Review: United Linux 1.0

Configuration and Management

After the following reboot, only a handful of services is up and listening: OpenSSH (sshd, 22/tcp, root), Sun RPC (portmap, 111/tcp und 111/udp, bin), the X Window System (X, 6000/tcp, 177/tcp, root) and - if required - a DHCP client (dhcpcd, 68/tcp, root). As default, United Linux via kdm starts a graphical interface. KDE3 is set as primary desktop, GNOME2 is included as alternative. Purists also may use the likewise available twm.

Concerning management, United Linux doesn't exactly deliver a big show. For editing basic system settings and management tasks, a stripped-down version of SuSEs YaST2-Suite is delivered. With this tool, the admin for example can modify hardware settings, edit users and groups or manage software packages. Optionally, modules for configuring NFS, NIS, LDAP and the mail services may be retrofitted from the United Linux CD.

More substantial administration tools are completely missed in United Linux 1.0. SuSE even has disposed helpful tools from the kdeadmin package, like KsysV. Essential setup assistants like sysconfig/runlevel editors or inetd and iptables configurators are not available unless you choose the SLES-specific fourth CD as additional installation source. With United Linux, the provisioning of the management instrumentation obviously is part of the distribution-specific duties.