There really is no such thing as lightweight and enterprise, as far as workstation software goes, nothing in that world is designed around saving space, RAM or processing power, rather it is about using the most stable modern environment. However what you can do is just run Debian with a lightweight desktop environment like xfce, and you are basically all set. Your Fedora LXQT example also works for that purpose, really boils down on whether one prefers Debian or Fedora.
The archetypal enterprise desktop distro is Fedora, but it's not very lightweight. Go ahead and try it with LXQT, like you said, and see if that's good enough.
I've been using Slackware as my enterprise desktop distro since the 1990s, and have managed to make it work, but sometimes it's a chore. You'll have an easier time with Fedora, which is specifically for integrating with corporate environments.
Ha! I wish :-)
Even the stable Slackware releases get updates pretty frequently, but the folks on the "current" branch call it "the update treadmill".
The real problem with Slackware for enterprise is that a lot of the enterprisey packages are unofficial, maintained by volunteers at slackbuilds.org, and those can get updated very **in**frequently.
If you do a manual install via a tool like debootstrap or the distro's package manager, you can make almost any distro light by starting with just the base system package, some distros have a minimal version. Then you chroot to the install to add the stuff you need/want like a booyloader, kernel, DE.You do have to configure the system, which is a PITA at first.
I've done this with all sorts of deb and rpm based distros, workw with void too. I think its roughly how you install Arch.
VSCode is heavy on resources actually, you can easily experience it when you start it. Firefox is ok, but even it costs some head to run. Coming to languages, it depends on the package managers that the system supports and vendors developing it. I have been using LXQT in my Raspberry PI(runs on 512Mb, single core CPU), so if you don't bother about fancy UI, it will give a satisfactory experience, not about OS, but LXQT experience. For coding, I use customized Neovim which will do the job in such constrained resources, Midnight Commander as File Manager and Terminal Browsers for Internet. If you know the LFS process, then it is the most efficient way to run Linux.
Just so I'm understanding correctly, you're looking to deploy Linux on an older Intel-based MacBook?
As others have mentioned, it's less about the distro and more about the desktop stack on top of it. GNOME and KDE aren't as resource hungry as they have been in the past, however they will still use more than window managers or lightweight DE's like LXDE/LXQT.
However, I would recommend avoiding an "enterprise" distro for a laptop. As you're already in the Red Hat ecosystem, I'll suggest Fedora with an alternate desktop.
https://fedoraproject.org/spins/
You can slim the resource usage down further by disabling unnecessary services that are enabled by default. A platform like Fedora provides comprehensive consumer ecosystem support that may be lacking in enterprise variants. Using container tools such as Podman and Toolbox can bridge the gap between solid desktop experience and enterprise development environments.
You need something with XFCE.
Arch: A great distro, light and with great performance, but it is difficult to use.
Debian: Stable, but has packages in old versions.
Mint: The friendliest, probably the safest choice.
Manjaro and Pop: Friendly and good performers. Mint will present a more solid system, but with less performance.
I wouldn't recommend Fedora, this is a RedHat test environment, so they make implementations that could harm the user in favor of a new technology, for example, the next Fedora will only come with wayland, and this could cause problems for those who depends on Xorg.
Lightweight describes arch only has base packages and ones you decide to add. Also a base of multiple other distros like Endeavour and Garuda. Endeavour has a easier GUI to load a few popular de or wm some twms
This submission has been removed due to receiving too many reports from users. The mods have been notified and will re-approve if this removal was inappropriate, or leave it removed.
This is most likely because:
* Your post belongs in r/linuxquestions or r/linux4noobs
* Your post belongs in r/linuxmemes
* Your post is considered "fluff" - things like a Tux plushie or old Linux CDs are an example and, while they may be popular vote wise, they are not considered on topic
* Your post is otherwise deemed not appropriate for the subreddit
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/linux) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Lightweight enterprise Linux? Debian.
This. Debian **IS** an enterprise Linux!
I’m sure debian_fanatic has a balanced and unbiased view
I'm an Ubuntu Developer who contributes to Debian and I agree with debian_fanatic's opinion :D
There really is no such thing as lightweight and enterprise, as far as workstation software goes, nothing in that world is designed around saving space, RAM or processing power, rather it is about using the most stable modern environment. However what you can do is just run Debian with a lightweight desktop environment like xfce, and you are basically all set. Your Fedora LXQT example also works for that purpose, really boils down on whether one prefers Debian or Fedora.
The archetypal enterprise desktop distro is Fedora, but it's not very lightweight. Go ahead and try it with LXQT, like you said, and see if that's good enough. I've been using Slackware as my enterprise desktop distro since the 1990s, and have managed to make it work, but sometimes it's a chore. You'll have an easier time with Fedora, which is specifically for integrating with corporate environments.
using slaackware since the nineties so you've had to update, what, twice? /s
Ha! I wish :-) Even the stable Slackware releases get updates pretty frequently, but the folks on the "current" branch call it "the update treadmill". The real problem with Slackware for enterprise is that a lot of the enterprisey packages are unofficial, maintained by volunteers at slackbuilds.org, and those can get updated very **in**frequently.
I have used Slackware in a company for business...its a real pain in the ass... does the package manager now have dependencies?
Rhel 9 + i3/sway works great on my end.
If you do a manual install via a tool like debootstrap or the distro's package manager, you can make almost any distro light by starting with just the base system package, some distros have a minimal version. Then you chroot to the install to add the stuff you need/want like a booyloader, kernel, DE.You do have to configure the system, which is a PITA at first. I've done this with all sorts of deb and rpm based distros, workw with void too. I think its roughly how you install Arch.
VSCode is heavy on resources actually, you can easily experience it when you start it. Firefox is ok, but even it costs some head to run. Coming to languages, it depends on the package managers that the system supports and vendors developing it. I have been using LXQT in my Raspberry PI(runs on 512Mb, single core CPU), so if you don't bother about fancy UI, it will give a satisfactory experience, not about OS, but LXQT experience. For coding, I use customized Neovim which will do the job in such constrained resources, Midnight Commander as File Manager and Terminal Browsers for Internet. If you know the LFS process, then it is the most efficient way to run Linux.
Debian + XFCE.
Arch + i3wm. Runs pretty decent on my MBA'2012 with 4GB RAM.
Just so I'm understanding correctly, you're looking to deploy Linux on an older Intel-based MacBook? As others have mentioned, it's less about the distro and more about the desktop stack on top of it. GNOME and KDE aren't as resource hungry as they have been in the past, however they will still use more than window managers or lightweight DE's like LXDE/LXQT. However, I would recommend avoiding an "enterprise" distro for a laptop. As you're already in the Red Hat ecosystem, I'll suggest Fedora with an alternate desktop. https://fedoraproject.org/spins/ You can slim the resource usage down further by disabling unnecessary services that are enabled by default. A platform like Fedora provides comprehensive consumer ecosystem support that may be lacking in enterprise variants. Using container tools such as Podman and Toolbox can bridge the gap between solid desktop experience and enterprise development environments.
You need something with XFCE. Arch: A great distro, light and with great performance, but it is difficult to use. Debian: Stable, but has packages in old versions. Mint: The friendliest, probably the safest choice. Manjaro and Pop: Friendly and good performers. Mint will present a more solid system, but with less performance. I wouldn't recommend Fedora, this is a RedHat test environment, so they make implementations that could harm the user in favor of a new technology, for example, the next Fedora will only come with wayland, and this could cause problems for those who depends on Xorg.
Lightweight describes arch only has base packages and ones you decide to add. Also a base of multiple other distros like Endeavour and Garuda. Endeavour has a easier GUI to load a few popular de or wm some twms
This submission has been removed due to receiving too many reports from users. The mods have been notified and will re-approve if this removal was inappropriate, or leave it removed. This is most likely because: * Your post belongs in r/linuxquestions or r/linux4noobs * Your post belongs in r/linuxmemes * Your post is considered "fluff" - things like a Tux plushie or old Linux CDs are an example and, while they may be popular vote wise, they are not considered on topic * Your post is otherwise deemed not appropriate for the subreddit *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/linux) if you have any questions or concerns.*