Nexenta combines OpenSolaris, GNU, and Ubuntu
What do you get when you combine OpenSolaris, the GNU utilities, and Ubuntu? Nexenta -- a GNU-based open source operating system built on top of the OpenSolaris kernel and runtime. I took the Alpha 5 release out for a spin to see how well it's progressing. It might sound like an odd combination, but after more than a year of development, it actually works well, and is shaping up to be a very interesting operating system.
Nexenta's Alpha 5 release is available as an installable ISO, live CD, or VMware image. I opted for the installable ISO.
I tested Nexenta under VMware and on a Pentium 4 notebook with 1GB RAM, an ATI Radeon R250, Intel sound card, built-in RealTek Ethernet, Intersil Prism wireless, and 60GB hard drive.
The Nexenta installer is a basic text-mode installer that's similar to Ubuntu's old text-mode installer. It asks a couple of questions about partitioning, the time zone, networking, and user setup, then copies files for about 20 minutes. I've installed various releases of Solaris and OpenSolaris over the years, and I was pleased that Nexenta is much easier to install than its Solaris cousins.
The only sticking point is the disk partitioner. Nexenta uses a less-than-friendly text menu partitioner that's even less intuitive than fdisk. If the user sticks with the default "take over the entire disk" option, it's easy as pie, but manual partitioning is going to be a bit unpleasant for anyone without prior Linux and/or Solaris experience.
- Login or register to post comments
- Printer-friendly version
- 1483 reads
- PDF version
More in Tux Machines
- Highlights
- Front Page
- Latest Headlines
- Archive
- Recent comments
- All-Time Popular Stories
- Hot Topics
- New Members
digiKam 7.7.0 is releasedAfter three months of active maintenance and another bug triage, the digiKam team is proud to present version 7.7.0 of its open source digital photo manager. See below the list of most important features coming with this release. |
Dilution and Misuse of the "Linux" Brand
|
Samsung, Red Hat to Work on Linux Drivers for Future TechThe metaverse is expected to uproot system design as we know it, and Samsung is one of many hardware vendors re-imagining data center infrastructure in preparation for a parallel 3D world. Samsung is working on new memory technologies that provide faster bandwidth inside hardware for data to travel between CPUs, storage and other computing resources. The company also announced it was partnering with Red Hat to ensure these technologies have Linux compatibility. |
today's howtos
|
Recent comments
1 year 11 weeks ago
1 year 11 weeks ago
1 year 11 weeks ago
1 year 11 weeks ago
1 year 11 weeks ago
1 year 11 weeks ago
1 year 11 weeks ago
1 year 11 weeks ago
1 year 11 weeks ago
1 year 11 weeks ago