[Discuss] Debian is now the most popular Linux distribution on web servers

[blu at nedharvey.com (Edward Ned Harvey)]

> From: discuss-bounces+blu=nedharvey.com at blu.org [mailto:discuss-
> bounces+blu=nedharvey.com at blu.org] On Behalf Of Tom Metro
> 
> It's easy to speculate that RedHat doesn't get the volume that CentOS
> does because it costs money, but what does this say about Ubuntu Server,
> which although commercial support is available, can be installed for free.

My personal opinion:
Ubuntu makes a better desktop because it's more cutting edge, more flashy,
etc.  But for the same reason, it's less stable, and hence less attractive
to use for an internet-facing server.

Even just the installation process leads you to suspect this conclusion - In
ubuntu, you barely have any choices, package selections, etc.  It will
install a GUI for you, and afterward, you can then optionally add/remove
packages.

A web server should be as minimal as possible to do the required task.  Run
as few services as possible.  There should be no GUI.  Every package you
install is imperfect, and could possibly contain /the/ vulnerability that
some bad guy is going to exploit to break into your system.  So you install
absolutely the minimal number of packages, and no unnecessary packages.
Debian and Centos are better for this purpose.  RHEL is good, but it costs
money.  Fedora and Ubuntu make better desktops than any of the above, but
any of the above make better servers than Fedora or Ubuntu.

My $0.02