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![](pics/logos/distros/gentoo.png) |
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![](pics/logos/distros/nixos.png) |
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Development & Background |
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
Based on... |
Independent |
Debian |
Independent |
openSUSE |
Independent |
Fedora |
Independent |
Independent (forked from Mandriva) |
Independent (forked from Mandriva) |
Independent |
Independent |
Independent |
Independent |
Independent |
Independent |
Independent |
Independent |
Initial release |
1993 |
2004 |
1994 (Suse) |
1995 (Red Hat) |
1998 (Mandrake) |
2010 |
2003 |
2002 |
1993 |
2002 |
2005 |
2008 |
2003 |
2013 |
2015 |
Community-driven or Corporate |
Community |
Corporate (Canonical) |
Community, with corporate backing (SUSE) |
Corporate (SUSE) |
Community, with corporate backing (IBM) |
Corporate (IBM) |
Community |
Community |
Community |
Community |
Community |
Community |
Community |
Community |
Community |
Community |
Community |
Price |
Free |
Free |
Free |
Paid |
Free |
Paid, free subscription for developers |
Free |
Free |
Free |
Free |
Free |
Free |
Free |
Free |
Free |
Free |
Free |
Freedom & adherence to GNU GPL |
Free |
Free |
Free |
Free |
Free |
IBM does not allow sharing of source codeWhile IBM makes the source code Available to subscribers as required by the GNU GPL, they reserve the right to cancel the subscriptions and therefore also further software updates from clients who share the source code with third parties. This clearly is a violation of the spirit and possibly even wording of the GNU GPL, as it essentially means you can only share the source code once before IBM cancels your subscription. |
Free |
Free |
Free |
Free |
Free |
Free |
Free |
Free |
Free |
Free |
Free |
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
Philosophy |
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
Primarily source-based vs binary packages |
Binary |
Binary |
Binary |
Binary |
Binary |
Binary |
Binary |
Binary |
Binary |
Binary |
Binary |
Hybrid |
Binary |
Hybrid |
Hybrid |
Source-based |
Binary |
Immutable or traditional? |
Traditional |
Traditional |
Traditional | Immutable snapshot-based |
|
Traditional |
Traditional | Immutable image-based |
|
Traditional |
Traditional |
Traditional |
Traditional |
Traditional |
Traditional |
Traditional |
Traditional |
Traditional |
Immutable declarative |
Immutable declarative |
Traditional |
Fully reproducible system? |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Only allows free software in repos? |
No (despite such policy there is a non-free repo) |
No |
No |
No |
No (despite such policy there is a non-free repo) |
No |
No, installation even includes non-free apps |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
Release schedule & Reliability |
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
Release model |
Fixed |
Fixed |
Fixed |
Fixed |
Fixed |
Fixed |
Fixed |
Fixed |
Hybrid |
LTS option (>5 yrs) |
Yes (5 years) |
Yes (12 years) |
No |
Yes (up to 19 years) |
No |
Yes (13-15 years) |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Yes (no fixed EOL date) |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Ability to roll back updates? |
No |
No |
snapper rollback |
snapper rollback |
|
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
nixos-rebuild switch |
guix system roll-back |
eopkg history |
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
CPU compatibility |
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
amd64 (64-bit AMD/Intel) |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
aarch64 (64-bit ARM) |
Yes |
Server image |
Yes |
Server image |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
ppc64le (IBM POWER9/10) |
Yes |
Server image |
Server image |
Server image |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
s390x (IBM Z) |
Yes |
Server image |
Server image |
Server image |
Server image |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
riscv64 (RISC-V) |
Experimental |
Server image |
Experimental |
No |
Experimental |
No |
Experimental |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
i686 (legacy 32-bit Intel/AMD) |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
No |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Minimal image |
Yes |
No |
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
Ease of use (default setup) |
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
Graphical installer? |
Yes (Debian-Install) |
Yes (Subiquity) |
Yes (Yast) | Yes (Tik)Aeon only, Kalpa uses Yast but this might change in the future |
|
Yes (Yast) |
Yes (Anaconda) |
Yes (Anaconda) |
Yes (Calamares) |
Yes (DrakX) |
Yes (DrakX) |
Text-based (archinstall) |
Test-based (Slackware Setup) |
No, manual install |
Text-based (setup-alpine) |
Text-based (void-installer) |
Yes (Calamares) |
Text-based (Guix installer) |
Yes (Calamares) |
Desktop environment by default (or offered during installation)? |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes (archinstall) |
Yes |
No, needs to be done post-install |
No, needs to be done post-install |
Only if installing from Xfce live image |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
GUI for advanced system administration? |
No |
Limited (e.g. driver manager) |
|
Yes (Yast) |
No |
No |
Yes (Control Center) |
Yes (Control Center) |
Yes (Control Center) |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Limited (e.g. driver manager) |
Graphical updating of packages and system upgrades? |
Updates only, not upgrades to next release |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Updates only, not upgrades to next release |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
Offers to install proprietary codecs? |
No |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Installed by default |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Installed by default |
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
Defaults |
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
Default browser |
Firefox |
Firefox |
Firefox |
Firefox |
Firefox |
Firefox |
Chromium |
Firefox |
Firefox |
- |
Firefox |
- |
- |
- |
Firefox |
- |
Firefox |
Default file system |
ext4 |
ext4 |
btrfs |
btrfs |
btrfs |
xfs |
ext4 |
ext4 |
ext4 |
no default |
no default |
no default |
ext4 |
no default |
ext4 |
ext4 |
ext4 |
Default swap approach |
Swap partition |
Swap file |
Swap partition | Swap on ZRAMAeon only, Kalpa has no swap but this might change in the future |
|
Swap partition |
Swap on ZRAM |
Swap partition |
Swap on ZRAM |
Swap partition |
Swap partition |
Swap on ZRAM (archinstall) |
no default |
no default |
Swap partition |
no default |
No swap |
No swap |
Swap on ZRAM |
init system |
systemd |
systemd |
systemd |
systemd |
systemd |
systemd |
systemd |
systemd |
SysV init |
systemd |
SysV init |
OpenRC |
OpenRC |
runit |
systemd |
Shepherd |
systemd |
Default C library |
glibc |
glibc |
glibc |
glibc |
glibc |
glibc |
glibc |
glibc |
glibc |
glibc |
glibc |
glibc |
musl |
Choice of glibc or musl |
glibc |
glibc |
glibc |
Compiler used |
gcc |
gcc |
gcc |
gcc |
gcc |
gcc |
clang |
gcc |
gcc |
gcc |
gcc |
gcc |
gcc |
gcc |
gcc |
gcc |
gcc |
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
Supported desktops: |
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
KDE Plasma |
Option during installation |
Kubuntu |
Option during installation | Kalpa | Aeon | No | In repo |
|
In Package Hub |
|
In EPEL |
Default |
Pre-selected choiceAlso available as Live Image |
Plasma Edition |
Option during installation (archinstall) |
Default |
In repo |
Available via setup-desktop |
In repo |
Option during installation |
In repo |
Plasma Edition |
GNOME |
Pre-selected choice |
Default |
Default |
|
Default |
GNOME Spin |
Option during installationAlso available as Live Image |
No |
In Slackbuilds |
Pre-selected choice |
Option during installation |
GNOME Edition |
Xfce |
Option during installation |
Xubuntu |
In Package Hub |
Xfce Spin | No | MATE Spin | Cinnamon Spin | LXQt Spin |
|
In EPEL |
In repo |
Available as Live Image |
Xfce Edition |
Option during installation |
Installable Live Image |
Option during installation |
Xfce Edition |
MATE |
Ubuntu MATE |
In repo |
MATE Edition |
In Slackbuilds |
In repo |
In repo |
Cinnamon |
Ubuntu Cinnamon |
In repo |
No |
No |
No |
No |
LXQt |
Lubuntu   |
No |
LXQt Spin |
In Slackbuilds |
In repo |
In repo |
Budgie |
In repo |
Ubuntu Budgie |
|
In repo |
No |
No |
No |
No |
In repo |
No |
Budgie Edition |
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
Package management |
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
Main package manager |
apt |
apt |
zypper | transactional-update |
|
zypper |
|
dnf |
dnf |
urpmi |
apt-rpm |
pacman |
slackpkg |
portage |
apk |
xbps |
Nix |
Guix |
eopkg |
Native binary package format |
DEB |
DEB |
RPM |
RPM |
RPM |
RPM |
RPM |
RPM |
RPM |
PKG.TAR.ZST |
TXZ |
GPKG.TAR |
APK |
XBPS |
NAR.XZ |
"substitutes" |
EOPKG |
Supported "universal" package formats: | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Flatpak |
Supported |
Supported |
Preinstalled | In OBS | No | Install scriptvia generic installer script for Nix | Supported | Should work |
|
In Package Hub |
Preinstalled |
Supported |
Preinstalled |
Preinstalled |
Supported |
Supported |
In Slackbuilds |
Supported |
Supported |
Supported |
Supported |
Supported |
Supported |
Snap |
Preinstalled |
No |
Supported | No | Install scriptvia generic installer script for Nix and Guix |
|
In EPEL |
No |
No |
No |
In AUR |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Preinstalled |
Nix |
Supported |
Install scriptvia generic installer script for Nix and Guix |
Install scriptvia generic installer script for Nix and Guix |
Install scriptvia generic installer script for Nix and Guix |
Install scriptvia generic installer script for Nix and Guix |
Install scriptvia generic installer script for Nix and Guix |
Supported |
In Slackbuilds |
Install scriptvia generic installer script for Nix and Guix |
Supported |
Supported |
Preinstalled |
Supported |
Install scriptvia generic installer script for Nix and Guix |
Guix |
In AUR |
Install scriptvia generic installer script for Guix |
Install scriptvia generic installer script for Guix |
Install scriptvia generic installer script for Guix |
Install scriptvia generic installer script for Guix |
Preinstalled |
AppImage |
Should work |
Should work |
Should work |
Should work |
Should work |
Should work |
Should work |
Should work |
Should work |
Should work |
Should work |
Most likely not working |
Should work with glibcbut not musl |
Should work (appimage-run ) |
Should work (--emulate-fhs guix shell --container --emulate-fhs) |
Should work |
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
Security |
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
Full-disk encryption option in installer |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes | YesMandatory for Aeon, see here, but not (yet) for Kalpa |
|
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Can encrypt individual partitions when selecting "custom partitioning" |
Can encrypt individual partitions when selecting "custom partitioning" |
Yes (archinstall) |
No, manual setup using cryptsetup |
No, manual setup using cryptsetup |
Yes |
No, manual setup using cryptsetup |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Out-of-the-box support for Secure Boot |
NoWhile Debian does support Secure Boot, you'll have to enroll your own MOK certificate and sign the kernel yourself. That also means you cannot install Debian without first disabling Secure Boot. On the other hand, Ubuntu, Fedora/RHEL and OpenSUSE/SLE offer Secure Boot working out of the box with most x86 systems without any fiddling. |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
Kernel security module set up by default? |
AppArmor |
AppArmor |
|
AppArmor |
SELinux |
SELinux |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
AppArmor |