Ubuntu or Debian? Debian: Setup

Ubuntu or Debian are distributions based on Linux OS. The article describes their differences and installation features.

Comparison and selection

In this age, software companies have twisted all the nuts and raised prices for their products. What to do if a person basically does not want to pay for software and operating system? There is a good alternative to products like Windows. There are completely free OS of the Linux family. The most popular of these are Ubuntu and Debian. There is also Linux Mint. But it's based on Ubuntu, so there's no point in parsing it. There everything is the same, except for the interface. So what do you need to install - Ubuntu or Debian? What is their similarity and difference? This is what we will try to understand.

What is Ubuntu?

The distribution of Ubuntu Linux is the brainchild of Canonical. The very word Ubuntu is translated from the Zulu languages as "philanthropy" or "humanity". That is Canonical to us as if hints that their product is made for people. The Ubuntu program is based on the Debian package database. That's why they are so similar.

Ubuntu comes with the Unity working environment by default. If you have a modern computer, then there will be no problems. And if you have a weak machine, then Unity does not suit you in any way, because it "eats" too much resources. But it does not matter. Especially for weak machines, "lightweight" working environments were created: XFCE and LXDE. On their basis, even assembled special distributions: Xubuntu and Lubuntu, respectively.

The person who used Windows for many years, at first frightens the incomprehensible Ubuntu interface. But this is only with the habit. When you start working in Ubuntu, you will understand how convenient it is. Installing Ubuntu will not create any problems even for a beginner. The installation process is laid out on the shelves.

What is Debian

The Debian OS is the forefather of all "ubuntopodobnyh" systems. There are three branches of the OS being developed at the moment: Stable, Unstable and Testing. In Stable, everything is perfectly tuned, using an obsolete but reliable software. This branch is ideal for servers and just for people who appreciate the stability of the system. The Unstable branch is the most terrible. Here a lot of everything new and "neobokatannogo." It is because of this that frequent "crashes" of the system are possible up to the complete failure of all components. And the Testing branch is the next after the Unstable stage, where everything is already set up, but not yet to the end.

Installing Ubuntu 14.04.3 Trusty Tahr

The first step is to determine which image of the system we need to download. For computers using the 32-bit processor architecture, you must download an image with the i386 tag. And for 64-bit systems - with the mark amd64.

The image was downloaded and successfully recorded on disk. Now you can go to the installation process itself. It should be mentioned that the Ubuntu OS itself is booted from the disk first. And then you can start installing in the Unity graphical shell. So, run the installer and select the language. After that we will be asked to connect to the Internet. We connect, as it will be necessary to download the language packs for the system. After that, the installer will prompt you to select the partitioning method. If you are new to Linux, and you do not have important files on the disk, we strongly recommend that you select an automatic way of markup. The system will do everything for you.

After the successful partitioning of the disk, the installer will offer to choose the location of the computer, keyboard layout and everything in the same spirit. The next step will prompt you to come up with a username and password. There is no difference - Ubuntu or Debian, the password is necessary in any case. Without it, the system will not be installed. After entering all the necessary data, the installation of the OS itself will begin.

This process takes only 10-15 minutes. After the files are copied successfully, you will be prompted to reboot the system. Agree and restart. Everything, the Ubuntu program is installed.

Manual partitioning for installing Ubuntu

There are situations when there is a lot of information on the hard disk. Here, automatic markup is not suitable, because the entire disk, and not any specific partition, will be formatted in this way. Here we will gain manual marking.

So, in the window for selecting the method of partitioning the disk, select "Another option". The installer will give us a window. We need to use only the place where the Windows OS was previously installed. We delete the system partitions of the previous OS and create new ones. The system partition under Ubuntu is recommended to make in the volume of 10 GB. We select the type of the ext4 file system with the mount point "/". Done. Now we need to create a swap partition. No matter how much RAM there is in your machine - this partition is needed. The size of it should be the size of your physical RAM, multiplied by two (for example, 4 GB - 8 GB). The partition type is swap. If there is space left, then we create a partition in the format ext4 and the mount parameter "home /". It is needed to store user files, like My Documents in Windows.

Manual marking is over. Now we select the 10 GB ext4 partition and start the installation.

Setup after installation

Now let's look at the main thing that needs to be done after installing the program. The Ubuntu setup should begin with the installation of all the recommended updates. Here you can use the update system. When you first start the OS, it will prompt you to update the components. Agree and update. After that, you must restart the computer for the changes to take effect.

After the reboot, it's time to deal with the drivers. And here you will see the biggest plus of Ubuntu. Drivers for almost all devices are already installed. You just need to open the "Driver Manager" and check whether everything is in place. If you see that the device does not use a "proprietary" driver - just turn it on.

On this basic setting Ubuntu is over. You can use the system.

Installing Debian

The first stages of installing this distribution are similar to the stages of installing Ubuntu. Therefore, it is pointless to dwell on them in detail. Differences in installation begin at the stage of disk partitioning. Here's her and disassemble.

Unlike Ubuntu, you need to use ext3 as the system partition here. The volume should be set at least 5 GB. The mount point is "/". The volume of the swap partition should be set equal to half the size of the physical RAM of the computer (4 GB - 2 GB). In the Ubuntu program, as far as we remember, this figure needed to be doubled. The disk layout is complete. We do not need anything else.

Next, all the actions follow the Ubuntu script. After a successful installation, we reboot into the installed OS.

Debian configuration after installation

The Debian OS uses a "lightweight" XFCE work environment. In a special setting, it does not need. We need to go directly to the "Driver Manager" to check whether everything is in place. Debian is not Ubuntu, there is no support for all devices. This is not surprising, because the Debian program, the configuration of which is not so complicated, was initially positioned as a server OS. If everything is in place, we start using the system. And if not - you will have to download missing drivers. There is nothing terrible here. Just need to add in the "Update Manager" repositories from Ubuntu, and all drivers will get in place. Now you can use Debian.

As you can see, the configuration of the program is slightly different from the setting of Ubuntu. In general, it should be said that there is nothing to do for beginners on Debian. This system is for those who already have some experience with Linux. Setting up Ubuntu is much easier for the simple reason that there's really nothing to set up.

Conclusion

Because of the similarity of systems, there is no particular difference what to install - Ubuntu or Debian. If you are tired of paying money, you do not know what to be afraid of viruses, it makes sense to pay attention to the free Linux OS. The most outstanding representatives were considered by us above. Working with these programs is pretty straightforward. What is better to install: Ubuntu or Debian? The answer to this question is one that is more like. But for beginners, it's best to put Ubuntu. In Debian, without training, it is difficult to understand.