How to know what Linux Distro you are using?

Listed below are some helpful commands in determining the type of Linux distro you are using, and their corresponding output on the terminal using CentOS 5.3.

1. lsb_release -a

LSB Version: :core-3.1-ia32:core-3.1-noarch:graphics-3.1-ia32:graphics-3.1-noarch

Distributor ID: CentOS
Description: CentOS release 5.3 (Final)

Release: 5.3

Codename: Final

2. cat /etc/*release

CentOS release 5.3 (Final)

3. cat /etc/issue

CentOS release 5.3 (Final)

Kernel \r or an \m

Then for determining Linux kernel version,

1. uname -a

Linux localhost.localdomain 2.6.18-128.el5 #1 SMP Wed Jan 21 10:44:23 EST 2009

i686 i686 i386 GNU/Linux

2. dmesg | head -1

Linux version 2.6.18-128.el5 (mockbuild@builder16.centos.org)

(gcc version 4.1.2 20080704 (Red Hat 4.1.2-44)) #1 SMP Wed Jan 21 10:44:23 EST 2009