Austrian Linux for the Administrator

The grml Linux Live CD is now available as Version 2008.11, codenamed Schluchtenscheisser. gmrl contains a collection of software that has proved invaluable to administrators and console users for some time now. Thanks to its numerous drivers, it is able to recognise a whole host of network and Wifi cards. The grml developers have included several of their own scripts and utils, for zsh and for network configuration, to make life easier for users of the Debian unstable distribution.

gmrl 2008.11 runs on machines with 32-bit and 64-bit CPUs and is available in two slimmed-down versions (medium and small) in addition to the full version. The Austrian developers have changed the version scheme from simple numbering to "Grml Version Year.Month" in an effort to resolve the confusion between gmrl releases.

The new version uses the vanilla Linux kernel 2.6.26.8, with the addition of a number of patches and modules. The kernel now uses the libata driver, which accesses hard disks via the device files /dev/sdX. Numerous packages have been updated to newer versions and tools such as the Powertop energy monitor and the Latencytop latency viewer have been added.

The developers have included the two scripts grml-chroot and swspeak-setup, which help with setting up a chroot environment and change the language of the Linux kernel. New functions have been added to grml-live and grml-debootstrap, which are used for creating a grml-based Live CD and installing Linux systems. With grml 2008.11, the Live CD's SSH server automatically creates a password for the standard user grml in the event that the user forgets to give one as a boot option.

More detailed information on the changes is available from the changelog on the project web site. grml ISO files are available to download via HTTP, FTP and BitTorrent.

According to the grml FAQ the codename "Schluchtenscheisser" is apparently what "People from Germany (especially from the southern part) call Austrian people". The FAQ also notes "Hey, in Austria we have the Alps!".

(djwm)