ALT Linux
| Company type | Collective project |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software, Operating systems |
| Founded | 2001 |
| Founder | ALT Linux Team (formed from IPLabs Linux Team and Institute of Logic, Cognitive Science and Development of Personality community) |
| Headquarters | Russia |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | Linux distributions based on RPM Package Manager and Linux kernel |
| Website | en |
ALT Linux represents a collection of Russian operating system distributions that utilize the RPM Package Manager (RPM) framework. These distributions are built upon the Linux kernel and rely on the Sisyphus package repository. Development is conducted jointly by the ALT Linux Team community alongside ALT Linux Ltd.
History
The ALT Linux Team was formed through the unification of the IPLabs Linux Team with the Linux community from the Institute of Logic, Cognitive Science and Development of Personality. This latter group worked in cooperation with Mandrake Linux and SUSE Linux teams to improve localization efforts, especially for Cyrillic script support, which led to the creation of the Linux-Mandrake Russian Edition (RE).
As Mandrake and its Russian Edition branched off into distinct projects, ALT Linux emerged as a standalone initiative. The acronym ALT stands for ALT Linux Team, reflecting its recursive naming.
This division also gave rise to the Sisyphus package repository, which functions as ALT Linux’s unstable development branch. Notably, in 2007, Sisyphus was honored with a CNews award recognizing its contributions to Information Security.
Version history
Linux-Mandrake
The first independent distribution released by IPLabs Linux Team was Linux-Mandrake 7.0 Russian Edition in early 2000, which retained the Mandrake branding under authorization from its original creators. A subsequent release titled Spring 2001 followed several months later.
ALT Linux 1.0
In the summer of 2001, the ALT Linux Team launched their own brand, debuting with ALT Linux Junior 1.0. Later that year in autumn, they introduced ALT Linux Junior 1.1. These Junior versions were streamlined desktop-focused editions distributed on a single CD.
ALT Linux 2.*
In May 2002, the comprehensive 4CD set ALT Linux Master 2.0 was introduced, targeting software developers and system administrators. Subsequently, during the same summer, a more compact 1CD desktop/workstation edition named ALT Linux Junior 2.0 became available.
ALT Linux 3.0
Launched in the fall of 2005, ALT Linux Compact 3.0 provided installable versions on both 1CD and 1DVD formats, alongside a LiveCD variant called TravelCD 3.0. This release was followed by several OEM updates culminating in version 3.0.5.
ALT Linux 4.0
The branding evolved to ALT Linux 4.0 $flavour, broadening the product lineup:
- Server (June 2007): supporting i586 and x86_64 architectures, distributed across 1CD plus 1DVD
- Office Server (mid-2007): available for the same platforms on a single CD
- Desktop Personal (August 2007): i586 platform featuring KDE3, offered on DVD, LiveCD, and Rescue CD formats
- Lite and Terminal editions (December 2007): lightweight desktop environments using Xfce4 and KDE3 respectively, aimed at systems with limited resources; Terminal edition developed in partnership with Media Magic Ltd
Moreover, a conservative school 4.0 branch was maintained to support Russia’s school pilot initiative through customized educational distributions.
ALT Linux 4.1
Significant releases included:
- Desktop (October 2008): available for i586 and x86_64 with KDE3, distributed on CD/DVD
- Children (December 2008): LiveCD version for i586 architecture
- Skif (December 2008): high-performance computing focused x86_64 edition on CD
- School Server (February 2009): single-CD release for i586
ALT Linux 5.x
The originally planned ALT Linux 5.0 branch was discontinued due to instability issues with X.org and subsequently archived. Instead, community-led p5 “conservative” branches surfaced in 2009 under the ALT Linux 5.x designation:
- Ark: a combined client-server package available on DVD+CD for i586 and x86_64 architectures
- School Suite: a multi-edition educational bundle mainly targeting i586 systems, including documentation and video tutorials; distributed across multiple DVDs covering Server, Terminal (KDE3), Master (KDE4), Junior (GNOME2), Lite (Xfce4), and New Lite (LXDE) editions
- KDesktop: KDE4-based desktop environment on DVD for both supported architectures
- Simply Linux 5.0: lightweight Xfce4 desktop provided on CD, flash media, or LiveCD for i586
These varied ALT Linux editions catered to diverse sectors ranging from educational environments to enterprise desktops and servers.
Lite
A minimalist single-CD distribution tailored for older or low-memory machines, featuring Xfce as its default desktop environment. Available in both standard and Live CD formats, it has largely been superseded by the LXDE-based New Lite edition.
Compact
The Compact series consists of ALT Linux distributions crafted for novice users and is commonly deployed on workstations, personal computers, and laptops. It includes user-friendly configuration utilities, a wide range of office and multimedia software, as well as some gaming options. Additionally, Compact has been frequently utilized for OEM white-label solutions, allowing hardware manufacturers to bundle customized versions with their devices.
Linux ALT Linux Server is a secure single-CD server distribution officially certified by the Russian Federal Department of Technical and Expert Control for:
- Detection of undeclared features – level 4 certification
- Protection against unauthorized data access – class 5 certification
Terminal
ALT Linux Terminal is a terminal server edition derived from ALT Linux Desktop and ALTSP5, which is a user-friendly variant of the Linux Terminal Server Project (LTSP). It accommodates legacy hardware by functioning as thin and diskless clients, needing just 16 MB of RAM, significantly less than the usual LTSP5 requirement of 64 MB. Additionally, this distribution has been tailored for the free software suite used in the Russian School Education National Project.
External links
- Community website (English version)
- Sisyphus package repository, serving as the base for ALT Linux