Famous Linux distributions

15th March 2021 Harshvardhan Mishra

Here you can find an unordered list of some most popular Linux distributions:

Ubuntu: is probably the most well-known Linux distribution. Ubuntu is based on Debian, but it has its own software repositories. Much of the software in these repositories is synced from Debian’s repositories. Ubuntu 20.04 LTS Focal Fossa is the latest Ubuntu released versionand the latest Long Term Support version with a support end of life on April 2025.
Debian is free and open-source. This widely respected project is still releasing new versions of Debian, but it’s known for moving much more slowly than distributions like Ubuntu or Linux Mint. This can make it more stable and conservative, which is ideal for some systems.
Linux Mint is a Linux distribution built on top of Ubuntu. Linux Mint is one of the most popular desktop Linux distributions and used by millions of people. It uses Ubuntu’s software repositories, so the same packages are available on both.
Arch Linux is an independently developed, x86-64 general-purpose GNU/Linux distribution that strives to provide the latest stable versions of most software by following a rolling-release model.
Fedora is a project with a strong focus on free software — you won’t find an easy way to install proprietary graphics drivers here, although third-party repositories are available. Fedora is bleeding edge and contains the latest versions of software.
CentOS / Red Hat Enterprise Linux Red Hat Enterprise Linux is a commercial Linux distribution intended for servers and workstations. It’s based on the open-source Fedora project, but is designed to be a stable platform with long-term support. CentOS and Red Hat recently announced they’re collaborating, so CentOS is now part of Red Hat itself. he CentOS Linux distribution is a stable, predictable, manageable and reproducible platform derived from the sources of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). We are now looking to expand on that by creating the resources needed by other communities to come together and be able to build on the CentOS Linux platform. And today we start the process by delivering a clear governance model, increased transparency and access. In the coming weeks we aim to publish our own roadmap that includes variants of the core CentOS Linux.
openSUSE / SUSE Linux Enterprise openSUSE is a community-created Linux distribution sponsored by Novell. Novell purchased SuSE Linux in 2003, and they still create an enterprise Linux project known as SUSE Linux Enterprise. Where Red Hat has the Fedora project that feeds into Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Novell has the openSUSE project that feeds into SUSE Linux Enterprise.
Mageia and Mandriva Mageia is a fork of Mandriva Linux created in 2011. Mandriva — known as Mandrake before that — was once one of the great user-friendly Linux distributions.
Slackware Linux is another institution. Founded in 1993, Slackware is the oldest Linux distribution that’s still maintained and putting out new releases today.
Puppy Linux is another fairly well-known Linux distribution. Previous versions have been built on Ubuntu, but the latest is built on Slackware. Puppy is designed to be a small, lightweight operating system that can run well on very old computers.