Too many too similar distros

Ask Fedora
, , ,
21

The difference between atomic and non-atomic is straightforward

However, the difference between server vs cloud and CoreOS vs IoT still isn’t clear for me

  • Versions-environment fit
    • What makes “cloud” more optimised for cloud compared to server ?
    • What makes “server” more optimised for non-cloud compared to cloud ?
    • What makes “IoT” more optimised for IoT compared to CoreOS ?
    • What makes “CoreOS” more optimised for non-IoT compared to IoT ?
  • Traditional / Atomic Equivalence
    • Is CoreOS the “atomic server” equivalent ?
    • What is the “atomic cloud” equivalent ?
    • What is the “traditional (non-atomic) IoT” equivalent ?

Also, I think the variants should be separated by environments (desktop, server, cloud, iot) and model (traditional / atomic)

With that frame, there are some combination of environments and model for which the choice is not clear enough imo :

  • Desktop
    • Traditional : Fedora Workstation
    • Atomic : Fedora Atomic Desktops (Silverblue, Kinoite, …)
  • Server
    • Traditional : Fedora Server
    • Atomic : Fedora CoreOS ?
  • Cloud
    • Traditional : Fedora Cloud
    • Atomic : Fedora CoreOS / Fedora IoT ?
  • IoT
    • Traditional : ?
    • Atomic : Fedora IoT
1 Like
22

I only know that

  • cloud is optimized to be really small, low storage low RAM. As cloud pricing is pretty insane
  • cloud has specific images for strange proprietary formats that the big tech giants use, for whatever reason people use their services
  • IoT has Anaconda, coreOS is just Kickstart using Ignition.
  • I have the feeling coreOS being a different variant is simply because it formerly was a separate project and RedHat bought it. But I think having the same variant just with different setups would be better?
23

Hardware support. Server hardware has a wide range of devices that need supporting. Where cloud’s devices are all virtual I think.

2 Likes
24

Fedora CoreOS is provisioned with Ignition. Ignition is a provisioning utility that reads a configuration file (in JSON format) and provisions a Fedora CoreOS system based on that configuration. Kickstart configuration files are not supported.

There are three options available to install Fedora IoT on your device:

  • Anaconda installer ISO - The traditional Fedora installer, offers an interactive graphical installation tool to configure most aspects of the system including filesystem, users and passwords.
  • Disk image - A pre-built disk image suitable for single board computers (SBC’s) like the Raspberry Pi 4.
  • Simplified Provisioning ISO - A tool offering zero touch installation leveraging FIDO Device Onboarding or Ignition for configuration.
25

Thanks for those clarifications.

Could that matrix also be clarified ?

26

Personally, for me, without the pretensions of officiality, it would look like this:

  • Desktop
    • Package based: Fedora Workstation, Fedora Spins, Fedora Labs, etc.
    • Image based: Fedora Atomic Desktops
  • Server (bare metal)
    • Package based: Fedora Server
    • Image based: Fedora CoreOS, Fedora IoT
  • Cloud (virtual machines)
    • Package based: Fedora Cloud, Fedora Server
    • Image based: Fedora CoreOS
  • SBC’s (Raspberry Pi 4) - Desktop use case
    • Package based: Fedora Workstation, Fedora KDE Plasma Desktop
    • Image based: Fedora Silverblue, Fedora Kinoite
  • SBC’s (Raspberry Pi 4) - Server use case
    • Package based: Fedora Server
    • Image based: Fedora IoT, Fedora CoreOS
2 Likes