gLinux is a Debian Testing-based Linuxdistribution used at Google as a workstationoperating system.[1] The Google gLinux team builds the system from source code, introducing their own changes.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8] gLinux replaced the previously used Ubuntu-based distribution, Goobuntu.[9] gLinux is usually installed by loading into a bootstrap environment when it is first booted up.[10] When gLinux is getting started up, the root files are unpacked and the Debian installer starts to perform the installation.[10] Over the years, Google has focused on speed, scale, and data which is the thought process that allowed them to move to gLinux.[11]Google was using Ubuntu before switching to gLinux; however, the two years of security updates it provided meant that planning for the next upgrade would take next to a year.[12]
