Linux Distribution and Mirrors Kernel Archives

Linux Distribution and Mirrors Kernel Archives

A Linux distribution (often abbreviated as distro) is an operating system made from a software collection, which is based upon the Linux kernel and, often, a package management system. Linux users usually obtain their operating system by downloading one of the Linux distributions, which are available for a wide variety of systems ranging from embedded devices (for example, OpenWrt) and personal computers to powerful supercomputers (for example, Rocks Cluster Distribution).

Description	Location
Arch Linux, A simple, lightweight Linux distribution.	archlinux
CentOS, an Enterprise-class Linux Distribution "derived from sources freely provided to the public by Red Hat	centos
The Comprehensive Perl Archive Network (CPAN)	CPAN
The Debian Linux distribution	debiandebian-cd
Fedora, Red Hat's "community project" Linux distribution	fedorafedora-altfedora-secondaryfedora-epel
IUS, a community project that provides RPM packages for newer versions of select software for EL distros	ius
Gentoo Linux	gentoogentoo-portage
The Free Software Foundation (The GNU Project)	gnu
The Linux Documentation Project	LDP
Linux Mint	linuxmintlinuxmint-packages
Mageia Project	mageia
OpenSUSE, Novell's "community project" Linux distribution	opensuse
Openwall GNU/*/Linux, a small security-enhanced Linux distro for servers	openwall
Oracle Linux, a repackaged distribution based on RHEL (ISOs only)	oracle
Qubes OS Project, an OS designed to provide strong workstation security via compartmentalization	qubes
sourceware.org, an archive of various free software, mostly development tools	sourceware
Slackware Linux	slackware
Tails, a live distribution aiming to preserve your privacy and anonimity	tails
Ubuntu, a Linux distribution from Canonical	ubuntuubuntu-releases
The Linux Foundation Yocto Project, a deeply embeddable Linux distribution	yocto

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What is Linux?

What is Linux?

Linux is a clone of the operating system Unix, written from scratch by Linus Torvalds with assistance from a loosely-knit team of hackers across the Net. It aims towards POSIX and Single UNIX Specification compliance.

It has all the features you would expect in a modern fully-fledged Unix, including true multitasking, virtual memory, shared libraries, demand loading, shared copy-on-write executables, proper memory management, and multistack networking including IPv4 and IPv6.

Although originally developed first for 32-bit x86-based PCs (386 or higher), today Linux also runs on a multitude of other processor architectures, in both 32- and 64-bit variants.

New to Linux?

If you're new to Linux, you don't want to download the kernel, which is just a component in a working Linux system. Instead, you want what is called a distribution of Linux, which is a complete Linux system. There are numerous distributions available for download on the Internet as well as for purchase from various vendors; some are general-purpose, and some are optimized for specific uses. We currently have mirrors of several distributions available at https://mirrors.kernel.org/.

Note, however, that most distributions are very large (several gigabytes), so unless you have a fast Internet link you may want to save yourself some hassle and purchase a CD-ROM with a distribution; such CD-ROMs are available from a number of vendors.

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