10 Custom Linux Distros That Ease IT Administrators` Workload

Ask any Linux aficionado, the platform's primary strength lies in its flexibility and versatility. During the most obvious example is how Google built the Android mobile operating system on top of the Linux kernel, there are many customized operating systems that are dedicated to specific types of hardware or platforms that have Linux at their core. Some distributions are also exactly designed to target certain types of users or to solve a very specific task. During the then-known ones, just as Canonical's Ubuntu, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, SUSE and Mandriva are great server and desktop distributions and can probably handle most conceivable system administration tasks, some people just prefer having an operating system that does one thing and does it then. There are Linux flavors dedicated to multimedia editing, network monitoring, security testing, and basic system administration functions. Many of these are based on Debian or Ubuntu, however others have been built from scratch. For this slide show, eWEEK has found some interesting specialized Linux distributions that can make the IT administrators' day a little bit easier.

Open-source voice-over-IP platform

Asterisk is an open-source voice-over-IP platform. With Asterisk, administrators can turn any computer into a communications server just as IP PBX systems, VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) gateways and conference servers. Sponsored by Digium, the software appliance is available as AsteriskNOW and there are a number of vendors that sell Asterisk-based appliances.

The Untangle Gateway Platform is a network gateway that provides multiple applications to secure the network, including anti-spam, content filtering, antivirus, anti-phishing, intrusion prevention, firewall, OpenVPN capabilities, router and Web cache software. Untangle is available as both a software platform as so then as a hardware appliance with the software already pre-installed.

Aimed at embedded systems just as routers and other networking hardware, Zeroshell provides network services just as load balancing and automatic management of encryption keys. The distribution can be installed on a server, run live from a CD or launched from a compact Flash image on a USB storage drive. The Web-based interface as well allows administrators to handle failover of multiple Internet connections, set up a RADIUS server for secure authentication, create a wireless access point, define static or dynamic routing and run a HTTP proxy server.

Another networking distribution, Vyatta transforms standard x86 hardware into an enterprise-class router or firewall. The software is bundled with commonly used network interfaces and industry-standard routing protocols. The Debian-based distribution is available as both a free version as then as a paid one that includes maintenance, upgrades and support.

The damage to a network afterwards a security breach

This Debian-based distribution delivers digital forensics tools that help IT administrators assess the damage to a network afterwards a security breach. CAINE offers a complete forensic environment for the investigator by capturing images of a compromised system for analysis. The operating system includes TheSleuthKit, Autopsy Forensic Browser, steganography tools, and utilities for wiping hard drives. It is available as a Live DVD distribution.