I’ve only ever used desktop Linux and don’t have server admin experience (unless you count hosting Minecraft servers on my personal machine lol). Currently using Artix and Void for my desktop computers as I’ve grown fond of runit.
I’m going to get a VPS for some personal projects and am at the point of deciding what distro I want to use. While I imagine that systemd is generally the best for servers due to the far more widespread support (therefore it’s better for the stability needs of a server), I have a somewhat high threat model compared to most people so I was wondering if maybe I should use something like runit instead which is much smaller and less vulnerable. Security needs are also the reason why I’m leaning away from using something like Debian, because how outdated the packages are would likely leave me open to vulnerabilities. Correct me if I’m misunderstanding any of that though.
Other than that I’m not sure what considerations there are to make for my server distro. Maybe a more mainstream distro would be more likely to have the software in its repos that I need to host my various projects. On the other hand, I don’t have any experience with, say, Fedora, and it’d probably be a lot easier for me to stick to something I know.
In terms of what I want to do with the VPS, it’ll be more general-purpose and hosting a few different projects. Currently thinking of hosting a Matrix instance, a Mastodon instance, a NextCloud instance, an SMTP server, and a light website, but I’m sure I’ll want to stick more miscellaneous stuff on there too.
So what distro do you use for your server hosting? What things should I consider when picking a distro?
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Devuan. If you need stable, and you like runit, thats the easiest option.
Debian isn’t unsecure because security updates for packages are still received.
Seonding the security point. It’s probably riskier to use bleeding edge distros because the “old” Debian packages are well cured and don’t have a lot of new issues. And as you said also old packages get security updates. Even in debian.
Been running Debian on my server for 10+ years.
@communism Only difference between a “server” distro and a “desktop” distro are what packages are included, and given that most all distros put all the packages on their repositories you can start with any and tailor to your needs.
debian proxmox
@communism Debian is an easy pick, but sometimes I can do alpine. Generally, it’s all in containers anyway, so doesn’t really matters.
I love Debian for servers. Super stable. No surprises. It just works. And millions of other people use it as well in case I need to look something up.
And even when I’m lazy and don’t update to the latest release oldstable will be supported for years and years.
@bjoern_tantau @communism That ‘support for years and years’ means security support. So even if the nominal versions stay stable, security fixes are backported. Security scans that only check versions usually give false positives: they think fixes in newer versions are not present when in fact they are.
Many others distros do exactly the same. I only chose Debian because the amount of software already packaged in the distro itself is bigger than any other, barring 3rd party repos.
Dietpi.. For no particular/proper reason other than its (extreme) focus on minimalism.
@GustavoM @communism I think Alpine is better for a lightweight distro. It’s also very minimalist, but without going too bespoke so it’s still easy to google a solution.
Love me some dietpi! Was pleasantly surprised of how smart and easy it was to use 🙌
I use proxmox and run Debian containers and VMs
I switched mine to NixOS a while ago. It’s got a steep learning curve, but it’s really nice having the entire server config exist in a handful of files.
Debian!
I’ve heard good things about Alma Linux.
Also, Ubuntu’s not that bad. You’d see this a lot in corporate settings.
Red Hat, because it’s free for developers and used by a lot of enterprises.
Red Hat, because it’s free for developers
Not really.
and used by a lot of enterprises.
Not really. We’re moving to a surprising alternative, but the source for a paid enterprise Linux is drifting away collectively from RedHat. It started with 7 - ironically people choosing a 7 equivalent from a clone, like a paid centos almost, just because they were so pissed at the quality free-fall that began with 7. In short, paying a competitor for their clone of a bad release because they’re so pissed at RedHat for making that release. Really weird.
Now that RH is starting to wobble and falter, these also-rans are trying to get into the lead as flagship. If RH post-Lennart can’t get its quality back up to EL6 level, the cracks will get noticeable. As they keep on pitching every product under the sun except linux, we worry their focus won’t get back to it in time and they’ll lose the flag - if not already - to someone else.
It’s not SuSE. That combination of Slackware and (I wanna say SLS) is an experience, but not a joy. It seems like a good idea, but their culture is still weird for the west.
Please tell me you’re using Oracle /s
Debian
Debian and Ubuntu server which, barring some differences in versions, are basically the same thing
They’re both awesome
Always, always, always: Debian. It’s not even a debate. Ubuntu is a mess for using as a server with their snaps bullshit. Leave that trash on the desktop, it’s a mess on a server.
Snaps are meant for server applications but yeah
I tried them by standing up a snap based docker server and it was a nightmare. Never again.
Snaps are meant for server applications
That’s a frightening statement. I don’t work in secret-squirrel shit these days, but I do private-squirrel stuff, and snaps are just everything our security guys wake up at night to, screaming. Back when I ran security for a company, the entire idea would have been an insta-fuckno . Please, carefully reconsider the choices that put you in a position where snaps are the best answer.
Do explain with reasoning please!
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Debian with Docker containers works well for my needs.
Mostly Ubuntu, but sometimes Debian.
