple customizable desktop environments.
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| HostGIS| HostGIS Linux is a Slackware based distribution specifically made for handling GIS information.
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| NimbleX| date=September 2008}} |
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| Slackintosh| An unofficial port of Slackware to the PowerPC architecture.
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| SMS - Slack Mini Server| TorrentFlux.{{Fact>date=September 2008}} |
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| Slamd64| An unofficial port of Slackware to the x86-64 architecture.
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| Bluewhite64| x86-64 architecture.{{Fact>date=September 2008}} |
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| SLAX| A very popular live CD which aims to provide a complete desktop for general use. Permanent installation of SLAX is not recommended or supported, it is designed for "live" use only.
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| Topologilinux| Designed to run from within Microsoft Windows, Topologilinux can be installed without any changes to the user's hard disk.
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| Vector Linux| A lightweight distribution designed to be easy to use even for new users. Generally considered well suited for older hardware.
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| Zenwalk Linux| Originally a minimal version of Slackware, Zenwalk has evolved into a very different operating system; however, compatibility with Slackware is still maintained.
SLAX-Based
SLAX's modularity and reputation of quality have made it a popular base for other live CD projects.{| class="wikitable"! Distribution !! Description|
| Arudius| An information assurance suite that includes many vulnerability assessment utilities and source code auditing tools.
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| BackTrack| A network security suite developed by RemoteExploit.org. It includes many penetration testing utilities and development tools. While BackTrack is principally used as a live CD, it can also be installed permanently.
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| DNALinux| A small distribution designed for running bioinformatics software, including BLAST and EMBOSS.
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| SLAMPP| Designed to be used on a home server.
Others
The following distributions either use another packaging system, do not use any, or are simply not categorized.{| class="wikitable"! Distribution !! Description|
| Arch Linux| i686- and x86-64-optimized, independently developed distribution targeted at experienced users. Arch runs on a rolling release system and uses the Pacman (package manager)>pacman utility for package management. Extra software to customize the system is added via pacman from the Arch repositories. |
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| Coyote Linux| Router/firewall distribution.
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| CRUX| i686-optimized Linux distribution targeted at experienced Linux users. The primary focus of this distribution is "KISS principle>keep it simple", which is reflected in a simple tar.gz-based package system, BSD-style initscripts, and a relatively small collection of trimmed packages |
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| DD-WRT| Embedded firewall distribution.
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| DeLi Linux| A desktop based mini distribution with office suite, web browser and other graphical programs to run on a 486. Built from scratch with some influences from Slackware and CRUX.
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| Devil-Linux| firewall/router/server distribution running from CD.
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| DSLinux| Version of Linux designed for the Nintendo DS.
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| (dyne:bolic) | Live CD geared toward multimedia (audio and video) production, but comes with other non-media specific application (eg: word processor, desktop publisher). It is completely free software as defined by the Free Software Foundation.
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| Familiar Linux| Distribution for iPAQ handhelds.
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| Fli4l| a single floppy ISDN, DSL and Ethernet-Router.
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| Foresight Linux| Conary (package manager)>Conary package manager. |
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| FREESCO| A free replacement for proprietary routers supporting up to 10 network cards and up to 10 modems.
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| Fedora (operating system)>Fedora| A free workstation for home or company workers. |
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| GeeXboX| Live CD media center distribution, mainly to play special-encoded video files (eg: .ogg, XVID) on home theater.
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| GoboLinux| An alternative Linux distribution which redefines the entire file system hierarchy by installing everything belonging to one application in one folder under /Programs, and using symlinks from /System and its subfolders to point to the proper files.
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| Hikarunix| Go (board game)>Go. |
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| IPCop| Router/firewall distribution.
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| iPodLinux| microcontroller>µCLinux kernel. |
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| Jlime| Hewlett-Packard>HP Jornada 6xx and 7xx and NEC MobilePro 900(c) handhelds. |
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| Lunar Linux| A source code-based distribution descended from Sorcerer GNU/Linux.
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| Lycoris (company)>Lycoris| Desktop/LX: Fell down to one employee and then acquired by Mandriva. |
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| MCC Interim Linux| MCC Interim Linux, possibly the first Linux distribution. Created by the Manchester Computing Centre in February 1992.
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| MkLinux| A distribution for PowerPC systems that runs the Linux kernel as a server on top of the Mach microkernel.
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| Mobilinux| By Montavista for smartphones.
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| MontaVista Linux| MontaVista>MontaVista Software. |
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| NASLite| a floppy-based Linux designed to turn an old computer into a simple Network Attached Storage device.
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| NimbleX| date=September 2008}} |
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| Nitix| Developed by Net Integration Technologies Inc., Nitix claims to be the first autonomic Linux-based server operating system.
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| OpenWrt| Embedded firewall distribution.
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| Pardus (operating system)>Pardus| Developed in Turkey. It uses PISI as package manager, COMAR as configuration framework. |
