DERIVATIVES OF GENTOO

If you’ve tried to install Gentoo and you are still waiting for the compile, you should know that you have alternatives. Depending on your requirements, there are many options for how to access the full power of Gentoo while reducing some of the initial hassle. One solution is Redcore Linux. This distro uses the Gentoo packaging system, but also supplies binary packages so you can avoid compiling the system.

While this is great, you can also find other versions that are specialised distributions. A famous one is Porteus Kiosk. The developers designed it to be a Kiosk that can be used in public spaces. You may have used it to check in at the airport. They also made it extremely lightweight and added an installer that detects your hardware.

Another specialised distro is Pentoo Linux. You shouldn’t install this on a hard drive. Instead, keep it handy on a memory stick to carry out – you guessed it – penetration testing! Despite running it from a memory stick, you can save your configuration options between runs. It uses the lightweight Xfce desktop and is packed with network testing tools.

Many of the alternatives also run directly in the cloud, Cloudready, Sabayon and Calculate all run as cloud instances directly from their respective providers. In fact, most users run the Calculate distro in the cloud using LXC. You have a desktop version and it runs as a rolling release distribution. With these alternatives, you have even more reasons to try Gentoo.