So you have made the step into the world of server management and maintenance, either with a local or cloud based server. The next step is to choose which Operating System you want on your server, and if you have a decent brain on your head you will decide to use a linux kernel for your webserver. If you don’t have a brain of course you would opt for Microsoft Server or another proprietary variant. But there are so many Linux distributions to choose from, Which is the Best Linux Distribution for your Webserver?
Possible Linux Distribution Choices
The most popular choices that are available on most VPS and cloud hosting companies are:
1. Cent OS
2. Gentoo
3. Ubuntu
4. Debian
5. Open Suse
6. Fedora
7. FreeBSD
8. Arch Linux
9. BackTrack
Cent OS
Community Enterprise Operating System
RHEL (Red hat Enterprise Linux), free of charge. Technical support provided by community.
Yum package kit.
Supports x86 only
Gentoo
FreeBSD based.
emerge and portage package kit.
Supports x86 and x64
Highly customisable – long time to setup.
Ubuntu
Debian based.
Apt, dpkg package kit.
Supports x86 and x64
Debian
Apt, dpkg package kit.
Supports x86 and x64
Open Suse
rpm package manager.
Fedora
Yum, RPM package kit.
FreeBSD
Direct descendant of BSD Unix.
Archlinux
Pacman package management.
highly customisable – long to setup.
Backtrack
OS aimed at digital forensics and penetration testing.
Good if you aim to use the server to test the vulnerabilities of another web server you own.
So Which is the best linux Distribution for your VPS or Cloud based Web Server:
Based on the figures it seems that everyone is either going for Debian or Cent OS, according to this article. The next most popular in order are Ubuntu, Red hat, Fedora, Suse and then Gentoo.
I have experience with gentoo and I am familiar with the directory layout and the package and update manager, so I would pick Gentoo.
Debian however is the founding father of a wide range of linux distributions and hence would be a good choice. FreeBSD, purportedly based on the original unix just seems like the most legit choice for me.
If you are willing to spend hours and even days to customize and create a secure and well polished web server installation then Arch Linux or Gentoo are for you. If you would like a more out of the box solution then pick Cent OS or Debian.
My Choice in order:
please note i have only tried one of the many distributions listed here so my choice is extremely biased and way off point…but here goes
Top Nine:
1. Gentoo
2. FreeBSD
3. Archlinux
4. Debian
5. Cent OS
6. Ubuntu
7. Open SUSE
8. Fedora
9. Backtrack
The Argument for Debian
