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Linux Kernels and Shells

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Linux kernels and shells

Windows and Mac computer systems have one central kernel that abstracts the hardware so the operating system can manage it. Linux is more customizable because it allows you to create your own kernel. I have been hired as an IT consultant and have been asked to write a manual on the kernel distributions of Linux. The kernel is a program that constitutes the central core of a computer operating system. It has complete control over everything that occurs in the system. The shell is the outermost part of the operating system thusly why it was given its name. The shell is a program that interacts with user commands while the kernel itself does not interact directly with the user, but instead it interacts with the shell and other programs as well as with the hardware devices on the system.
While there are countless amounts of distributions available there is a distinct top five distributions that are used with Linux. The first one, rightly so as it is one of the earliest distributions that were created, is Red Hat. Red Hat is one of the most popular distributions for Linux, it is widely used for personal computers and with businesses also. It has a great community support division called the Fedora Core who does a great job with support and is a major reason for the popularity of Red Hat. The next distribution on the list is Debian. Debian is the most popular community created distribution for Linux. While it is really flexible and very reliable the user interface tends to be a bit hard to get used to and comprehend so it is used much more for servers rather than personal computers. One distribution that I have talked about immensely is Ubuntu. Ubuntu is a fairly newcomer to the distribution race but has been embraced by users because of its ease of use. It is a great place for newcomers to start when using Linux because it has immediate use upon installation and is not very complicated to use. SUSE is the next distribution that will be covered. SUSE is very popular with the business world and is Novell’s response to Red Hat. Finally the last distribution is Gentoo. Once again Gentoo is also completely community created. What is unique about Gentoo is that all of the software is compiled from source on installation and has become very popular because of its popularity.
The distribution I would choose is the current Red Hat distribution which would be Beefy Miracle. The Linux kernel for Beefy Miracle is 3.3 which is named Saber-toothed Squirrel. With this kernel it has the Gnome shell 3.4 already installed on it, though you can always install another shell such as zsh, csh, or the Bash shell. Because it can be used on a variety of kernels I am going to choose to use the Bash shell. Now you can perform numerous commands and function, here are only twenty of them.“Aptitude” will search for and install software packages. ”Awk” will find and replace text, database sort/validate/index. “Break” will exit from a loop. “Cd” will change the directory. “Cfdisk” will display the partition table manipulator for Linux. “Chgrp” will change the group ownership. “Df” will display free disk space. “Find” will search for files that meet a desired criterion. “Help” will display help for a built-in command. “Id” will print user and group id's. “If” will conditionally perform a command. “Kill” will stop a process from running. “Logout” will exit a login shell. “Ping” will test a network connection. “Ps” will display the process status. “Reboot” will reboot the system. “Test” will evaluate a conditional expression. “Traceroute” will trace route to the host. “Umount” will unmount a device. “Users” will list users currently logged in.
As an IT consultant that has been asked which distribution, kernel, and shell I would use I have researched what I think would be best. The distribution I would choose is the current Red Hat distribution which would be Beefy Miracle. The Linux kernel for Beefy Miracle is 3.3 which is named Saber-toothed Squirrel. This kernel it has the shell Gnome shell 3.4.

References
What Is a Linux Distribution (2005). Retrieved from http://linuxdevcenter.com/pub/a/linux/2005/10/27/what-is-a-linux-distribution.html

An A-Z Index of the Bash command line for Linux. (2012). Retrieved from http://ss64.com/bash/

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