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| DistroWatch + TuxReports | October 22, 2002 | |
by , 10 January, 2002
I already gave my system configuration in the review of Peanut Linux 9.1 so I'll not do so again.
Like Peanut Linux, I will be reviewing the download version of Vector Linux 2.0. Unlike Peanut Linux however, where the download was last updated on 27 December 2001, this version is kind of long in the tooth, as it was released in June of 2001; although I received this email from Robert Lange at Vector Linux on the 8th January:
The Vector Linux 2.5 beta is up at the FTP site and needs testing before we unleash it on the world. You can get your copy here. Either download the bz2 file and the boot/root disks and copy veclinux.bz2 to a top level veclinux directory in either a vfat, dos or ext2 partition and install it via the boot and root disks. There is also a self-booting ISO in the iso directory that you can burn to a CD-ROM if you would rather go that route. This beta is for Pentium machines. Please report any problems, bugs, flames or suggestions to .
I went to the Vector Linux site and downloaded the XFree86 3.3.6 version. Unlike Peanut Linux I was given an option on that so I took it. I then went ahead and downloaded everything. There is an updates directory in the Vector Linux 2.0 directory so I downloaded all available updates, as well as the normal things, like the boot and root image files.
This review will be about the initial installation and configuration of Vector Linux 2.0, and a few, in my opinion, necessary upgrades and additions of my own that I quite routinely do no matter which Linux distribution I am installing. This consists of the WvDial and PortSentry programs as almost no Linux distribution includes both of them by default, even though I think they should.
Installation was done from my Windows partition.
I booted with the boot and root disks and started the install. The default kernel for this was 2.4.5. Included in the updates directory at the Vector Linux site are both the 2.4.6 and 2.4.16 kernels. I have not yet done any kind of upgrade and am still using the default kernel from the install.
The install procedure has been greatly improved since the previous version (1.8), and in fact it seems that both Peanut Linux and Vector Linux are using the same, or a very similar, install routine. There were a lot of similarities between the two, and some differences worthy of note.
Both allow you to change to another terminal and do whatever you need to do with the filesystem so far as getting it ready for the install. Both of them allow you to use the file manager, Midnight Commander. This being a good thing in my opinion. Both use a text-based install routine, which I prefer.
Differences, at least in the initial install, were in the programs used to do the partitioning. Vector Linux 2.0 gives you a choice between cfdisk or the old reliable Linux fdisk program. I decided to use cfdisk as it wasn't a program I was really familiar with, whereas fdisk is like an old friend.
Since the partition had been setup with the Reiser file system with Peanut Linux, I went ahead and deleted that partition outright. I created an Ext2 partition and a swap partition. I saw no sign nor mention of either the ReiserFS or Ext3 partition types. This may be due to it being a bit dated with the last release being done in June of 2001. In any event, cfdisk allowed me to create the Ext2 and swap partitions with no problems.
Once I had the partitions created, the Main Setup and Configuration Menu appeared. It too, like Peanut Linux, allowed me to go ahead and setup my Zip drive simply by uncommenting the appropriate driver in the /etc/rc.d/modules.conf file. Unlike Peanut Linux however, Vector Linux not only allowed me the option to use the older version of XFree86 (3.3.6), it also allowed me to use a text-based X configuration tool, just in case the graphical one didn't work. A good thing as it did not.
On the initial boot I was pleased to see that my Zip drive was recognized just fine. On the first attempt to use X, it too worked just fine, since it had the generic SVGA driver available.
Vector Linux 1.8 had used IceWM as the default GUI. IceWM is still there, but in Vector Linux 2.0 there is also XFce.
I used the scripts to do the mail and news setup, and the PPP setup, and they for the most part, work fine. But, where you are told to use ppp-on -c to start your PPP session I was not able to get online that way. I did a bit of checking and could find nothing wrong, but since I had planned to install Wvdial anyway, I went ahead and did that.
One thing has not changed since Vector Linux 1.8. The ability to install either the default package (Slackware *.tgz), to first do a conversion of a file in another format (*.deb, *.rpm) to the *.tgz format and install, or, sweetest of all in my opinion, the ability to compile a source tarball and have it installed just like a normal package.
This is done via the F2 User Menu in Midnight Commander. Simply highlight the file, hit F2, and you have a range of options to choose from. If it's a source tarball you simply tell MC to extract it to a directory, then quit MC and change to that directory.
Now you do the ./configure; make; make install dance with one very small difference. Just before you do the make install, you enter pkg -n [enter]. What this does is start a script that will (by default) run make install and, assuming all goes well, the package you just compiled will be installed into the proper places. You now have the ability to uninstall that package just like an RPM. The -n part of the pkg -n command tells the package manager to use the directory name as the name of the package. Sensible enough.
How does it do this you ask? Simple really. Something you can most likely add to your own package management system. The key really is something called mc.menu and this is how the F2 User Menu is setup. You need to add a few small programs for it to work. To convert from one format to another you need to have alien and there might be a couple more. The mc.menu docs will tell you all about it, and is the best place to look.
Imagine. Being able to install, from source, just like an RPM. No matter how many times I do this it still brings a smile. No more searching the Net for the right package format. Not enough to be RPM sometimes, but also the right kind of RPM. SuSE, Mandrake, Red Hat, Peanut Linux (to name a few) all use the RPM format. How many of them are compatible with each other? Now you no longer have to consider that.
Both Peanut Linux and Vector Linux make the claim to being newbie-friendly. Given that Peanut Linux does not include GCC by default, and does not make any allowances for older hardware the user may have, it fails the test.
Vector Linux 2.0 has made great strides in many ways, since version 1.8. The improvements in the setup and installation procedures are most welcome, and show someone has put quite a bit of thought into this aspect. Kudos to whoever did that. It's nicely done.
Vector Linux makes two claims to fame. One is being newbie-friendly. With the ability to install from a Windows partition and clearly written documentation on how to do this, I'd say it succeeds. The ability to install any package format, including source tarballs you compile yourself, make this about as newbie-friendly as you can get.
Kudos also for allowing the end user a choice as to the XFree86 version to use. Not everyone has the latest and greatest hardware available and this is something that Peanut Linux should have remembered.
The second claim to fame made by Vector Linux is that it is designed, from the ground-up, to be a distribution that you make your own by doing one simple thing and doing it very well. You are given a solid base to build from in the downloadable version. GCC, Perl, two Window Managers (both easy on system resources), and a nice selection of both console and X applications to get you immediately productive.
The ability to install, from source tarballs you compile yourself, and have it be just like installing a normal package is a rather significant advantage Vector Linux has.
Once you get the initial install done you can do just exactly what I am in the process of doing now. Rolling-my-own and including things that I think are absolutely essential. Not what someone else thinks is essential.
This is done in such a way that anyone, from the guru to the newbie can have access to. This is an awesome thing to see.
For personal and business-use I can highly recommend Vector Linux 2.0. There are some things lacking that you will find in one of the major distros such as the ability to do the install over the Net, but I'm sure that can be gotten around.
No default Apache. No default install of a dozen text editors and almost as many Window Managers. It does include an FTP server by default but I suppose some folks could find a use for it. I've not even thought about that as yet. :)
If you're looking to check out Linux, this distribution might be all you need look at. They even tell you how to install it onto your Windows partition and run it from there, if the idea of partitioning your hard drive makes you squeamish. Or if you just want to be able to try before you buy, so to speak.
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