List of Linux distributions that run from RAM

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Puppy Linux 5.10 desktop running in RAM Puppy Linux 5.1.0.png
Puppy Linux 5.10 desktop running in RAM

This is a list of Linux distributions that can be run entirely from a computer's RAM, meaning that once the OS has been loaded to the RAM, the media it was loaded from can be completely removed, and the distribution will run the PC through the RAM only. This ability allows them to be very fast, since reading and writing data from/to RAM is much faster than on a hard disk drive or solid-state drive. Many of these operating systems will load from a removable media such as a Live CD or a Live USB stick. A "frugal" install can also often be completed, allowing loading from a hard disk drive instead.

Contents

This feature is implemented in live-initramfs and allows the user to run a live distro that does not run from ram by default by adding toram to the kernel boot parameters. [1]

Additionally some distributions can be configured to run from RAM, such as Ubuntu using the toram option included in the Casper scripts. [2]

Table

Linux distributions that run from RAM
DistributionBased onRAM requiredinstallation drive/required size
Alpine Linux [3] [4] Independentbase system uses less than 64 MB CD – USB flash drive – HDD
antiX Linux [5] Debian 256 MB CD – USB flash drive – HDD
Arch Linux [ citation needed ]Independent400 MB CD – DVD – USB flash drive – HDD
AUSTRUMI [6] Slackware less than 100 MB CD – DVD – USB flash drive
CoreOS [7] Independent2048 MB USB flash drive – HDD
Debian Live [8] Independent780 MB (required), 2048 MB (recommended) [9] [10] DVD – USB flash drive – HDD – Secure Digital
Grml [11] Debian 256 MB (required), 512 MB (or more, recommended) CD – USB flash drive – HDD
Kanotix [12] Debian & Knoppix 1024 MB CD – DVD – USB flash drive – HDD
Knoppix [13] Debian 1024 MB CD – DVD – USB flash drive – HDD
Lightweight Portable Security (LPS), currently known as Trusted End Node Security (TENS) [14] Thinstation1024 MB (basic), 1.5 GB (deluxe) CD – USB flash drive
Nanolinux [15] Tiny Core Linux 64 MB [16] CD – DVD – USB flash drive – HDD
Parted Magic [17] Independent175 MB – 312 MB CD – DVD – USB flash drive – HDD
PCLinuxOS [18] Mandriva 1024 MB CD – DVD – USB flash drive – HDD
Porteus [19] Slackware 512 MB CD – DVD – USB flash drive
Puppy Linux [20] Independent64 MB (required), 512 MB (recommended) [21] CD – DVD – USB flash drive – HDD
Slax [22] Debian and Slackware 15.0.0512 MB CD – DVD – USB flash drive – HDD
SliTaz [23] Independent192 MB (48 MB for base) CD – DVD – USB flash drive – HDD [24] – Floppy disk [25]
Tails [26] Debian 2048 MB (recommended) DVD – USB flash drive – HDD – Secure Digital
Tin Hat Linux [27] Hardened Gentoo 4096 MB
Tiny SliTaz [28] SliTaz 4 MB CD – USB flash drive – HDD – Floppy disk
Tiny Core Linux [29] Independent46 MB [29] CD – HDD – USB flash drive

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linux distribution</span> Operating system based on the Linux kernel

A Linux distribution is an operating system made from a software collection that includes the Linux kernel and often a package management system. They are often obtained from the website of each distribution, which are available for a wide variety of systems ranging from embedded devices and personal computers to servers and powerful supercomputers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knoppix</span> Linux operating system

Knoppix, stylized KNOPPIX, is an operating system based on Debian designed to be run directly from a CD / DVD or a USB flash drive. It was first released in 2000 by German Linux consultant Klaus Knopper, and was one of the first popular live distributions. Knoppix is loaded from the removable medium and decompressed into a RAM drive. The decompression is transparent and on-the-fly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Live CD</span> Complete, bootable computer installation that runs directly from a CD-ROM

A live CD is a complete bootable computer installation including operating system which runs directly from a CD-ROM or similar storage device into a computer's memory, rather than loading from a hard disk drive. A live CD allows users to run an operating system for any purpose without installing it or making any changes to the computer's configuration. Live CDs can run on a computer without secondary storage, such as a hard disk drive, or with a corrupted hard disk drive or file system, allowing data recovery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Damn Small Linux</span> Lightweight, desktop-oriented Linux distribution

Damn Small Linux (DSL) is a computer operating system for the x86 family of personal computers. It is free and open-source software under the terms of the GNU GPL and other free and open-source licenses. It was designed to run graphical user interface applications on older PC hardware, for example, machines with 486 and early Pentium microprocessors and very little random-access memory (RAM). DSL is a live CD with a size of 50 megabytes (MB). What originally began as an experiment to see how much software could fit in 50 MB eventually became a full Linux distribution. It can be installed on storage media with small capacities, like bootable business cards, USB flash drives, various memory cards, and Zip drives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slax</span> Linux distribution

Slax is a LiveCD Linux distribution developed by Tomáš Matějíček and based on upstream customizable Linux distributions. Packages can be added by apt package manager or can be prepared as modules. The tagline for Slax refers to itself as "your pocket operating system".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Light-weight Linux distribution</span> Operating system with low resource requirements

A light-weight Linux distribution is one that uses lower memory and/or has less processor-speed requirements than a more "feature-rich" Linux distribution. The lower demands on hardware ideally result in a more responsive machine, and/or allow devices with fewer system resources to be used productively. The lower memory and/or processor-speed requirements are achieved by avoiding software bloat, i.e. by leaving out features that are perceived to have little or no practical use or advantage, or for which there is no or low demand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PCLinuxOS</span> Linux distribution

PCLinuxOS, often shortened to PCLOS, is a rolling release Linux distribution for x86-64 computers, with KDE Plasma, MATE, and XFCE as its default user interfaces. It is a primarily FOSS operating system for personal computers aimed at ease of use.

Puppy Linux is a family of light-weight Linux distributions that focus on ease of use and minimal memory footprint. The entire system can be run from random-access memory (RAM) with current versions generally taking up about 600 MB (64-bit), 300 MB (32-bit), allowing the boot medium to be removed after the operating system has started. Applications such as AbiWord, Gnumeric and MPlayer are included, along with a choice of lightweight web browsers and a utility for downloading other packages. The distribution was originally developed by Barry Kauler and other members of the community, until Kauler retired in 2013. The tool Woof can build a Puppy Linux distribution from the binary packages of other Linux distributions.

Technical variations of Linux distributions include support for different hardware devices and systems or software package configurations. Organizational differences may be motivated by historical reasons. Other criteria include security, including how quickly security upgrades are available; ease of package management; and number of packages available.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SliTaz</span> Linux distribution

SliTaz GNU/Linux is a lightweight Linux distribution, community-based, suitable for use on older hardware and as a Live CD or Live USB. SliTaz stands for "Simple, Light, Incredible, Temporary Autonomous Zone" according to the boot screen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grml</span> Linux distribution

Grml is a Linux distribution based on Debian. It is designed to run mainly from a live CD, but can be made to run from a USB flash drive. Grml aims to be well-suited to system administrators (sysadmin) and other users of text tools. It includes an X Window System server and a few minimalist window managers such as wmii, Fluxbox, and openbox to use the graphical programs like Mozilla Firefox which are included in the distribution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aurora OS (Eeebuntu)</span> Operating system for netbooks

Aurora is a discontinued operating system for netbooks. The latest version is based on Ubuntu, though newer versions were planned to be based on Debian Unstable. Eeebuntu was designed originally for the Asus Eee PC line of netbooks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peppermint OS</span> Linux computer operating system

Peppermint OS is a Linux distribution based on Debian and Devuan Stable, and formerly based on Ubuntu. It uses the Xfce desktop environment. It aims to provide a familiar environment for newcomers to Linux, which requires relatively low hardware resources to run.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Devuan</span> Linux distribution based on Debian

Devuan is a fork of the Debian Linux distribution that uses sysvinit, runit or OpenRC instead of systemd. Devuan aims to avoid "lock-in" by projects like systemd and aims to maintain compatibility with other init systems to avoid detaching Linux from other Unix systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parrot OS</span> Debian-based Linux distribution

Parrot OS is a Linux distribution based on Debian with a focus on security, privacy, and development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MX Linux</span> Mid-weight family of operating systems

MX Linux is a Linux distribution based on Debian stable and using core antiX components, with additional software created or packaged by the MX community. The development of MX Linux is a collaborative effort between the antiX and former MEPIS communities. The MX name comes from the "M" in MEPIS and the "X" in antiX — an acknowledgment of their roots. The community's stated goal is to produce "a family of operating systems that are designed to combine elegant and efficient desktops with high stability and solid performance".

postmarketOS Free and open-source operating system for smartphones, based on Alpine Linux

postmarketOS is an operating system primarily for smartphones, based on the Alpine Linux distribution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LinuxConsole</span> Linux distribution

LinuxConsole is a Linux distribution independently developed by Yann Le Doaré. LinuxConsole should be written as a single word, and the use of the word "console" in the name does not relate to Linux's system console mode but instead represents its aim of providing a system more simple to use similar to that of a gaming console. This distro is built from scratch by developers from France, and has support for multiple languages. It is not based on any other Linux distribution and primarily features being lightweight and easily accessible. LinuxConsole can function as a live CD or live USB. It can also be installed as a complete operating system.

References

  1. ↑ "Re: Debian live entirely in RAM?".
  2. ↑ Ubuntu Wiki (13 November 2014). "Booting Ubuntu To RAM" . Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  3. ↑ "Alpine Linux 2 review - LinuxBSDos.com". linuxbsdos.com. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  4. ↑ "Alpine Linux:Overview – Alpine Linux". alpinelinux.org. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  5. ↑ "The Most Extensive Live-usb on the Planet!". antixlinux.com. antixlinux. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  6. ↑ "AUSTRUMI". latgola.lv. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  7. ↑ "Boot on Bare Metal with PXE". coreos.com. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  8. ↑ "Live install images". Debian. 4 August 2024. Archived from the original on 7 June 2017. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
  9. ↑ "2.5. Memory and Disk Space Requirements". www.debian.org. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  10. ↑ "3.4. Meeting Minimum Hardware Requirements". www.debian.org. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  11. ↑ [www.grml.org/team/], the Grml team. "grml.org – Debian Live system / CD for sysadmins and texttool-users". grml.org. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  12. ↑ kanotix.com. "kanotix.com :: GNU Linux Live system based on Debian, optimized for HD-install and high performance". kanotix.com. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  13. ↑ "Knoppix Cheatcodes – USB Pen Drive Linux". pendrivelinux.com. 30 January 2007. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  14. ↑ "Trusted End Node Security". Distrowatch.com. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  15. ↑ "Nanolinux Download". softpedia.com. 5 April 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  16. ↑ "Nanolinux". sourceforge.net. 8 October 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  17. ↑ Parted Magic – About
  18. ↑ "PCLinuxOS Magazine – HTML". pclosmag.com. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  19. ↑ "Cheatcodes – what they are and how to use them – Porteus – Portable Linux". porteus.org. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  20. ↑ DistroWatch. "DistroWatch.com: Puppy Linux". distrowatch.com. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  21. ↑ "PuppyLinux: MinimumSystemRequirements". Puppy Linux Wiki. Archived from the original on 18 February 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  22. ↑ "Documentation – Slax Linux" . Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  23. ↑ "SliTaz". slitaz.org. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  24. ↑ "SliTaz installation". slitaz.org. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  25. ↑ s. "SliTaz Boot Floppies". slitaz.org. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  26. ↑ "Tails – Privacy for anyone anywhere". boum.org. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  27. ↑ "Tin Hat - opensource.dyc.edu". dyc.edu. Archived from the original on 17 October 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  28. ↑ s. "Tiny SliTaz – Builder". slitaz.org. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  29. 1 2 Shingledecker, Robert. "Frequently Asked Questions". Tiny Core Linux Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). Retrieved 28 September 2016. An absolute minimum of RAM is 46mb. TC won't boot with anything less. ... Microcore runs with 28mb of ram.
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