Devuan GNU+Linux operating system is a result of a denial to accept the decision of choosing Systemd as the default init system in Debian GNU/Linux.
So, if you’re looking for a Debian GNU/Linux but without Systemd Init system, you must check out the latest release of GNU+Linux Devuan Beowulf 3.0.0. The new release is based on theDebian Buster 10.4featuring Linux kernel 4.19.
Devuan Beowulf 3.0.0: Debian Without Systemd
Devuan debuted in 2017 with the stable release ofDevuan 1.0.0 Jessie, and laterDevuan 2.0.0 ASCIIin 2018. Now after two years, a new stable point version, Beowulf 3.0.0, has come with several new changes and updates.
Starting with architecture support, Devuan 3 adds IBM Power system, codename ppc64el, to its existing i386, AMD64, ARMel, ARMhf, and ARM64 architectures.
Devuan 3 also gets a new boot menu, display manager, and desktop themes. During the installation process, it already provides a choice of five desktop environments — Xfce, Cinnamon, KDE, LXQt, and MATE. However, you can also install other desktop environments and window managers from the repositories.
Following the addition ofudevdaemon to Systemd for device management, Beowulf has introduced its alternative packageeudev. Devuan 3 will automatically manage the transition fromudevtoeudevthrough transitional packages.
With Devuan 3 Beowulf, you’re able to now run the X server without root privileges while sticking to some additional requirements. For instance, if you want to launch the X server directly from TTY terminal, you can installelogindandlibpam-elogindsystem services and then use eitherstartxorxinitprogram.
For virtual machines, Kernel must have a driver to support the GPU, or the system needs to support Kernel Mode Settings (KMS). Besides, you still can run X with setuid root by installingxserver-xorg-legacyand uncommenting the line in file ‘/etc/X11/Xwrapper.config’:
Lastly, Beowulf also offers other init system alternatives such as OpenRC and runit along with the default sysvinit.
For more detailed information, you can read the release note of Devuan 3 Beowolf fromhere.
How To Download And Install Devuan Beowolf 3.0.0?
If you’re already using the existing system of Devuan, you can update your package list and then upgrade the system to the latest Devuan v3.0. But if you’re using the upstream Debian, you can also migrate from Debian Buster, Stretch, or Jessie, to Devuan Beowolf.
So, if you want to either upgrade or migrate, you can follow the official step-by-step instructions fromhere.
For a fresh installation, you can download the ISO images of Beowulf fromhere. There are several versions of ISO images available such as Netinstall (~300MB), Server CDs (~670MB), Desktop DVD (~4GB), Desktop Live (~1.2GB), Minimal Live (~460MB), Mini ISO (~50MB), and Netboot PXE.
At last, burn the ISO on a USB or DVD drive and boot Devuan to install it. If you find any difficulty, you’re able to also head over to the official full installation guide with screenshotshere.
