About three weeks ago, I ran across an interesting offering by SUSE. They’ve created a website that allows you to create your own custom Linux (SUSE, of course) build, with exactly the packages you want installed.
You can start out with a JeOS build and expand from there, or you can start out with a standard Gnome or KDE (3 or 4) build and add the packages you want for desktop use.
I should also note that there are 3 versions currently available:
- openSUSE 11.1
- SUSE Linux Enterprise 10
- SUSE Linux Enterprise 11
You can also create builds for either 32 or 64 bit architectures.
For the purposes of this review, I’m going to do a plain JeOS build of 32 bit openSUSE 11.1. One of the first things you’ll notice in the left pane is a summary of your current build, showing you the used space, download size and a summary of packages selected and set to be installed.
On the software tab, you’re greeted with options to install any package in the SUSE repositories. You can add your own repositories as well, so if you want to really go all out and build a highly customized build, you have the tools. If you don’t need an entire repository, you have the option to upload a single RPM to the build. I’ll be uploading the latest webmin (1.480) RPM since it’s not in the included repositories.
Moving over to the configuration tab, you’re presented with several customization options. You know, the ones you do every time you build an OS – set the time zone, set a password, etc. You’re also allowed to set custom logos and background wallpapers in the “Personalize” section. If you don’t like any of the presets, you can upload your own. The last big thing I want to point out in the configuration area is that on the startup section, you can choose a graphical or command line startup. If you don’t install a GUI (Gnome, KDE) in your package base, you may want to leave this at console. The big thing, however, is that you can use your own EULA. If you’re building a custom Linux build for a machines to be deployed throughout a company, you can use this to present your IT policies to users, or any other information you want them to see upon first boot.
Moving quickly through the rest of the configuration, you can set default settings for services you’ve selected (There are none in this JeOS build), select a user to automatically login, set storage and memory defaults for virtual images and disk images, and write your own custom post-install script.
Another handy tool is the ability to add overlay files to your image. You can upload a single file, or an archive (.tar, .tar.gz, .tar.bz2, .tgz, or .zip) and specify the directory where you’d like them stored once the OS is built. You can use this for example files, or a set of default files a user should have when they first boot up their PC.
Lastly, the ‘Build’ tab will allow us to build our custom OS. I chose to create a Live CD/DVD ISO image so that I can use it anywhere. When I selected this option, I was presented with a tip in the left pane suggesting I select the yast2-live-installer so that I could actually install the OS on a hard drive. Lastly, you can pick a version number so that you can easily keep up with different build levels.
Clicking the ‘Build’ button presented me with a message stating my build would begin in the next few minutes. 20 minutes later, I was able to testdrive the ISO online (Which worked surprisingly well), and download it to my machine.
Check out the screenshots of the build process:
Jonathan is a self-proclaimed geek who likes pretty much anything tech-related. He is especially into Linux, but is interested in Apple and Microsoft tech as well. Jonathan is also into a little bit of gaming - he owns a PS3 and a Wii, but with his limited budget only owns a handful of games for both consoles.
For money, Jonathan works at a large engineering firm. He works in a datacenter as part of a group of 3 managing about 200 servers (and growing!), most Microsoft, some Linux and about half are virtualized using VMware.