Best linux distribution for a VPS
 

Hi!

I'm slowly hunting for a new VPS and I think it would be from OVH once again (they are dirt cheap lol). So far I have two VPS's with Debian but they offer Fedora, Centos, Ubuntu, Archlinux, FreeBSD as well. Is there a reason I should consider a different distro or for the basic things I need Debian + Webmin will cut it?

Thanks.

Debian for the win. It have one big advantage over cent os - it auto install dependencies . And one more reason why debian/centos are only good choices for server installation , is available documentation / packages. While free bsd might have some features better by default, expanding it might turn into complete clusterfuck.

If you cant go with Amazon Linux 2 (Hey, I have to say it :) I would go with Ubuntu if you want it for free. The support community is really good

Debian is OK, but slow to support new products
Centos I would stay clear of, since RedHat is more or less killing it for use in production

Consider bitnami packages ( https://bitnami.com/) if its a possibility at your host - its makes it easy to avoid pitfalls and compatibility issues due to versions nto working well together

Personally, I like Linux Mint, Cinnamon Edition. This is a combo of Debian and Ubuntu. Very well written, organized and updated regularly.

Here is the newest edition.

https://blog.linuxmint.com/?p=4011

I have been using this OS for the past 6 years. Switched from OpenSuse. Never been happier. :)

He is looking for a server - not a desktop

Ok it seems like I will stick with debian, thanks guys

If your happy and used to Debian there is no reason to change.

Personally I use Ubuntu, but it's based on Debian so my recommendation would be to stick with what you've got. :2 cents:

It's just really the first linux where I did more then "ls -la" :1orglaugh I'm not doing anything crazy at those VPS's just having regular sites with mysql db, setting up email etc most of it is done via webmin/virtualmin.. also running into issues like I haven't encountered before (because of managed hosting), like running out of space thanks to huge error log files, or by enabling wordpress debug then forgetting about it lol. Also sometimes the mysql goes down without a say (I guess 2 gigs of ram are not enough) and things like keeping it up to date etc.

But again for basic things like these doesn't seems like the type of distro matters at all..

Yes, Cinnamon is their desktop but they have other versions. VPN and Apache are included guess I am lost on the difference as I have a server running off mine... office, not commercial. Maybe that is the difference.

Debian or Ubuntu

make sure you use the latest LTS versions

and always keep it up to date

i know some companies still use Ubuntu 10 or Ubuntu 12

RIP centos..

i have to upgrade a shitload of servers in the next 6 months. i'm probably going to Debian. i run it on a chat server and its pretty nice. i have to load test on serving media tho.

:2 cents:

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For your needs it really doesn't matter.

If you are used to apt/dpkg, stick with Debian or a variant.

FreeBSD will be a huge learning curve, you will be basically starting from scratch if you are learning how to self manage.

I dont know your business, but have you made any calculations regarding moving to a RHEL? Your hostingprovider should be able to get you MSP-license WAY below the official retail price.

I moved a customers Nagion installation (highly modified scripted scaleout solution) from Centos to RHEL, because we could keep 90-95% of the scripts as they were + the staff would feel more at home on a RHEL.

It would have cost them hundreds of hours to redesign if they went with another spin

Any of you disgruntled CentOS users considering https://rockylinux.org ?

Saw it mentioned (think it was here) a few days ago, but dont see it at distrowatch.com
That made me decide to wait a little and let it mature

im not disgruntled. i can run on 7 until the end of time lol. its better to move to a stable distro tho i guess.

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For those looking for a centos 8 replacement https://almalinux.org/

Well that's bullshit. Yum does auto dependency resolution just like apt, and so does pacman. In fact, EVERY modern package manager does it.

Here's my take on the OP's question:

Arch - Avoid like the plague. Wait.... I see how people are avoiding the plague, so scratch that. Arch is not suitable for a production environment because it's an all-or-nothing rolling distribution. You have to update for security fixes, but you will eventually pull in a major version upgrade of PHP, openjdk, nodejs, or something else unexpected that will break your system. There's no way to mask any of that stuff out without breaking your system, either. The Arch philosophy is "live on the bleeding edge or go home." No thanks. Not when money is at stake.

Fedora - Not really designed to be a server OS but at least it's compatible with RHEL, so if you know CentOS or RHEL it's an option.

CentOS - Red Hat fucked everybody and pulled the plug a decade before they said they would, so this one is DOA. No way I'd move to a dead platform right now.

FreeBSD - This is not Linux, it's a true Unix, so it's very different to work with. It's a solid choice, but unless you want to do a lot of Googling on how to do basic things I'd skip it.

Debian - as others said, probably your best choice for several reasons. You know it and are comfortable with it, it's very conservative and stable, well supported with documentation, etc.

You didn't see it there because it's still vaporware.:winkwink: Should be almost exactly the same thing as CentOS, but yeah... I wouldn't jump on that train at the very first station. Not for a production server. If/when it ever appears, I'd throw it on a spare partition at home and see how things shake out before committing to it as a VPS.