Unix/BSD/Linux distro livecd without a desktop

Question

Unix/BSD/Linux distro LiveCD without a desktop.

Are there any pre-spun distros out there of something unix-ish that doesn't have a desktop? Or maybe just a tabbed/tiling window manager. A plus would be WIFI tools like iwconfig.

Answer 1

Last I checked (a couple years ago) NetBSD has a livecd that starts without a GUI. If you want to use a GUI you can do so, it's not a full fledged gnome or kde environment, but a basic X environment. It also has the wireless tools.

Answer 2

System Rescue CD (includes also many useful tools) includes iwconfig, and do not include graphical user interface. It boots directly to command line, and supports USB and CD boot, both with 'live' (as in without installing to hard disk).

You can also use for example Knoppix and boot to text mode by writing following command on bootloader (when livecd starts, there is bootloader prompt before starting Linux):

knoppix 2

Knoppix cheat sheet lists more parameters, but no other parameter is required for text mode boot.