Frugal or Full Installation
Full Installation
In a Full installation the system files (Linux directory structure) takes up a whole drive partition. The contents from Puppy Linux's BaseSFS are extracted to the linux directory structure. All subsequent software installations, file edits and additions are made directly to the partition's file system. The directory structure is stored as it appears in the FileManagers file manager or listed by a TerminalEmulator terminal emulator.
Frugal Installation
In a Frugal installation the system files (Linux directory structure) are compressed into a couple of file (technically filesystems within a file):
When first run:
- the Puppy Linux initializes the layered file system starting with the BaseSFS (also known as PupSfs). This is a SquashFS Sfs file containing Linux file system and directory structure (RootFS) The file is either accessed from the disk or loaded into RAM (read only) eg. lupu_528.sfs
Additional files:
- the Puppy SaveFile 'save file' containing settings, additional software, modifications etc. (read/write) eg. lupusave-mysave.2fs
- additional software SquashFS Sfs files (read only) eg. Gimp_2.7.3_528.sfs
On start-up these file-systems are super-imposed upon each other so that they appear merged. Additional files and alterations are written to the Puppy Save File (if within the Linux directory structure). The directory structure viewed in a FileManagers file manager or listed by a TerminalEmulator terminal emulator is actually contained within these compressed files.
Comparsion
| Full | Frugal (not in RAM) | Frugal (copied to RAM) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drive partition required | Yes | No | No |
| Installation directory | Requires a drive partition | Almost any directory | Almost any directory |
| Speed | Medium | Likely to be slower | Faster |
| Installation file system | Linux Type | FAT, NTFS, Linux Type | FAT, NTFS, Linux Type |
| Installation Protection | RootFS writable with root user access | BaseSfs Read only | BaseSfs Read only |
| SaveFile Pup SaveFile | No, directly accesses RootFS | Yes, saved directly to disk | Yes, in RAM (saved to disk on request/reboot) |
| Load/Unload SquashFS SFS files | Harder | Easy | Easy |
Also on the Wiki
Related Webpages
(previous hyperlinks, now defunct:http://barryk.org/puppylinux/development/howpuppyworks.html
http://puppylinux.com/development/howpuppyworks.html)
