Alpine Linux - Revision history

Goldbolt: /* Virtualization Box */

2021-09-20T17:13:10Z

‎Virtualization Box

Goldbolt: /* External links */

2021-09-20T16:23:24Z

‎External links

Goldbolt: /* References */

2021-09-20T16:23:17Z

‎References

Goldbolt: /* Features */

2021-09-20T16:23:09Z

‎Features

Goldbolt: Created page with "Alpine Linux is a Linux distribution based on musl and BusyBox, designed for security, simplicity, and resource efficiency. It uses OpenRC for its init system and compiles all..."

2021-09-20T16:22:55Z

Created page with "Alpine Linux is a Linux distribution based on musl and BusyBox, designed for security, simplicity, and resource efficiency. It uses OpenRC for its init system and compiles all..."

New page

Alpine Linux is a Linux distribution based on musl and BusyBox, designed for security, simplicity, and resource efficiency. It uses OpenRC for its init system and compiles all user-space binaries as position-independent executables with stack-smashing protection.

Because of its small size, it is commonly used in containers providing quick boot-up times.

==History==
Originally, Alpine Linux began as a fork of the LEAF Project. The members of LEAF wanted to continue making a Linux distribution that could fit on a single floppy disk, whereas the Alpine Linux wished to include some more heavyweight packages: Squid and Samba. They also added security features and a newer kernel.

==Features==
{{prose|section|date=April 2020}}

Alpine uses its own [[package management|package-management]] system, apk-tools,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wiki.alpinelinux.org/wiki/Alpine_Linux_package_management|title=Alpine Linux package management - Alpine Linux|website=wiki.alpinelinux.org}}</ref> which originally was a collection of shell scripts<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sourceforge.net/projects/apk-tools/|title=apk-tools|website=SourceForge}}</ref> but was later rewritten in C.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://git.alpinelinux.org/apk-tools/|title=apk-tools - Alpine package manager|website=git.alpinelinux.org}}</ref> Alpine currently contains most commonly used packages such as [[GNOME]], [[Xfce]], [[Firefox]], and others.

Alpine Linux can be installed as a [[RAM drive|run-from-RAM]] operating system. The LBU (Alpine Local Backup)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wiki.alpinelinux.org/wiki/Alpine_local_backup|title=Alpine local backup - Alpine Linux|website=wiki.alpinelinux.org}}</ref> tool optionally allows all configuration files to be backed up to an APK overlay file (usually shortened to ''apkovl''), a tar.gz file that by default stores a copy of all changed files in /etc (with the option to add more directories). This allows Alpine to work reliably in demanding embedded environments or to (temporarily) survive partial disk failures as sometimes experienced in public cloud environments.

A hardened kernel was included in the default distribution for up to and including Alpine 3.7, which aids in reducing the impact of exploits and vulnerabilities. All packages are also compiled with stack-smashing protection to help mitigate the effects of userland [[buffer overflow]]s.

By default, it includes patches that allow using efficient meshed VPNs using the [[DMVPN]] standard.

It has reliably had excellent support of Xen hypervisors in up-to-date versions, which avoids issues as experienced with Enterprise Distributions. (The standard Linux hypervisor KVM, is also available.)

It allows very small [[Linux containers]], around 8 MB in size, while a minimal installation to disk might be around 130 MB.<ref name="about"/>

Alpine Configuration Framework (ACF): While optional, ACF is an application for configuring an Alpine Linux machine, with goals similar to [[Debian|Debian's]] [[Debconf (software package)|debconf]]. It is a standard framework based on simple Lua scripts.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wiki.alpinelinux.org/wiki/Alpine_Configuration_Framework_Design|title=Alpine Configuration Framework Design - Alpine Linux|website=wiki.alpinelinux.org}}</ref>

It previously used [[uClibc]] as its [[C standard library]] instead of the traditional [[GNU C Library]] (glibc) most commonly used. Although it is more lightweight, it does have the significant drawback of being [[Binary code compatibility|binary incompatible]] with glibc. Thus, all software must be compiled for use with uClibc to work properly. As of 9 April 2014,<ref>{{cite web|title=Release notes|url=https://alpinelinux.org/posts/Alpine-3.0.0-released.html|website=alpinelinux.org|access-date=6 May 2018}}</ref> Alpine Linux switched to [[musl]], which is partially binary compatible with glibc.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.musl-libc.org/faq.html|title=musl FAQ|website=www.musl-libc.org}}</ref>

The lightweight [[OpenRC]] is the [[init system]] currently used by Alpine Linux.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wiki.alpinelinux.org/wiki/Alpine_Linux_Init_System|title=Alpine Linux Init System - Alpine Linux|website=wiki.alpinelinux.org}}</ref> Unlike many distributions, Alpine does not use [[systemd]].

==References==
{{Reflist|30em|refs=
<ref name="infoworld">{{Cite web|url=https://www.infoworld.com/article/3206644/review-alpine-linux-is-made-for-docker.html|title=Review: Alpine Linux is made for Docker|first=Steven|last=Nuñez|date=10 July 2017|website=InfoWorld}}</ref>
<ref name="linuxbsdos">{{Cite web|url=https://linuxbsdos.com/2010/08/23/alpine-linux-2-review/|title=Alpine Linux 2 review | LinuxBSDos.com|first=GigaTux|last=says|date=24 August 2010}}</ref>
<ref name="softpedia">[https://news.softpedia.com/news/security-oriented-alpine-linux-3-7-has-uefi-support-grub-support-in-installer-518820.shtml Security-Oriented Alpine Linux 3.7 Has UEFI Support, GRUB Support in Installer], ''Softpedia News''</ref>
<ref name="fossbytes">[https://fossbytes.com/secure-linux-distros-privacy-anonymity/ 10 Most Secure Linux Distros For Complete Privacy & Anonymity | 2017 Edition], ''FossBytes''</ref>
<ref name="networkworld">{{Cite web|url=https://www.networkworld.com/article/3031762/is-docker-ditching-ubuntu-linux-confusion-reigns.html|title=Is Docker ditching Ubuntu Linux? Confusion reigns|first=Katherine|last=Noyes|date=9 February 2016|website=Network World}}</ref>
}}

==Virtualization Box==
Come back later...
==External links==
* {{Official website|https://alpinelinux.org}}

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:13, 20 September 2021
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	==Virtualization Box==		==Virtualization Box==
−	~~Come back later.~~..	+	This is to set up Alpine as a virtualization box. First, install the necessary packages for KVM:
		+
		+	apk add qemu-system-x86_64 qemu-gtk netcat-openbsd libvirt-daemon dbus polkit qemu-img
		+
		+	Next, enable libvirtd to start at boot:
		+
		+	rc-update add libvirtd
		+
		+	That's it. Now you'll see, using below, the services enabled:
		+
		+	rc-update -v show \| grep "default"

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:23, 20 September 2021
Line 27:		Line 27:
	==Virtualization Box==		==Virtualization Box==
	Come back later...		Come back later...
−	~~==External links==~~
−	* {{Official website\|https://alpinelinux.org}}

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:23, 20 September 2021
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	The lightweight [[OpenRC]] is the [[init system]] currently used by Alpine Linux.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://wiki.alpinelinux.org/wiki/Alpine_Linux_Init_System\|title=Alpine Linux Init System - Alpine Linux\|website=wiki.alpinelinux.org}}</ref> Unlike many distributions, Alpine does not use [[systemd]].		The lightweight [[OpenRC]] is the [[init system]] currently used by Alpine Linux.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://wiki.alpinelinux.org/wiki/Alpine_Linux_Init_System\|title=Alpine Linux Init System - Alpine Linux\|website=wiki.alpinelinux.org}}</ref> Unlike many distributions, Alpine does not use [[systemd]].
−
−	~~==References==~~
−	~~{{Reflist\|30em\|refs=~~
−	<ref name="infoworld">{{Cite web\|url=https://www.infoworld.com/article/3206644/review-alpine-linux-is-made-for-docker.html\|title=Review: Alpine Linux is made for Docker\|first=Steven\|last=Nuñez\|date=10 July 2017\|website=InfoWorld}}</ref>
−	~~<ref name="linuxbsdos">{{Cite web\|url=https://linuxbsdos.com/2010/08/23/alpine-linux-2-review/\|title=Alpine Linux 2 review \| LinuxBSDos.com\|first=GigaTux\|last=says\|date=24 August 2010}}</ref>~~
−	<ref name="softpedia">[https://news.softpedia.com/news/security-oriented-alpine-linux-3-7-has-uefi-support-grub-support-in-installer-518820.shtml Security-Oriented Alpine Linux 3.7 Has UEFI Support, GRUB Support in Installer], ''Softpedia News''</ref>
−	~~<ref name="fossbytes">[https://fossbytes.com/secure-linux-distros-privacy-anonymity/ 10 Most Secure Linux Distros For Complete Privacy & Anonymity \| 2017 Edition], ''FossBytes''</ref>~~
−	<ref name="networkworld">{{Cite web\|url=https://www.networkworld.com/article/3031762/is-docker-ditching-ubuntu-linux-confusion-reigns.html\|title=Is Docker ditching Ubuntu Linux? Confusion reigns\|first=Katherine\|last=Noyes\|date=9 February 2016\|website=Network World}}</ref>
−	}}

	==Virtualization Box==		==Virtualization Box==

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:23, 20 September 2021
Line 7:		Line 7:

	==Features==		==Features==
−	~~{{prose\|section\|date=April 2020}}~~
−
	Alpine uses its own [[package management\|package-management]] system, apk-tools,<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://wiki.alpinelinux.org/wiki/Alpine_Linux_package_management\|title=Alpine Linux package management - Alpine Linux\|website=wiki.alpinelinux.org}}</ref> which originally was a collection of shell scripts<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://sourceforge.net/projects/apk-tools/\|title=apk-tools\|website=SourceForge}}</ref> but was later rewritten in C.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://git.alpinelinux.org/apk-tools/\|title=apk-tools - Alpine package manager\|website=git.alpinelinux.org}}</ref> Alpine currently contains most commonly used packages such as [[GNOME]], [[Xfce]], [[Firefox]], and others.		Alpine uses its own [[package management\|package-management]] system, apk-tools,<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://wiki.alpinelinux.org/wiki/Alpine_Linux_package_management\|title=Alpine Linux package management - Alpine Linux\|website=wiki.alpinelinux.org}}</ref> which originally was a collection of shell scripts<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://sourceforge.net/projects/apk-tools/\|title=apk-tools\|website=SourceForge}}</ref> but was later rewritten in C.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://git.alpinelinux.org/apk-tools/\|title=apk-tools - Alpine package manager\|website=git.alpinelinux.org}}</ref> Alpine currently contains most commonly used packages such as [[GNOME]], [[Xfce]], [[Firefox]], and others.