UNDERSTANDING LINUX

John CurlJoe Hetherington

Bradley LewisMichael Wu

Intro to LinuxJohn Curl

What is Linux? Unix like operating system Open source collaboration Free Code can be freely transmitted and

modified Linux can be installed on any platform More predominately used on servers,

over 60%

Design Based off the principles established in

the Unix system Uses a monolithic kernel (a high-level

virtual interface over computer hardware) which handles process control, networking, and peripheral and file system access

User Interface Users can control a Linux-based system

through a command line interface (or CLI), a graphical user interface (or GUI), or through controls attached to the associated hardware

The default mode for desktops is GUI while CLI is used on separate virtual consoles

Unix & KernelJoe Hetherington

UNIX

AppealMultitaskingMultiuserPortabilityUNIX programsSoftware library

UNIXMultiuser

Ex. Allows multiple users to access same document – compartmentalization

PortabilityAble to move from one brand of computer to another with minimal code changesEasy to update

UNIX

UNIX ProgramsIntegral Utilities – necessary for operationTools – provide customizable capabilities

Software LibraryThird-party vendors

UNIX Structure

What is a kernel? A kernel is the central component of most

computer operating systems; it is a bridge between applications and the actual data processing done at the hardware level. The kernel's responsibilities include managing the system's resources (the communication between hardware and software components)

Kernel

Lowest level of software•Manages hardware•Runs user programs•Maintains security and integrity of whole system

Kernel

Fulfills 4 Main Management TasksMemory managementProcess managementFile system managementI/O management

HistoryBradley Lewis

History Developed by Linus Torvalds at the

University of Helsinki in Finland Inspired by Munix

Written from scratch by Andrew TanenbaumRan off the Intel 8086 microprocessorContained 12,00 lines of code

History Uses no code from AT&T or any other

proprietary source First official version introduced in

October of 1991 as version 0.02

History Version 0.02

Was able to run bash and gccIntended as a hackers systemPrimary focus was kernel development

History A year and a half later in December of

1993 Linux was at version .99 Battles broke out between Linus and

Tannenbaum, the creator of Minix Linux became more popular and was

finally licensed under the GNU General Public License

History In 1996 Linux was put to the test and

ran 68 PCs as a single parallel processing machine

Had a peak speed of 19 billion calculations per second, making it the 315th most powerful supercomputer

Cost a tenth of what comparable supercomputers

General Public License This license allows anyone to:

use the software at no charge, without any limitations

copy, and distribute or sell unmodified copies of the software in the source or binary form

modify, and distribute or sell a modified version of the software as long as the source code is included and licensing under the GPL

sell support for the software

UbuntuJohn Curl

Ubuntu Most popular form of Linux Named after South African ethical

ideology, meaning “humanity towards others”

40% to 50% of Linux users Like all Linux Ubuntu is free and open

source Can run many Windows programs

through Vmware

Ubuntu

Works on PC's & Servers Updated every 6 months Features- Email, Music, Web Surfing, Chat,

Photos, Office, Games Access thousands of open source Apps Download or request CD from Ubuntu site

Installation This General Public License allows Linux

to be obtained free of charge Ways of Installation

"no-install": a "Run-from-CD" LiveCD distribution

setting up "Dual-boot" systemsyou can completely erase the HD and install

Linux onlyThrough distributors such as Red Hat,

Caldera, etc.

Ubuntu Installation PC

256 MB RAM4 GB disk space

Server192 MB RAM1 GB disk spaceProcessor – Intel or AMD x86, AMD_64, EM_64T

Linux SupportMichael Wu

Linux Support No official Linux support Most support is done by online

community Medibuntu (Multimedia, Entertainment &

Distractions In Ubuntu)Repository of packages that cannot be

included in Ubuntu distributation.Step by step instructions to install packages

Linux Support Technical Support

Canonical○ Company that provides live tech support for a

costLinux.org

○ Provides various documents to assist with Linux installation and problems

Linuxforums.org○ Provides help on different Linux systems○ Provides information on most Linux needs for

beginners

Linux Support Forums

Free software licenses allows for many proficient users to make improvements to Linux software

Post your problem and there is usually a response time within a few hours

Many users of Linux are knowledgeable in programming

Linux User Group Located in many cities and regions Private non-profit organization Promotes Linux and extensions of the

free software Holds meets to train and offer technical

support

Linux User Group Installfests

LUG hosted event at university or LAN partyPeople get together to do mass installations

of Linux Hackfests

LUG eventPeople get together to reveal security issues

and provides ways of fixing them

Linux Vs Mac Vs Windows

John Curl

Linux Advantages

Easy installationFrequently updatedLarge support communityMany different versionsTargeted less by virusesUnix basedFREE!

Linux Disadvantages

UnstableLack of High Quality Professional SoftwareInstallation

Mac Advantages

Excellent user interfaceStableLarge number of professional applicationsEasy installationTargeted less by virusesUnix based

Mac Disadvantages

ProprietaryOS limited to a specific platformCost is high

Windows Advantages

Most popular OSMost familiar OSVery high Application and Driver support

Windows Disadvantages

Not very stableRestricted freedomNot freeBad startup ApplicationsFrequently attacked by viruses

Windows XP (52.94%)Windows Vista (23.25%)Windows 7 (11.24%)Mac OS X (5.90%)Linux (1.14%)iPhone (0.73%)Other (2.65%)

Sources http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kernel_(computing) http://www.bell-labs.com/history/unix/tutorial.html http://www.diffen.com/difference/Linux_vs_Unix http://learnlinux.tsf.org.za/courses/build/internals/internals-all.html http://www.tldp.org/LDP/gs/

node3.html#SECTION00300000000000000000 http://computer.howstuffworks.com/question246.htm http://www.linux.org/docs/beginner/install.html