Picking a Linux Distribution, Part 1

Well I decided last night that if I’m going to get back into security, serious open source development, and other things, I should get back to my roots. I started out loving Linux and hating Microsoft, and while I have respect for Microsoft now I think it’s time I return “home”. As such, I’m going to be researching Linux distributions for a couple days and figuring out what I want to put where on my network.

It has been about 10 year since I had linux as my primary operating system, and to be honest I miss those days. Windows XP was wonderful, but Vista has really pushed me into wanting more from my OS. I was always a huge Slackware fan back in the day so there’s a good chance it will end up here again. But I have different requirements now for my operating system, and I expect more from the Linux community than I did then. Below is a list of some of the things that will influence my decisions:

GUI – Web Development Requirement

As a web developer, I have to have a nice GUI platform (KDE/Gnome/etc) that does not hinder my ability to be productive. It has to be easy to install the utilities and tools I need to be an efficient, productive developer. This includes things like VMWare for running a Windows OS (I still love .NET and will continue to develop using this platform). Web browsers are a must – firefox and opera at the very least. Flexibility in hardware – I use an HP laptop as my primary machine and I need support for all the hardware there. I’ve had trouble in the past with monitor and video card support and that just can’t be the case anymore.

Sure I could use vi and command line to do php but for HTML and CSS a graphical view is a must.

Update System

Back in the day (10 years ago), I was all about pulling down tarballs and running config process myself and fixing errors myself. These days, I’m looking for improvement. I’ve used the apt system and I love it. I don’t think tarballs have gone away but a serious platform needs a serious, consistent way for distributing updates, patches, and new software.

Security

Security is obviously a primary concern. WIthout the knowledge that the environment is as secure as possible, there is always a voice in the back of my head screaming at me to do more. Security first and foremost is a user awareness issue. I tend to think – from my past experiences on the dark side – that I’m pretty conscientious about this stuff. But the maintainers of an OS need to be a resource as well. This includes: documentation on the platform specifically considering security, an update system and a vulnerability notification system maintained by the community, and active security build into the environment from the get go.

I used to rag on redhat a lot because they turned on all the bells and whistles from the first time the system was booted. Well, I don’t need that and neither does anyone else. A distribution that considers quantity of service over quality will never have my vote. I want my operating system maintainers to consider least privilege and smallest attack surface first and foremost, and everything after that is a measured risk.

Customization and Tweaking

Having said everything above, I am sick and tired of Vista telling me what I can and cannot do on my computer. Linux already has an advantage here, but I do not want to jump through hoops to tweak stuff in my environment. I do not want to dig through a ton of documentation on a fragile setup only to find out that the tweak I need to make is not available. I better be able to kick every tire and build my own if I don’t find the tire suitable for my needs. And the car better still run with my tire!

End Rant

That’s about it. Over the course of the next couple of days I’m planning on making several more parts to this post covering the OSes I’ve looked at, the pros and cons of them, and a final post on my ultimate decision.