openSUSE Aeon is a modern operating system featuring the GNOME desktop, designed for minimal maintenance and a smooth user experience. In this detailed blog post, we will explore what openSUSE Aeon is and how it benefits lazy developers to get things done efficiently.
Table of Contents
What is openSUSE Aeon?
openSUSE Aeon is a modern operating system designed to provide an automated and low-maintenance computing experience with the GNOME desktop environment.
openSUSE Aeon is based on openSUSE Tumbleweed. However, it intentionally supports only a subset of the packages available in Tumbleweed.
Focused and Efficient
openSUSE Aeon delivers a clean and uncluttered desktop experience without requiring extensive configuration or setup. It avoids unnecessary software components that could slow down the system.
Automatic Updates
System updates are installed automatically in the background while you work, without disrupting your workflow. These updates do not affect your running system until you reboot.
This approach keeps your workday consistent and avoids any unexpected issues or incompatibilities with your currently running applications.
When you're ready, you can reboot at your convenience to apply the updates, which will take effect on the next system start. In case of any issues during the update process, the system automatically reverts to the last known working state, ensuring stability and reliability.
Target Audience
openSUSE Aeon is NOT for everyone. It is specially designed for users who prioritize a hassle-free and automated desktop experience.
- Developers who want to focus on their work without constantly managing their operating system.
- Users accustomed to consistent and predictable experiences, similar to iOS, Chromebooks, or Android devices, where applications are the primary focus.
For users who enjoy customizing and tinkering with their desktop environment, the traditional openSUSE Tumbleweed and Leap distributions remain the recommended choice.
Design Goals
Aeon aims to be reliable, predictable, and immutable, much like the openSUSE MicroOS distribution.
While offering fewer customization options compared to regular openSUSE Tumbleweed/Leap, Aeon ensures functionality for essential tasks like printing, gaming, and media production.
Software Installation
Aeon comes with a minimalist base system and the GNOME desktop environment. This base system is designed to be small and simple while still providing everything you need to get started with your tasks right away, including programming, gaming, media production, and office/clerical work.
Aeon ships with Distrobox pre-configured to launch Tumbleweed containers, which is perfect for running your development tools and projects within a containerized environment.
For installing additional applications directly on the Aeon system, Flatpak is set up and ready for you to browse and install your favorite apps from Flathub:
- Use Flatpak packages from Flathub (integrated with GNOME Software) for applications, browsers, codecs, and more.
- Other installation methods are available, but Flatpaks are the preferred option for their sandboxing and self-contained nature.
Transactional Updates
openSUSE Aeon utilizes transactional updates to provide atomic system updates by leveraging the power of Btrfs snapshots.
Your system is updated within a new snapshot, leaving your current system unaffected until you reboot. If an update fails for any reason, the new snapshot can be discarded, ensuring your system remains bootable and functional.
Snapshots contain your configuration files in the /etc directory, allowing you to roll back configuration changes as well.
Transactional updates support your current RPM packages as well as most packages available in the openSUSE repositories.
openSUSE Aeon Release Candidate 2 (RC2) is Available for Download
The development team has recently announced the availability of openSUSE Aeon Release Candidate 2 (RC2). This release candidate offers a preview of the upcoming stable version, allowing users to explore its features and provide feedback before the final release.
What's New in openSUSE Aeon Release Candidate 2
The openSUSE Aeon Release Candidate 2 introduces several innovative features not found in other openSUSE versions by default:
Performance Enhancements
- Inclusion of the Linux Kernel module zram for improved system performance by avoiding swapping to slow HDDs or wear-limited SSDs.
Installation Process
- Revolutionary image-based installation powered by the new installer tik (Transactional Installation Kit), ensuring identical configurations out-of-the-box.
- Ability to migrate existing user accounts, applications, data, WiFi/VPN configurations, and rootless containers to the new installation.
Security and Usability
- No configured root account. The first user created during installation uses their password with sudo and policykit for administrative tasks.
Boot Process
- Clean and silent boot process without flickers or random log outputs, thanks to systemd-boot.
- Notably fast boot times, approximately 8 seconds on slower machines.
Hardware Optimization
- Automatic download and update of x86_64_v3 optimized libraries if supported by the hardware, providing a faster system without user intervention.
- Tailored for gamers with specific SELinux configurations supporting gaming while maintaining robust security policies.
Remote Access
- Remote access is disabled by default but can be easily enabled and managed through the GNOME settings app.
Disk Management
- First openSUSE distribution to utilize systemd-repart, benefiting from the Linux Userspace API (uapi_group's) Discoverable Partitions Specification for more intuitive and efficient disk management.
Btrfs Compression
- Use of Btrfs compression by default, decreasing SSD wear, often improving performance, and saving more than 40% of disk space used by a standard installation.
Automated Updates
- Automatic updating of user distroboxes system updates, and flatpak updates, ensuring users always have the latest updates with minimal effort.
This release candidate marks the first step, and the development team welcomes further contributions from the developer community to elevate the desktop experience to even greater heights.
As development progresses, you can expect a more stable version with many innovative features and enhancements.
Download openSUSE Aeon
Download the openSUSE Aeon image from the Official Download page and create a bootable USB drive. We recommend using Ventoy app for creating bootable USB on Linux.
As stated already, the Aeon installer, powered by tik, is designed for ease of use. It will work seamlessly on any x86_64 laptop or desktop equipped with a UEFI BIOS. For optimal security, we recommend enabling Secure Boot.
With the Aeon bootable USB disk inserted, restart your computer. Locate the boot menu key (typically F12 or F10) and press it during startup to access the boot options. Select the USB drive containing the Aeon Installer to initiate the boot process.
It will guide you through the installation with minimal questions, ensuring a smooth setup for your system.
Once installed, log in to the newly installed OpenSUSE Aeon and start using it.
You can verify the installed version from command line using command:
cat /etc/os-release
Sample Output:
NAME="openSUSE Aeon" # VERSION="20240524" ID="opensuse-aeon" ID_LIKE="suse opensuse opensuse-tumbleweed opensuse-microos" VERSION_ID="20240524" PRETTY_NAME="openSUSE Aeon" ANSI_COLOR="0;32" CPE_NAME="cpe:/o:opensuse:aeon:20240524" BUG_REPORT_URL="https://bugzilla.opensuse.org" SUPPORT_URL="https://bugs.opensuse.org" HOME_URL="https://www.aeondesktop.org/" DOCUMENTATION_URL="https://en.opensuse.org/Portal:Aeon" LOGO="distributor-logo-Aeon"
You can also check the openSUSE Aeon version from the System Settings.
Key Takeaways
- Hassle-Free Experience: OpenSUSE Aeon provides a user-friendly desktop experience without extensive setup or maintenance. It focuses on letting you get straight to your tasks without unnecessary distractions.
- Automated Updates: System updates install automatically in the background while you work. Your running applications remain unaffected until you reboot at your convenience.
- Rollback Capability: If an update fails, openSUSE Aeon can automatically revert to the previous working state, ensuring system stability.
- Minimal Base System: Aeon comes with a small and efficient base system.
- Containerized Development: Aeon ships with Distrobox pre-configured to launch Tumbleweed containers, enabling seamless containerized development workflows.
- Streamlined Software Installation: Flatpak integration with Flathub provides access to a wide range of applications through a user-friendly interface.
- Performance Optimizations: Aeon automatically installs optimized libraries for supported hardware, ensuring optimal performance without user intervention.
- Transactional Updates: Leveraging Btrfs snapshots, Aeon performs atomic system updates, allowing easy rollbacks and configuration changes.
- Secure by Default: No root account is configured by default, enhancing security while providing administrative access through sudo and policykit.
- Tailored for Specific Use Cases: With features like gaming-optimized SELinux policies and disabled remote access, Aeon caters to various user preferences and requirements.
Conclusion
openSUSE Aeon is currently in the Release Candidate stage, which means it's a pre-release version intended for testing and evaluation purposes.
Users are encouraged to explore its features and provide feedback to help improve the final stable release. If you encounter any bugs, please report them at https://aeondesktop.org/reportbug.
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