For servers, the choice of a Linux distro comes down to stability, performance, and enterprise support. If you are just experimenting, you...
For servers,
the choice of a Linux distro comes down to stability, performance, and
enterprise support. If you are just experimenting, you can try any distro you
want.
But,
if you are installing it for a web server or anything vital – you should take a
look at some of our recommendations.
Ubuntu Server
Depending
on where you want it, Ubuntu provides different options for your server. If you
are looking for an optimized solution to run on AWS, Azure, Google Cloud
Platform, etc., Ubuntu Cloud is
the way to go.
In
either case, you can opt for Ubuntu Server packages and have it installed on
your server. Nevertheless, Ubuntu is the most popular Linux distro when it
comes to deployment on the cloud (judging by the numbers—source 1, source 2).
Do
note that we recommend you to go for the LTS editions—unless you have specific
requirements.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Red
Hat Enterprise Linux is a top-notch Linux platform for businesses and
organizations. If we go by the numbers, Red Hat may not be the most popular
choice for servers. But, there’s a significant group of enterprise users who
rely on RHEL (like Lenovo).
Technically,
Fedora and Red Hat are related. Whatever Red Hat supports—gets tested on Fedora
before making it available for RHEL. I’m not an expert on server distributions
for tailored requirements—so you should definitely check out their official
documentation to know if it’s suitable for you.
SUSE Linux
Enterprise Server
Suse Linux Enterprise (Image: Softpedia)
Fret
not, do not confuse this with OpenSUSE. Everything comes under a common brand
“SUSE”—but OpenSUSE is an open-source distro targeted and yet, maintained by
the community.
SUSE
Linux Enterprise Server is one of the most popular solutions for cloud-based
servers. You will have to opt for a subscription to get priority support and
assistance to manage your open-source solution.
CentOS 8
(End-of-Life, Look for Alternatives)
Yes,
you can get RHEL subscription for free up to 16 servers without technical support.
But, CentOS was more like a community edition of RHEL because it was derived
from the sources of Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
But,
now that CentOS has been replaced by CentOS Stream, you can either try
CentOS Stream, which is upstream to Red Hat Enterprise Linux, or look for CentOS alternatives.
Cent
OS 7 will be supported until 2024 and CentOS 8 has already reached the early
end of life in 2021. So, you can try it as an experiment before trying CentOS
alternatives or CentOS Stream.
Other
Options
You
can also try exploring Fedora Server or Debian as
alternatives to some of the distros mentioned above.
If you are into programming and software development check
out the list of
Best
Linux Distributions for Programmers
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