Vanilla Linux Distro

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Anteaus

Platinum Member
Oct 28, 2010
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I'm looking for a linux distribution that's as vanilla as possible (i.e LFS) that I can use as a base to build on. The catch is that it needs to be up to date enough to support the various hardware in my Lenovo T420. I've used most of the big releases (Ubuntu, Debian, Slackware, Fedora, ...), but I've been dissatisfied with the various levels of bloat or configurations.

It seems that on various levels they all commit the same sin that PC makers get blamed for, which is including software I either don't need or don't want, and I'm not talking about the basics.

Can someone recommend a starting point? Again, I'm looking for a system that will provide a base for future growth and customization. I don't even need X server installed. It will be painful at first, but I'm hoping that to learn much by being forced to do things from scratch. Obviously LFS is a way to go, but I would prefer not.

Thanks in advance.
 
Jodell88

Jodell88

Diamond Member
Jan 29, 2007
8,762
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My vote will be Arch Linux as well. I'll hold off a bit before installing though, because pacman 4.0 just hit [core] so the official iso needs updating. I'm not sure if the testing versions have been updated to deal with the changes pacman 4.0 brings.

If customization of packages is necessary, the Arch Build System (ABS) is quite good in allowing you to easily patch / build the packages with custom build options.
 
T

theevilsharpie

Platinum Member
Nov 2, 2009
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LFS is an interesting academic exercise, but I wouldn't recommend it as anything more than that.

If you want something that is "vanilla," I'll recommend Ubuntu Server without any packages selected during the installation. This will install a very minimal setup.

However, if you told us what you're hoping to get out of this, we could probably give a better recommendation.
 
Jodell88

Jodell88

Diamond Member
Jan 29, 2007
8,762
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theevilsharpie said:
LFS is an interesting academic exercise, but I wouldn't recommend it as anything more than that.

If you want something that is "vanilla," I'll recommend Ubuntu Server without any packages selected during the installation. This will install a very minimal setup.

However, if you told us what you're hoping to get out of this, we could probably give a better recommendation.
Click to expand...
Ehhhhh no. The thing with the big distros is that they always have things pre-configured for the user. He wants to learn things himself. You can't really beat Arch, Gentoo or LFS for that.
 
T

theevilsharpie

Platinum Member
Nov 2, 2009
2,322
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Jodell88 said:
Ehhhhh no. The thing with the big distros is that they always have things pre-configured for the user. He wants to learn things himself. You can't really beat Arch, Gentoo or LFS for that.
Click to expand...

Lulz. Do you think the configuration for software like BIND or OpenLDAP is going to be different between Ubuntu, Red Hat, or any other distro?

And the OP wants "a base to build on." Distros like Gentoo or Arch that have a rolling update model aren't well suited for that.
 
L

LCTSI

Member
Aug 17, 2010
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The RHEL6 default install is pretty minimal. It's even smaller than RHEL5. They were thinking 'cloud cloud cloud' and all that. RHEL6 (Cent or SL, etc) would make a good base for KVM virtualization. Then you could just fire up VMs if you wanted to screw with Gentoo or LFS.


also, this:
theevilsharpie said:
However, if you told us what you're hoping to get out of this, we could probably give a better recommendation.
Click to expand...
 
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Nothinman

Nothinman

Elite Member
Sep 14, 2001
30,672
0
0
Anteaus said:
I'm looking for a linux distribution that's as vanilla as possible (i.e LFS) that I can use as a base to build on. The catch is that it needs to be up to date enough to support the various hardware in my Lenovo T420. I've used most of the big releases (Ubuntu, Debian, Slackware, Fedora, ...), but I've been dissatisfied with the various levels of bloat or configurations.

It seems that on various levels they all commit the same sin that PC makers get blamed for, which is including software I either don't need or don't want, and I'm not talking about the basics.

Can someone recommend a starting point? Again, I'm looking for a system that will provide a base for future growth and customization. I don't even need X server installed. It will be painful at first, but I'm hoping that to learn much by being forced to do things from scratch. Obviously LFS is a way to go, but I would prefer not.

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

A Debian base install gets you exactly this and you can use apt/aptitude to install just what you need.
 
D

dealcorn

Senior member
May 28, 2011
247
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76
If your interest in lean is sincere, consider Emdebian. While it's targeted at devices, the bloat (and more) is gone.
 
VinDSL

VinDSL

Diamond Member
Apr 11, 2006
4,869
1
81
www.lenon.com
hasu said:
peppermint => Works well on my Dell ultra portable D420 (no default support for its wirelss card)
Click to expand...
Peppermint Two (Lubuntu 11.10 fork with a Linux 2.6 kernel and Ice SSB framework installed by default) was one of those distros that I forced myself to try. Didn't *look* like something I would be interested in -- seemed too trendy, by all outward appearances.

Only reason I tried it, at all, was because lots of ppl recommend it in the threads, here n' elsewhere. I *thought* I would hate it.

I've been running Peppermint on a bootable 16 GB USB thumbdrive for a month or two, and I'm totally happy with it.

It's slow to boot from a USB stick, of course, but I'll swear it runs faster than my regular HD desktop installs, once it loads -- blisteringly fast, actually. Plus, it has worked OOTB on every PC I've plugged it into.

More I use Peppermint, the more I like it. No bloat here! Only the facts, ma'am...

I'm actually thinking about purging Mint, on my laptop & netbook, and installing Peppermint -- that's how much I like it. ;)

Edit

Did some Google'ing and found an accurate review of Peppermint Two:

http://desktoplinuxreviews.com/2011/06/10/peppermint-os-two/

...if you want to see how it looks n' feels, without installing it.
 
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lxskllr

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
60,926
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VinDSL said:
Did some Google'ing and found an accurate review of Peppermint Two:

http://desktoplinuxreviews.com/2011/06/10/peppermint-os-two/

...if you want to see how it looks n' feels, without installing it.
Click to expand...

That guy sure cried a lot about the wallpaper :^D I like the default, and the bright peppermint in the corner really stands out.

That said, I'm not too hip on "cloud" computing. I like keeping my data close, and don't like having to rely on network access to get stuff done. You could load it down with local apps, but then you'd have Lubuntu. Not much point in that. Richard Stallman covers a lot of my concerns with SaaS. I'm not really interested unless I'm the one running the server

http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/who-does-that-server-really-serve.html
 
Nothinman

Nothinman

Elite Member
Sep 14, 2001
30,672
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ccbadd said:
Not sure, but it does provide for a great learning environment with plenty of flexibility.
Click to expand...

Unless you want to learn how to admin Linux in a real environment because just about everyone uses RHEL which isn't really anything like Slackware...
 
C

ccbadd

Senior member
Jan 19, 2004
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Nothinman said:
Unless you want to learn how to admin Linux in a real environment because just about everyone uses RHEL which isn't really anything like Slackware...
Click to expand...

I believe the OP was comparing to LFS, not RHEL, in order to learn the inner workings of Linux not a particular environment.
 
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