2018 Five Linux Server distributions to choose from

"IT168 compilation" according to the latest statistics, the current Linux distribution of about 300 kinds, almost all can be run as a server system. In the early days of Linux, almost all distributions were "all-in-one" distributions, and the dedicated Linux server distribution was not hot, and by early 21st century, every company that wanted to turn Linux into a release was starting to provide the server distribution.

Linux distributions rarely replicate with each other. From the 5 most popular Linux server distributions, it's clear that they have different pros and cons.

　　Red Hat Enterprise Linux

The first introduction to Red Hat's products, mainly because the company will be the annual revenue of $4 billion a year, although it is no longer a Linux-only company, but it does everything is still built on its Linux operating system. But even before Red Hat looked at the hybrid cloud, Rhel was still the first choice for Enterprise Linux because of its security and reliability.

The "$ 4 billion a year" section is also important. Red hat is by far the most powerful open source software company, with a huge revenue stream to fund the company's research and development to stay ahead of the situation. This also means that the company is unlikely to disappear soon because corporate customers rely on stability.

　　Ubuntu Server

Just a quick look at the distributions running on Amazon Web Services, we can speculate that Ubuntu is probably the most used Linux server release in cloud computing. Currently, more than 200,000 Ubuntu instances run on EC2, while Amazon's own Linux version is less than 90,000 and red hat is less than 20,000.

However, don't jump to conclusions about these numbers because Ubuntu is free, and Red Hat's Linux server distribution and SuSE are more expensive. Even so, the figure is still impressive. Also, there are many Ubuntu probably running on the local server-for the same reason.

The success of Ubuntu as a Linux server distribution is impressive because Ubuntu is a relatively new novice in this field. It was born in the first ten years of this century, and rivals have been "rampant" for a long time. It may have been a free startup, but not a free endorsement. For example, over the past year, it has become more attractive because its generic Linux package makes it easier to install software. It is worth mentioning that Red Hat has also launched a similar function, called Flatpak.

　　Centos

Well, this release is basically a copy of Rhel. But when it was first released in 2004, it had a direct impact on the server world.

Until then, most shared hosting companies have built their Linux products on Red Hat. With the introduction of CentOS, this situation has changed almost overnight. Why? Because it is basically a replica of Rhel, but does not need to support the contract. This is attractive for hosting companies that don't need external support, making CentOS a great way to cut costs.

In 2014, Red Hat acquired the company and continued to retain almost all of its major developers. Officially, the release is still independent and managed by an independent board of directors, who work for Red Hat's open source and standard team, rather than Rhel. CentOS receives the same patches as Rhel, but with a slight delay. Some third-party vendors also provide support for CentOS.

　　SUSE Linux Enterprise Server

SuSE is a release from Germany that has been in use since 1992 and is a year or so older than red hat and Debian. Before being acquired by Novell in 2003, SuSE was considered a jewel in the crown of the Linux distribution, mainly due to its--yasp management and maintenance tools. Under the leadership of Novell, its reputation has fallen sharply, especially among supporters of open source, mainly because of the cooperation between Novell and Microsoft, which many believe violates the terms of the Linux license, as it exempts some users from infringing Linux-related patents.

More recently, SUSE began operating as a semi-autonomous business unit for Micro Focus, ready to make a comeback. Last year, SuSE acquired HPE's OpenStack and cloud FOUNDRY,HPE to name these two projects and Linux the "preferred open source partner."

　　Debian

This community-based desktop distribution is known for its free software policy, developed by a nonprofit organization called "Public Interest Software" (software in the Interest). As a server operating system, the release has been very popular. Debian has a lot of derivative products, and even CentOS is a bit weak, because many Linux distributions, including Ubuntu, are based on Debian.

Debian is the standard for many Linux users to measure other distributions. In the DistroWatch page ranking, the release is currently in third place. But some people think the leaderboard is not very scientific, because it is ranked by the number of page clicks.

2018 Five Linux Server distributions to choose from