For virtual machines I like using TurnKey Linux, a small but well packaged Linux distribution. But I’m still fond of an even smaller Linux distribution called Tiny Core Linux, a 12 MB operating system with a full desktop interface.
Of course, at 12 MB, it doesn’t do much. No WiFi drivers, minimal graphics card support, not even the GNU shell and tools (notice that, for once, Tiny Core isn’t GNU/Linux at all). But from that and a wired network connection, you can use its package manager to install software from a decent selection. All packages are not even extracted on disk and are actually compressed file system images, something I could only dream of seven years ago. This means that it’s easy to run Tiny Core from a CD while storing user data and software packages on a USB key.
To set up a server, I’d still prefer TurnKey or GUI-less Debian, but if you ever have to run hundreds of tiny virtual machines, or want to easily make your own flavor of Linux easily, or simply want to run a small and quick Linux machine from a USB key, Tiny Core should do the job.
Published on October 5, 2012 at 21:13 EDT
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