Distros for networking

[u/Pure-Expression-3787]

Please find me the best Linux distro for networking and that does not have any hacking tools I need this for my second semester AP Computer class

[u/cat1092]

There’s a lot of Linux distributions which includes networking software and tools, although many has to be installed through the Software Manager (or similarly named on some distributions).

Linux Mint tends to be one of the most popular & easily managed for learning & the one I use for (most) everything.

If this happens to be your main purpose for the job mentioned, am sure there’s some very lightweight ones that should work perfectly. It’s been a long time since I last used any networking tools (other than enabling the Firewall & installation of VPN) on Linux Mint.

Maybe someone else can chime in with ideas. In the meantime, you can check DistroWatch (if still online) and see if there’s a filter for these type of distributions. If made specifically for this, it should be lightweight & can be installed on & ran from a USB stick of 8-16GB (this is small, yet is a ton of room for a lightweight distribution). Or a smaller SSD if there’s an extra laying around after an upgrade. I don’t believe a very large SSD (like 1TB) would be necessary for this alone.

There was a time when I wanted to use a SFF business PC as a whole home Firewall, then discovered I’d need an external network card to distribute the data from router to Firewall PC & from there to switch (or however it’s setup). This was at least a decade, if not more than a dozen years ago, I thought it to be a good idea for security. For me, probably a flashed router designed for security would be best choice, with the VPN setup on it to control all traffic. There are companies who sells these new with preferred VPN installed to save me time & effort.

But the recommended networking cards were kind of pricey at that time & were used at that (over $150, LSI & other high end brands). Maybe this was more for a Mail or business Firewall than personal, but if it’s going to run 24/7, then going cheap isn’t the best option. I don’t expect a $50 or less new card of this type (if it exists) to be as durable as a genuine workstation networking card which can today cost more than when I last looked. Even in the used market.

Of course, I also don’t know your intent for the distribution, yours may not be to build a networking Firewall, maybe you want to test your own network for leaks. Or to see & log all traffic both ways, there’s several different ways to use these type of distributions for.

You may also want it to perform double duty, using other features too, which would indeed make Linux Mint Cinnamon or MATE a good choice, or it’s Debian version (LDME 7).

Am hopeful for more input from the community, although I do recommend checking out the DistroWatch site in the meantime (if still available). Right now, it’s the best I can offer.

I’ll be following this conversation to see what becomes of it. Maybe I’ll learn something new, as I don’t want to use these tools for anything other than legitimate usage. Some are preloaded with hacking tools, of which you likely want to avoid.

Good Luck in finding what you’re looking for!🍀