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This is why you use OpenSUSE or CentOS for servers, not Ubuntu. Also, if for some reason, you have a desire to contribute to Ubuntu, contribute to Debian inste

by cmccabe 14y ago

This is why you use OpenSUSE or CentOS for servers, not Ubuntu. Also, if for some reason, you have a desire to contribute to Ubuntu, contribute to Debian instead. Your changes will probably end up in Ubuntu, and the Debian folks care about stuff like user privacy and free software.

slyv 14y ago
For a complete beginner into server management, who is looking into setting up some servers in the near future, why should I not use Ubuntu for server? And use CentOS instead? Is there a solid reason for this?
- cmccabe 14y ago
  Ubuntu is focused on trying to be easy to use, and so it does things like make the bootloader difficult to access, package a huge amount of stuff by default, and include relaxed security. In fact, the default configuration for Ubuntu is not even to have a password for root, but just to give unlimited access to the main user via sudo. At the same time, Canonical (makers of Ubuntu) are not very interested in the server, at least compared to Red Hat and SuSE. So you get big regressions in server-related functionality like the one described in this article. Things not to use on a server: Ubuntu, Fedora, Gentoo Things to use on a server: CentOS, RHEL, SuSE, possibly Debian, any of the BSDs.
  - donniezazen 14y ago
    http://www.markshuttleworth.com/archives/1072 http://www.markshuttleworth.com/archives/1072
moe 14y ago
SuSE?! That is just cruel. The realistic choice for servers today is either Debian or CentOS. This is what you'll find in pretty much any large deployment and for good reasons. Ubuntu may be a distant third candidate due to its recent popularity, however it was never really meant for servers. Many of their policies are problematic in a server-env and most of the perceived popularity stems from inexperienced people who, by default, use on their server what they know from their desktop. And please don't recommend SuSE. That is really just cruel.
- cmccabe 14y ago
  SuSE has made a few questionable decisions, like being the first major distribution to call btrfs stable, and playing games with libc symbols in 10.x. I was on board the Fedora train until recently, but I had to get off because it was changing from RHEL beta edition to... RHEL pre-alpha edition. I have a soft spot for SuSE, but I've never been a full-time sysadmin, so you have to take my recommendations with a grain of salt.

by cmccabe 14y ago

slyv 14y ago

For a complete beginner into server management, who is looking into setting up some servers in the near future, why should I not use Ubuntu for server? And use CentOS instead? Is there a solid reason for this?

cmccabe 14y ago
Ubuntu is focused on trying to be easy to use, and so it does things like make the bootloader difficult to access, package a huge amount of stuff by default, and include relaxed security. In fact, the default configuration for Ubuntu is not even to have a password for root, but just to give unlimited access to the main user via sudo. At the same time, Canonical (makers of Ubuntu) are not very interested in the server, at least compared to Red Hat and SuSE. So you get big regressions in server-related functionality like the one described in this article. Things not to use on a server: Ubuntu, Fedora, Gentoo Things to use on a server: CentOS, RHEL, SuSE, possibly Debian, any of the BSDs.
- donniezazen 14y ago
  http://www.markshuttleworth.com/archives/1072 http://www.markshuttleworth.com/archives/1072

moe 14y ago

SuSE?! That is just cruel. The realistic choice for servers today is either Debian or CentOS. This is what you'll find in pretty much any large deployment and for good reasons. Ubuntu may be a distant third candidate due to its recent popularity, however it was never really meant for servers. Many of their policies are problematic in a server-env and most of the perceived popularity stems from inexperienced people who, by default, use on their server what they know from their desktop. And please don't recommend SuSE. That is really just cruel.

cmccabe 14y ago
SuSE has made a few questionable decisions, like being the first major distribution to call btrfs stable, and playing games with libc symbols in 10.x. I was on board the Fedora train until recently, but I had to get off because it was changing from RHEL beta edition to... RHEL pre-alpha edition. I have a soft spot for SuSE, but I've never been a full-time sysadmin, so you have to take my recommendations with a grain of salt.