[lug] Linux on older hardware

[J. Wayde Allen]

On Tue, 7 Aug 2001, John Hernandez wrote:

> Interesting.  How good are the prospects of running a
> Linux/XFree86/StarOffice/Konqueror setup on, say, a P-133 32MB RAM?  
> Will it be starved for resources and hopelessly slow?  Or will it be
> even more responsive and usable than Windows/Office/IE 95 on a similar
> system?

My past experiences have been that Linux should perform a bit better, or
at least on par with say MSWindows 95 running on the same system.

> I think that Linux once had a reputation as being a good choice for
> older/outdated systems.  Does that still hold true with the modern
> suite of software that accompanies most distros?  Or has it made a
> shift to higher-end systems?

This is a pretty mixed question.  Running Linux on older systems is
certainly quite possible.  For one thing, the Linux software that used to
run on those older machines is, theoretically at least, still
available.  The difficulty is that the older releases of code are no
longer actively being maintained, and regressing to older code could
re-introduce bugs that have subsequently been ironed out.

As far as how well the older hardware works with the contemporary
distributions is perhaps a bit iffy.  These distributions are not
typically tested on older hardware.  Again, theoretically, they should
run, but practically, speaking it may take a bit of tweaking.  So, if you
are asking whether or not it can be done, the answer is most certainly.  
If you want to know what kinds of problems you might run into, I'm not
sure anyone really knows.  You'll probably end up creating a version of
your favorite distribution trimmed down for use on the older machine.

In any case, you will need to temper you expectations.  Comparing an old
antiquish box with a brand new screaming demon isn't exactly fair.

- Wayde
  (wallen at lug.boulder.co.us)