Trying a New Linux Distribution: Alpine
13 November 2010 2 Comments
I recently wanted to find a Linux distribution that worked under low memory conditions – that is, a measly 256M of space. (I can remember folks complaining that the lastest version of Windows required 4M or better…. sigh).
I discovered Alpine Linux (derived from one of the LEAF projects, no less) and have been quite happy. The system is responsive and works well.
Alpine offers a live CD as well as a way to put Alpine on a hard drive. It works quite well on a hard drive. Alpine also works very well inside VirtualBox.
I was surprised to find out just how capable dnsmasq has become; it appears that you should be able to fully configure almost all the servers necessary for automatic installation by just using dnsmasq with the proper configuration. I’ll describe it in coming days.
Interesting to learn the origin of the name.
Despite what the founders said, I always thought that the name Alpine was a nod to the other LEAF distributions such as Bering and its ilk – named after fjords or other natural features.