Download iso linux suse

Editor's Note: This is the last of our reviews of the "mainstream" Linux Distributions. If you want to read about SuSE, keep going, but if you'd like to see our analysis comparing Mandrake, Red Hat or SuSE, read our summary, detailing which is the right product for different uses.

Product: SuSE 8.1 Pro: Excellent printed documentation, great software selection, partition wizard Con: Questionable GNOME support, declining community involvement Summary: A great overall distribution, easy to install, user friendly, with a good selection of software – but overall, it's still not as strong as Mandrake or Red Hat. Score: Company: www.suse.de

SuSE is one of the oldest and most recognized GNU/Linux distributions in Europe, provided by SuSE Linux AG. Even though it is not quite as well known in the United States as Red Hat, the leading Linux distribution (commonly called distro) it is one of three distros that you are most likely to find in stores that carry Linux software (the others are Mandrake and Red Hat). There's ongoing debate about which of these distros has the easiest installation style, which of the vendors has the most interesting and useful packaging, and which of them is the "best".

SuperGuide: Desktop Linux Blowout! Monday: Mandrake 9.0 Tuesday: Red Hat 8.0 Wednesday: SuSE 8.1 Thursday: Libranet 2.7 Friday: Lycoris Desktop/LX In this review, we'll take a look at the features and characteristics that make SuSE appealing to many people. Most of our focus will be on the new desktop features found in SuSE 8.1 Personal, though we'll mention a few new server features, too. If you've never used GNU/Linux software before, SuSE 8.1 certainly qualifies as one of the distros that you should look at closely. If you have used GNU/Linux software before, note that SuSE offers easy installation, good organization of administration and configuration, solid hardware detection, a plentiful selection of software, and a fine reputation.

SuSE, like Mandrake, has always placed emphasis on desktop software and usability features. Though SuSE also offers strong server features, the maturity of the desktop packaging, documentation, and overall appearance of the product will be immediately evident. SuSE is a participant in the United Linux initiative, but the features of United Linux are found only in the Enterprise Server products, at least at the present time.

For those who want to experiment and look at SuSE Linux before committing to purchasing the software, you can either try a scaled down "Live Evaluation CD" version, or you can download or purchase one of the older ISO images. SuSE Linux AG prefers carefully controlled development and testing cycles. For that reason, SuSE Linux AG does not engage in open Beta tests, nor do they make such tests available to the general public. In contrast, some of the other vendors, especially Mandrake and Red Hat, involve the community more in both development and testing. SuSE Linux AG is very involved in bringing its innovations to the GNU/Linux community, but I think the company is more concerned about protecting its software assets than getting new code out to the overall community right away.

Initial Impressions Based on our initial impressions, the latest SuSE software provides valuable incremental improvements over the previous release, 8.0. SuSE 8.0 was among the first to support KDE 3.0 as its primary desktop environment. SuSE Linux 8.1 contains substantial improvements and new features, many of which are the result of the feedback sent by customers.

The new YaST (Yet another Setup Tool) excels both in the graphical environment as well as on the command line. Improved hardware detection, the latest SuSE kernel, tested versions of important system components, the automated installation of external software, and the YaST Online Update (YOU) enable you to keep your system up to date.

Other significant new features include the boot manager GRUB, and CUPS as the default print system. SuSE has provided a strong desktop environment for some time, but until now, only the LILO boot loader and limited printer support were available.

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Key system features include code that has been optimized for 586-class processors, the latest 2.4.19 Linux kernel, glibc 2.2.5, a significantly improved gcc 3.2 compiler that produces more efficient code (which results in a faster overall system), and the GNU GRUB boot manager.

The SuSE distro contains a richer set of file systems than most other distros. With SuSE 8.1, you can choose from 4 journaling file systems: ReiserFS, Ext3, JFS, XFS (none of these are actually new in this release; Ext3 and JFS were introduced in the 7.3 release). SuSE Linux 8.1 now supports ACL for all selectable file systems. Furthermore, quotas can now be set for ReiserFS, providing the system administrator with the needed flexibility. Soft RAID support has been added for more data security, and a Crypto file system is also available. To handle large amounts of data, Logical Volume Manager (LVM) support has been added.

The primary system administration tool is called YaST. The current implementation is now called YaST2. There have been a number of improvements to YaST2 in 8.1, such as new package management that supports installation of packages from various sources (including network sources), expanded backup functions, a restore module, integration of online updates (YOU), improved central mail configuration, and a joystick control module. SuSE has used YaST for many years now. During the 7.0-7.3 release cycle, YaST2 was introduced, with the intention of eventually replacing YaST completely. Prior to SuSE 8.1, some of the command line features were not yet fully integrated into YaST2. With SuSE 8.1, all YaST functions are now integrated into YaST2, and both the command line interface (previously only in YaST) and the graphical interface are now accessed through YaST2.

Mandrake, Red Hat, and SuSE each have complete Control Centers. I personally find that Mandrake does the best job of simplifying and streamlining the way that their tools are used during installation. Mandrake's daily administration tools are organized in categories, (such as networks, printers, etc.). SuSE organizes their tools very well for day-to-day administration, categorizing and organizing each set of features together. SuSE keeps the same organization and displays an almost identical Control Center to configure the system during installation. While this is great for consistency, I believe it puts too much burden on an inexperienced software installer. Red Hat is comparable in simplicity to Mandrake and SuSE. Red Hat's admin installation tools are similar to Mandrake's, in terms of choosing reasonable defaults and not making too many assumptions. Mandrake's and SuSE's daily administration tools are slightly more comprehensive and flexible that Red Hat's tools, but Red Hat's tools are just as easy (if not slightly easier) to use.

Network and Internet features have been improved as well. SuSE uses postfix instead of sendmail, providing more security and speed for the mail system. Other improvements include SCPM for using multiple system profiles, Samba 2.2.5, a stable file and print server for Windows networks, WLAN for instant utilization, the Apache 2.0.40 Web server, and an improved YaST2 runlevel editor for the selective activation of server services.

A number of system services have been added or improved in SuSE 8.1, including using CUPS as the default local and network print system, system support for IrDA and Bluetooth, CAPI support for ISDN, Fax support for ISDN, and OCR scanner software for comfortable scanning in KDE3.

Hardware support continues to improve. New in this release is Hotplug support for USB2 and Firewire, and an expanded printer database.

The desktop environment is where most users notice the difference between one Linux distro and another. Each vendor puts their own look and feel around what are otherwise similar software components. SuSE does a pretty good job with the desktop environment, and their latest release is no exception. The base desktop software has quite a list of new features that keep SuSE near the forefront of user interface developments.