>
> Guys,
>
> If someone gives you a Linux machine that is up and running, how do you
> tell which distribution (e.g., Red Hat, Slackware) has been installed on a
> machine?
>
> uname will give me the kernel version, but other than knowing that
> Slackware and Red Hat set up using particular directories, is there a
> command that will tell me this?
>
> Thanks,
> Mark
>
> --
> Mark Riehl
> The MITRE Corporation
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
One way, probably not the best, is to check for config tools that comes
with differant dis.
If 'setup' at the command prompt returns a blue menu config, it would be
slackware.
If 'yast' at the command prompt returns a green config menu, it would be
yast.
If 'lisa' at the command prompt returns a blue config menu, it would be
open linux lite.
If 'deslect' at the command prompt returns a black and white config menu
it would be debain.
As far as redhat, I would load up X and look for redhat config utilies.
You can run yast on slackware, so it's not a full proof plan, but it can
give some hints about the system.
Also try viewing your local web server, if installed, suse put a suse page
there, so that is one sign, I think another distrub does that also.
You could also try looking around in your directories, I know there is a
directory under /usr somewhere called suse, that could be one tip. I
don't think slackware has a direcoty anywhere called slackware.
maybe something like find / -name *XXXX* where XXXX is one the dist you
think it could be.
if the above don't work try 'telnet localhost' in suse it says something
like "Welcome to suse 5.3", but in slackware it just says "Linux
2.whatever"
Try sorting though some scripts in /etc/rc.d or some config files, some
dist put a default in there, and the author of it puts his name and the
company/org that he is working for.
I know these are kinda backwards to find out, but I don't know any command
that would return which flavor it is. Some of em are %100, since one
could install rpm on a non rpm system.
Hope that helps
