Getting Started - Choose where to run your Linux and which Distribution to use

Motivation

If you really want to learn Linux you have to run it yourself and experiment with the commands presented here. So you need to get your Linux first. This is a bit of a chicken-and-egg type problem, since it would be good if you already know about Linux before you install it. Luckily most Linux distributions are easy to install with a menu that guides you through the installation process.

Still there are some topics that you should know about:

• Where could you run your Linux? and
• Which Linux Distribution to choose.

Where to run your Linux

If you do not have a Linux system yet, here are some options where you could install it:

Where to run your Linux

Use a live CD or USB Stick

Most distributions offer versions of their Linux that you can try out without installing it. So called live versions. You need to put the image on a CD, DVD or USB-thumb drive and configure your PC to allow booting from these and then you can use a full Linux System without installing it. Good live systems are:

knoppix

the mother of all live systems. based on debian - https://knopper.net/knoppix/index-en.html

grml

- live system form sysadmins as a repair tool https://grml.org/

ubuntu live

https://ubuntu.com/tutorials/try-ubuntu-before-you-install#1-getting-started

tails

the tool for the aspiring spy. Recommended by Edward Snowden - https://tails.boum.org/

fedora live

fedora is a free linux from redhat - where they try out things before they go into their redhat distribution - https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/quick-docs/creating-and-using-a-live-installation-image/index.html

Old Laptop or Desktop PC

Maybe you have an old PC that you do not use any more and that is not strong enough for windows. If you only want it as a server and you do not need any GUI it can be a really old system.

Dual-booting your Desktop PC

You can install Linux and Choose which OS you run at boot time. This is a bit more complicated because you need to take care that you do not over-write your existing OS here. If you have windows you can make space for Linux with the built-in Windows Partitioning tools. E.g. see: https://www.linuxtechi.com/dual-boot-windows-10-debian-10/ in any case: You should backup your data before you try this!

Buy a Raspberry Pi

For about €10 you get a Pi-Zero or about €40 a regular Pi. You will need a few cables and an SD card and you have a perfectly nice little Linux Systmes. There are a lot of distributions for Pi but the most commonly use is Raspbian which is based on debian. https://www.raspberrypi.org/products/

Install it on a Virtual Maschine

You can use a simulated computer to install your Linux in. These are available for Windows, Mac and Linux (if you want a different Linux inside your main install). The advantages of virtualization is that you can run Linux alongside your other OS - the downside is that it is slower and that with the virtualization you might have no direct access to your hardware. There are different Virtualization Systems:

qemu

is free software: https://www.qemu.org/download/ https://www.qemu.org/

virtualBox

is also free but unfortunately controlled by oracle - https://www.virtualbox.org/

vmware

commercial product

Get a virtual machine from a cloud provider

DigitalOcean, Amazon, Azure(Microsoft), Google, , 1&1, Rackspace, .. all offer virtual servers where you can usually choose to get a pre-installed Linux image from different distributions. Of course there are the downsides of cloud: You do not own your machine and for heavy use it will be more expensive then a dedicated server that you own. But for trying it out it is convenient: You can setup a new virtual machine with a few mouse clicks, then install some software that you want to try out and if you do not need it you can quickly delete the whole thing again with a few clicks. If you only need it for a few hours it is extremely cheap. Typical low end machines that are perfect for a lightly loaded Linux cost around €5/month.

Login into an existing server

If you have a friend with an existing server or the university offers you login you can use that.

Which Linux Distributions to use

A Linux Distribution bundles a Linux-Kernel with a lot of programs and tools and offers a convenient setup. The distributions differ in the amount of programs they bundle, the versions and update-cycles and their choice of packages management. Some distributions offer commercial support.

Here is a short overview of the most important distributions:

debian

a free distribution with a lot of packages. debian has a focus on free software and all the main packages free software according to the debian standards. You can get non-free packages as well but those are in separated repositories. debian is easy to install - but if you happen to have a hardware that needs a driver from a non-free repository it is a bit more complicated - but there are install CDs with non-free drivers included. Debian has stable major releases every 2 to 3 years and security updates in-between.

ubuntu

based on the debian package system - it bundles some commercial software but is free to use. It offers LTS (long time support) versions with support for abour 4 years (that is you can stay on this major release and still get security updates).

mint

based on ubuntu

fedora

is a free distribution made by redhat. In fedora they try out things before they go into their main redhat distribution

redhat

good commercial support available

centos

free version of redhat (without support)

Exercises

Try one of the options above to get access to a Linux System.