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Linux Distributions: A History and its Modern-Day Applications
Caswell Hennig
Department of Information Science, Marymount University
IT 315: Operating Systems and Virtualization
Mr. Hossein Beyzavi
May 7, 2020
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Abstract
Linux distributions are very important in today’s world to utilize the power of the operating
system effectively by having everything you need to get up and running in one package.
Linux began in 1991 as a personal project by Finnish student Linus Torvalds, to create a new
free operating system kernel for personal computers based on the Intel x86 architecture. The
resulting Linux kernel has had large constant growth throughout its history and has since been
ported to more platforms than any other operating system. Since the initial release of its source
code in 1991, it has grown from a small number of C files to 23.3 million lines of source code.
Linux is now also used not only for personal computing but is the leading operating system on
servers and other systems such as mainframe computers. Linux also runs on embedded systems,
such as routers, automation controls, televisions, digital video recorders, video game consoles,
and smartwatches. Linux is one of the most prominent examples of free and open-source software collaboration, which means that the source code may be freely used, modified, and distributed.
Keywords: Linux, distribution, Ubuntu, Debian, KNOPPIX, kernel, Live CD, Live USB,
Linux Mint, Fedora, Gentoo, Slackware, openSUSE, UNIX 3
Linux: The Beginnings
By its modern definition, Linux refers to a group of operating system distributions built around the Linux kernel. In the strictest sense, though, Linux refers only to the presence of the kernel itself. To build out a full operating system, Linux distributions often include tooling and libraries from the GNU project, as well as other sources (Juell, 2017). Linux has its roots in
UNIX and Multics, two projects that shared the goal of developing a robust operating system that
could accommodate multiple users.
UNIX and Multics
UNIX developed out of the Multics, or Multiplexed Information and Computing Service,
project iteration at the Bell Laboratories’ Computer Sciences Research Center. Multics, which is
a mainframe time-sharing operating system that was developed during 1963 through 1969 period
through the collaboration of the aforementioned Bell Labs, along with the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT), and General Electric (GE), was one of the first operating systems
that used page-segmented storage (Rouse, 2005). Bell Labs stopped funding the Multics project
in 1969, as they were disappointed with the progress that had been made, but a group of
computer scientists, including Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie, continued working with the
project’s core principles, which ended up culminating in the development of UNIX. Thompson
and Ritchie first led a team of Bell Labs researchers to develop a hierarchical file system, a
command-line interpreter, some small utility programs, and the concepts of computer processes
and device files, which were a very big improvement for the time. A month later, Thompson and
his coworkers had deployed a full self-hosting operating system with an assembler, an editor, and
a shell, which ended up being UNIX (Rouse, 2017). 4
Ever since the team at Bell Labs developed UNIX, it has seen tremendous growth over
the years, especially after the fourth version was released, which translated the code from
assembly language into C, a high-level programming language, which increased its portability to
other computing platforms. Due to this popularity, many universities and research institutions
adopted UNIX as an emerging technological advancement that showed promise, and as a result,
many students during that era were introduced to it, such as a Linus Torvalds, a graduate student
at the Helsinki University of Technology in Finland.
The Creation of Linux
In 1991, while studying computer science at the University of Helsinki, graduate student
Linus Torvalds began a personal project to create a new free operating system kernel for personal computers, which later became what we know as the Linux kernel. He wrote the program specifically for the hardware he was using, independent of an operating system because he wanted to make the program so that it would be universally compatible with his Intel 80386 processor. According to Torvalds, during a TED Talk in 2016:
I did not start Linux as a collaborative project. I started it as one in a series of many
projects I had done at the time for myself, partly because I needed the end result, but even
more because I just enjoyed programming.
Also, he mentioned that the main reason for him embarking on his project was his gripe about the fact that there was no true, open-source operating system available. At this point in his project, though, he had created a functional kernel, however, he didn’t have the necessary
expertise and tools to turn the kernel into a functional operating system. A kernel is a necessary
component of an operating system, but it can’t achieve any tasks without programs such as a 5 shell, a library, and compilers. Richard Stallman, a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, or MIT, as well as the founder of the GNU Project, an organization whose goal is to offer 100% free UNIX-compatible software, meanwhile, had programs but lacked a functional kernel. A technological marriage of sorts was arranged between the GNU Project, located in
Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the Linux kernel, located in Helsinki, Finland. The code was transmitted through the Internet to allow the union between the two developers’ systems. In other words, Linux was born on the Internet (Roberts, 2014). After this development had been finalized, Torvalds (at age 21), announced the system in a Usenet posting to the newsgroup comp.os.minix on August 25th, 1991. A screenshot of the post is shown below:
As shown, Torvalds was very eager to get his new operating system out to the masses and was willing to hear suggestions from all, which is a hallmark of his operating system being open 6
source. Regarding people contributing to his code to expand on his idea, Torvalds goes on to say
that:
It didn't even start by people contributing code, it was more that people started
contributing ideas. And just the fact that somebody else takes a look at your project – and
I'm sure it's true of other things, too, but it's definitely true in code – is that somebody
else takes an interest in your code, looks at it enough to actually give you feedback and
give you ideas. That was a huge thing for me. (2016)
Torvalds went on to have a huge amount of success with Linux, however, as the operating
system grew bigger and more files were added to it, there needed to be a way for users to get
their hands on the operating system without having to rely on their slow and antiquated Internet
connections of the time. This gave rise to the distribution, or “distro”, as it’s more commonly
known.
The Rise of the Distribution
The very earliest versions of Linux, in 1991, consisted of two versions, one that could be
downloaded from the Internet, as mentioned previously, and another physical version which
contained two floppy disks, a boot disk that contained the kernel, and a root disk that set up the
file system and came with some of the basic GNU tools. Copies of these disks and the Linux
source were downloadable from a server hosted by Helsinki University. As more software
became available, though, this method was no longer enough, and Linux distributions came into
existence. A distribution is a package containing a ready-to-run selection of available software plus installation utilities, configuration tools, and documentation, as well as the Linux kernel itself (Berlich, 2001). Most Linux distributions were created by enthusiasts who wanted to 7
spread the word and increase the availability of Linux, especially due to the original Linux
source code and kernel being notoriously difficult to set up for all but the most tech-savvy users
due to its lack of technical documentation. According to an article by Ruediger Berlich:
The first Linux distribution was created by Owen Le Blanc at the Manchester Computing
Centre (MCC) in the northwest of England. The first MCC Interim release, as it was
known, was released in February 1992. This was followed shortly after by the
Softlanding Linux System (SLS), founded by Peter McDonald, which was the first
comprehensive distribution to contain elements such as X and TCP/IP, and the Slackware
distribution maintained by Patrick Volkerding (initially based in large parts on SLS).
(2001)
After these three distributions were created, more and more distributions started popping up,
each attempting to either fix or improve issues present in another distribution or to customize
their distribution to fill a particular need in the computing market, which is still the case with
Linux distributions today. Some of these distributions have matured into sophisticated
enterprises, generating income from commercial support services. Some examples of these are
SuSE Linux, which was founded in late 1992 which was originally based on Slackware, and Red
Hat (now known as Fedora, with Red Hat being the company itself), which was founded in 1993,
absorbing aspects of the BOGUS distribution, which was also created in 1993.
In addition to commercial companies creating Linux distributions, there were and are
purely community-driven distros, such as Debian, which was started as an independent project by Ian Murdock in late 1993 to provide a free alternative to the commercial Linux distributions,
Slackware, which was mentioned previously, Gentoo, first released on July 26th, 2000, and Arch
Linux, first released on March 11th, 2002. 8
Linux in the Modern Day
In the modern-day, Linux is used practically everywhere, on billions of devices. Much of this is thanks to there being even more distros and variations of Linux being created after the year 2000, which is shown in the table below:
Also, a large reason of why Linux is used on so many devices in the modern era is thanks to the development of the Android operating system, which is commonly used in phones, tablets, and other devices.
Android
The Android operating system was first developed by Android Inc, which was founded in
Palo Alto, California, in October 2003 by Andy Rubin, Rich Miner, Nick Sears, and Chris 9
White. The early intentions of the company were to develop an advanced operating system for digital cameras, however, they then decided that smartphones would be a more profitable endeavor. Android, Inc was bought out by Google in July of 2005, and while at Google, Rubin developed a mobile device platform powered by the Linux kernel and made the software open source. Because of the open-source nature of the operating system and the rapid boom of smartphones over the years, especially in countries like China, Android has become ubiquitous throughout the world, and as a result, Linux has also become ubiquitous.
Embedded Applications
Just like how good Linux is suited for smartphone and tablet use, Linux is also very well suited for use in embedded applications due to its stability as a kernel and the Linux is a good match for commercial-grade embedded applications due to it being generally highly stable, being already in use by large numbers of programmers, and it allows developers to program hardware
“close to the metal”, which means that there are fewer pieces of software between the program itself and the actual chipset, so that there are fewer bottlenecks. It is an operating system used in almost all embedded device projects. Linux is also platform-independent. (compiled on one platform and can be executed on any other platforms), which makes it very beneficial for embedded applications so that it can be replaced with a new version down the road if needed.
Also, due to the open-source nature of the software, it allows unlimited modifications in the source code, which means that the code can be updated in the future as needs arise. Some popular embedded Linux distributions are Ubuntu Touch, XBMCbuntu, KaeilOS, Yocto,
Buildroot, and OpenWRT/LEDE.
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Servers and Mainframes
Just like in embedded applications, Linux is also used on a wide variety of servers and
mainframe systems due to its lightweight operating system and the ability for programmers to
utilize more of the available resources without as much overhead. A Linux server is designed
from the ground up to handle more intense storage and operational needs of larger organizations
and their software than desktop-grade hardware and Linux distributions. Another major benefit of using Linux over other operating systems such as Windows is that it is fully open source,
which helps keeps setup and maintenance costs low. One company that has been majorly
involved in the promotion of Linux distributions for server use is IBM. IBM began considering
the Linux operating system in the late 1990s, and in 2000, IBM announced it would promote
Linux for its servers, and a year later, they “invested $1 billion to back the Linux movement,
embracing it as an operating system for IBM servers and software. IBM’s actions grabbed the
attention of CEOs and CIOs around the globe and helped Linux become accepted by the business
world” (IBM, 2011). Also, according to IBM:
By inserting IBM developers directly into Linux communities, IBM engaged Linux
development in natural ways, as a team of individuals, rather as than a lumbering and
monolithic corporate contributor. IBM learned that involvement required influence in
place of control and embraced the broadness of the Linux community—benefitting
greatly from the wisdom of the crowds. (2011)
IBM has since integrated Linux into their server lineup even more, promoting them on their
Power Systems, which is a family of servers based on their POWER processors, and specifically
three POWER7 processor-based Linux-specific systems launched in 2012 for big data analytics,
industry applications, and open-source infrastructure services. Also, they have integrated Linux 11
distributions onto their IBM z/Architecture mainframe computers, citing the usability of Linux
matched with the hardware that can be utilized in these servers. Finally, the last major server
family that IBM is utilizing Linux on is that of their well-names LinuxONE servers, which can leverage the power of a Red Hat Linux distribution with a form factor and price that make them
competitive for small and large businesses alike.
Conclusion
As has been shown in this paper, Linux is everywhere. Ever since Linus Torvalds created the first Linux kernel, due to the open-source nature of the environment in which he created, it took off and grew more than anyone could have imagined in such a short time comparatively. It
is quite amazing to think of the fact that only 28 years ago, Linux didn’t exist, and now it is
absolutely ubiquitous, present in billions of devices, many of which we don’t even realize are
running Linux, and many of those devices can be in business-critical or medical applications as well, where accuracy and precision count more than ever. I have been very interested in watching the growth of Linux and Linux distributions over the years, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds.
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References
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