Introduction to Linux Flashcards
(18 cards)
Name some remarkable distributions within Debian family.
Ubuntu, Linux Mint…
Name some remarkable distributions within Fedora family.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), CentOS, Oracle Linux….
Name some distributions within SUSE family.
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES), openSUSE…
Why Fedora contains significantly more SW than RHEL?
Because Fedora is created by a very diverse community.
Why is CentOS used in labs, activities, demos?
It is free to use and has much longer release cycle than Fedora.
What is the release cycle of Fedora?
6 months.
What is the Ubuntu default GUI?
It uses the Unity graphical interface, is GNOME-based and differs quite a bit visually from the interface on standard Debian as well as other distributions.
Name some linux bootloaders.
GRUB, Isolinux…
Blocks of a Linux distributions:
- kernel,
- Generic proprietary applications,
- support services, commercial, community,
- manuals for applications, commands, configuration etc.,
- distribution specific application like package manager,
- generic free apps like bash, LibreOffice X Windows system.
A free, popular alternative(s) to Red Hat?
CentOS, Scientific Linux
Basic filesystem division
- conventional (ext2, ext4, NTFS),
- flash storage FS (ubifs, JFFS2, YAFFS…)
- database filesystems,
special purpose filesystems (procfs, sysfs, tmpfs, debugfs….)
Why there are directories like /bin /lib and /usr/bin, /usr/lib?
Many distributions distinguish between core utilities needed for proper system operation and other programs, and place the latter in directories under /usr
Define initramfs.
The initramfs filesystem image contains programs and binary files that perform all actions needed to mount the proper root filesystem, like providing kernel functionality for the needed filesystem and device drivers for mass storage controllers.
Define udev
User Device is responsible for figuring out which devices are present, locating the drivers they need to operate properly, and loading them. After the root filesystem has been found, it is checked for errors and mounted.
What mount program does indicate?
The mount program instructs the operating system that a filesystem is ready for use, and associates it with a particular point in the overall hierarchy of the filesystem (the mount point). If this is successful, the initramfs is cleared from RAM and the init program on the root filesystem (/sbin/init) is executed.
What is init program used for?
init handles the mounting and pivoting over to the final real root filesystem. If special hardware drivers are needed before the mass storage can be accessed, they must be in the initramfs image
Besides starting the system, init is responsible for keeping the system running and for shutting it down cleanly. It acts as the “manager of last resort” for all non-kernel processes, cleaning up after them when necessary, and restarts user login services as needed when users log in and out.
X Window System
- Is loaded as the final step of booting,
- a service called the display manager keeps track of the displays being provided, and loads the X server (so-called because it provides graphical services to applications, sometimes called X clients).
How to start X alternatively?
Enter “startx” in the console.
