The LEAF (Linux Embedded Appliance Framework) Project is a collection of

Linux distribution A Linux distribution (often abbreviated as distro) is an operating system made from a software collection that includes the Linux kernel and, often, a package management system. Linux users usually obtain their operating system by downloading on ...

s that began as a

fork In cutlery or kitchenware, a fork (from la, furca ' pitchfork') is a utensil, now usually made of metal, whose long handle terminates in a head that branches into several narrow and often slightly curved tines with which one can spear foods ...

from the Linux Router Project (LRP) "linux-on-a-floppy" distribution. Most users of these distributions are primarily interested in router and

firewall Firewall may refer to: * Firewall (computing), a technological barrier designed to prevent unauthorized or unwanted communications between computer networks or hosts * Firewall (construction), a barrier inside a building, designed to limit the spre ...

functions, particularly as combined with the convenience of major

feature Feature may refer to: Computing * Feature (CAD), could be a hole, pocket, or notch * Feature (computer vision), could be an edge, corner or blob * Feature (software design) is an intentional distinguishing characteristic of a software item ...

s of general Linux distributions such as shells, packet filtering, SSH servers,

DNS The Domain Name System (DNS) is a hierarchical and distributed naming system for computers, services, and other resources in the Internet or other Internet Protocol (IP) networks. It associates various information with domain names assigned to ...

services, file servers,

webmin Webmin is a powerful and flexible web-based server management control panel for Unix-like systems. Webmin allows the user to configure operating system internals, such as users, disk quotas, services or configuration files, as well as modify a ...

and the like. LEAF is a common choice when commercial

NAT Nat or NAT may refer to: Computing * Network address translation (NAT), in computer networking Organizations * National Actors Theatre, New York City, U.S. * National AIDS trust, a British charity * National Archives of Thailand * National ...

routers are insufficiently flexible or secure, or are unattractively nonconformant to

open source Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open-source model is a decentralized sof ...

philosophy.

Characteristics

LEAF is capable of running a powerful

firewall with several ancillary services on computer hardware generally considered obsolete, such as 486

workstation A workstation is a special computer designed for technical or scientific applications. Intended primarily to be used by a single user, they are commonly connected to a local area network and run multi-user operating systems. The term ''worksta ...

s with no hard disk. LEAF is intended to work well with read-only storage media, such as write-protected floppy drives or

optical disc In computing and optical disc recording technologies, an optical disc (OD) is a flat, usually circular disc that encodes binary data (bits) in the form of pits and lands on a special material, often aluminum, on one of its flat surfaces. ...

s. Distribution sizes range from a single floppy disk to several hundred megabytes. LEAF distributions typically include

software Software is a set of computer programs and associated software documentation, documentation and data (computing), data. This is in contrast to Computer hardware, hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. ...

designed to be economical in executable size, such as

uClibc __NOTOC__ In computing, uClibc (sometimes written µClibc) is a small C standard library intended for Linux kernel-based operating systems for embedded systems and mobile devices. uClibc was written to support μClinux, a version of Linux not ...

BusyBox BusyBox is a software suite that provides several Unix utilities in a single executable file. It runs in a variety of POSIX environments such as Linux, Android, and FreeBSD, although many of the tools it provides are designed to work with int ...

, Dropbear, and Shorewall. LEAF's origins lie in Debian Sarge, though many boot processes and

daemon Daimon or Daemon (Ancient Greek: , "god", "godlike", "power", "fate") originally referred to a lesser deity or guiding spirit such as the daimons of ancient Greek religion and mythology and of later Hellenistic religion and philosophy. The wo ...

control mechanisms have been modified heavily.

References

External links

LEAF Linux Embedded Appliance Framework project documentation

LEAF Linux Embedded Appliance Framework project homepage at sourceforge

LEAF Linux Embedded Appliance Framework page at Ohloh

An article at LWN.net discussing LRP/LEAF as an example of underappreciated free software

Floppy-based Linux distributions Free routing software Gateway/routing/firewall distribution Light-weight Linux distributions Linux distributions {{linux-distro-stub

Characteristics

See also

References

External links