Calculate Linux Scratch Server

Calculate Linux Scratch Server is an open source minimal Linux distribution that contains all the necessary tools for helping users to build their own Linux server operating systems. Similar to the Calculate Linux Scratch (CLS) edition of the well known Calculate Linux operating system, this edition is geared towards experienced Linux users who are looking for an easy way to configure, build and install custom Linux operating systems from scratch.

Helps you build a Linux OS from scratch

When building a Linux OS from scratch, users will need the bare minimum of components (drivers, libraries, utilities) aimed to create a custom distribution of Linux. The source code for the Linux kernel package and for the Portage package management software are also included.

Distributed as 64-bit/32-bit Live CDs

It is distributed as Live CD ISO images, supporting the 64-bit and 32-bit architectures, as well as multiple languages, including Russian and English. The boot medium can be copied entirely into RAM (system memory) or used as is, directly from a USB flash drive or CD disc.

A perfect replica of the installation image is provided on the Live CDs, which can be used to boot the operating system that is currently installed on the first disk drive or test the system memory (RAM) for errors.

Getting started with Calculate Linux Scratch Server

The system provides users with all the utilities required to successfully configure, build and install a Linux operating system from scratch. Additionally, a customized ISO image can be created thanks to the distribution’s interactive system build.

The final product can be easily installed on any external USB hard disk drive or USB flash drive, supporting the EXT2, EXT3, EXT4, FAT32, ReiserFS, XFS, Btrfs, JFS, and NILFS2 file systems.

If you want to create custom Linux server distributions that are 100% compatible with the Gentoo Linux operating system, we strongly suggest to give Calculate Linux Scratch Server (CSS) a try today.

What is new in this release:

• We moved to the new Gentoo 17.0 profile. All binary packages were rebuilt, in the repo as well as on Live DVDs/USBs
• All currently available Meltdown and Spectre patches were included
• grub.d privileges are safe now
• Restore functionality supported for LXC containers file capabilities
• Network interfaces can be once again renamed and saved
• Password configuration fixed for editing Grub entries
• IO Scheduler option removed
• Network configuration inside containers fixed
• File attributes updated correctly by templates
• Kernel start fixed (warnings and errors OK)
• Possible to use a file as swap memory

What is new in version :

• Installation:
• SoftRaid support added.
• Fixed autopartitioning problems.
• Third-party overlays supported.
• Performance:
• The Calculate Utilities server does not run on the background. Instead, it is launched by D-Bus.
• The MuQSS patch was included to the kernel configuration for better application task scheduling.
• The UKSM patch was included in the kernel configuration for less memory load.
• PAE binary kernel supported for 32-bit systems.
• All server kernel settings optimized.
• Miscellaneous:
• GCC completely updated to v6.4 and the kernel updated to v 4.14.
• In CLDC, CLDM and CLDX Pidgin was replaced by Gajim. The "httpupload, "image" and "url image preview" come included.
• The LXC/LXD container version was renamed to Calculate Container Scratch (CCS).
• 11 493 binary packages are available.
• Software:
• Kernel 4.14.9, Calculate Utilities 3.5.8.2

What is new in version 17.6:

• Calculate Linux Desktop was updated to KDE 5.
• Testing and stable updates now coming separately and labelled as such.
• Multiple instances, built with different USE flags, are available in a special repository (binpkg-multi-instance).
• The main Git mirror migrated to Github.
• Faster XZ compression on multi-core processors.
• The XZ algorithm will be used from now on for initramfs, the kernel and its modules.
• File moving and renaming issues fixed for OverlayFS.
• Defaulting to Python 3.4.
• More efficient mirror selection for updates.
• Mirrors were rearranged.

What is new in version 17:

• Calculate Linux Desktop was updated to KDE 5.
• Testing and stable updates now coming separately and labelled as such.
• Multiple instances, built with different USE flags, are available in a special repository (binpkg-multi-instance).
• The main Git mirror migrated to Github.
• Faster XZ compression on multi-core processors.
• The XZ algorithm will be used from now on for initramfs, the kernel and its modules.
• File moving and renaming issues fixed for OverlayFS.
• Defaulting to Python 3.4.
• More efficient mirror selection for updates.
• Mirrors were rearranged.

What is new in version 15.17:

• General:
• Chromium was replaced with the QupZilla web browser on desktop CL versions.
• A Calculate Linux ISO image can be booted from a Live HDD volume. To do so, select the Live HDD formatting line that was added to the Grub menu. Current system settings will be default for graphics, locales and the timezone.
• The open source AMDGPU driver is now supported.
• Autopartition settings were modified.
• We attended to our users' feedback to bring back a reserved partition for a default system update when autopartitioning.
• Eudev updated up to v3.1.5, that provides restored former udev code. The latter renames network devices if they are named similarly to the kernel.
• The updated Calculate repository includes over 2900 binary packages, both for KDE 4 and KDE 5.
• Working with Live USB:
• Flash installation is possible without formatting the FAT partition, so that the main system could be updated directly on the bootable USB volume.
• The cl-install-flash command was added, that handles installation on USB media.
• Once your USB drive has booted, you will have writing rights on the root directory.
• Optimization:
• Bzip2 and gzip archives are opened much, much faster, especially on multi-core architectures, as lbzip2 and pigz implementations are now used by default. As a result, applications are also emerged faster.
• The preload daemon on SSD and Raid systems that use 'noop' scheduler is not activated out-of-box.
• Useless locales will be removed during installation.
• Per-package systemd settings were removed.
• Proprietory drivers are installed in less time at bootup, as there is no need to reach the network.
• Portage update was optimized. Checksum verification is now optional and launches quickly.
• We developed a better algorithm for mirror selection.
• Git repository will be checked for availability whenever Portage is updated.
• A new option, "--one-depth" was introduced for cl-update, cl-builder-update and cl-builder-image tools, to be used to spare the space that is usually taken up by the local copy of Portage.
• Locales:
• We added support for more European languages and keyword layouts.
• The Live USB mode offers a friendlier language experience: instead of selecting your language and then your keyword, you simply pick up a locale.
• A Ukrainian version is now available for package descriptions and the interface of Calculate Utilities.

What is new in version 15:

• A New Method for Packages Update:
• Better reliability:
• Each mirror stores version history, thus allowing either to update from any existing mirror or to create a local mirror.
• Updates are faster:
• The update tool selects the fastest mirror.
• Update configuration defaults to parallel fetching and installation.
• Revdep-rebuild will not be called by cl-update unless enabled explicitly.
• A higher level of testing:
• All binaries are tested on the testing mirror before being committed to the master.
• Less traffic consumption:
• Portage will not be synchronized if no updates are available.
• Common binary repos:
• Distribution profiles were unified. You are free to choose between three brand new flavours, each with USE flags adapted to different needs. Over 2500 popular packages come as binaries.
• New Calculate Utilities 3.4:
• System build tools were completely rewritten:
• Calculate Console comes with a GUI mode.
• Overlayfs support was added for fast deployment.
• A list of binary mirrors can from now on be used for update.
• Binaries are fetched under a new algorithm.
• Multiboot Flash creation is supported.
• Both stable and testing kernels are provided.
• Dutch support was added.

What is new in version 14.16.2:

• A lighter and more Gentoo-friendly Splashutils tool was finally preferred to Plymouth.
• OpenRC bootup comes parallel by default.
• Network interfaces got back their classic names. The 70-persistent-net.rules file will be generated by CU templates.
• Less (useless) packages in CLD and CLDX ; less dependencies in CMC and CLS.
• Chromium problem fixed in CLDX: feel free to open as many tabs as you need.
• USB 3G/4G modems now working correctly.
• The default updates checkup interval was fixed at 24 hours.
• CLD and CLDX flavors both delivered with SMPlayer YouTube Browser.
• In CLD, the GParted editor was replaced with KDE Partition Manager.
• Python 3.4 included everywhere.
• Card reader notification bug fixed.
• Installed OS detection fixed.
• No more problem with launching the system from some USB controllers.
• Libreoffice updated to v4.4.3 (marked as recommended for corporate users).

What is new in version 14.16:

• System optimization
• UKSM (Ultra Kernel Samepage Merging) and KSWAP (Kernel Swap Patches) enabled to reduce the disk load;
• Trim settings activated for SSD volumes;
• Kernel and kernel modules packed respectively with lz4 and gzip;
• Noop used as the default scheduler on SSD and virtual machines, BFQ everywhere else;
• Shorter animation launch at boot / logout time;
• Disk operations got lower priority for the package manager.
• Calculate Utilities optimization
• A faster launching;
• A faster start of the calculate-core daemon;
• Caching of packages to be configured with templates;
• Optimized system setup at first launch;
• Optimized settings checkup at launch time;
• Optimized system setup scripts for LiveCD bootup.
• The completely rewritten cl-kernel tool
• Kernel settings created as Calculate templates, thus allowing:
• Calculate-sources customization at package compilation time;
• Transparent migration between kernel versions.
• Dracut used for generating initramfs;
• Kernel customization possible, as well with initramfs as without.
• French, Russian and Bulgarian localizations available.
• Livecd now using OverlayFS for correct support of xattr-dependent packages.
• Udev replaced with a fork, Eudev.
• A better support for Apple iPhone and iPod in CLDX.
• Both XFCE and KDE environments updated, up to versions 4.12 and 4.14.6 respectively.
• XBMC, in CMC, updated to the Kodi version.
• The standard Gtk+ theme used in Chromium instead of Minimal White.
• The AdBlock Plus browser extension replaced with the faster and more lightweight µBlock.
• Minimized update errors, as all Calculate Utilities are now installed as a single package.
• TLSv1_2 encryption for using Calculate Utilities remotely.
• Fixed errors when joining / quitting a domain or synchronizing user profiles.
• Files created in CDS opened correctly by MS Office software.
• IPMI support added in CDS and CSS.
• Portage 2.2.16 support added everywhere.

What is new in version 14.12:

• Main changes:
• We optimized the CL updater:
• Updates are checked even faster on the background.
• Calculate Utilities, Perl and Python libraries, and the rest of your packages will not be updated separately anymore.
• If the file header only has been modified, the new configuration will be accepted automatically.
• All obsolete package archives are cleared.
• Added support for installing CL as a host system on virtio devices.
• Icons somewhat edited and services rearranged for Calculate Console.
• CLD and CLDX got back several wallpapers from previous versions.
• A tool was added for autologin and home encryption.
• Smoother touchpad configuration.
• New lines were added to the French localization.
• The timezones were updated.
• Software changes:
• In CLDX, the Liferea news aggregator was replaced by the RSS plugin for Claws-Mail.
• Still in CLDX, QpdfView now comes instead of Evince.
• Nomacs is used instead of Eog to view images with.
• CLDX includes system information and benchmark HardInfo.
• The Shotwell photo suite is not provided out of box anymore.
• CLS includes FFmpeg libraries.
• On the other hand, CLS gets a bit smaller as it provides no more wallpapers!
• Your CPU frequency will from now on be checked with cpupower instead of the traditional cpufrequtils.
• The cl-update-profile tool gets some new features added: namely, you can choose how you want your CL to be updated, and system settings are now reconfigured any time you switch between profiles.
• Bug fixes:
• Framebuffer resolution setup: fixed.
• The 'double update trayicons' bug in CLD: fixed.
• Icon theme switch in CLDX: fixed.
• No more problems with getting a user profile in domains with replication.
• Better spellchecking for Russian.
• The Plymouth theme was fixed for the several NVidia chipsets that bugged with it when running under Nouveau.

What is new in version 14:

• A user-friendly update tool that features:
• Automatic updates checkup
• Notifications shown in the system tray and in the command line
• Both GUI and CLI interfaces for the cl-update utility, providing:
• Remote update
• A somewhat comprehensive localisaton for the package manager, including the packages descriptions (only English and Russian now, French coming soon)
• The full update cycle, beginning with the repos syncing, complete with updating all dependent libraries and configuration files
• Cache for the calculated dependencies
• An advanced approach to profiles, that makes creating and storing modified profiles much easier:
• Two system overlays are used, the basic one (Calculate) and the distribution specific one (Distros)
• A new utility, cl-update-profile is introduced, that handles profile updates and supports inherited overlays, with short links pointing to popular hosting services (such as GitHub and Bitbucket)
• A profile can be inherited from several overlays at build time
• A better graphical interface for Calculate Utilities
• From now on, Dracut will be used to create initramfs, including support for regular SafeMode images as well as for optimized system configurations
• Plymouth decorations running on the login screen
• Portage settings transferred from /etc/make.conf to /etc/portage/make.conf

What is new in version 13.19:

• Software update: Kernel 3.14.9, KDE 4.13.2, LibreOffice 4.2.5, Chromium 35 are here.
• A configuration tool for Shorewall was added to CLD, CLDX, CDS and CMC.
• exFAT is now supported in CLD, CLDX and CMC.
• CLD and CLDX got native PulseAudio support.
• CLDX will from now on support GStreamer.
• In CLDX, Audacious was replaced with the Clementine audio player, while Blueman comes back handling Bluetooth configuration.
• UEFI installation now runs correctly.
• The screen locking problem was fixed in CLDX.
• You can now specify the IP address of your PXE server.
• No more errors when detecting video drivers in ISO.
• Portage will not be unpacked at the first boot time.
• You can again install on a Btrfs partition from the LiveCD.
• Inxi and Dmidecode tools, that collect information about your system, were added to all versions except CLS and CSS.
• Some applications were removed, namely gnome-ppp/kppp, DC-client, Geany.
• Better handling of binary repositories: whenever the compilation script is modified, the dependencies got rebuilt.

What is new in version 13.11.1:

• Big updates (kernel 3.12, KDE 4.12.2, LibreOffice 4.1, Chromium 33).
• In CLDX, session lock will be performed with light-locker.
• Clt templates now run correctly, as we fixed the file binding problem.
• A new DM theme is available in CLDX.
• Users' avatars are now supported at log in time.
• http://pastebin.calculate-linux.org can receive colored console output via wgetpaste.
• The tmux tool was added to all CL distributions.

What is new in version 13.11:

• Better domain performance:
• Graphical interfaces do not hang when the network in the domain is down.
• If LDAP remains unresponsive for some time, the connection will be recovered with user privileges.
• Waiting for the LDAP server when unlocking a domain user's session.
• Applications are now running faster thanks to LDAP caching.
• Better response time for LDAP if the latter is unavailable.
• Network resources are restored automatically when you quit the hibernate or the suspend mode.
• Fixes:
• We fixed the bug that prompted for the password twice to unlock the session.
• UEFI install bug fixed.
• Option '--swap-size' added, allowing to specify the size of the swap partition when autopartitioning is enabled.
• PXE install bug fixed.
• Domain autologin fixed for the LiveCD.
• There was a bug that sometimes occured when first booting the system; it is no more.
• Font settings in Firefox were fixed: all sites are now displayerd correctly.
• Network and timezone setup fixed for CLD (no more user access denied).
• Hibernate and suspend modes fixed for CLD.
• The user idle detection in Pidgin was fixed.
• Calculate Directory Server and Calculate Scratch Server now install perfectly on any machines with Intel video.
• No more deleting of Windows 7 users' profiles.
• CSS (Scratch Server):
• Kernel 3.10.19

What is new in version 13.6:

• Desktop systems now boot up several times faster, thanks to scheduling optimization for startup services and parallel bootup.
• From now on, encryption will be supported for home directories.
• In CLDX, multiple users can login to one client.
• LightDM now comes as the default display manager in CLDX.
• Xarchiver was replaced with File Roller.
• Better support of multimedia keyboards.
• Calculate Media Center got smaller in size.
• Software update: Kernel 3.9.6, KDE 4.10.4, LibreOffice 4.0.4.2, Chromium 28.0.1500.45.

What is new in version 13.4:

• UEFI support added on 64bit systems.
• Hibernation is TuxOnIce by default.
• BFQ I/O scheduler supported.
• Optional support for complete kernel removal when removing the calculate-sources package.
• Calculate Utilities can now backup configuration files (Gentoo compatible); we've also added a module that handles modifications, like dispatch-conf always did. It comes both in a console and a GUI version.
• The installer provides more advanced autopartitioning options.
• The new naming convention for network interfaces has been applied.
• Network Linux clients should now boot faster when the network is down.
• Added synchronization profiles of domain users on reboot or power off.
• The IRC client in CLDG and CLDX will be HexChat instead of XChat.
• CLD now uses GParted as the GUI partition manager.
• GNOME3 is no longer supported, as CLDG now features GNOME 2. We'll not be supporting Gnome in next versions.

What is new in version 13:

• System:
• Meta-packages are no longer used to manage default dependencies.
• Portage files will be unpacked when booting for the first time.
• Better identification of NTFS partitions.
• Fixed the user profile configuration for VMware.
• Composite enabled by default for VMware.
• Should you want to replace main applications, their launch icons will be created correctly.
• In case the user modified the local Portage/overlay repositories, those can now be restored.
• Calculate Utilities:
• Calculate Utilities were updated to 3.1.
• Full French translation now available.
• New features added for Calculate Console:
• joining host to a Calculate Directory Server domain;
• configuring user sessions;
• changing user passwords;
• viewing and editing variables' values for Calculate Utilities;
• world update.
• New configuration events added:
• Portage update;
• package removal.
• Meet a new tool, calculate-update: for the time being, it only handles the world file, but will be able to do much more soon.
• More functionality for configuration templates.
• Desktop versions:
• Calculate Linux Desktop KDE:
• KDE was updated to 4.9.4.
• Calculate Linux Desktop GNOME:
• GNOME was updated to 3.4;
• AxeMenu replaced the standard menu;
• the Parcellite clipboard will be used from now on.
• Calculate Linux Desktop XFCE:
• a modified Adwaita theme is now used as the default one;
• Elementary comes as the default icon theme;
• the Geany IDE was added;
• the Shotwell photo manager was added;
• Catfish was integrated to the file manager for more efficient search;
• we switched to SMplayer as the default video player;
• Claws-Mail now comes with the Address Keeper plugin for address auto-completion.
• All dictionary packages were removed, for a slimmer distribution.
• Each CL edition is now featuring its own appearance theme.
• Server versions:
• Calculate Directory Server:
• now able to run Jabber services with StartTLS;
• SMTP authentication added.

What is new in version 13 Beta 1:

• System:
• Meta-packages are no longer used to manage default dependencies.
• Each CL edition is now featuring its own appearance theme.
• Portage files will be unpacked when booting for the first time.
• Calculate Utilities:
• Calculate Utilities were updated to 3.1 beta 2.
• New features added for Calculate Console:
• configuring user sessions;
• changing user passwords;
• joining host to a Calculate Directory Server domain;
• viewing and editing variables' values for Calculate Utilities;
• world update.
• New configuration events were added:
• Portage update;
• package removal.
• Meet a new tool, calculate-update: for the time being, it only handles the world file, but will be able to do much more soon.
• More functionality for configuration templates.
• Desktop versions:
• Calculate Linux Desktop KDE:
• KDE was updated to 4.9.4.
• Calculate Linux Desktop GNOME:
• GNOME was updated to 3.4;
• AxeMenu replaced the standard menu;
• the Parcellite clipboard will be used from now on.
• Calculate Linux Desktop XFCE:
• a modified Adwaita theme is now used as the default one;
• Elementary comes as the default icon theme;
• the Geany IDE was added;
• we switched to SMplayer as the default video player;
• Claws-Mail now comes with the Address Keeper plugin for address auto-completion.
• All dictionary packages were removed, for a slimmer distribution.
• Server versions:
• Calculate Directory Server:
• now able to run Jabber services with StartTLS;
• SMTP authentication will be added in the final release.