Database last modified: March 1, 2009
Generator: gen_form_search_db
| OS | Version | Notes | Price: CDs/DVDs | Price: download | Release support lifetime | Security announce list | Security features |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adamantix (URL) | 1.0.4 (final version released) | Formerly Trusted Debian. Used to require installation on top of Debian, but now has standalone install ISO. Missing some important packages like [X]Emacs and nmh, but kludgy method to install Debian version of those (without SSP protection) exists. Installer doesn't support LILO or software RAID; got stuck for me at network setup step. Discontinued as of mid-2007. | [none] | free | ? | yes (general announce) | PaX, randomized PIDs / ports (not in 1.0.4; info was at http://www.adamantix.org/adamantix-kernel/kernel.html/view), RSBAC (not in 1.0.4), SSP |
| Castle (URL) | 2.2 (final version released) | Mailing lists and most documentation in Russian. The OS download was missing from the FTP site as of November 2004. Discontinued. However, according to Solar Designer, most of the security improvements, excepting RSBAC, were put into ALT Linux. | [none] | free | ? | no | Openwall kernel patch, RSBAC, etc. |
| Debian (URL) | stable / unstable | Must use a kernel patch and an alternate 3rd-party repository of packages. | [none] | free | ? | yes | SELinux |
| EnGarde Secure Linux (URL) | 3.0.22 (details to the right were as of Community version 2 and Professional version 1.5) | Community version limited to 10 hosted domains, doesn't support Guardian Digital Security Suite applications, and requires signup (with verifiable personal information) for Guardian Digital Secure Network (update and management service) trial subscription. | Community: [none]; Professional - Standard: $729 + $229 / year; Professional - Enterprise: $1629 + $895 / year | Community: free; Professional: [none] | ? | yes | Openwall kernel patch, web-managed security settings, etc. |
| Fedora (URL) | 10 | Designed to be more bleeding-edge than most distros, which is questionable for production server use. | [none] | free | 6-9 months from Fedora; ~1.5 years incl. updates from Fedora Legacy | yes | exec-shield, NX/XD? (was to be in version 3, but release notes say nothing...), SELinux |
| Hardened Gentoo (URL) | - | Not actually an OS -- just a collection of subprojects being tested by a developer team for future inclusion in Gentoo. Gentoo is a from-source distribution, which is of questionable appropriateness for a production server. | [none] | free | ? | no | Bastille, grsecurity, Prelude, RSBAC, SELinux, SSP, etc. |
| Immunix (URL) | 7.3 (final version released) | Originally based on Red Hat. Had some impressive features not available elsewhere, but stopped being free, and price was "enterprise-level". Discontinued as of March 2004. Novell acquired Immunix in 2005 and integrated SubDomain (rechristened AppArmor) into SUSE Linux. | was $995 | [none] | 7.3, released December 2003, will be supported through March 2005 | yes | CryptoMark (not in 7.3), FormatGuard, RaceGuard (not in 7.3), StackGuard, SubDomain |
| Kaladix (URL) | - | Originally based on Gentoo. Project started by Jörg Lübbert, who then dropped it. In May 2003, "after a long pause [in] development", Alejandro Naifuino took it over, though no version was made available for download. Development discontinued as of May 2004. | was to be $24.99 | was to be free | ? | unused | daemons chroot()ed, PaX, RSBAC, SSP, etc. |
| OpenBSD (URL) | 4.4 | Originally based on 4.4BSD. The original (and arguably the most) secure UNIX OS. Can't boot kernel from software RAID, and hardware RAID support is very limited. No journalled filesystems. Updates to core OS components delivered only as source patches, requiring recompiles. | $50 Canadian | free (but not full ISOs -- FTP-based install) | 1 year | yes | /etc/security, audited source, daemons chroot()ed, enhanced crypto, randomized addresses / PIDs / ports, S/Key, secure defaults, securelevel, SSP, systrace, W^X |
| OpenNA (URL) | 1.0 (final version released) | Based on Red Hat / Fedora. Supports Intel Pentium II and higher CPUs (i686) only; software fully optimized for the architecture. Developers' English often creaky. Doesn't support installing to software RAID; only includes GRUB, not LILO. GPG signature on CD RPMs done with a lost key. Missing vital software like [X]Emacs, lftp, lsof, nmh, etc. Apparently discontinued some time after 2003. | was $37.95 | free | 3 years (or may be 3 years after release of next version -- FAQ is ambiguous) | yes | daemons chroot()ed, GIPTables presets, grsecurity, secure defaults |
| Owl (AKA Openwall GNU/*/Linux -- URL) | 2.0 | Designed to be mostly package compatible with Red Hat Linux. | $9.35; $40 with jewelcase & artwork | free | Support for prior releases ends with each new release. | no | audited source, kernel patch with non-executable stack, /proc and /tmp restrictions, etc., mtree integrity checker, pam_passwdqc password strength checker, secure defaults |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux (URL) / CentOS (URL) | 5 | RHEL: Have to pay the entire OS cost each year to have access to Red Hat Network security updates. CentOS: A free clone of RHEL that's identical except for a few third-party copyrighted or trademarked bits that are removed. |
RHEL (as of version 4): WS: $179 Basic / $299 Standard; ES: $349 Basic / $799 Standard; AS: $1499 Basic / $2499 Standard CentOS: [none] |
RHEL: same as the CD/DVD price CentOS: free |
5 years | yes | exec-shield, NX on AMD64 (3+) and XD on equipped Intel (3 Update 3+) CPUs, SELinux (4+) |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise (URL) / openSUSE (URL) | SUSE Linux Enterprise: 10 openSUSE: 11.1 |
Traditionally had some creaky (or even missing) English due to its German origin, but Novell's acquisition should further aid with this. It has had the best printed manuals of any open source OS for some time now. | SUSE Linux Enterprise: between $349 and $1,499, depending on support level openSUSE: [none] |
SUSE Linux Enterprise: presumably same as CD/DVD price openSUSE: free |
2 years (this may be out-of-date) | yes | NX on AMD64 (in 9.1+) and XD on equipped Intel (in 9.2+) CPUs, AppArmor |
| Trustix (URL) | 2.2 (final version released) | Originally based on Red Hat. Original developer went bankrupt, but Comodo acquired their remains. Comodo then discontinued the distribution again at the end of 2007. | [none] | free | ? | yes | secure defaults, swup automated updater |
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