[OpenIndiana-discuss] where does oi stand with illumos

[Jim Klimov]

On 2014-03-28 20:07, Harry Putnam wrote:
> I've lost track of developments regarding where things stand between
> OI and Illumos.
>
> I see many of the same posters in both lists... And from the posts,
> I'm getting the impression that if one updates beyond 151_a8, they
> would then be running Illumos.
>
> Can anyone clarify that matter?

In Linux-like terms, "illumos" is closer to a "kernel", while "OI"
is one of many distributions based on this kernel (either "vanilla"
or a forked version).

Actually, the "illumos-gate" (the repository name) and its compiled
products are also known as an "OS/Net consolidation", in that they
include not only the kernel and drivers per se, but also much of
the core software needed for running a Solaris-like OS, like the
system shell, many of the management programs and daemons, etc.

It is also quite possible to replace the "illumos" part in an OI
installation with your own compiled most-recent one, though if you
take the "vanilla" sources, you'd lose the OI branding on your own
updated kernel (AFAIK there are no other changes in OI branch,
unlike some of the other distros which can diverge noticeably).
Not that branding is hard to re-apply... and I actually planned
on writing about that on the Wikis sometime in the future ;)

//Jim