If instead of desktop popularity, there were a need to run servers (non-RPi): - Reliability, long life, low security patch, delay and maximum compatibility for

If instead of desktop popularity, there were a need to run servers (non-RPi): - Reliability, long life, low security patch, delay and maximum compatibility for enterprisey things with a faint hope of rip-replacing with RHEL for $upport (BYO RPMs of new shit): CentOS 9 Stream* - (Same as above but it doesn't have to be Linux): FreeBSD or SmartOS - Replace VMware: Oxide (hw+sw) or Triton Datacenter/SmartOS - Cheap, reliable, maximum package choices: Debian - Beginner Linux skills requiring guides from the interwebs (reliability and security updates optional): Ubuntu LTS - Live in an empty room without furniture: Alpine - Maximum tinkerability in a test environment without user support: Arch or NixOS * Alma and Rocky while having a longer lifecycle promise, remain vulnerable for much longer by shipping security fixes slowly and have EL compatibility gotchas. Their engineering is also slower and less resourced. Default to standardizing on Cent without a very good exceptional reason(tm), don't do a hodgepodge, and do configuration management.