Google moves to Debian for in-house Linux desktop

[Zenaan Harkness]

Good to spread the love around ...



Google moves to Debian for in-house Linux desktop
http://www.zdnet.com/article/google-moves-to-debian-for-in-house-linux-desktop/

Google has officially confirmed the company is shifting its
in-house Linux desktop from the Ubuntu-based Goobuntu to a new
Linux distro, the DebianTesting-based gLinux.  Margarita
Manterola, a Google Engineer, quietly announced Google would
move from Ubuntu to Debian-testing for its desktop Linux at
DebConf17 in a lightning talk. Manterola explained that Google
was moving to gLinux, a rolling release based on Debian
Testing.

Margarita Manterola, a Google Engineer, quietly announced Google
would move from Ubuntu to Debian-testing for its desktop Linux at
DebConf17 in a lightning talk. Manterola explained that Google was
moving to gLinux, a rolling release based on Debian Testing.

This move isn't as surprising as it first looks. Ubuntu is based on
Debian. In addition, Google has long been a strong Debian supporter.
In 2017, Debian credited Google for making [sic] "possible our annual
conference, and directly supports the progress of Debian and Free
Software."

Debian Testing is the beta for the next stable version of Debian.
With gLinux, that means it's based on the Debian 10 "Buster" test
operating system.

Google takes each Debian Testing package, rebuilds it, tests it,
files and fixes bugs, and once those are resolved, integrates it into
the gLinux release candidate. GLinux went into beta on Aug. 16, 2017.

Don't bother looking for this new Linux distro. You won't be able to
find it. GLinux, like Goobuntu before it, is strictly for internal
Google use.

Linux is not Google's only desktop operating system. Google also uses
macOS, Windows, and the Linux-based Chrome OS across its fleet of
nearly a quarter-million workstations and laptops. Google isn't using
its mysterious Fuchsia operating system in production.

To manage its desktop operating systems, Google uses the Puppet
DevOps tool. Specifically, Google works with the Standalone
(Masterless) Puppet mode.

Google's IT staff uses Pupper's Standalone approach for two reasons.
Standalone doesn't require a large infrastructure of Puppet
configuration servers. Instead, the desktops pull the
cryptographically verified configuration files from a web host, then
verifies the data locally, and applies the configurations. In
addition, by not using a server-client model, this enables the
company to commit to its BeyondCorp access model, which does away
with using internal networks for corporate access.

BeyondCorp is Google's enterprise security model, which uses the
concept of zero trust networks. It works by shifting access controls
from the network perimeter to individual devices and users. This
enables employees to work securely from any location without a
traditional virtual private network (VPN).

For Goobuntu, and now gLinux, Google uses PXE to netboot the standard
Linux desktop installer image. These new Linux images are
automatically built in the form of compressed tar-format archives.
These images are then placed on an HTTPS server alongside Debian
pre-seed files that automate the host setup portion of the
installation. This installation process is integrated with Puppet and
host update infrastructure to ensure every desktop is configured as
intended at install. This allows Google to reinstall gLinux from the
network in about 30 minutes.

Google wouldn't say what desktop environment gLinux will be using.
It's believed, however, that it will use GNOME, backed by the Wayland
display server.

Google wouldn't officially comment on when the changeover from
Goobuntu to gLinux would be completed. Sources say it should be well
under its way by this summer.