Fedora (operating system)

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Fedora
Fedora Project logo.png
Fedora 15 Gnome Shell.png
Fedora 15 (Lovelock)
Company / developer Fedora Project,
(sponsored by Red Hat, Inc.)
OS family Unix-like
Working state Current
Source model Free and open source software (with exceptions)[1]
Initial release 2003-11-16[2] It was codenamed Yarrow. Fedora Core 1 was based on Red Hat Linux 9 and shipped with version 2.4.19 of the Linux kernel, version 2.4 of the GNOME desktop environment, and K Desktop Environment 3.1.[3]
Latest stable release 15 (Lovelock) / May 24, 2011; 3 months ago (2011-05-24)
Latest unstable release Rawhide / Rawhide is rolling release.
Available language(s) Multilingual
Update method Yum (PackageKit)
Package manager RPM Package Manager
Supported platforms i686, x86-64
Kernel type Monolithic (Linux)
Userland GNU
Default user interface GNOME 3
License Various free software licenses, plus proprietary binary blobs.[1]
Official website www.fedoraproject.org

Fedora (pronounced /fɨˈdɔːrə/) is a RPM-based, general purpose collection of software, including an operating system based on the Linux kernel, developed by the community-supported Fedora Project and sponsored by Red Hat. The Fedora Project's mission is to lead the advancement of free and open source software and content as a collaborative community.[4]

One of Fedora's main objectives is not only to contain software distributed under a free and open source license, but also to be on the leading edge of such technologies.[5][6] Fedora developers prefer to make upstream changes instead of applying fixes specifically for Fedora—this ensures that their updates are available to all Linux distributions.[7]

Compared to more main stream Non-Linux operating systems Fedora has a short life cycle. Version X is maintained until one month after version X+2 is released. With 6 months between releases, the maintenance period is a very short 13 months for each version.[8] This can lead to trouble should one wish to use a particular version of Fedora for product development (i.e., embedded systems) where long term support is more important than maintaining leading edge revisions of software.

In 2008, Linus Torvalds, author of the Linux kernel, stated that he used Fedora because it had fairly good support for the PowerPC processor architecture, which he favored at the time.[9]

According to DistroWatch, Fedora is the third most popular Linux-based operating system as of June 2011, behind Ubuntu and Mint, and it is the most popular RPM-based Linux distribution.[10]

Contents

[edit] History

The Fedora Project was created in late 2003, when Red Hat Linux was discontinued.[11] Red Hat Enterprise Linux was to be Red Hat's only officially supported Linux distribution, while Fedora was to be a community distribution.[11] Red Hat Enterprise Linux branches its releases from versions of Fedora.[12]

The name of Fedora derives from Fedora Linux, a volunteer project that provided extra software for the Red Hat Linux distribution, and from the characteristic fedora used in Red Hat's "Shadowman" logo. Warren Togami began Fedora Linux in 2002 as an undergraduate project, intended to provide a single repository for well-tested third-party software packages so that non-Red Hat software would be easier to find, develop, and use. The key difference between the approaches of Fedora Linux and Red Hat Linux was that Fedora's repository development would be collaborative with the global volunteer community.[13] Fedora Linux was eventually absorbed into the Fedora Project, carrying with it this collaborative approach.[14] Fedora is a trademark of Red Hat, and although this had previously been disputed by the creators of the unrelated Fedora repository management software, the issue has now been resolved.[15]

The Fedora Project is governed by a board whose majority is elected by the Fedora community.[16]

[edit] Features

[edit] Distribution

PackageKit, the default package manager front-end on Fedora

The Fedora Project distributes Fedora in several different ways:[17]

The Fedora Project also distributes custom variations of Fedora which are called Fedora spins.[19] These are built from a specific set of software packages and have a combination of software to meet the requirements of a specific kind of end user. Fedora spins are developed by several Fedora special interest groups.[20] It is also possible to create Live USB versions of Fedora using Fedora Live USB creator, UNetbootin or dd.

Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux (EPEL) is a volunteer-based community effort from the Fedora project to create a repository of high-quality add-on packages that complement the Fedora-based Red Hat Enterprise Linux and its compatible spinoffs such as CentOS or Scientific Linux.[21]

Software package management is primarily handled by the yum utility.[22] Graphical interfaces, such as pirut and pup are provided, as well as puplet, which provides visual notifications in the panel when updates are available.[22] apt-rpm is an alternative to yum, and may be more familiar to people used to Debian or Debian-based distributions, where Advanced Packaging Tool is used to manage packages.[23] Additionally, extra repositories can be added to the system, so that packages not available in Fedora can be installed.[24]

[edit] Software repositories

Before Fedora 7, there were two main repositories – Core and Extras. Fedora Core contained all the base packages that were required by the operating system, as well as other packages that were distributed along with the installation CD/DVDs, and was maintained only by Red Hat developers. Fedora Extras, the secondary repository that was included from Fedora Core 3, was community-maintained and not distributed along with the installation CD/DVDs. Since Fedora 7, the Core and Extras repositories have been merged, hence the distribution dropping Core from its name.[25] That also allowed for community submissions of packages that were formerly allowed only by Red Hat developers.

Also prior to Fedora 7 being released, there was a third repository called Fedora Legacy. This repository was community-maintained and was mainly concerned with extending the life cycle of older Fedora Core distributions and selected Red Hat Linux releases that were no longer officially maintained.[26] Fedora Legacy was shut down in December 2006.[27]

Third party repositories exist that distribute more packages that are not included in Fedora either because it does not meet Fedora's definition of free software or because distribution of that software may violate US law. The primary third party repositories, and the only fully compatible ones, are RPM Fusion and Livna. RPM Fusion is a joint effort by many third party repository maintainers. Livna is still maintained separately as an extension of RPM Fusion for legal reasons and only hosts the libdvdcss package for encrypted DVD playback.

[edit] Security features

Security is one of the most important features in Fedora. One of the security features in Fedora is Security-Enhanced Linux, a Linux feature that implements a variety of security policies, including mandatory access controls, through the use of Linux Security Modules (LSM) in the Linux kernel. Fedora is one of the distributions leading the way with SELinux.[28] SELinux was introduced in Fedora Core 2. It was disabled by default, as it radically altered how the operating system worked, but was enabled by default in Fedora Core 3 and introduced a less strict, targeted policy.[29][30]

[edit] Releases

Main article: List of Fedora versions
The original Fedora Core 1 release with the Gnome Desktop and Bluecurve theme
Fedora 14 will be maintained until one month after the release of Fedora 16
Color Meaning
Red Release no longer supported[31]
Green Release still supported
Blue Future release
Project Name Version Code name Release date Kernel version
Fedora Core 1 Yarrow 2003-11-05 2.4.19
2 Tettnang 2004-05-18 2.6.5
3 Heidelberg 2004-11-08 2.6.9
4 Stentz 2005-06-13 2.6.11
5 Bordeaux 2006-03-20 2.6.15
6 Zod 2006-10-24 2.6.18
Fedora 7 Moonshine 2007-05-31 2.6.21
8 Werewolf 2007-11-08 2.6.23
9 Sulphur 2008-05-13 2.6.25
10 Cambridge 2008-11-25 2.6.27
11 Leonidas 2009-06-09[32] 2.6.29
12 Constantine 2009-11-17[33] 2.6.31
13 Goddard 2010-05-25[34] 2.6.33
14 Laughlin 2010-11-02[35] 2.6.35[36]
15 Lovelock 2011-05-24[37] 2.6.38[38]
16 Verne 2011-11-01[39] TBD

[edit] Derivatives

Source: DistroWatch list of Fedora derived Linux distributions
Source: Fedora WIKI list of derived distributions.

[edit] Security intrusion

In August 2008 several Fedora servers were compromised. Upon investigation it was found that one of the compromised servers was used for signing Fedora update packages. The Fedora Project stated that the attacker(s) did not get the package signing key which could be used to introduce malicious software onto Fedora users' systems through the update process. Project administrators performed checks on the software and did not find anything to suggest that a Trojan horse had been introduced into the software. As a precaution the Project converted to new package signing keys.[47][48]

Fedora published the full details on 30 March 2009.[49]

[edit] See also

Portal-puzzle.svg Free software portal

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b "Frequently Asked Questions about Fedora Licensing". Fedora Project wiki. https://fedoraproject.org/w/index.php?title=Licensing:FAQ&oldid=167564#Does_Fedora_permit_anything_under_.22Non-Free.22_licensing.3F. Retrieved 1 March 2011. 
  2. ^ Red Hat (2003-11-06). "Announcing Fedora Core 1". http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-announce-list/2003-November/msg00000.html. Retrieved 2007-10-18. 
  3. ^ "Fedora Core 1 Release Notes". http://docs.fedoraproject.org/release-notes/fc1/x86/. Retrieved 2007-10-19. 
  4. ^ "Fedora Project Overview". http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Overview. Retrieved 2009-11-04. 
  5. ^ Max Spevack. "Fedora Project Leader Max Spevack Responds". http://interviews.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/08/17/177220. Retrieved 2006-12-17. 
  6. ^ "Fedora Project Objectives". 2006-12-19. http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Objectives. Retrieved 2007-02-12. 
  7. ^ Paul W. Frields (2008-05-12). "Fedora 9". Fedora Project. http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-announce-list/2008-May/msg00006.html. Retrieved 2008-07-27. 
  8. ^ Fedora Project life cycle and maintenance, accessed 2009–04–07.
  9. ^ Richard Morris (2008-07-17). "Linus Torvalds, Geek of the Week". http://www.simple-talk.com/opinion/geek-of-the-week/linus-torvalds,-geek-of-the-week/. Retrieved 2009-08-03. 
  10. ^ http://distrowatch.com/
  11. ^ a b "Fedora Project: Announcing New Direction". 2003-09-22. http://www.redhat.com/archives/rhl-list/2003-September/msg00064.html. Retrieved 2007-10-18. 
  12. ^ "The Fedora Project and Red Hat Enterprise Linux, part 4". 2006-08-22. http://www.redhat.com/magazine/022aug06/features/fedora_rhel_4/. Retrieved 2007-10-18. 
  13. ^ "Warren Togami on the new Fedora Project". http://www.linux.com/archive/feature/31767. Retrieved 2010-02-09. 
  14. ^ "Why Fedora? (.odp presentation)". http://togami.com/~warren/archive/2006/lax_seminar_fedora_feb_2006.odp. Retrieved 2011-04-30. 
  15. ^ "Red Hat Inc.'s Use of The Fedora Name". Archived from the original on 2006-10-13. http://web.archive.org/web/20061013141813/http://www.fedora.info/redHat.shtml. Retrieved 2009-06-25. 
  16. ^ "Fedora goes to a community-dominated board". http://lwn.net/Articles/279059/. Retrieved 2009-06-22. 
  17. ^ Fedora Project. "New Users – How Do I Download Installation Files?". http://docs.fedoraproject.org/install-guide/f10/en_US/ch-new-users.html#sn-howto-download. Retrieved 2009-04-03. 
  18. ^ Fedora Project. "Alternative Install Methods". http://docs.fedoraproject.org/install-guide/f10/en_US/ch-other-install-methods.html. Retrieved 2009-04-03. 
  19. ^ CustomSpins - Fedora Project Wiki.
  20. ^ Fedora Project (2007-11-19). "Custom Spins". http://spins.fedoraproject.org. Retrieved 2007-11-19. 
  21. ^ Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux (EPEL), accessed 2009–05–15.
  22. ^ a b Stuart Ellis. "Software Management Tools in Fedora Core". http://docs.fedoraproject.org/yum/en/sn-software-management-tools.html. Retrieved 2007-11-18. 
  23. ^ Fedora Project. "APT and Fedora". http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Tools/Apt. Retrieved 2007-11-18. 
  24. ^ Stuart Ellis. "Using Repositories". http://docs.fedoraproject.org/yum/en/sn-using-repositories.html. Retrieved 2007-11-18. 
  25. ^ "Fedora 7". http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-January/msg00091.html. Retrieved 2007-01-17. 
  26. ^ Fedora Project. "Fedora Legacy". http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Legacy. Retrieved 2007-11-18. 
  27. ^ David Eisenstein (2006-12-29). "Fedora Legacy shutting down". http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-legacy-list/2006-December/msg00049.html. Retrieved 2007-11-18. 
  28. ^ "Mandatory Access Control with SELinux" (PDF). http://w3.linux-magazine.com/issue/69/Access_Control_with_SELinux.pdf. Retrieved 2007-10-07. 
  29. ^ "Fedora Core 2 Release Notes". http://docs.fedoraproject.org/release-notes/fc2/x86/. Retrieved 2007-10-19. 
  30. ^ "Fedora Core 3 Release Notes". http://docs.fedoraproject.org/release-notes/fc3/x86/. Retrieved 2007-10-19. 
  31. ^ Fedora Project. "Releases". http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Releases. Retrieved 2008-06-23. 
  32. ^ "Fedora 11 Release Schedule". The Fedora Project. 2009-05-31. http://fedoraproject.org/w/index.php?title=Releases/11/Schedule&oldid=105085. Retrieved 2009-06-10. 
  33. ^ http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Releases/12/Schedule
  34. ^ http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Releases/13/Schedule
  35. ^ https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Releases/14/Schedule
  36. ^ http://news.softpedia.com/news/Fedora-14-Release-Schedule-and-Codename-141754.shtml
  37. ^ https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Releases/15
  38. ^ http://www.h-online.com/open/news/item/Alpha-version-of-Fedora-15-released-1203900.html
  39. ^ https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Releases/16/Schedule
  40. ^ Fuduntu - Punny Name, Serious Distro, accessed 2011-03-18.
  41. ^ Omega Linux, accessed 2009–05–15.
  42. ^ plsglobal.net - PLS Linux - Client-Server Solutions
  43. ^ ASPLinux website, accessed 2009–05–15.
  44. ^ martin.andrews; messageforchris and afsilva. "eeedora - A Fedora distribution optimized for the Asus Eee PC". Google code. Google Inc.. Archived from the original on 7 January 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5mbkX0wIB. Retrieved 7 January 2010. 
  45. ^ "initial revision of the project". Google code. Google Inc.. Archived from the original on 7 January 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5mbkX8D6w. Retrieved 7 January 2010. "Initial directory structure." 
  46. ^ Tentang Nusantara
  47. ^ "Security Breach—securityfocus.com". http://www.securityfocus.com/news/11532. 
  48. ^ "Security Breach—Red Hat Mailing list". https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-announce-list/2008-August/msg00012.html. 
  49. ^ "Update and Report on Fedora August 2008 Intrusion—Red Hat Mailing list". https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-announce-list/2009-March/msg00010.html. 

[edit] External links

Media related to Fedora (Operating System) at Wikimedia Commons

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