[KLUG Members] Can you name that Distro?

[Robert G. Brown]

Recently, I have become responsible for maintaining and upgrading a
multipurpose Linux server. During the runup to accepting this re-
sponsibility, the claim was made that this was a Red Hat Linux in-
stall, but subsequent inspection of the system has convinced me 
that it cannot possibly be a Red Hat machine. For example, there is
no /etc/redhat-release file, no /var/lib/rpm directory, and so on.
Some server installs are not what would be configured by a Red Hat
system, either, like Apache (in /usr/local/httpd, not /etc/httpd/conf).

This leaves me with the task of identifying what distribution was 
used to install Linux on this machine, which is of relatively recent
construction (there are indications that the kernel was recompiled
some time in March). Clearly, if I cannot determine the lineage of this
system, upgrade and other maintainanace will be harder than it would be
otherwise, and I may elect to rebuild the system using a distro in which
I have a high degree of familiarity. In some sense, this is a bit silly;
since the system itself is functioning fairly well, and I'd like the 
option of keeping the distribution the same during the upgrade process.

In general, however, the question is of somewhat broader interest... how 
does one identify the distribution?

I invite owners of various types of Linux systems to post some methods
they use to determine what distribution is being used. I think this will
be of broader benefit, and may reveal enough hints to answer my question
without going into a lot of details about one particular system.... I very
much doubt any one person has THE answer to this question....

So C'mon all you folks, this is a chance to contribute what you know about
your favorite distribution, and tell us what makes it unique!

							Regards,
							---> RGB <---