Debian GNU/Linux (Debian for short) is often criticised for the length of its development cycle but is, as a result, a very stable Linux distro, popular with business users.
This trend looks set to continue with the launch of the long-awaited Debian 5 release (‘Lenny’ to its friends), designed to bring the platform into line with all but the most go-ahead members of the Linux pack.
The Debian 5 distro is based on the 2.6.26 Linux kernel. It’s not cutting edge, but that’s not hugely important if you’re interested in Linux for business use where stability and security are the main issues.
Gnome is the default desktop, based mostly on Gnome 2.22 code which is also pretty recent, if not the latest there is. You can choose the K Desktop Environment, but the latest 4x release didn’t make it in. You also get Iceweasel 3 (Mozilla Firefox with a different name) and Icedove 2, the Debian incarnation of the Thunderbird email client.
Openoffice.org comes as standard, but it’s the 2.4 release – 3 wasn’t launched until after Lenny was finalised. Still, upgrading to the newer version isn’t difficult and there are a lot of new features in Debian 5, including Java support. And there’s plenty for netbook users including ACPI scripts specifically written for the Eee PC.
The Xen hypervisor is included for server users, together with Samba (3.2.5), the Apache Web server (2.2.9), plus MySQL and PostgreSQL databases. Indeed you can download over 23,000 ready-to-run packages – enough to keep even the keenest of Linux enthusiasts busy until the next release.
Debian has extensive platform support, from Intel/AMD-powered desktops and servers (32-bit and 64-bit) to Mips, PowerPC and Sparc-based systems. There is even an S/390 implementation, plus versions for handheld computers and some Linux-based storage appliances. Getting hold of the software and installing it is also easy and free.
One way is to download a complete set of CD/DVD images, although the files are large and you probably won’t use most of what they contain. Plus there’s a new bootable Live Version that can be run without installing to hard disk. However, we chose the preferred ‘netinst’ route, based on a relatively small bootable image (153MB for x86 platforms) that lets you choose the packages you want to include, then download and install the required code via the internet.
Our desktop installation took around 45 minutes over a broadband connection, but a variety of server and custom setups can also be installed this way. The latest security updates are automatically applied before the first boot, and SELinux is installed, if not enabled.
Once it was up and running we found it quick and responsive and there were no surprises in the way the software was managed or any interoperability issues such as those often encountered with the Debian-based Ubuntu. For example, the X.Org 7.3 server automatically configured the display for the hardware we had, the network connection was configured correctly and we were able to browse Windows network shares instantly with no extra setup required.
Sure, it’s not flashy like Ubuntu and you will have to download proprietary add-ons such as codecs to match what you get with the Ubuntu distro. But Debian is one of the most reliable and usable of the free distros, with Debian 5 looking like it should easily hold on to that title.
All Linux Tags: Debian
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