Devuan – Debian without systemd
New Planet

© Lead Image © Passakorn-Vejchayacha, 123RF.com
In 2014, the Debian project decided to replace the old init system with systemd, but a small group of developers resisted, forking Debian to start the systemd-free Devuan. We decided to take a look at Devuan 1.0.0, the first stable release.
Init has a crucial role on any Unix or Linux computer: The init service, which is often referred to as a "daemon-starting daemon," handles the process of launching, managing, and terminating other services running on the system. Linux has depended on the venerable SysVinit for most of its history, but a few years ago, many Linux developers began to grow restless with System V. The basic argument was that SysVinit, which had served the community well for many years, was inefficient and out of step with contemporary hardware and programming practice.
A pair of competing alternatives eventually emerged: Upstart, which was backed by Canonical, and systemd, which began as a Red Hat project. The two new inits competed for market share and public awareness for a few years, but gradually, Linux distros began to express a preference for systemd. In 2014, Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth announced that even Ubuntu would migrate to systemd instead of Upstart, which left systemd as the last alternative to System V.
In recent years, most major Linux distros have adopted systemd as their init system, including Red Hat, Fedora, SUSE, Arch, and Ubuntu. The discussion of whether to replace System V with systemd was particularly intense and polarizing at Debian. The Debian project, which is the largest community-driven Linux distribution, is particularly influential because it serves as a basis for several other Linux distros.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

News
-
openSUSE Tumbleweed Ditches AppArmor for SELinux
If you're an openSUSE Tumbleweed user, you can expect a major change to the distribution.
-
Plasma 6.3 Now Available
Plasma desktop v6.3 has a couple of pretty nifty tricks up its sleeve.
-
LibreOffice 25.2 Has Arrived
If you've been hoping for a release that offers more UI customizations, you're in for a treat.
-
TuxCare Has a Big AlmaLinux 9 Announcement in Store
TuxCare announced it has successfully completed a Security Technical Implementation Guide for AlmaLinux OS 9.
-
First Release Candidate for Linux Kernel 6.14 Now Available
Linus Torvalds has officially released the first release candidate for kernel 6.14 and it includes over 500,000 lines of modified code, making for a small release.
-
System76 Refreshes Meerkat Mini PC
If you're looking for a small form factor PC powered by Linux, System76 has exactly what you need in the Meerkat mini PC.
-
Gnome 48 Alpha Ready for Testing
The latest Gnome desktop alpha is now available with plenty of new features and improvements.
-
Wine 10 Includes Plenty to Excite Users
With its latest release, Wine has the usual crop of bug fixes and improvements, along with some exciting new features.
-
Linux Kernel 6.13 Offers Improvements for AMD/Apple Users
The latest Linux kernel is now available, and it includes plenty of improvements, especially for those who use AMD or Apple-based systems.
-
Gnome 48 Debuts New Audio Player
To date, the audio player found within the Gnome desktop has been meh at best, but with the upcoming release that all changes.