Is TurnKey Linux based on Ubuntu or Ubuntu server?

The current beta appliances are more inline with server type usage scenarios, where no window manager is needed, so none is included.

This makes for a leaner footprint, as each appliance is carefully built from the ground up with the minimum components needed to serve its role with maximum efficiency and security.

You could however install the window manager of your choice directly from ubuntu's package repositories if you so wish ;)

It might interest you to know that we will be including our new Configuration Console in the upcoming releases, whose objective is to provide the user with basic network configuration information and the ability to perform basic tasks, so as not to force the user to the command line.

You can learn more about it at https://blueprints.launchpad.net/turnkeylinux/+spec/basic-conf-on-console and see some screenshots of it in action at /docs/screenshots

I hope this clears up your question.

The usual GUI one expects for a server-type appliance is not a local GUI interface but rather a web interface that can be used to configure an appliance using a standard browser.

Adding a web interface is a high priority according to our development plan:

https://blueprints.launchpad.net/turnkeylinux/+spec/integrate-web-interface

Yes, this does answer my question. Thank you. What is the GUI environment, DM, WM?

TurnKey Linux ISOs are closer to Ubuntu than Ubuntu server, since they run live (Ubuntu server can't), and they use the same kernel as Ubuntu.

However, Ubuntu and Ubuntu Server are both built from the same package repositories . The difference between Ubuntu and Ubuntu server is that each contains a different blend of packages. In the same way, Ubuntu, Kubuntu and Xubuntu are not different Linux distributions but different products built from a single Linux distribution (Ubuntu).

TurnKey Linux appliances are similar in that sense. They are different products built from packages in the Ubuntu repositories plus a few custom packages (see archive.turnkeylinux.org)

I hope this answers your question.