Thread: Best (Linux) OS for dedicated server

My personal preference is CentOS - which as has been said is basically a 'debranded' version of RedHat Enterprise Linux. Most will use yum for updating/installing software as its quite good at dependency resolution.

I always use CentOS unless I have a good reason to pay Red Hat for RHEL support.
I've tried Debian and Ubuntu on the server as I like the apt package management system but CentOS/RHEL are more mature IMHO.
Thinks like iptables just work without messing around with scripts to load and save. All the little config utilitties are time savers as well.

I'd advise you to go with what you know best since you'll need to look after and work with it.

Ubuntu do a server edition so maybe that would be the best starting point? Or if you can "play" locally on a spare box/vm/etc you could try installing some other "server" distros and seeing how well you get on with them etc.

I mostly use CentSO but I used RedHat for years before hand.

ChrisB.

^ What he said. It's more important to have a Linux OS that you are comfortable with.

If you don't have a preference then you can't go wrong with CentOS. It's got to be the most widely used in the hosting industry so it's doing something right

We've been a Debian shop for years with no regrets, but go with what you're happy with, keep that patched and you won't go far wrong.

Problem with OpenBSD unless something has changed recently, is that it can be a real pig upgrading between releases, and then there's the issue of software support.

I'm mainly a Debian guy, although I use CentOS sometimes when it's a 'supported platform' for a particular piece of software. I find Debian 'just works', whereas CentOS sometimes doesn't, although that's probably because I'm more used to it.

It really is personal preference. If you go with most server distros you'll end up with a good system. All we can really say is 'try them out'.

Cromulet: Out of the BSDs I like FreeBSD. BSD somehow feels more mature and thought out than Linux distros, which have an almost 'thrown together' feel in comparison. I have deployed FreeBSD several times but in the long run maintaining them is often more work compared to the equivalent Linux system. Software is often written for Linux too, so the BSD ports can be outdated and unsupported. For that reason I'd normally suggest Linux. One big plus for FreeBSD is pf IMO - iptables is horrible in comparison.

Another vote for CentOS. I'd say 70+% of our servers are running it.

Originally Posted by SynergyWorks

Another vote for CentOS. I'd say 70+% of our servers are running it.

Ditto

CentOS / RHEL accounts for about 80% I'd say.

It works, it's robust, secure and reliable, and crucially very easy to use for any unseasoned types.

CentOS got my vote also.

Regards,
Bobby

Centos seems to have the best support so I'd recommend it on these grounds alone

My vote goes for CentOS as well, although depending on how mission critical the box is, consider RHEL instead as you'll get OS updates provided more quickly with RHEL due to CentOS having to wait for RHEL to release the source for any updates, compile it and then release themselves.