Introduction

Today more and more people have started using Linux because it is most secured, reliable and flexible operating system. It is most easy to use and install. It has been developed for networking at the same time it is highly customizable too. It is also the choice of operating system for all of us, as it absolutely free. We can even download the complete Linux O.S. from the internet for free.

The Linux was developed by Linus Torvalds in 1991 and has grown from contributions of software developers all over the world.

Earlier the software packages were floating here & there on Internet and these were less acceptable to general mass of computer users. Also they needed it to be simple to install and simple to use. Similarly, the business people wanted fully tested and supported kind of operating system for their applications.These have been compiled into distributions now.

Distributions: These are the collections of Linux packages and Linux software in usable form by different companies and organizations. The aim of Linux distribution is to collect hundreds of non related software packages together and make a working OS. For past many years the Red Hat Linux has been the most popular distribution.

Note: 1.Linux is case sensitive O.S.
2.Linux supports the Third Extended and Second Extended types of
File Systems (ext3/ext2), like windows supports FAT16 / FAT32 and
NTFS types of File Systems.
(FAT - File Allocation Table and NTFS - New Technology File Systems).
3.Any time if you wish to remove the Linux boot loader, you can
simply boot the system into DOS (using any of the windows bootable CD)
and run fdisk /mbr command.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux & Fedora: Definition & comparison by Red Hat

1. Red Hat Enterprise Linux:

Red Hat Enterprise Linux is Red Hat's enterprise-level, commercially-supported operating system (OS) distribution.

2. Fedora:

The Fedora Project is a Red Hat-sponsored open source development community. Fedora does not refer to any specific software, rather it refers to an umbrella organization which fosters community development through hosting infrastructure. There are many projects within the Fedora Project, which include:

a) Fedora Core

Fedora Core is a community-developed Linux distribution, which is a collection of software packages which can be distributed into an installable CD/DVD image.

b) Fedora Extras

Fedora Extras is also a community-developed collection of additional software packages that can be installed on top of Fedora Core.

There are a many other Fedora projects too, such as documentation, testing, infrastructure, internationalization, Directory Services (DS), and cluster file system (CFS).

Fedora Project will produce release in a four to six months release cycle, so that the latest innovations of open source technology can be brought to the community. Red Hat does not provide support for Fedora Project.