Fedora Core 2 Brims With New Features

By: Kurt Wall
Monday, May 17, 2004 11:27:23 AM EST
URL: http://www.linuxplanet.com/linuxplanet/reviews/5397/1/

What's New?

What's new in the latest beta (1.92, Test 3) of Fedora Core 2? Plenty, and I'm not talking about new versions of this or that package (they're there), a slicker installer (it is), or a prettier desktop (it isn't). Nosireebob, the changes in Fedora Core represent what might amount to the biggest set of changes in the Linux distribution world since Caldera (yeah, I know, hiss, boo) introduced a graphical installer back in the dark ages of 1998. Fedora's changes include a new, fundamentally different security model, a new X implementation, the 2.6 kernel, GNOME 2.6, and KDE 3.2.2.

Fedora Core now includes SELinux, or Security Enhanced Linux. SELinux introduces a significant shift in the way users, programs, and processes interact with each other. Although it is installed, SELinux is disabled by default. To enable SELinux during installation, type "selinux" at the Boot: prompt when you boot the installer. Before you do this, memorize the Fedora Core SELinux FAQ.

The new X implementation is the X.org Foundation's X11R6.7.0. In theory, X11R-mumble is XFree86 4.4.0rc2 with additional extensions, including Xrender, Xft, Xcursor, fontconfig, and other X goodness. In practice, I don't think you'll see much difference. With apologies to the Who, "meet the new X, same as the old X."

Installation

You'll need disk space. The minimum disk space requirements are:

  • Server: 870 MB
  • Personal Desktop: 1.9 GB
  • Workstation: 2.4 GB
  • Bare Bones: 520 MB
  • Everything: 5.3 GB

I chose the Personal Desktop installation.

While I have your attention, permit me to sing the praises of CD-ROM media validation. The first two installation discs that I burned were just the usable side of coasters. Disc 1 had a subtle error that gave the Python-based installer severe indigestion; disc 2 burped with a read error about 90% of the way through the installation. The media check options that have become de rigeur in most installers are great features. Anaconda's is available by typing "linux mediacheck" at the Boot: prompt or by selecting the media check option early in the installation process.

The media check option enabled me to diagnose the problem as a bad CD-ROM rather than a corrupted download, so burning new CD-ROMs allowed me to continue the installation without suffering through another four hour download.

The hardware test bed for this review was unremarkable by today's standards:

  • AMD 1200 CPU with a Via Apollo Pro KT133 chipset
  • 512 MB unregistered, unbuffered, non-ECC PC133 RAM
  • Lite-On 82c168 (Tulip) 10/100 Ethernet adapter
  • NVIDIA GeForce MX 200 framebuffer with 32MB video RAM
  • Asus 52x CD-ROM drive
  • Lite-On CD-RW CD-RW drive
  • Two Western Digital ATA 100 hard disks (20 and 120 GB)

The installer is like most Linux installers. The main tasks, in order, are:

  1. Media test (optional)
  2. Hardware probe
  3. Language selection for the installer
  4. Select an installation profile
  5. Disk partitioning
  6. Boot loader configuration
  7. Network configuration
  8. Firewall configuration
  9. Additional language support
  10. Time zone configuration
  11. Set the root password
  12. Package selection customization (optional)
  13. Package installation
  14. Reboot

Some Anaconda's features qualify for special mention. When partitioning the disk and selecting filesystem types, the options are limited to ext2 and ext3. I prefer XFS to ext3, and, now that XFS is in the kernel, it should be reasonably straightforward to add XFS support to Anaconda. Another limitation that makes me grumble is only offering GRUB, the Grand Unified Bootloader. I prefer LILO, albeit for no other reason than that I've always used it. However, "I've always done it that way" is no reason to resist change and I grudgingly concede that GRUB seems more flexible and easier to use than LILO, so I'll quit complaining about it.

The firewall configuration is much simpler, an effort for which the folks on the Fedora project deserve a virtual beer. The old "High," "Medium," or "No" firewall configuration is gone. It is either on or off, although you can add additional ports through which to allow traffic if you enable the firewall. You can use the firewall configuration tool (renamed system-config-firewall) after the post-installation reboot to fine-tune your firewall. Real system administrators would do it from the command line, of course. ;-)

Yet another small change I noticed was in the time zone configuration screen. Gone is the tab that contained a check box to set the local clock to UTC. The UTC check box now resides at the bottom of the time zone selection screen (see Figure 1). It is, admittedly, a minor change, but it seems more sensible to put all of the configuration details on one screen.

The installation itself took about 30 minutes from start to finish and proceeded smoothly and uneventfully.

Peeking Under the Brim

Time for the obligatory screenshot. Figure 2 shows the default Fedora desktop running Mozilla and Evolution.

In all, Test 3's look and feel isn't much different from previous versions. What impressed me the most was the noticeable improvement in desktop responsiveness, thanks to the the preemptible kernel and the new O(1) kernel scheduler. Another noticeable change was that the names of Fedora's configuration utilities have changed. The initial name component "redhat-" has been replaced with "system-". So, for example, redhat-config-printer has been renamed system-config-printer.

As usual, packages have been removed and others added. For example, the cipe package was removed because it wasn't supported by the 2.6 kernel; Netware support (in mars-nwe) has been removed completely. On the other side, added packages include XFCE4 and its associated utilities; a rich set of packages supporting Jakarta Commons, a collection of reusable Java components; and PERL-XML modules.

The release notes, available during the installation and on the installed system (/usr/share/doc/fedora-release-1.92/RELEASE-NOTES-x86-en.html), detail all of the added and removed packages.

Impressions

If you don't mind living on the bleeding edge, the latest Fedora Core beta is definitely worth a look. As a long-time Slackware user, I have a bias toward fewer gewgaws and less bloat than exists in the mainstream Linux distributions. Nonetheless, I readily recommend Fedora Core to new and curious Linux users.

Fedora Core 1.92 Test 3 is a polished product. Although it is the testbed for future official Red Hat releases, Fedora happily lacks the raw, unstable character I expected when Red Hat first announced their plans for Fedora. Package selection is reasonable, small but useful improvements in the installation have been implemented, and the resulting system is visually appealing, easy to use, and doesn't dramatically depart from trends established when Red Hat still provided a desktop Linux distribution.

Aside from the limited selection of filesystems available during partitioning, I really have nothing worth complaining about. I give Fedora Core 1.92 Test 3 an overall rating of four stars. It might have gone to five stars were this not a beta product.

Kurt Wall is an all-around Linux geek. He has written all or parts of eight books about Linux and UNIX programming and system administration and is the technical editor for over a dozen other Linux- and UNIX-related titles. Currently, Kurt works for TimeSys Corporation in Pittsburgh and lives in South Park, Pennsylvania. He receives entirely too much email at kwall@kurtwerks.com.

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