Not only did the quartet of Conectiva, SuSE, SCO und Turbolinux meet the original timeframe proposed in the May 2002 United Linux announcement, but managed to beat the initial schedule by around four weeks. Instead of looking for United Linux 1.0 under our X-mas trees we will be able to pick it off the shelves the next days.
Yet United Linux (UL) won't arrive as the uniform product its name proposes. Each one of the four UL-Partner provides its customers with an own flavour of the distribution. A compilate of kernel and basic applications, delivered on three CDs, serves as common core. Conectiva, SuSE, SCO und Turbolinux each retrofit this core with own add-on discs and dispose the result as a separately branded distribution "powered by United Linux".
The SuSE Variety
The United Linux version by Nuremberg-based SuSE Linux AG answers to the name of SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 8 (SLES8). SLES8 is of special interest, because its predecessor SLES7 served as code base for the United Linux development. This as a matter of fact means that the three UL-CDs of this distribution are identical with the product that all four UL partners will deliver as core of their respective United Linux distributions.
A couple of days before the offical lauch of United Linux 1.0, SuSE provided us with a sample of SLES8 i368 RC5. These discs, according to the guys from Nuremberg, are identical with the SLES8 production version. The box contains four CDs, three of which hold United Linux 1.0 (2 installation, 1 sources). The fourth one includes the SLES-specific packages. For our test, we put the latter one aside and installed a plain United Linux system.
Installation
United Linux uses SuSEs propietary tool YaST2 ("Yet another Setup Tool") as installer. The setup consequently follows the familiar grounds we are used to by other SuSE products. Yet, immediately after the boot procedure a copyright window reminds us that we are dealing with a commercial product, not with Free Software.
As next step in the installation procedure the language has to be selected. US English serves as default, but United Linux supports 22 other languages as well, including Japanese and Chinese. Once the localzation has been set up, the configuration of keyboard variant and mouse type follows.
Server Daemons
After finishing the keyboard and mouse configuration, YaST initializes a standard installation conforming to the LSB 1.1 specification.
Based on kernel 2.4.19 and glibc 2.2.5, the United Linux system basically includes the following server components:
Authentification servers (Ypserv 2.5, OpenLDAP 2.1.4, Heimdal 0.4e)
Database servers (MySQL 3.23.52, Postgresql 7.2.2)
DHCP, DNS and Time servers (DHCP 3.0.1, BIND 9.1.3, Xntp 4.1.1)
File and Print servers (NFS 2/3, Samba 2.2.5, Marsnw 0.99.pl20, Netatalk 1.5.3.1, CUPS 1.1.15)
FTP servers (Pure-ftpd 1.0.12, Vsftpd 1.1.0, Tftp 0.29)
Mail and News servers (Sendmail 8.12.6, Postfix 1.1.11, Imap 2001a, Inn 2.3.2)
Proxy (Squid 2.4.STABLE7)
VPN server (FreeS/WAN 1.98_0.9.14)
Web server (Apache 1.3.26, Tomcat 4.0.4, PHP 4.2.2)
Additional Components
The installation routine sets up Xfree86 4.0.2 with KDE 3.0.3 and GNOME 2.0.6 as graphical user interfaces. As with all SuSE distributions, KDE and its integrated applications like Konqueror and Kmail are the primary choice. Mozilla 1.0.1 is offered as an optional web browser.
United Linux contains a large assortment of analyzing and security tools. Among others, these include Logsurfer, Nagios, Nessus, Nmap, Saint, Snort, Tripwire and Webalizer.
Moreover, the distribution out-of-the-box offers clustering, high-availibility features, SNMP and advanced routing. In contrast, the default setup neither includes a C compiler nor devel packages. Both have to be installed separately from the second UL-CD if required.
Packet Selection
The standard United Linux package set requires about 1,3 GB of disk space. A handy packet manager allows to modify the software configuration arbitrarily. To do so, the administrator can include or exclude complete functional groups, so called selections.
Alternatively the admin chooses single packets sorted by package groups (Development, Productivity, System etc.) or identifies and installs single packages through a search engine. Any dependencies are resolved automatically.
Partitioning
If desired, the installation tool takes over the partitioning of the hard disks automatically. As preferred file system it proposes ReiserFS. As alternatives ext2/3, XFS and JFS are available. If the administrator prefers a manual partitioning, he may either use the graphical tool Disk Druid or the CLI-oriented Fdisk. Besides that, also storage subsystems can be configured as RAID or via the Logical Volume Manager LVM in this installation step.
After finishing the configuration tasks, YaST formats the volumes according to the settings and copies the selected packages into the system. Finally, the tool writes the configuration files, installs the preferred boot manager (default is GRUB) and restarts the system from hard disk.
Fine Tuning
To finalize the system setup, some terminatory work has to be done. This includes the allocation of the root password as well as the definition of user accounts. For each user a password validity period and a time limit for retroactively changing expired passwords can be defined.
Setting up the X Window system is done with the SuSE-specific tool SaX2. Based on an excellent hardware detection routine and an extensive monitor database, SaX in the majority of cases automatically recommends a well suited and hardware-compatible graphics mode. Optionally the administrator has the opportunity to reconfigure all parameters manually and to test the settings before saving them.
The final setup of networking, printers, modems and WAN adapters (ISDN, DSL) completes the installation procedure. Here too, the hardware detection does a quite reliable job. In most cases only a hand full of manual adjustments are necessary. They essentialy concern static IP settings for the network interfaces, which by default are configured via DHCP.
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.
United?
A close look into the package scope of the United Linux CDs and the functions of the installed system reveals two circumstances: On the one hand, SuSE kept close to the United Linux pre-specifications and components as given in the initial UL whitepaper.
On the other hand United Linux is more or less exactly identical to SuSE Linux Enterprise Server. The UL CDs contain 887 packets , the SLES add-on disk only 87 packages. Of those, 49 are absolutely SuSE-specific binaries, most of which refer to the administration via SuSEs proprietary management tool YaST2. At the end of the day, a United Linux system differs from a generic SuSE server in only 4 percent of all components.
Moreover, already during system installation the notorious SuSE chameleon salutes from he screen with a friendly smile. In the directory tree nearly 90 files and folders containing SuSE in their name can be found. As the three United Linux disks serve as common, identical base for the "powered by United Linux" distributions of all UL companies, the conclusion reads: "United Linux" simply is a friendly paraphrase for "Global SuSE".
Moderately uniform
United Linux' promise of a "global and uniform Linux" is essentially achieved by delivering SuSE for everybody. As the United Linux consortium already has admitted (MP3, 11 MByte) when launching the UL Open Beta in september, the participation of Conectiva, SCO and Turbolinux is basically limited to details: Turbolinux does "the internationalization for Asia" and Conectiva works on "GNOME and some kernel issues, especially high availibility features". SCO even completely dispensed its developer team to SuSE.
Most of the benefits envisioned for a uniform United Linux distribution surely can be realized by the "SuSE for everybody" concept. The industry for example gets the advantage of a much simplified and streamlined hardware and software certification for one instead of four products. Indirectly also the customer benefits from such a model. Additionally, he gets worldwide support, training and consulting of a piece.
Therefore it seems to be a mystery why each of the four United Linux suppliers obviously works on his own account in delivering the system management tools for the distribution. That simply doesn't make sense for a product that claims as one of its main advantages that the customer gets a uniform operating system for his worldwide subsidiaries.
Conclusion
A close look into United Linux 1.0 substantiates the not so new suspicion that the initative of the four UL companies essentialy is an attempt to stand up to Red Hat's overwhelming market potence and to counter Red Hat Advanced Server with a competitive product. Conectiva, SCO and Turbolinux apparently have insisted in delivering their own management tools as a last line of defense for differentiating "their" UL flavours from a plain SuSE SLES.
Albeit, with United Linux 1.0 the user gets a solid server product incorporating all essential daemons. SuSE offers its UL flavour (aka SLES8) for 899 Euro plus VAT, including socalled maintenance for one year. As United Linux proposes an admin-friendly release cycle of at least 12 month - with easily implementable fixes in between - that should do until the next major release.
However, there lies a certain risk in the fact that United Linux emanates from a code base which SuSE deliberately has decoupled from the community. Critics - not without cause - point out the intrinsic danger of code forking: United Linux in the middle term might develop into an proprietary Unix flavour with limited compatibility to the Linux mainstream. Out of that perspective, even for professional use a classical GNU/Linux system - if required with third-party support - seems to stay a competitive alternative to United Linux. (jlu)