Published on: May 31, 2009 by George K.
Scenario:
I often compare different Linux distributions of Linux with different flavors of icecream. Usually, the comparison does click, for those who are confused with the versions and demands RedHat Linux on their desktop. Whenever I go to a home to install Linux, they often want Redhat Linux. And it would my job to make them understand that we know their tastes better when it comes to Linux and end up in installing Ubuntu.
However, in sysadmin profession, we log into 100s of boxes every day. How do we know which version of Linux is installed and other details ? Also there are situations where this information could be of great importance. Say, for example, a new threat has been released which only affects specific releases. If the flaw only affects specific distributions, distribution releases, kernels, or packages you need to be able to quickly gather information about the distro you’re running
For debian based boxes, you check /etc/*version and redhat based boxes we do /etc/*release. But what about others and tons of flavors out there ?
Solution resides with Linux Standard Base, best explained at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_Standard_Base which is a joint project by several Linux distributions under the organizational structure of the Linux Foundation
To know the release number you currently use command lsb_release and find them all.
lsb_release –all
Linux tip for the day 🙂
Category : Linux, Snippets
George started his career in web hosting and Linux technical support in the year 2004 and is with SupportSages since 2009. He has keen interest in server optimizations, custom security solutions, hacked server recovery, cyber forensic and high availability fail over system design and implementation. George loves long drives and is passionate about art and literature.
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