Linux Live with Knoppix Version 3.7
By: Sean Michael Kerner
Monday, January 10, 2005 09:52:07 AM EST
URL: http://www.linuxplanet.com/linuxplanet/reviews/5706/1/
Getting Knoppix
There are cases when for evaluation, demonstration, recovery or otherwise you don't want to install a new operating system onto a hard drive. It's in those cases that a "non-invasive" CD-based operating system (look ma no hard drive!), in the Linux world usually called Live CDs (or Linux Live) really comes in handy. The "granddaddy" of all Linux Live OSes, Knoppix, recently released its latest version, 3.7.
Knoppix 3.7 updates a significant number of packages from the 3.6 release (which was released in August) and provides an even more stable and robust operating system. Of particular note, is this version's dramatically improved ACPI support, which means it runs even better than its predecessor on a wider array of notebooks.
Based on Debian, Knoppix uses KDE 3.2.3 and runs both 2.4.47 and 2.6.9 versions of the kernel. Through the "magic" of compression, there are over 2GB worth of applications and packages that are jam packed onto the single Knoppix 700 MB CD. Since it's not installed on a hard drive, what Knoppix does is use system RAM to create a RAM drive that decompresses the packages on the fly and gives the "illusion" of a regular hard drive. According to the Knoppix Web site, it will run with a minimum of 128 MB, (which, I can attest, works), though the more RAM you have, the better your performance.
Knoppix was first created and is still actively maintained by German developer Klaus Knopper. Knoppix 3.7 can be obtained via FTP at the Knoppix site, though I'd strongly recommend using the BitTorrent.
The latest Knoppix tracker files can be found at http://torrent.unix-ag.uni-kl.de/, which also give a good indication of how many people have already downloaded the new version. In its first four months of availability, the English version of Knoppix 3.6 transferred over 27 TeraBytes. In the first week that 3.7 was available, almost 6 TB were transferred.
Starting Knoppix
One of the greatest things about Knoppix is its hardware detection and support. It has never ceased to amaze me how difficult it can be sometimes for certain Linux distributions to detect and properly configure any number of different pieces of hardware (for some reason I seem to encounter all kinds of difficulty with configuring graphics cards/monitors).
With Knoppix 3.7, hardware detection, simply put, just works. I've run Knoppix 3.7 on old boat anchors (Pentium Pros and worse) for which I have never been able to successfully install a GUI using any other Linux distro. I also found that its Notebook hardware detection (part of 3.7's new ACPI support) is similarly flawless. In many cases, it really is as easy as inserting the CD and booting your PC. If you are on ancient hardware that doesn't support CD booting, you can always create a boot floopy and boot the Knoppix CD from there.
Knoppix 3.7, like its predecessors that have included 2.6.x kernels, requires the user to enter "linux26" at the boot prompt to start with that kernel as opposed to the 2.4.47 kernel, which is the default. Mr. Knopper still has the 2.6.9 kernel supported listed as "experimental" though in my use-case scenarios I found it to be rock solid stable.
Knoppix Packages
The Knoppix 3.7 CD contains a long list of some 900 or so packages encompassing just about every type of activity you'd probably encounter (some shown in Figure 1). OpenOffice.org version 1.1.3 is there for the standard office productivity suite. The usual KDE suspects are all there including the Konqueror browser, Kmail, Kontact, and Kfax, among many others. For IM, Gaim 1.03 is there as well. Gimp 2.0.6 covers off image manipulation and Scribus 1.2.0 handles page layout.
On the networking side of things it included Ethereal .10-7 for traffic analysis and Nessus for security scanning. Standard networking essentials like SSH and Samba are also present. KDE desktop sharing is also included so VNC sessions are easily accomplished.
One of the things that always "challenged" me with past Knoppix versions (and Linux live CDs in general) was the difficulty in using Samba without a complicated setup. Samba configuration on Knoppix 3.7 is a simple point and click service, both for discovering other network shares and for making your (virtual) Knoppix drives shareable as well (see Figure 2).
Despite all the programs that are included on Knoppix 3.7, it's easy to notice which ones aren't there. Mozilla 1.7.3 is included instead of Firefox, which works well--but with the hoopla surrounding Firefox it's sure to be missed by Linux newbies. For email it doesn't include Mozilla Thunderbird or Evolution, though to be fair, how many email clients do you really need? Neither Konqueror nor Mozilla include the Macromedia Flash plugin, though you can download it yourself with the Knoppix Live Update tool.
Using Knoppix
Using Knoppix 3.7 is like using any other KDE Linux desktop--except for the fact that you don't (unless you really really want to) touch the hard drive. I had no trouble running 3.7 on an older underpowered notebook (PII 266MHz 192 MB RAM) that had long ago lost its expensive-to-replace (and not worth doing so) hard drive.
In cases where you can't or don't want to touch the hard drive with your OS, Knoppix (and live Linux CDs in general) are invaluable tools. I've often used Knoppix and other various Linux live CDs for simple demonstrations to people of what Linux and open source applications look like. I've also used Linux Live to run on machines that wouldn't or couldn't boot the hard drive and for definitively virus/Trojan/root kit free network scanning and analysis.
Knoppix of course, is not the only Linux live CD out there at this point, as it has spawned countless imitators and variants. Part of the reason for that is the fact that Knoppix itself is relatively easily modified for remastering, so anyone with the time and patience can create their own custom Knoppix version. Though the CD is loaded with many more packages than many users will probably ever use, there are users that are bound to need something that isn't there.
That said, there is something to be said for the real Knoppix deal as created by its creator. In my opinion, the collection of packages included in Knoppix 3.7 is quite adequate for many needs. Sure, Firefox might have been nice, but Mozilla 1.7 is not too shabby either and neither is Konqueror.
Knoppix 3.7 is not a dramatic leap forward for Linux Live technology; rather it is an evolutionary step that further solidifies Knoppix's place at the top of the CD-based OS stack with its extensive hardware detection, stability and extensive application offering.