- **Epistemic status:** #evergreen
According to [The Linux Foundation](https://www.linuxfoundation.org/), the following are the most popular [[Linux]] distribution families.
![[linux-kernel-families.png]]
## Red Hat Family Systems
![[redhat.jpg]]
### Popular Distributions
- [RHEL](https://www.redhat.com/en/technologies/linux-platforms/enterprise-linux)
- [CentOS](https://www.centos.org/)
- [Fedora](https://getfedora.org/)
- [Oracle Linux](https://www.oracle.com/linux/)
### Package Manager
yum and dnf RPM-based yum package manager
### Key Facts
- RHEL is prevalent on enterprises that host their own systems
- Fedora serves as an upstream testing platform for RHEL
- CentOS is a close clone of RHEL
- Oracle Linux is mostly a copy of RHEL with some changes
## SUSE Family Systems
![[suse.jpg]]
### Popular Distributions
- [SUSE](https://www.suse.com/)
- [SLES](https://www.suse.com/products/server/)
- [OpenSUSE](https://www.opensuse.org/)
### Package Manager
RPM-based zypper package manager
### Key Facts
- SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) is upstream for openSUSE
- It includes YaST (Yet Another Setup Tool) application for system administration purposes
- SLES is prevalent on retail and many other sectors
## Debian Family Systems
![[debian.png]]
### Popular Distributions
- [Debian](https://www.debian.org/)
- [Ubuntu](https://ubuntu.com/)
- [Linux Mint](https://linuxmint.com/)
### Package Manager
DPKG-based APT package manager
### Key Facts
- Debian is upstream for Ubuntu
- Ubuntu is upstream for Linux Mint
- Ubuntu is prevalent on cloud environments
- While Ubuntu is based on Debian and is [[Gnome]]-based under the hood, it differs visually from the interface on standard Debian, as well as other distributions
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## References
- “Course | Introduction to Linux | EdX.” Accessed January 20, 2022. <https://learning.edx.org/course/course-v1:LinuxFoundationX+LFS101x+2T2021/home>.
- “List of Linux Distributions.” In _Wikipedia_, January 19, 2022. <https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_Linux_distributions&oldid=1066593439>.
- “LWN Distributions List.” Accessed January 20, 2022. <https://lwn.net/Distributions/>.